Understanding negative numbers can be challenging for many students, as these concepts may seem less tangible than counting objects, which are commonly represented by positive numbers. In addition, the multiplication of two negative numbers resulting in a positive might appear inconsistent and puzzling to young learners who are used to seeing the…

Science education in the United States is in need of an overhaul; as of 2018, the United States ranked 18th in science among industrialized nations according to the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA). Additionally, the efforts that the nation has made to increase student achievement in math and English language arts (ELA) has…

A variety of methods have been used to analyze the kinetics of various processes related to the Diet Coke and Mentos experiment (also known as the soda geyser). However, none of these previous reports has undertaken a quantitative exploration of the dynamics of the creation and collapse of the soda geyser itself. We have therefore devised a method…

This article introduces and contextualizes the content of this theme issue of "The American Biology Teacher" (ABT), which focuses on integrating elements of the history of science (HOS) in biology instruction. Such orientations can enhance students' understanding of core biological concepts and the process of scientific discovery by…

Time is a central concept for astronomy, yet how it is communicated in educational contexts has received insufficient attention in the literature. This study explores how time-related concepts are communicated in the planetarium, by analyzing 34 different planetarium sessions held in a diversity of Portuguese institutions. Sessions were video and…

Recently, the physics education community has taken a keen interest in modernising physics education. However, while topics in modern physics have great potential to engage students, these topics are abstract and hard-to-visualise. Therefore, many students hold mistaken pictures and misconceptions, which can impede learning. In this article, we…

We present a tool, one that is both a stand-alone web-based video game and a Python package, designed for students to explore a particle's wave function on one-dimensional potential surfaces. The tool relies on a basis set formalism and can, therefore, explore any one-dimensional potential surface imaginable. This tool also lets students interact…

In recent years, general relativity (GR) and gravitational-wave astronomy have emerged both as active fields of research and as popular topics in physics classrooms. Teachers can choose from an increasing number of modern instructional models to introduce students to relativistic ideas. However, the true potential of an instructional model can…

IUPAC nomenclature of lower alkanes (1C to 10C) is quite common and digestible. But students face problems remembering and predict IUPAC word-root during IUPAC nomenclature of higher alkanes (C >11). Here in this innovative article, I have tried to focus IUPAC nomenclature of higher alkanes (11C to 90C) through the prediction of IUPAC word root…

Students have misconceptions about many scientific topics they encounter in the classroom--such misconceptions are especially rife in subjects with counterintuitive concepts. Several studies have copiously documented students' misconceptions in different science domains. Research shows that students' misconceptions can be resistant to change and…

Devoted to the late Paul Virilio (1932-2018) and in the advent of debates surrounding the Anthropocene and in light of corresponding changes to conceptions of scale and image, this paper attempts to extrapolate a Virilian pedagogy of the image. It is Virilio's work which remains timely and singularly fecund in this area and it is for this reason…

The gamification of learning has increased in popularity in recent years as a tool for enhancing student engagement and attainment. In undergraduate chemistry courses, hybridization is a fundamental concept that students need to master in order to understand introductory organic and inorganic topics. This study focused on the development of a card…

Paraprofessionals play a significant role in the education system. However, they often need more training on specific instructional strategies to use with the students they work with. In this study, we trained two paraprofessionals working in a self-contained U.S. elementary classroom for students with high-intensity behavioral support needs. Each…

Some introductory physics courses begin where student interest is thought to be highest--in waves, sound, and light--before speed, velocity, and acceleration. For students with math difficulties, this order makes sense. But most physics courses, including the author's own, begin with a study of motion. Why? Mostly due to tradition, he admits. When…

This article examines the impact of a professional development program aimed at encouraging high school teachers to include more modern physics in their enacted classroom curricula through improved content and pedagogical knowledge. The program was implemented with 17 high school physics teachers (three were the focal point of this study) in…