In this kindergarten lesson about pushes and pulls, the authors used the SHARE strategy to embed effective questions throughout each phase of the 5E learning cycle (Engage, Explore, Explain, Evaluate, Elaborate). The thoughtfully worded and open-ended questions shared in this article can help students generate ideas and focus their thinking…

A common procedure when conducting physics experiments is to repeat a measurement several times to calculate the mean and standard deviation. That might be the only instruction we give to students as a means to minimize random errors. However, that technique does not guarantee that the answer will be correct. It might give the same wrong answer…

This November marks another anniversary of the collapse of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, an example appropriate to introductory science or physical sciences courses from grade school to university. The purpose of this brief submission is to add an element to this story, which, despite having been mentioned before, has not received the prominence it…

A laboratory exercise for undergraduate advanced students of enzymology and biocatalysis is presented. Since enzyme assays can be quenched or continuous, this experiment compares the performance of two quenching agents for lactase, in a continuous setup. Enzymatic activity of [beta]-galactosidase ("Aspergillus oryzae") was determined…

In the violin, the fundamental air cavity mode (the A0 mode) is associated with the sound radiated by the f-holes. The dependences of the sound velocity of the A0 frequency on gaseous temperature and mass were investigated. It was found that the frequency of the A0 mode changed, depending on the molecular weight and the temperature of the gas…

Contemporary views on physics education in high schools promote the need for students to develop their conceptual understanding about physics phenomena. However, teaching in this way requires specialized professional knowledge and for pre-service physics teachers, such knowledge needs to be scaffolded and developed. A strategy to support this…

Chemical screening libraries often feature natural product extracts (NPEs) due to the intriguing biological activities they possess and the structural diversity found in their individual components. A research project originally designed to create an extract library of every specimen in the University of Rhode Island (URI) Heber W. Youngken Jr.…

Although John Scopes and his famous "Monkey Trial" strongly influenced the ongoing evolution-creationism controversy, relatively little is known about Scopes's post-trial life. Moreover, many questions about his trial remain unanswered (e.g., did he actually teach evolution in Dayton?). This paper answers these questions with new…

One of the objectives in the science National Curriculum in England is to 'observe changes across the four seasons' (DfE, 2013: 9). The winter months can be a busy time for teachers, but can also cater for a wide range of science experiments based around the season. Practical investigations based on winter themes can hold a sense of magic and…

The Essential Principles and Fundamental Concepts described in Version 3 of this guide represent content that does not fall neatly within traditional science disciplines, but rather supports a focus on integrated science. Many Fundamental Concepts illustrate more than one Essential Principle. This guide presents a vision of an ocean-literate…

The traditional treatment of the electric circuit in textbooks can be criticized in at least three respects: A) Knowledge of the global aspects of the electric circuit as a system is essential for a deeper understanding. However, this is not sufficiently emphasized. B) The presentation of the term "potential difference" or…

The creation and evaluation of known evolutionary histories and the implementation of student investigatory experiences on evolution are difficult endeavors that have only recently been feasible. The research presented in this dissertation is related in their shared use of digital evolution with Avidians as a model study system, both to conduct…

This design case chronicles the efforts of an interdisciplinary team of researchers as they collaborated with middle grades science teachers and students to build and refine an epidemic disease curriculum module. The initial five-day design was delivered in five science classrooms at three nearby schools where researcher classroom observations and…

Engaging students in scientific argumentation is a hallmark of high-quality science instruction. Despite the importance of this practice, it is not a ubiquitous one within K-12 classrooms since scientific argumentation is complex and difficult to learn how to do well. In this study, we examined similarities and differences in how preservice…

The "Next Generation Science Standards" call for engaging K-12 students in three-dimensional learning, in which students make sense of phenomena or solve problems by simultaneously using science and engineering practices (SEPs), crosscutting concepts (CCCs), and disciplinary core ideas (DCIs). Decades of education research suggest…