Presents a laboratory experiment designed to help students understand the concept of diastolic blood pressure, the pressure during which the left ventricle of the heart is not contracting. Examines the effect of strenuous exercise on blood pressure. Includes materials needed, procedures, results, and discussion of the results. (MDH)

Presents examples of chemical education research that illustrate changes in focus, method, and direction over the past 50 years. Contains more than 50 references. (WRM)

Describes an interdisciplinary science laboratory course for non-majors that uses the history of science as a curricular guide. Profiles two sample projects that consider the importance of teachers to classroom dynamics and the institutional political context. (Author/WRM)

While babysitting or preparing home meals, young people (and adults too) sometimes overlook cleanliness procedures. One of the first employment opportunities for teenagers is often in a fast-food restaurant where the safe handling and proper cooking of foods is essential. To teach students about food safety practices, the U.S. Food and Drug…

Contemporary theories of learning postulate one or at most a small number of different learning mechanisms. However, people are capable of mastering a given task through qualitatively different learning paths such as learning by instruction and learning by doing. We hypothesize that the knowledge acquired through such alternative paths differs…

This paper describes the international co-operation experience in teaching control engineering with laboratories being conducted remotely by students via the Internet. This paper describes how the students ran the experiments and their personal experiences with the laboratory. A tool for process identification and controller tuning based on…

An important learning goal of a molecular biology curriculum is the attainment of a certain competence level in experimental design. Currently, undergraduate students are confronted with experimental approaches in textbooks, lectures and laboratory courses. However, most students do not reach a satisfactory level of competence in the designing of…

The purposes of this study were to (a) gain an understanding of the views of inquiry held by faculty members involved in undergraduate science teaching and (b) describe the challenges, constraints, and opportunities that they perceived in designing and teaching inquiry-based laboratories. Participants included 19 college professors, representing…

Inquiry-based laboratories are acknowledged as the preferred method of instruction for development of research skills. Much has been written about changes in student performance associated with inquiry, but less is known about how students view the inquiry-based format or whether they perceive a benefit from this type of instruction. The Student…

This book contains hands-on ocean-related laboratory activities. Major chapter hearings are: (1) "Water Experiments" (dealing with the physical nature of water and listing 10 activities); (2) "Ocean-Going Vessels" (studying the principles of boats, with three experiments); (3) "Experiments Using Shells" (containing four activities); (4) "Sand…

This study compared the effects of cooperative learning groups to traditional instruction in remediating students' misconceptions about temperature. Students from grades 3, 4, and 5 in two rural elementary schools participated in the study. Students completed a pretest, a cognitive conflict laboratory activity and a posttest that measured…

This study explored the impact of cooperative learning in a college level laboratory science course by comparing classes taught by a conventional lab-lecture technique. Students in a basic science skills course for preservice elementary teachers participated over a 14-week period. Instruments used were the Science Attitude Survey, Test of Logical…

The Engineering Department's vision for undergraduate education for the next century is to develop a set of laboratory experiences that are thoughtfully sequenced and integrated to promote the full development of students in all courses. Optoelectronics is one of the most important and most demanding courses in Electrical and Computer Engineering.…

This second volume in the Topics for Teachers series provides a wide range of activities designed to be both useful for teachers and informative for students. The investigations contained in this document are representative of some of the embodiments of important mathematical principles in the physical world. The activities included were chosen…

This technical report is in three parts. Part I is a conceptual treatment of communication in which the human being is viewed as a goal-attainment system. The goal-attainment problem is defined as a discrepancy between the current state of the system and a specified goal state. Several forms of the communicative relationship are outlined. Part II…