This study examines how students explain their conceptual understanding of protein function using visualizations. Thirteen upper secondary students, four tertiary students (studying chemical biology), and two experts were interviewed in semi-structured interviews. The interviews were structured around 2D illustrations of proteins and an animated…

In his article, "Reflections on 50 years of teaching psychology", James Hartley concludes that the teaching of psychology has changed relatively little over the past several decades. Hartley begins his paper on a personal note with recollections of his first university teaching experience at Keele University. In his paper Hartley…

Background. The purpose of this study was to examine the cross-sectional and longitudinal influence of specific social-cognitive variables on students' physical activity behavior across the first college year. Methods. First-year college students (N = 406) from a regional higher education institution participated. Email solicitation was sent to…

Socratic dialogue-inducing (SDI) labs are based on Arnold Arons' half-century of ethnographic research, listening carefully to students' responses to probing Socratic questions on physics, science, and ways of thinking, and culminating in his landmark "Teaching Introductory Physics." They utilize "interactive engagement" methods and are designed,…

Understanding of the nature of science is key to the development of new curricular materials that mirror the practice of science. Three problem types (project level, synthetic planning, and day-to-day) in synthetic organic chemistry emerged during a thematic content analysis of the research experiences of eight practising synthetic organic…

The recent increase in use of digital devices such as laptop computers, iPads, and web-enabled cell phones has generated concern about how technologies affect student performance. Combining observation, survey, and interview data, this research assesses the effects of technology use on student attitudes and learning. Data were gathered in eight…

The aim of this paper is to determine the acceleration due to gravity "g", using a simple and low-cost experimental device. The time taken for a metallic ball to travel a predetermined distance is measured and recorded by a series of optical sensors. Four pairs of sensors are placed along the external surface of a vertical methacrylate tube at…

This article is devoted to practical aspects of teaching and learning of probability at university. It presents the difficulties and attitudes of first-year university science and engineering students towards using paradoxes and counterexamples as a pedagogical strategy in teaching and learning of probability. It also presents a student's point of…

Grasping the dynamics of molecular phenomenon appears to be rather challenging for students in the context of life science. To pursue the origin of such difficulties this paper investigates students' (n = 43) meaning making, in interaction with peers and an animation, of the dynamic process of ATP-synthase. To support this inquiry we introduce the…

Finding the time for developing or locating new class materials is one of the biggest barriers for instructors reforming their teaching approaches. Even instructors who have taken part in training workshops may feel overwhelmed by the task of transforming passive lecture content to engaging learning activities. Learning cycles have been…

Few studies have focused specifically on the role that language plays in learning chemistry. We report here an investigation into the ability of language comprehension measures to predict performance in university introductory chemistry courses. This work is informed by theories of language comprehension, which posit that high-skilled…

The idea of ''flipping the classroom'' to make class time more engaging and student-centred has gained ground in recent years. The lecture portion of General Chemistry I and General Chemistry II courses were pushed outside the classroom using pre-recording technology and streaming delivery of content, in order to make in-class time more…

Laboratory sections of university Earth science courses provide hands-on, inquiry-based activities for students in support of lecture and discussion. Here, I compare student conceptual knowledge outcomes of laboratory sections by administering an independent concept inventory at the beginning and end of two courses: one that had a lecture and a…

In this paper, we describe the development and evaluation of a microworld-based learning environment for neuroscience. Our system, BrainExplorer, allows students to discover the way neural pathways work by interacting with a tangible user interface. By severing and reconfiguring connections, users can observe how the visual field is impaired and,…

This article describes the conversion of a lecture-based molecular biology course into an active learning environment in a studio classroom. Specific assignments and activities are provided as examples. The goal of these activities is to involve students in collaborative learning, teach them how to participate in the learning process, and give…