This paper discusses the critical events in the personal and professional lives of Finnish Olympians that have helped them to actualize their talent in science. The data include quantitative data from 158 Finnish Olympians in math, physics, and chemistry. The qualitative data include twelve in-depth interviews of these Olympians and their…

This booklet contains information and guidelines for the safe use and handling of chemicals in laboratories and student classrooms. The theme of this handbook is prevention of accidents with chemicals which involves chemical knowledge and the habit of safety. Topics include: (1) safety in the use and handling of hazardous chemicals; (2) teaching…

Many studies of college chemistry students have found a gap between students' success in solving computational chemistry problems and their success in solving conceptual chemistry problems. This paper examines college students' understanding of the concept of stoichiometry, the particulate nature of matter, and chemistry problem solving. This…

This study focuses on the integration of technology into middle school science classrooms. It concerns building interest among students in science and technology and understanding the impacts of technology in student learning. Three questions are posed: (1) How does using the Internet influence student performance in science? (2) How does using…

Consistent with the current reform movement in science education, the purpose of this study was to examine how the introduction of an innovative curriculum influenced teachers' beliefs. Six teachers each implemented an Acids & Bases Curriculum Unit in a variety of middle school settings. The teachers were interviewed regarding their beliefs…

This guide accompanies "Special Effects," a 40-minute IMAX film and "Special Effects II", a multimedia, interactive traveling exhibit designed by the California Museum of Science and Industry. The exhibit focuses on the underlying scientific and technical processes of special effects from the earliest motion picture to state-of-the-art digital…

This study investigated the development of PCK (pedagogical content knowledge) within a group of 12 preservice chemistry teachers (all M.Sc.) during the first semester of their 1-year post-graduate teacher education program. The study focused on PCK with respect to a central issue in science teaching; i.e., relating macroscopic phenomena to…

Service-learning in the chemistry curriculum provides an opportunity for students to learn while contributing to their communities. Examples of chemistry service-learning projects at the post-secondary level include: (1) teaching students about lead poisoning avoidance while assessing and analyzing lead content in the paint of older homes; (2)…

Discusses a laboratory course with computer-assisted instruction which emphasizes uses of simulated data, students' improvement of experiments, and presentation of a tutorial self-test mode. Indicates that students' enthusiasm is mostly due to computer's potential for in-depth interactivity and conformity to real-life situations. (CC)

Describes how the continuous variation method may be used in senior chemistry classes at the secondary level. This technique allows for the detection of the one or more reactions that may occur in a system over a wide range of composition. (JR)

Discusses the conduct of a general inorganic chemistry course in a community junior college with emphases upon students' participation and interests. Included are a list of proposed topics and two samples of evaluation sheet. (CC)