We present a laboratory practice aimed to clarify and discuss the concept of bioindicator molecules in environmental health. It has been implemented as a hands-on laboratory exercise in postgraduate courses in public health (in Brazil) and in a course entitled Biology Applied to Natural Resources Sustainability (in Spain) but can be useful for…

The objectives of this study are: (a) elaboration of a history and philosophy of science (HPS) framework based on a reconstruction of the development of the periodic table; (b) formulation of seven criteria based on the framework; and (c) evaluation of 57 freshman college-level general chemistry textbooks with respect to the presentation of the…

Air pollution is no longer just a local issue; it is a global problem. The atmosphere is a very dynamic system. Pollution not only changes in chemical composition after it is emitted, but also is transported on local and global air systems hundreds and even thousands of miles away. Some of the pollutants that are major health concerns are not even…

The four main forms of carbon--diamond, graphite, buckyballs, and carbon nanotubes (CNTs)--are an excellent vehicle for teaching fundamental principles of chemical bonding, material structure, and properties. Carbon atoms form a variety of structures that are intrinsically connected to the properties they exhibit. Educators can take advantage of…

Learning the wealth of information in metabolic pathways is both challenging and overwhelming for students. A step-by-step guided discovery approach to the learning of the chemical steps in gluconeogenesis and the citric acid cycle is described. This approach starts from concepts the student already knows, develops these further in a logical…

Forensic science courses encompasses the disciplines of biology, chemistry, mathematics, and physics, which provides an opportunity for students to become engaged in all content areas within one course. The inquiry-based learning environment allows visualization of results almost immediately, facilitating student interest. The laboratory…

The model organism, "Caenorhabditis elegans," in addition to being well suited to genetics and cell biology teaching applications, can also be useful in the physiology laboratory. In this article, the author describes how students in a junior level college Comparative Physiology course have made use of "C. elegans" in semester-long,…

Today's "out-of-school learning" is dominated by PC games, videos, and TV. These media provide children with optimal conditions for nurturing their visuospatial intelligence. In "chemistry" and biochemistry, over the past 125 years, thinking has shifted from the "logical-mathematical" to the "logical-visuospatial." In chemistry visuospatial…

Integration of molecular modeling into General Chemistry lab encourages students to dually process molecular concepts both verbally and pictorially. When students are tested utilizing questions not previously encountered the dual processing of information can contribute to a transfer to knowledge. General Chemistry students utilized molecular…

The Chemistry/Physics Program at Evanston Township High School was designed to provide an environment for the rigorous teaching of advanced science and mathematics to accelerated students. This type of student makes up the bulk of students in the Advanced Placement Chemistry and Physics classes. However, there is a small number of students who…

In this paper, the authors argue that chemical knowledge in the classroom will be enriched by the application of characterizations of models drawn from a range of disciplinary backgrounds. This discussion highlights two important issues relating to chemical knowledge in the classroom: (1) the status of chemical knowledge in the classroom,…

Most high school chemistry labs contain detailed procedures on how to perform experiments, collect data, and analyze findings. These step-by-step instructions often eliminate opportunities for inquiry, higher levels of thinking, and the sense of accomplishment students find through independent discovery. For these reasons, two years ago the author…

The implementation of new content and pedagogical standards in science education necessitates intensive, long-term professional development of science teachers. In this paper, we describe the rationale and structure of a comprehensive and intensive professional development program of school-based leaders, namely school chemistry coordinators. The…

Two of the challenges in teaching Food Analysis are bringing relevance to the various chemical and physical analyses discussed and exposing students to the realities of quality assurance in the food industry. In a project to help meet those objectives, each student, with the assistance of a "resource person" from the food industry, completes the…

Previous research has shown that students' existing conceptions are critical to subsequent learning because there is interaction between the new knowledge that the students encounter and their existing knowledge from previous lessons. Taber (1999a) found A-level students in the UK had difficulty in understanding the principles determining the…