Analogies are suitable for teaching scientific concepts by comparing an unknown with a known. For this reason, they are widely used by textbook authors or science teachers for different aims such as introduction, clarification, or discrimination of new concepts. This study examines the analogies used in elementary science textbooks from 3rd to 8th…

This paper presents the findings of a group of teacher candidates with undergraduate degrees in a STEM discipline who were followed through an intensive 1-year preparation program and their 1st year of teaching. We report on the affordances and challenges participants' discipline knowledge presented to developing pedagogical content knowledge…

The aim of this study is to determine history of science related stories known by candidate science teachers and their opinions about educational values of those stories. The research is a descriptive study. Data was collected by open ended questions. In the study, 63 teacher candidates from 3th grade which were in the department of science…

Regioselectivity in hetero Diels-Alder reactions can be observed in a simple reaction between a nonsymmetrical heterodiene and an unsymmetrical heterodienophile. A 9 h and easy to implement laboratory experiment is described, in which students can observe the regioselectivity of inverse "electron-demand" hetero Diels-Alder reactions of…

This paper focuses on the procedure and results for analyzing text-difficulty in lower-secondary chemistry textbooks in the Czech Republic. The authors use established methodology for text-difficulty analysis by Nestler, adapted by Prucha and Pluskal by adding a second independent analyser to improve reliability. Some textbooks do not follow the…

Although virtual and augmented reality (VR and AR) techniques have been used extensively in specialized laboratories, only recently did they become affordable, reaching wider consumer markets. With increased availability, it is timely to examine the roles that VR and AR may play in teaching structural biology and in experiencing complex data sets…

We investigate the effectiveness of an active learning curriculum designed for an upper division Biochemistry series at a large, public research university. The goal was to determine how effective this format was when compared to a parallel conventional course, and to see if the active learning series can be run with limited resources (one…

A creative apparatus for use in a hands-on laboratory experiment that allows the visualization of the vapor pressure as a function of temperature is described in this paper. Inspired by homemade barometers and using simple materials that are easily accessible for teaching laboratories, a lowcost system for the establishment of the vapor-pressure…

Typical laboratory exercises for undergraduate organic chemistry students involve bulk phase reactions with work up of product. In this study, students performed accelerated versions of the Katritzky reaction of para-substituted anilines with pyrylium salts in three ways: (i) by dropcasting reagents onto a paper surface and allowing solvent to…

The ACS Guidelines for bachelor's degrees in chemistry call for the curriculum to include polymer chemistry principles and the synthesis of different classes of macromolecules. Organic chemistry can provide an important introduction to polymer chemistry principles, and photochemically induced radical polymerization is one method for generating…

We have designed and tested an exercise to detect misconceptions among students about meiosis, a fundamental concept in genetics. A total of 30 students responded to a questionnaire, all of whom were in the fifth semester of the Biology bachelor's degree program offered by the Faculty of Science of the National Autonomous University of Mexico. Our…

Background: Achieving science literacy requires learning disciplinary knowledge, science practices, and development of sophisticated epistemological beliefs about the nature of science and science knowledge. Although sophisticated epistemological beliefs about science are important for attaining science literacy, students' beliefs are difficult to…

In this paper the muscular activity will be treated from a physical point of view, considering the main physical parameters that can be quantified. A brief and simple theoretical treatment will be followed by some homeworks for students. The problems have a difficulty degree typical of an undergraduate class, and the arguments have been chosen…

A couple of experiments analyzing the vibration of bars in different configurations using as a vibration sensor an electric guitar pickup are presented. The device is a versatile and easy to operate sensor that can be used in experiments involving the analysis of vibrations in rods and bars of different composition and in different configurations.…

This paper focuses on interactions in a science professional development (PD) course in which participating teachers engaged in doing science. Whereas the PD design of this course aligned with research on effective PD practices, we found that these practices did not sufficiently account for the affective and relational dynamics that unfolded in…