Presents a variety of problems, involving kinematics and dynamics, that deal with ropes and their centers of mass. (JRH)

Provides six short story problems that are solved using common physics concepts. Includes solutions. (MVL)

Discusses the problem-solving orientation to the teaching of science in middle school, including constructivist theory, the learning cycle, cooperative learning, and assessment. (SR)

Describes the use of a weekly blackboard session as a way to improve instruction in an organic chemistry lecture. The instructor writes problems on the board and either alone or in groups, students write the answers on the board. Later, they explain their solutions to the class. (PR)

Recommends utilizing biochemistry problems to develop students' abilities to clearly identify the relevant questions hidden in problematic situations and to select the information required to solve them. This procedure is highly motivating and offers students a tool for evaluating their achievements. (Author/CCM)

Reports on the effects of a problem-solving-based instructional model on earth science students' (n=172) achievement and alternative frameworks. Results revealed that the problem-solving-based instructional model significantly improved the achievement of students, especially at the application level. Students in the treatment group experienced…

Describes a scientific mystery with an emphasis on chemical magic presented in the context of the characters Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. The story contains a break where students and teachers pause to ponder and solve the mystery. Sherlock Holmes provides his solution in the paragraphs following this break. (WRM)

Discusses two students' discovery that both of their answers to a computation for E in a chemical reaction in electrochemistry were correct, that there was not a unique answer, and that the textbook had presented only one of the possible answers to the problem. (MKR)

Introduces a chemical Sherlock Holmes mystery story based on properties of biological substances and qualitative analysis. (YDS)

A very simple strategy for the solution of the Schrodinger equation of a particle moving in one dimension subjected to a generic potential is presented. This strategy is implemented in a computer program called Kmonodium, which is free and distributed under the General Public License (GPL).

We employ tools of complexity theory to examine the effect of cognitive variables, such as working-memory capacity, degree of field dependence-independence, developmental level and the mobility-fixity dimension. The nonlinear method correlates the subjects' rank-order achievement scores with each cognitive variable. From the achievement scores in…

We report on an investigation of students' ideas about gravity after a semester of instruction in physics at university. There are two aspects to the study which was concerned with students' answers to a carefully designed qualitative examination question on gravity. The first aspect is a classification of the answers and a comparative study of…

Modeling has been shown to correct weaknesses of traditional instruction by engaging students in the design of physical models to describe, explain, and predict phenomena. Although the modeling method can be used without computers, the use of computers allows students to study problems that are difficult and time consuming, to visualize their…

Inquiry-based learning was used to enhance an undergraduate molecular biology course at Georgia Southern University, a primarily undergraduate institution in rural southeast Georgia. The goal was to use a long-term, in-class project to accelerate higher-order thinking, thereby enabling students to problem solve and apply their knowledge to novel…

Although much is known about the differences between expert and novice problem solvers, knowledge of those differences typically does not provide enough detail to help instructors understand why some students seem to learn physics while solving problems and others do not. A critical issue is how students access the knowledge they have in the…