Recently, there have been many calls for an increase in instruction on the nature of science (NOS) in schools (i.e. NRC, 1996; NGSS Lead States, 2013). These calls recognize the importance of this topic at all levels of science education, but there is little guidance in terms of how to address it effectively in curricula. Similarly, there have…

Research projects conducted by faculty in STEM departments served as the inspiration for a new curriculum of inquiry-based, multiweek laboratory modules in the general chemistry 1 course. The purpose of this curriculum redesign was to improve students' attitudes about chemistry as well as their self-efficacy and skills in performing inquiry…

Describes teaching schemes and apparatus designed to give the teacher and the student a range of reliable, workable experiments to explore the world of small static charges. (GS)

Discusses teaching ecology in high schools in terms of kinds of problems suitable for study and management of field and laboratory activities. (EB)

Presents the advantages and disadvantages associated with the canned computer lab from the educational and software aspects. Summarizes two years of experience with canned labs and gives an example of a program and a typical student output. (GS)

This book presents an experimental approach to the teaching of biology in secondary schools. Starting with a unit on microscopy, the study centers on animals. The two particular examples taken are those of the rat and the rabbit. A number of experiments have been suggested on nutrition, circulation, respiration, sweat, excretion, skin, regulation…

The evolution of a laboratory oriented undergraduate plasma physics course is described. Brief accounts of the 14 experiments utilized in the course are provided. (CP)

Summarizes the thermodynamics of macromolecular systems, including theories and experiments of cyclic energy conversion with rubber and collagen as working substances. Indicates that an early introduction into the concept of chemical potential and solution thermodynamics is made possible through the study of the cyclic processes. (CC)

Describes a one-quarter introductory electronics course in which the students use a variety of inexpensive integrated circuits to design and construct a large number of useful circuits. Presents the subject matter of the course in three parts: linear circuits, digital circuits, and more complex circuits. (GS)

Describes a chemistry curriculum for college freshmen that uses laboratory study of the chemical composition of meals eaten by students as the central activity from which theoretical and practical learning are derived. Presents a meal analysis flow diagram and a table of concepts included in the program. (GS)

Describes the development and organization of a course begun in 1962 consisting of a sequence of manipulative learning operations. The laboratory operations of Quantitative Physical Science lead the student through the fundamentals of instrumentation and of measurement processes. Principles studied include physical, electrical, chemical, and wave…

Describes the apparatus of a chemistry kit that also contains a pupil's manual and a teacher's guide. (LS)

Feeling that projects in chemistry could be used effectively to enhance appreciation of chemistry, a project-based course for the first-year sixth formers was developed in 1973 and because of its success another was organized. Projects from both courses are described. (EB)