In this paper we describe an interdisciplinary course on dynamics that is appropriate for nonscience majors. This course introduces ideas about mathematical modeling using examples based on pendulums, chemical kinetics, and population dynamics. The unique emphasis for a nonmajors course is on chemical reactions as dynamical systems that do more…

This study assessed the representations of nature of science (NOS) in high school chemistry textbooks and the extent to which these representations have changed during the past four decades. Analyses focused on the empirical, tentative, inferential, creative, theory-driven, and social NOS, in addition to the myth of "The Scientific Method," the…

Nanotechnology is viewed by those in favor of its development in two different ways, and the divide is not recent. This article describes the origins of the differing visions of nanotechnology and examines their broader impacts. The typical history of the field tells nothing about these differing visions, which perhaps misleads. At least two…

To address the confusion resulting from difficulties with proportional reasoning among preservice physical science students, a cube-assembly activity was used to bring a sense of concreteness to abstract ideas. The activity took students from the concrete step of assembling cubes of various sizes and directly measuring their properties to slightly…

The authors illustrate an effective lesson-planning technique known as unpacking for the broad topic of water. Interconnections among science disciplines are shown for numerous possible subtopics. Two lesson sets are included, the first dealing with properties of water and the second dealing with water as a resource. (Contains 1 table and 4…

The aims of this study were considered under three headings. The first was to elicit misconception that science and physics student teachers (pre-service teachers) had about the terms, "inertial mass", "gravitational mass", "gravity", "gravitational force" and "weight". The second was to understand how prior learning affected their misconceptions,…

In this study, the use of inquiry methods, learning cycles, a conceptual change model and analogy in creating alternative science texts was discussed. An alternative text on the topic of acids and bases was created by integrating the methods and models discussed in this paper. The alternative text and a sample of a traditional text taken from a…

This paper explores what foundational concepts pre-service primary teachers are employing when they teach religious education. The study measured the attitudes to science and its relationship to religion of 92 pre-service primary teachers. Analysis of extended interviews with eight of the pre-service primary teachers illustrated how specific…

The incidence of autism spectrum disorders has increased dramatically over the past two decades, yet these disorders are still poorly understood. By considering the viewpoints of autistics themselves, together with evidence from the scientific literature, it becomes clear that autism spectrum disorders are not always the debilitating conditions…

In this paper, we explore the use of isomorphic problem pairs (IPPs) to assess introductory physics students' ability to solve and successfully transfer problem-solving knowledge from one context to another in mechanics. We call the paired problems "isomorphic" because they require the same physics principle to solve them. We analyze written…

The authors engaged in an education experiment to determine if the integration of lab and lecture activities in zoology and botany proved beneficial to student learning and motivation toward biology. Their results revealed that this strategy positively influenced students' academic achievement, conceptual understanding, and ability to apply…

Understanding the scientific method fosters the development of critical thinking and logical analysis of information. Additionally, proposing and testing a hypothesis is applicable not only to science, but also to ordinary facts of daily life. Knowing the way science is done and how its results are published is useful for all citizens and…

The influence of the Other on utterance is foundational to language study. This analysis contrasts this influence within two modes of communication: reflective writing and interview. The data source is derived from the reflective writings and interview transcripts of a twelfth-grade physics student. In this student's case, reflective writing…

Analogies can be useful in the study of behavior, physiology, and comparative evolution. Dangers in mistaking a homology for an analogy are discussed. (RH)

Presents a concise (3,000 words) history of the universe and includes discussions of the Big Bang and Steady-State theories relative to the expansion of the universe. (PB)