An e-book usage survey was sent through departmental mailing lists to the graduate students, scientists and faculty members of the Chemistry Department and Biology Department of Indiana University, Bloomington (IUB). Several faculty members, scientists and graduates students from the Chemistry Department and Biology Department were also contacted…

Polymers are materials with vast environmental and economic ramifications, yet are generally not discussed in secondary education science curricula. We describe a program in which college mentors develop and implement hands-on, polymer-related experiments to supplement a standard, state regents-prescribed high school chemistry course, as well as a…

We investigated the effectiveness of reusable learning objects (RLOs) when delivered in a workshop or released for self-study with groups of student-nurses studying chemistry. Analysis of examination results showed that the proportion of students answering chemistry questions correctly increased significantly in both the workshop and self-study…

One of the characteristics of teaching chemistry through inquiry is that teachers need to encourage students to design their experimental procedures. Although the benefits of inquiry teaching are well documented in the literature, few teachers implement it in schools. The purpose of this study was to develop a guided-inquiry scale (GIS) to measure…

This paper describes the potential of long-term co-operation between science educators and science teachers concerning the teachers' continuous professional development, based on Participatory Action Research in science education. The discussion is based on a six-year case study observing a group of about ten German chemistry teachers by chemistry…

Where you live should have something to do with what you teach. In the Arctic, the idea of place-based education--teaching and sharing knowledge that is needed to live well--is central to the UARCTIC consortium and the 4th International Polar Year educational reform effort. A place-based issue oriented context can engage students in chemistry…

In this study, the effect of animation enhanced conceptual change texts (CCT-CA) on grade 6 students' understanding of the particulate nature of matter (PNM) and transformation during the phase changes was investigated. A quasi-experimental design and one control group (CG, N = 25) and one experimental group (EG, N = 26) were used. While the…

This exploratory study examines how a series of laboratory activities designed using a new instructional model, called Argument-Driven Inquiry (ADI), influences the ways students participate in scientific argumentation and the quality of the scientific arguments they craft as part of this process. The two outcomes of interest were assessed with a…

This paper describes the results of a pedagogical experience carried out at the University of Comahue, Argentina, with an interactive text (IT) concerning Homogeneous Chemical Reactors Analysis. The IT was built on the frame of the "Mathematica" software with the aim of providing students with a robust computational tool. Students'…

The nature of laboratory work has changed in the past decade. One example is a shift from working individually or in pairs on single traditional verification experiments to working collaboratively in larger groups in inquiry and research-based laboratories, over extended periods in and outside of the lab. In this increased era of collaboration, we…

This laboratory experiment was developed to provide a safe, economical, and effective way to instruct undergraduate organic chemistry students about the unimolecular nucleophilic substitution (S[subscript N]1) reaction. Students treat 2,5-dimethyl-2,5-hexanediol with excess concentrated hydrochloric acid to synthesize…

A handheld digital microscope (HDM) interfaced to a computer with a presentation projector is used to project an out-of-focus yellow patch on the screen, then the patch is brought into focus to show that, paradoxically, there are red and green but no yellow pixels. Chromaticity diagrams are used to discuss this observation and spectroscopic…

A case is described of the development of a lesson plan for 10th grade (age range 15-16) chemistry classes on the chemistry of shower gels. The lesson plan follows a socio-critical and problem-oriented approach to chemistry teaching. This means that, aside from learning about the basic chemistry of the components making up modern shower gels in…

An interdisciplinary and context-driven course focused on global water issues was developed and taught at the college level. Students designed a semester-long research project, collected and analyzed data, and ultimately presented their results and conclusions to the larger community. As a result of the course, students' science literacy improved…

This paper describes a graduate-level class project centered on editing chemistry-related entries in Wikipedia. This project enables students to work collaboratively, explore advanced concepts in chemistry, and learn how to communicate science to a diverse audience, including the general public. The format and structure of the project is outlined…