Identifies and quantifies the chemistry conceptions used by students when solving chemical equilibrium problems requiring application of LeChatelier's Principle, and explores the feasibility of designing a paper and pencil test to accomplish these purposes. Eleven prevalent incorrect student conceptions about chemical equilibrium were identified…

Reports on the "Chemistry School" Project which explored the practicalities of using multimedia in secondary school science departments. Finds that although multimedia has many benefits for subject teachers, the problems of using it in everyday teaching are quite complex. Argues that simply training teachers to use information and…

Describes a concrete teaching model designed to eliminate students' misconceptions about current flow in electrochemistry. The model uses a semi-permeable membrane rather than a salt bridge to complete the circuit and demonstrate the maintenance of cell neutrality. Concludes that use of the model led to improvement in students' understanding at…

Describes meta-analysis, a quantitative approach to conducting literature reviews. Illustrates the power of this technique by reporting the quantitative effects of cooperative learning on chemistry achievement in high school and college classes. (Contains 32 references.) (WRM)

The study examines how social and cultural factors mediate the teaching and learning of science in an Australian high school. Grade 10 students, many of them new migrants, often transient and from circumstances of economic hardship, were taught a 5-week unit on chemistry by a teacher with social and cultural histories similar to those of most of…

This study analyzes the impact of an integrated sensory model within a thermal equilibrium visualization. We hypothesized that this intervention would not only help students revise their disruptive experientially supported ideas about why objects feel hot or cold, but also increase their understanding of thermal equilibrium. The analysis…

In this article, we describe the results of a study of the pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) of preservice chemistry teachers in the context of a postgraduate teacher education program. A group of preservice teachers (n = 12) took part in an experimental introductory course module about the use of particle models to help secondary school…

In this article, the author relates how a hands-on chemistry investigation provided her the inspiration to develop an effective safety lesson for her third grade chemistry class. She began the lesson by demonstrating the use of pH indicator paper to show that ordinary household (white) vinegar was an acid. With the students, she wondered aloud…

Events in a community can lead to valuable learning experiences in science. By the end of the summer of 2001, the Green Knoll Fire had burned almost 4000 acres of forest south of Wilson, Wyoming. This article describes how students at the Journeys School of Teton Science Schools participated in a collaborative project with the United States Forest…

Studying the history of science helps students develop a sense of science (and mathematics) as a dynamic, human enterprise, and also provides a better understanding of the role that science has played in the development of various cultures. It also shows students how difficult it was for scientific innovations to break through the accepted ideas…

We describe an eight-week summer Young Scientist in Training (YSIT) internship program involving middle and high school students. This program exposed students to current basic research in molecular genetics, while introducing or reinforcing principles of the scientific method and demonstrating the uses of mathematics and chemistry in biology. For…

This study explores general-chemistry instructors' awareness of and ability to identify and address common student learning obstacles in chemical equilibrium. Reported instructor strategies directed at remediating student alternate conceptions were investigated and compared with successful, literature-based conceptual change methods. Fifty-two…

In classrooms from kindergarten to graduate school, researchers have identified target students as students who monopolize material and human resources. Classroom structures that privilege the voice and actions of target students can cause divisive social dynamics that may generate cliques. This study focuses on the emergence of target students,…

The World Wide Web is increasingly being used as a vehicle for flexible learning, where learning is seen to be free from time, geographical, and participation constraints. In addition to flexibility, the Web facilitates student-centered approaches, creating a motivating and active learning environment. The purpose of this study is to set up an…

In April 2003 the first European Science Olympiad took place in Dublin City University in Ireland. In this competition second level students were asked to carry out a number of tasks involving biology, physics and chemistry. Students had qualified initially in competitions in one of these subjects and were organised into integrated teams which…