Volumetric titrations are an accurate and precise analytical method, which explains their use in industrial and research settings and their inclusion in senior secondary chemistry curricula around the world. Students often have difficulty understanding the intricacies of titrations because they are novices being presented with a long list of…

In this article, the author describes a chemistry gas experiment that she developed with the intent of integrating inquiry and Problem-Based Learning (PBL). The lab activity follows the principles of Ambitious Science Teaching (AST). Teachers (1) engage students with important science ideas, (2) elicit students' ideas while making visible what…

Proteins are a diverse class of biochemical macromolecules, including substances as (apparently) unrelated as silk and sinew, hair and horn, feathers and flagella, enzymes and epidermis, gelatine (jelly) and gluten and gore, spider web, meat and fish muscle. Yet they are unified by being polymers of amino acids. Discovery of the nature of proteins…

This paper is a qualitative, practice based study describing the use of the Focus-Action-Reflection (FAR) Guide (Harrison & Treagust, 2000) to address the shortcomings of a pedagogical analogical model in Year 10 Science. The aim of this paper is to present my experience of the FAR Guide in relation to an analogical model that gave rise to…

The polygraph (lie detector) may be an ideal vehicle for converting aspects of a physiology course into an interdisciplinary course, enabling discussion of interrelationships between science, technology and society (STS) and social dilemmas arising from technological developments. The authors present a way of incorporating the polygraph into a…