Case studies are helpful teaching tools that can bring scientific concepts to life. Here, we present a case study related to protein-ligand interactions, amino acids, protein structure, and protein modification. While protein-ligand interaction is a foundational concept within Biochemistry, there are few available case studies that focus on this…

One of the challenges that science teachers face is the lack of strategy/method to train students in data collection and developing analytical skills, which are pre-requisites to resolve socio-scientific problems and an important element in scientific literacy. In this activity, the SWOT analysis proposed by the Stanford Research Institute in the…

This paper reports the development of a digital escape room for high school students using Genially, a web-based media platform. The escape room was used to aid understanding of basic concepts in chemistry and mostly enhance students' classes participation during the COVID-19 pandemic. The activity entitled "The thalidomide mystery"…

With a growing number of global challenges related to the environment, water, public health, and energy, there is an imminent need to teach chemistry in the context of its interconnectedness with other systems. Project- and problem-based learning are student-centered learning approaches which offer educators the opportunity to engage learners in…

The aim of this study was to examine the mistakes made by freshman students of science teaching during the process of proving and the reasons for these mistakes. To this aim, the study, which was conducted via the case study method, was performed with 52 freshman students who were studying at the department of science teaching in a state…

This is the fourth paper in our Light-Emitting Diodes series. The series aims to create a systematic library of LED-based materials and to provide readers with the description of experiments and the pedagogical treatment that would help their students construct, test, and apply physics concepts and mathematical relations. The first paper provided…

Many students enter high school with some science knowledge and experience doing investigations but often know little about the nature of science (NOS) or how the knowledge is developed (i.e., science practices). As science teachers, we need to get students excited about science as quickly as possible with activities that introduce the practices…

With the 2010 Winter Olympic Games prominent in the media, children were exposed to images of athletes skiing down snow-covered slopes, coasting furiously on bobsleds, and skating gracefully across the ice. Therefore, the authors capitalized on their children's natural curiosity about the world around them by exploring the concept of motion in a…

Monk and Osborne ("Sci Educ" 81:405-424, 1997) provide a rigorous justification for why history and philosophy of science should be incorporated as an integral component of instruction and a model for how history of science should be used to promote learning of and about science. In the following essay we critique how history of science is used on…

Preservice preparation courses for elementary teachers of science can provide opportunities to build pedagogical content knowledge. One common concern of preservice teachers is how to cope with a preplanned lesson that does not proceed as planned. Providing opportunities for preservice teachers to experience the unexpected actually immerses them…

Methods used to investigate problems in the sciences include building-up strategies, insight, and change (or serendipitous discovery). Discusses appropriate learning experiences for the undergraduate science students so they are more likely to benefit from the second method of scientific discovery as they make a career in their chosen field. (JN)

The Information Age has been shaping the conception of thinking in education through the capability of computerized problem solving, through the resulting application of the information processing model to human thinking, and through the theories emerging from other cognitive science research in metacognition, construction of knowledge, and…

Raises questions about the widely accepted rationale of teaching scientific methodology in order to help students become better problem solvers in nonscience settings. Argues that it is better to teach problem solving skills within familiar contexts not complicated by difficult subject matter. (DC)

Suggests a scientific approach for teaching problem solving that would aim at understanding the underlying cognitive mechanisms responsible for good problem solving and would then use the resulting insights to design explicit instructions for enhancing student's problem solving skills. (Author/SK)

Introduces a lesson that can be used for teaching the scientific process with excitement and in a natural learning environment. Suggests activities for classifying, observing, measuring, inferring, collecting data, interpreting, discussing, concluding, and communicating. Supplies a list with pictures and descriptions of types of monuments. (RT)