Details an activity in which students use their natural inquisitiveness about their personal environment to investigate the composition of cigarette smoke. Includes techniques for measuring tar and carbon monoxide content. (DDR)

Describes the development and implementation of an investigative laboratory class. The new laboratory design has been determined to be a success by faculty, teaching assistants, and students. Includes a sample laboratory description. (DKM)

Describes the National ADC0804, an inexpensive and readily available integrated ADC converter that can convert an analog voltage to an 8-bit signal. Includes schematic drawings. (DDR)

Attempts to shed some light on the relationship between parents and mathematics teachers by examining the role that parents play in mathematics education reform at eight high schools and one laboratory school. (DDR)

Outlines some misconceptions and misunderstandings that underlie most dissection conflicts with the aim of making the dissection issue less volatile and one that generates fewer difficulties for students, teachers, and administrators. Lists published surveys of students' attitudes toward dissection and other animal uses in education. Discusses the…

Talks about the benefits of failure, both to the individual teacher and to the writing center as an institution. Examines the phenomenon of the hard-to-help student and how it leads scholar-teachers to reexamine their approaches and pedagogies. (TB)

Describes a series of hands-on experiments that engage students in hypothesis testing and promotes active learning of the concepts of evolution and adaptation. Laboratory exercises demonstrate how features of the hands and eyes distinguish primates from other mammals. (SOE)

Describes how to design school and university labs to comply with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards, focusing on counter height for students in wheelchairs; appropriate knee space and sink height in sink areas; ADA-compliant fume hoods; accessible laboratory doors and entryways; and safety concerns (e.g., emergency eyewash stations…

Describes a repeat-measure study that provided data regarding learning styles based on social interaction and perceptions of a scientific collaboratory system from 40 university science students working face-to-face and remotely. Results showed students with strong competitive learning style preference had slightly more positive perceptions of the…

Notes that the number of second language writers in composition classes and seeking assistance at university writing centers is growing every year. Explores some insights offered by second language acquisition research. Argues that writing centers may be an ideal place for second language writers to work on their writing. (PM)

Presents an activity on chemical changes and experimentation with testing the roles of various reactants in accomplishing the changes. (Author/KHR)

Presents a laboratory activity on enzymes. Uses common items found in the supermarket that contain protease enzymes, such as contact lens cleaner and meat tenderizer. Demonstrates the digestion of gelatin proteins as part of enzymatic reactions. (Author/SOE)

Three experiments were performed to study the relationship between reinforcer quality and behavioral momentum by varying reinforcer quality in two applied experiments and a basic laboratory experiment with rats. A study of two adolescent boys with mental retardation showed that compliance increasing effects could be improved by reinforcing…

Virtual Reality (VR) offers benefits to engineering education. This article defines VR and describes types; outlines reasons for using VR in engineering education; provides guidelines for using VR; presents a model for determining when to use VR; discusses VR applications; and describes hardware and software needed for a low-budget VR and…

A study of the processes by which 24 grade-12 Australian physics students brought order to their observations and practices shows that the phenomena students construct from their laboratory work (not always accurate) develop from connections among the embodied practices of language and physical action, their world, and social relations. (SLD)