The importance of how classroom discourse can be used to support science learning has gained national attention with respect to both science teaching and research across K12 and higher education. In this review article, we examine a commonly referenced set of nine frameworks for use in "science" classrooms. Specifically, we examine the…

The goals of science education include providing students with real-world learning experiences that connect directly to learning objectives and deepen student interest in science. Learning experiences that occur outside of the science classroom can help science educators respond to these goals. To encourage the use of learning environments beyond…

The liquid nitrogen cloud demonstration is an effective, dramatic, large-scale demonstration to illustrate gas laws and cloud/fog (aerosol) formations for classes and large-scale outreach events. When performed at full scale, it is common to produce a cloud 20-30 feet in height. Its effect can be further enhanced by adding brightly colored…

Despite the pivotal role that science now plays in everyday life, and countless viable future career options for children, in many cases it is still considered less of a 'core subject' than its curriculum relatives -- namely English and maths. While this has been helped in recent years with a greater emphasis on STEM subjects, there is still some…

Science denial has a long history of causing harm in contemporary society when ignored. Recent discussions of science denial suggest that correcting people's false beliefs rarely has an impact on eliminating the adherence to false beliefs and assumptions, which is called the backfire effect. This paper brings the backfire effect within the context…

The purpose of this exploratory study was to investigate if neuroscience, a contemporary example of science-in-the-making, provides a useful domain for contextualized Nature of Science (NOS) instruction. Six pre-service teachers (PSTs) enrolled in an NOS course participated, where the focus of this study was on how NOS views changed as a result of…

Reaction coordinate diagrams (RCDs) are an important tool used to visualize the energetics of a chemical reaction. RCDs provide information about the kinetics of the reaction, the mechanism by which the reaction occurs, and the relative thermodynamic stability of the molecules in a reaction. Previous research studies have characterized student…

The paper examines how science teachers' instructional adaptations to Toulmin's Argumentation Pattern (TAP), made during the first time the framework is introduced to students as a learning heuristic for structuring their arguments, could contribute to the way the quality of students' arguments is evaluated. We first depict these adaptations, that…

A Foldscope is an ultra-affordable paper microscope with a magnification up to 2000X and 2 micron resolution. It is economic, durable and easy to handle tool for scientific studies. Many govt. schools of Kamrup district, Assam found it difficult to use microscope in their regular practical classes for its complexity and high cost. For…

The National Academy of Science has published studies showing strong scientific evidence that global warming is caused by human consumption of fossil fuels, yet recent surveys have shown young adults in the U.S. are disengaged or disagree with this fact. Accordingly, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)…

Artificial intelligence (AI) is receiving a lot of attention in various fields. There is a need for educating students in AI technology. In this context, we have created a new type of carbon dioxide fountain by integrating AI with the well-established Arduino-carbon dioxide fountain experiment. This experiment consists of an Arduino…

This paper demonstrates the use of a smartphone's sensors in recording experimental data for investigating the large angle of a physical pendulum. The smartphone (iPhone 5s) was attached to a beam to record simultaneously both the angular position and the angular speed of the beam oscillating about the pivot. The period and phase space of the…

A handheld refractometer (HHR) is a versatile instrument in the chemistry lab or in the workplace. It is also inexpensive enough (<$25 U.S.) that all students in a chemistry lab can have one or students completing laboratories remotely can purchase one. We report four applications of two different HHRs: one HHR for which the scale reads…

This experimental lab set is for students taking college chemistry courses. It includes four laboratory works and completely illustrates the important parts of chemical kinetics, namely the determination of the rate constant and the determination of the factors influencing its value. They can be used in a laboratory set for a physical chemistry…

By building a schlieren optical system, the visualization of a 40 KHz sound wave is realized. By using the schlieren system, the demonstration of acoustic reflection, interference and diffraction can be easily realized. At the same time, the visual acoustic field provides another simple way for the measurement of sound velocity. In this paper, the…