Drawing a schematic energy diagram for the decomposition of H[subscript 2]O[subscript 2] catalyzed by MnO[subscript 2] through a simple thermometric measurement outlined in this study is intended to integrate students' understanding of thermochemistry and kinetics of chemical reactions. The reaction enthalpy, delta[subscript r]H, is…

There is increasing evidence of a gap between curricular requirements and what students actually want to know. One of the factors influencing what is taught in the classroom is teachers' attitudes towards integrating their students' interests. This study investigated what prompts high-school teachers who prepare students for national matriculation…

Mikhail Geraskov is a distinguished Bulgarian educator from the first half of the twentieth century, who developed the scientific foundations of didactics and methodology of training. His work contributed a lot to the development of the Bulgarian pedagogy. The subject of scientific research is didactical conceptions and methodological conceptions…

This article describes the Exploring Experimental Design lesson, which uses a Pictionary-style approach to introduce the elements of the third science and engineering practice: Planning and Carrying Out Investigations, found in "A Framework for K-12 Science Education" (NRC 2012) and the "Next Generation Science Standards"…

Data literacy is complex. When students investigate the natural world, they must be able to gather data, organize it in tables and spreadsheets, analyze it in context, and describe and interpret it--usually as evidence to support a scientific argument. These skills are echoed in the science and engineering practices of the "Next Generation…

The "Next Generation Science Standards" (NGSS) focus attention on integrating engineering and math in science instruction. The dinosaur trackway project described in this article shows that it is possible to assign engineering applications to students in disciplines other than physics and to integrate math and engineering applications in…

This activity introduces the science of "forensic palynology": the use of microscopic pollen and spores (also called "palynomorphs") to solve criminal cases. Plants produce large amounts of pollen or spores during reproductive cycles. Because of their chemical resistance, small size, and morphology, pollen and spores can be…

This article reports a study into how mobile phones could be used to enhance teaching and learning in secondary school science. It describes four lessons devised by groups of Sri Lankan teachers all of which centred on the use of the mobile phone cameras rather than their communication functions. A qualitative methodological approach was used to…

This paper describes an interactive tool for analysis of data from the ATLAS experiment taking place at the world's highest energy particle collider at CERN. The tool, called HYPATIA/applet, enables students of various levels to become acquainted with particle physics and look for discoveries in a similar way to that of real research.

In this paper we present a study on the difficulties secondary school students experience in interpreting textbook images of elementary astronomical phenomena, namely, the changing of the seasons, Sun and lunar eclipses and Moon phases. Six images from a commonly used textbook in Italian secondary schools were selected. Interviews of 45 min about…

The paper describes a set of physics demonstration experiments where thermal sensitive foils are used for the detection of the two dimensional distribution of temperature. The method is used for the demonstration of thermal conductivity, temperature change in adiabatic processes, distribution of electromagnetic radiation in a microwave oven and…

The esterification reaction of salicylic acid with ethanol is performed in presence of dissolved 12-tungstophosphoric Brønsted-Lowry acid catalyst, a Keggin-type polyoxometalate (POM). The monitoring of the reaction with smell and the recovery of the catalyst with sight is presented. Formation of the sweet-scented ester is apparent from the smell.…

Background: Until recently, the affective components of education had long been undervalued. Today, one finds ever more studies on cognitive and affective interrelationships that are lending support to the idea that affect and cognition are best understood when viewed as independent and complementary mental functions. Purpose: The present work…

The purposes of this activity are to help middle school students understand the carbon cycle and realize how human activities affect the carbon cycle. This activity consists of two parts. The first part of the activity focuses on the carbon cycle, especially before the Industrial Revolution, while the second part of the activity focuses on how…

In this paper, we report a case study of a 16-year-old Swedish upper secondary student's developing understanding of key concept areas studied in his upper secondary school chemistry course. This study illustrates how the thinking of an individual learner, Jesper, evolves over a school year in response to formal instruction in a particular…