A Michigan court has ruled that a Wayne State University (Michigan) chemistry professor appropriated a trade secret from a Massachusetts chemist for whom he was consulting and incorporated it into his own patent application, violating a written agreement. The university contends its pursuit of the patent was not improper. (MSE)

Many of the characteristics that make the Windows 3.1 software popular in other settings are useful for instruction. Features and accessories that can enhance teacher productivity include task switching, object linking and embedding, and object packaging. Users can take advantage of Windows-compatible shareware (an example suitable for chemistry…

Discusses how laboratory skills or experiences learned in a chemistry course can be used to help students to better understand physics. (ZWH)

Presents an introduction to a unit on the periodic table in which students are asked to assume the roles of the element families. (MKR)

Discusses the implementation of a theory of early introduction of research themes as a method for motivating students to study the fundamentals of chemistry at the University of South Dakota. Notes the cost and benefits of this approach and assesses its immediate impact by virtue of student surveys. (LZ)

When disequilibrium is integrated into the high school chemistry curriculum, students are challenged by phenomena that cause them to question previously held beliefs. They then develop possible explanations and design methods to test their hypotheses. Discovery learning encourages in-depth concept development, independent problem solving, and…

Discusses what a functional chemical information workstation should provide to support the users in an academic library and examines how it can be implemented. Highlights include basic design considerations; natural language interface, including grammar-based, context-based, and statistical methodologies; expert system interface; and programming…

Addresses the hypothesis that a shift toward more widely-available, less comprehensive workstation indexes is changing the nature of academic library research (based on statistical data from the chemistry library at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign). Topics include an explanation of Zipf's "Principle of Least Effort" and…

Discusses the high school framework and standards developed by the National Science Teachers Association in the subjects of physics, chemistry, biology, and earth and space sciences. (MKR)

Describes the process of development and representative parts of new organic chemistry studyware. (22 references) (Author/MKR)

Presents key points of an on-line conference discussion and integrates them with information from the literature. Key points included: computer as a tool for learning, study, research, and communication; hardware, software, computing concepts, and other teaching concerns; and the appropriate place for chemistry computer-usage instruction. (45…

Describes safety hazards encountered when placing squash balls into liquid nitrogen. Suggests using racquet balls, balloons, or economical Ping-Pong balls. (MVL)

The measurement of the affective (qualitative) influences of computer-assisted interactive video instruction on the learner and attendant enhancements for the overall learning experience are highlighted. Formal factors considered are interactivity via buttons and other event-oriented objects, hypertext, semantic memory, and successive…

Proposes the science show as a means to increase science awareness and interest among middle school students to increase future student enrollment and interest in high school science. Provides eight steps to help ensure a successful program. (MDH)

Evaluated and compared 12 science textbooks with respect to their readability levels and agreement with the intended reader level. Four of the books were determined to be unsatisfactory for their intended grade levels. (20 references) (MDH)