The goal of this research was to test the effectiveness of a new science curriculum focused on increasing awareness and knowledge of microplastic pollution in middle school students. The curriculum utilized three teaching methods including lectures, object-mediated learning, and peer collaboration to enhance student engagement and learning. The 84…

As environmental awareness grows, so do questions about the environmental impact of photography, in particular traditional film development and processing, which includes the use of plastics, gelatine and other environmentally harmful chemicals notwithstanding water usage and waste. Pioneering practice and research into sustainable alternatives to…

National efforts to reform undergraduate education have highlighted the need to relate abstract concepts in biology to real-world examples, especially for non-majors who may undervalue scientific processes. We therefore decided to introduce a module titled "Climate Change, Sustainable Practices and Plastic Pollution," utilizing such…

Following collaboration between two chemistry lecturers and an academic developer an attempt was made to enhance the learning of students within a chemistry module through the adaptation of the delivery of content material. This paper reports a piece of practitioner led research which considered how effective the approach developed was upon the…

The high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) experiment, most often done in the undergraduate analytical instrumentation laboratory course, generally illustrates reversed-phase chromatography using a commercial C[subscript]18 silica column. To avoid the expense of periodic column replacement and introduce a choice of columns with different…

The "Hong Kong Visual Arts Curriculum Guide," covering Primary 1 to Secondary 3 grades (Curriculum Development Committee, 2003), points to three domains of learning in visual arts: (1) visual arts knowledge; (2) visual arts appreciation and criticism; and (3) visual arts making. The "Guide" suggests learning should develop…

Describes an integrated metal-plastic program which was incorporated into an industrial arts curriculum at Trenton State College (New Jersey). (TA)

A project was conducted at Delaware County Community College, Media, Pennsylvania, to train two instructional staff members in the area of composite materials technology. A 1-year training program was set up for the two technical instructional specialists at the Boeing Helicopter Training Center, Eddystone, Pennsylvania. The program consisted of…

Described is a series of four graduate level courses in polymer science, offered or currently in preparation, at Stanford University. Course descriptions and a list of required and recommended texts are included. Detailed course outlines for two of the courses are presented. (BT)

Designed to guide training and curriculum development to prepare machine operators for the national certification exam, this publication identifies the important knowledge required for productive performance by a plastics machine operator. Introductory material discusses the rationale for a national standard, uses of the Body of Knowledge,…

A process based on a systems analysis approach to tasks is proposed for developing a curriculum for the study of plastics. The process may be used with any subject area, at any grade level, to validate the concepts selected, the performance objective developed, the time allotted, and the teaching strategies selected. (AG)

These four reports provide details of projects to design and implement courses to be offered as requirements for the associate degree program in composites and reinforced plastics technology. The reports describe project activities that led to development of curricula for four courses: composite materials, composite materials fabrication I,…

This handbook was designed to help adult literacy education teachers to understand the plastics industry, develop a curriculum, and teach basic skills classes in a plastics company. The book contains four main sections. The first section, on the basics of plastics, contains a brief history of the industry, an elementary description of the…

This curriculum guide is an aid to administrators and instructors of industrial arts and vocational-technical school programs for the development of meaningful curriculum in plastics. The materials are intended for use at four levels: level I, exploring plastic technology; Level II, basic plastic technology; and levels III and IV, applied plastic…

With the increased use of plastics worldwide the shortage of trained personnel in moldmaking and design for plastic injection molds is becoming critical. Local schools and community colleges should provide courses in mold design and mold making, since most workers presently learn while working under experienced designers on the job. Following this…