Presents anecdotes that portray, in narrative mode, the attributes of personal science consisting of personal knowledge, indwelling, tacit knowledge, commitment, and objectivity. (PR)

Presents five interactive, computer-based activities that mimic scientific tests used by sport researchers to help companies design high-performance athletic shoes, including impact tests, flexion tests, friction tests, video analysis, and computer modeling. Provides a platform for teachers to build connections between chemistry (polymer science),…

Describes activities in which students explore composting. Enables students to learn that all organic material returns naturally to the earth through a process of decomposition that involves many living organisms. (JRH)

Presents activities and investigations that provide a trail of physics-related topics for students to investigate at a bowling alley. (JRH)

Evaluates an instructional method in general chemistry that attempts to bridge the gap between algorithmic problem-solving abilities and conceptual understanding of chemistry students and emphasizes conceptual problem solving in the initial phase of a concept. Concludes that using a conceptual focus for the chemistry courses had many positive…

Describes how to construct a safe, inexpensive rocket for use with young children. (MKR)

Reports on a seven-year longitudinal study of pupils' (n=25) understanding of ecological processes with emphasis on how their conceptions of matter influence their understanding. Results indicate that initially students expected the plants cultivated in closed transparent boxes to die but later used a "cycle model" to explain how the…

Explains the story of four sixth-grade students, of mixed race and social class, who worked together in a small group experimenting with colored solutions with different densities. Describes students' failures in achieving intersubjective communication using the sociolinguistic concepts of polysemy and privileging. (Contains 41 references.)…

Investigates the impact an undergraduate quantum chemistry course has on students' knowledge and understanding of atomic orbitals, molecular orbitals, and related concepts. Analysis reveals that students do not have a clear understanding of these concepts and confuse the various atomic orbital representations. Includes some suggestions and…

Explains some of the properties of refrigerator magnets by conceptualizing their makeup as a line of tiny, consecutive horseshoe magnets. (WRM)

Suggests activities to elicit and develop children's conceptual understanding of plants. (Author)

Describes an investigation of first-year chemical engineering students' understanding of the mole concept. Finds that a series of activities designed to provide students with visual or experiential points of reference for the mole concept had a strong positive effect on student misconceptions. Contains 16 references. (Author/WRM)

Describes an experiment undertaken to determine what relative electric charges would result if three or more pieces of transparent tape were placed on top of each other and then separated one at a time. Makes suggestions for using the project in high school and undergraduate classes. (WRM)

Notes that water can be an important medium for science, math, and language activities and how encouraging young children to think about water helps them understand important concepts about how the world works. Offers detailed instructions for 13 classroom activities that use water to demonstrate a variety of concepts. (TJQ)

Explains the use of Newton's law of proportional cooling in creating a realistic heating curve. (WRM)