Several reports on science education suggest that students at all levels learn better if they are immersed in a project that is long term, yielding results that require analysis and interpretation. I describe a 12-wk laboratory project suitable for upper-level undergraduates and first-year graduate students, in which the students molecularly…

This quantitative study investigated the relationship between Chemistry students' scientific epistemologies and their perceptions of the nature of laboratory inquiry. Seventy-two Advanced Level Chemistry students were surveyed. The students were sampled from twelve schools in three of Zimbabwe's nine administrative provinces. Students' scientific…

The substitution of petroleum-based fuels with those from renewable sources has gained momentum worldwide. A UV-vis experiment for the quantitative analysis of biofuels (bioethanol or biodiesel) in (petroleum-based) diesel oil has been developed. Before the experiment, students were given a quiz on biofuels, and then they were asked to suggest a…

Zebra finch song behavior is sexually dimorphic: males sing and females do not. The neural system underlying this behavior is sexually dimorphic, and this sex difference is easy to quantify. During development, the zebra finch song system can be altered by steroid hormones, specifically estradiol, which actually masculinizes it. Because of the…

Little more than half of college freshmen will get a degree, but initiatives are emerging to boost college completion. The gap between access and completion has put a new focus on ramping up retention--the percentage of freshmen who return to the same institution for a second year of college. And that's a task, observers say, for precollegiate…

An advanced undergraduate laboratory project is described that integrates inorganic, analytical, physical, and biochemical techniques to reveal differences in binding between cationic metal complexes and anionic DNA (herring testes). Students were guided to formulate testable hypotheses based on the title question and a list of different metal…

This article describes a project designed to extend sixth-form pupils looking to further their knowledge and skill base in physics. This project involves a quantitative analysis of the decaying amplitude of a metal plate oscillating in a strong magnetic field; the decay of the amplitude is used to make estimates of the strength of the magnetic…

Experimental data are analysed statistically to allow researchers to draw conclusions from a limited set of measurements. The hard fact is that researchers can never be certain that measurements from a sample will exactly reflect the properties of the entire group of possible candidates available to be studied (although using a sample is often the…

The purpose of this investigation was to compare student attitudes toward two different science laboratory learning experiences, specifically, traditional, cookbook-style, low-inquiry level (LL) activities and a high-inquiry level (HL) investigative project. In addition, we sought to measure and compare students' science-related attitudes and…

There is a worldwide shortage of organs for transplantation. It has been shown that the attitude of healthcare professionals can improve the rates of organ donation, and that educational programs aimed at improving both attitudes and knowledge base of professionals can have positive outcomes. Although there has been research carried out on this…

Automatics and Robotics subjects are always greatly improved when classroom teaching is supported by adequate laboratory courses and experiments following the "learning by doing" paradigm, which provides students a deep understanding of theoretical lessons. However, expensive equipment and limited time prevent teachers having sufficient…

Anatomical education has traditionally used cadaveric material to study the human body, with both wet prosections and plastinated (PP) material commonly utilized. However, the frequency of use of these different preparation modes in a tertiary institution has not been previously examined. An audit of PP use in the Department of Anatomy and…

Personal narratives are integral to autobiographical memory and to identity, with coherent personal narratives being linked to positive developmental outcomes across the lifespan. In this article, we review the theoretical and empirical literature that sets the stage for a new lifespan model of personal narrative coherence. This new model…

Programmable logic devices (PLDs) are used at many universities in introductory digital logic laboratories, where kits containing a single high-capacity PLD replace "standard" sets containing breadboards, wires, and small- or medium-scale integration (SSI/MSI) chips. From the pedagogical point of view, two problems arise in these…

The rapid development in Internet technology and its big popularity has led some universities around the world to incorporate web-based learning in some of their programmes. The present paper introduces a comprehensive survey of the publications about using remote laboratories in electrical engineering education. Remote laboratories are web-based,…