During recent decades, educational reform in the U.S. has favored standards-driven curricula with the purpose of improving education. However, national assessments have not demonstrated significant improvements in educational outcomes, especially among economically disadvantaged and minoritized populations. To mitigate these outcomes,…

The application of the Study and Research Path (SRP) methodology for learning general chemistry, a fundamental course often found in the first-year curriculum of many technical degrees, is investigated. In recent years, SRPs have emerged as interesting inquiry and project-based teaching formats. In an SRP, the search for an answer to a generating…

The undergraduates in the major of Environmental Science and Environmental Engineering frequently ignored the importance of identifying pollution sources for water environment monitoring and knew little about the techniques of identifying pollution sources. Thus, a laboratory experiment which focused on pollution sources identification in a water…

The aim of the research was to explore the effect of educational interventions implemented in desktop-based VR and immersive virtual reality (IVR) settings on gifted students' nature relatedness and attitudes towards environment. A a single group pretest-posttest weak experimental model was implemented. The participants involved in the study…

The author, an instructor of lower division general education (G.E.) geography courses, describes how to incorporate high-impact practices into courses that allow for experiential and project-based learning. Often, these experiences can be framed through a service learning component, which provides students an opportunity to partner with the local…

Most forensic chemistry experiments focus on the usual suspects involving criminal scenarios: illicit drug identification, gunshot residue detection, blood and fingerprint analysis, and arson investigations. However, environmental forensics involves chemical techniques that can expand the breadth of experience for forensic chemistry students. An…

This study describes how 19 middle-school science teachers responded to an engineering design task in the context of water quality and environmental science professional development (PD). The study relies on teacher created prototypes, presentations, graphic organizers, and qualitative memos to illustrate the challenges and successes of the PD. In…

Heavy metals are a recognized toxic environmental contaminant, even at very low concentrations. There have been well-known events in the last decade within the US of high amounts of lead in the drinking water supplies of cities, leading to detrimental effects within its population. Ways have been found to remove this metal, and others, from water…

The chemistry laboratory is an impactful platform for introducing inquiry and developing science practice skills. We designed a short lab course to introduce incremental levels of inquiry, also to interconnect and integrate different domains of chemistry. Indigo dye was the central theme of this short course wherein students synthesized indigo,…

Most students entering universities in the United States have established views on water resource issues. The purpose of this 25-year study was to measure the impact of science-based education on student opinions of water quality, water quantity, and drinking water issues. A total of 8523 students enrolled in the introductory environmental science…

Children are often denied science education that engages their emotions and multiple identities. This study focused on ways in which embodied arts-based experiences offer opportunities for such engagement in pedagogical efforts associated with justice-centered science. The conceptual framework that informed the study considers the body as a site…

This book uses the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, as a touchstone for the importance and value of including place-based education in the social studies curriculum. Whitlock scrutinizes this local environmental issue to not only drive critical inquiry in the classroom, but also to show how the curriculum can propel valuable social change in the…

Purpose: This study aims to determine preference and concerns regarding tap vs bottled water and recommendations to increase tap water use in a US Midwest university. The authors propose interventions to increase tap water use based on survey results. Design/methodology/approach: The authors conducted an online survey of the community of a…

Agricultural and extension educators frequently employ a variety of methods to provide farmers with information about conservation practices. The introduction of virtual programming brought on in response to the COVID-19 pandemic set the stage for analysis of farmer outreach preferences with respect to face-to-face (F2F) versus virtual outreach.…

This research explores the impact of integrating smart water monitoring with internet of things (IoT) into 7th-grade science education using the problem-based learning (PBL) model. A quasi-experimental research design with a post-test-only control group is employed to compare the effectiveness of two learning groups: one using the regular PBL…