This manual provides practical advice on the appropriation, conservation, and documentation of a marine biological reference collection, in response to needs expressed by Mediterranean Arab countries. A reference collection is defined as a working museum containing a series of specimens with which biologists are able to compare their own material.…

Describes an apparatus that uses liquified gases to wash solids. Discusses the procedures and processes used to do a wash with liquid sulfur dioxide. (CW)

Examines the psychology of learning and its application to work in the laboratory. States that the working memory capacity of students is limited; therefore the amount of information they can process needs to be controlled and "recipe following" in the laboratory is perfectly reasonable. (RT)

Criticizes the way organic chemistry teaching laboratory experiments are approached from the viewpoint of physical chemistry. Compares these experiments to cooking. Stresses that what matters is not the practice of the finger skills of organic chemistry but practice in the style of thinking of organic chemists. (CW)

Secondary physics students were interviewed to determine their expectations/actions in laboratory work. Results indicate preference for laboratory activities because such exercises help students remember, are less confusing, and more concrete. Use of the laboratory as an introduction to a concept, followed by discussion, was a key component to…

Describes exercises used for the first two weeks of general chemistry when class rolls are fluctuating. Includes learning objectives, linear graphs, nonlinear graphs, scatter graphs, and precision of measurement. Exercises are designed to introduce students to the metric system, balances, significant digits, graphing, and computerized data…

This paper is a summary of much of the available research on college science laboratory instruction of the past decade with a focus on the effects of specific laboratory teaching strategies upon student learning outcomes. Some tentative interpretations from a review of the literature found are: (1) inquiry or investigative approaches in college…