Prior research on epistemic beliefs, that is, individuals' views about knowledge and knowing, has mainly focused either on individuals' professed beliefs (as reported in questionnaires) or on their enacted beliefs (as indicated during task processing). However, little is known about the relation between professed and enacted epistemic beliefs. The…

The floating and sinking phenomenon related to buoyant force can readily be observed in everyday life and easily demonstrated to young students. However, many students believe that the buoyant force is determined by the object's attributes, such as the shape (e.g., ship) or material (e.g., wood). As a result, students find it challenging to…

Owing to the presence of the Coriolis effect, the rotation of Earth has a multitude of surprising consequences that make the mechanics of the atmosphere or the oceans different from that of a fluid in a container. Since the Coriolis effect also captures the imagination of screenwriters, contributing to the continual exposure of students to bogus…

The mechanical transmission of motion, which is observable in gears' turning direction (TD) and turning speed (TS) can be understood as part of the core concept "force and motion". Previous studies have suggested that most children before the age of nine have naïve concepts of gears' TD and TS. However, these studies relied on children's…

The use of approximations in solving problems in sciences can be vital for students. Order of magnitude estimation also helps with physical understanding of the quantities involved in a calculation. For example, in the first exam in a first-year class in chemistry the student must find the mass in grams of an atom; a couple of students will…

There is a disconnect between neuroscience research on concept learning and representation (focusing on categories of concrete objects), and concept learning challenges in science education (which concern systems of causal relationships among objects and events). Bridging this gap will both inform theories of science learning and expand our…

Forming learners' science concepts and conceptual change entails adaptive epistemic beliefs to support a high degree of interactivity within a coherent knowledge structure. Adaptive epistemic beliefs are characterized by beliefs that knowledge is uncertain and should be justified through experimentation or multiple sources dependent upon the task…

Of the many disciplines that rely on calculus, physics is among those with the strongest connections to this branch of mathematics. For instance, the derivative--one of the key notions of calculus--is used to describe velocity and acceleration, which play a central role in mechanics. In post-secondary education, in particular at the college level,…

This research aimed to developed an evaluation instrument based on Kahoot! valid, practical, and reliable in evaluating student learning. This research is a model of development that use Borg and Gall. There were seven stages performed, starting with research and data collection, planning, product design development, initial field trials, review…

The central importance of evolution to all biological sciences is recognised by many authors. Despite this scientific consensus, the theory of evolution is commonly presented as one discrete topic among many in the biology curriculum. Possible reasons for this scenario include discomfort with the content, ideological opposition and teachers'…

Regulation is a key concept for understanding the dynamics of metabolism in bacteria. This report outlines a simple laboratory experiment aimed at studying a key form of regulation in bacterial metabolism, exemplifying how microbes switch the flux of carbon towards alternative metabolic fates as a function of nutrient availability and according to…

New reforms in science education call for three-dimensional learning by integrating disciplinary core ideas, science and engineering practices, and "crosscutting concepts" (CCCs). These reforms defined the new term, crosscutting concept (CCC), as a lens that has explanatory power across disciplines. To describe how researchers are…

The article describes a new version of a demonstration experiment for the Maxwell distribution. In the first part students analyse the applicability of the Gaussian distribution to the projection of the particle velocities in the suggested experiment. Further, students observe two-dimensional distribution of particles by the modulus of velocity in…

Photo-oxidation is one of the main causes of oxidative deterioration in food. Understanding of the mechanisms of photo-oxidation is essential for food science students when pursuing careers in food safety and quality assurance. However, few food chemistry laboratories emphasize photo-oxidation. Thus, we develop a laboratory activity that trains…

This paper presents MATLAB user interfaces for two multiphase kinetic models: the kinetic double-layer model of aerosol surface chemistry and gas--particle interactions (K2-SURF) and the kinetic multilayer model of aerosol surface and bulk chemistry (KM-SUB). Each interface has simple and user-friendly features that allow undergraduate and…