This study investigates the challenge faced by eighth-grade students at Southern State Middle School in grasping abstract concepts within the domains of physical science, physics, and chemistry. This difficulty is manifested in their poor performance on summative assessments. A comprehensive analysis of state-provided data, in conjunction with…

In experimental physics, lab notebooks play an essential role in the research process. For all of the ubiquity of lab notebooks, little formal attention has been paid to addressing what is considered "best practice" for scientific documentation and how researchers come to learn these practices in experimental physics. Using interviews…

Discusses the planning and implementation of a laboratory course in which students carried out experimental measurements, reduced data, conducted literature surveys, and presented their results in the form of original research papers. (Author/MLH)

This collection of student activities for grades four through twelve presents action-oriented experiences with hardy aquatic organisms as the foundation for a laboratory-oriented science program. The format is characterized by pre-lab, post-lab, and student sections. Pre-lab topics include level, concepts, facts, suggested prerequisite skills,…

Presents a description of the development of a laboratory-oriented chemistry course and the results noticed when the course was implemented. The syllabus was considered to be highly successful. (EB)

Presents an alternative series of investigations replacing the propanone-trichloromethane system (Topic 10) in the Nuffield A-Level course. A trichloromethane-ethyl ethanoate (acetate) system presented in four experiments give good results and removed the dangers arising from the other system. Topic 10 need not be re-written, just the replacement…

The uses of isoenzyme assays are reviewed as they relate to solutions of practical problems. Emphasizes their use of diagnostic tools in medicine, specifically in cardiac profiling. Suggests that principles of isoenzyme assays readily demonstrate molecular structure, acid-base equilibria, kinetics, and electrochemistry to general chemistry…

Describes a laboratory course in Physical Geology designed to encourage students to ask their own questions and to develop and test their own answers. The essence of this approach lies in providing a minimum of preconditioning before the exercises. (MLH)

Describes four science experiments relating to energy developed for interdisciplinary general science courses. (SL)

Described is a school project to investigate aggregations in flatworms which may be influenced by light intensity, temperature, and some form of chemical stimulus released by already aggregating flatworms. Such investigations could be adopted to suit many educational levels of science laboratory activities. (DS)

Presented is a description of a technical laboratory-oriented science course dealing with the science of enology or wine-making. Experiments and the distillation apparatus are described. (SA)

Describes the laboratory portion of a biology course which has been changed to incorporate a self-paced concept allowing students to attend the laboratory at their own convenience. (EB)

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)

Describes how social aspects of science can be incorporated into teaching soap and detergents in British secondary chemistry and general science courses. Historical background to the use and production of soap and the development of detergents are also presented. (HM)

Highlights assessment issues which the Department of Biological Sciences at the Manchester Metropolitan University has addressed in developing an integrated approach to course provision, in particular for implementing first-year laboratory practical units. Beneficial outcomes and some continuing problems are also considered. (LZ)