Molecular modeling by computer is used to display stereochemistry, molecular orbitals, structure of transition states, and progress of reactions. Describes new ideas for teaching 1H NMR spectroscopy using computer modeling. (Contains 12 references.) (ASK)

Describes strategies to introduce students in a first year chemistry course to the gas chromatograph coupled with a mass spectrometer (GC-MS) and provides students with hands-on experiences in its use. (ASK)

Introduces a laboratory science course addressing scientific literacy. Includes three interrelated student projects for the laboratory section of the course. (Contains 27 references.) (YDS)

Presents a new technique for projecting science demonstrations, enabling a larger number of students to see the demonstration without scaling up the experiment. Describes innovative attachments that magnify projector images using mirrors, solutions to the problem of convergent test tubes, development of overhead projection experiments, necessary…

Examines what primary teachers actually understand about the word 'chemical' and what they do to help young students arrive at a scientific conception of chemical. Indicates three main categories of teachers' views of a chemical and discusses the effects of a professional development course on this subject. (ASK)

Describes a multidisciplinary, team-taught introductory course on water. Focuses on the chemistry section of this course which used a systems approach to introducing students to the aquatic chemistry of natural systems. (Contains 16 references.) (Author/ASK)

Recent research has revealed the existence of intuitive representations strongly rooted in diverse knowledge domains and the difficulties of modifying those representations through instruction by means of conceptual change processes (Carey, 1995; Gopnik & Meltzoff, 1997; Vosniadou, 1994). According to some interpretations, these representations…

This work provides a correlation study of the role of the following cognitive variables on problem solving in elementary physical chemistry: scientific reasoning (level of intellectual development/developmental level), working-memory capacity, functional mental ("M") capacity, and disembedding ability (i.e., degree of perceptual field…

This report is an evaluation of an attributional retraining intervention conceptualized to promote girls gifted in the natural sciences. The attributional retraining was based on a modeling technique, and conceptualized for ninth-grade chemistry students attending a college preparatory high school (German Gymnasium). The aim of the training was to…

In this article, we examine the role of visuospatial cognition in chemistry learning. We review three related kinds of literature: correlational studies of spatial abilities and chemistry learning, students' conceptual errors and difficulties understanding visual representations, and visualization tools that have been designed to help overcome…

This study focuses on the ability of high-school chemistry students, who learn chemistry through the inquiry approach, to ask meaningful and scientifically sound questions. We investigated (a) the ability of students to ask questions related to their observations and findings in an inquiry-type experiment (a practical test) and (b) the ability of…

Although many examples of using problem-based learning and case studies in teaching science occur in the literature, instructors may still have questions about when, why, and how to use these strategies, especially in different class settings. In this article, I describe my experience in using these pedagogical methods in three different class…

Two distinct courses, "Molecular Biology" taught by the Biology Department and "Advanced Biochemistry" taught by the Chemistry Department, complement each other and, when taught in a coordinated and integrated way, can enhance student learning and understanding of complex material. "Molecular Biology" is a comprehensive lecture-based course with a…

Jmol is free, open source software for interactive molecular visualization. Since it is written in the Java[TM] programming language, it is compatible with all major operating systems and, in the applet form, with most modern web browsers. This article summarizes Jmol development and features that make it a valid and promising replacement for…

Materials science can be taught by applying organic light-emitting electrochemical thin-film devices and in this method students were allowed to make a light-emitting device by spin coating a thin film containing ruthenium (II) complex ions onto a glass slide. Through this laboratory method students are provided with the opportunity to learn about…