In the past decade, a growing lack of engineers, natural scientists, information technology experts, and mathematicians has been noted, especially in Europe. Corresponding to the need to attract young people to science and technology, numerous extracurricular science labs ("out-of-school labs") have been established, especially in…

Microalgae have emerged as an attractive feedstock for the mass production of renewable transportation fuels due to their fast growth rate, flexible habitat preferences, and substantial oil yields. As an educational tool, a laboratory was developed that mimics emerging algal biofuel technology, including the extraction of algal lipids and…

In today's global society, with science and technology advancing at a rapid pace, issues about biological topics are common. A typical standards-based high school or general college-level biology classroom naturally lends itself to teaching issue-oriented science. In an issue-oriented classroom, students analyze and discuss personal, societal, and…

Nineteen informants (n = 19) were asked to study and comment two computer animations of the Otto combustion engine. One animation was non-interactive and realistic in the sense of depicting a physical engine. The other animation was more idealised, interactive and synchronised with a dynamic PV-graph. The informants represented practical and…

This qualitative study investigates the extent to which urban middle-school science teachers' beliefs about their students' astronomy learner characteristics were influenced by their partnership with an astronomer in their classroom. Twelve urban middle-school science teachers were interviewed after their participation in Project ASTRO during the…

The purpose of this article is to describe a best practice: an approach to teaching chemistry that our quantitative research has shown to produce large differences between experimental and control groups in terms of achievement, pro-environmental attitudes, values, and motivation. Our interest in teaching chemistry by focusing on sustainable…

After years of using Rube Goldberg-inspired projects to teach concepts of simple machines, the author sought a comparable project to reinforce electricity lessons in his ninth-grade Science and Technology course. The Friendship Detector gives students a chance to design, test, and build a complex circuit with multiple switches and battery-powered…

The purpose of this study was to determine if health-related fitness (HRF) knowledge is related to self-reported physical activity (PA) of high school students. Students (N=165) enrolled in physical education from two schools in the Southwestern U.S participated. A 100-point HRF knowledge test was assembled, focusing on the HRF concepts of…

Adaptation, interactions between species and their environments, and change over time are fundamental principles in biology. They represent aspects of two of the big ideas in science: evolution and natural selection. To help students understand these ideas, the authors developed the "Guppy Game." In this article, they describe the game and how…

Google Earth is an exciting way to engage students in scientific inquiry--the foundation of science education standards and reforms. The National Science Education Standards identify inquiry as an active process that incorporates questioning, gathering and analyzing data, and thinking critically about the interplay of evidence and explanations.…

Beer was chosen as a teaching tool to maximize students' class participation and systemize and enhance their knowledge of chemistry. Viewing beer as a complex mixture allowed the students to learn how to directly apply their chemistry knowledge. Before the "Beer Unit" students were instructed to research beer and acquire data on beer composition…

We present a simple and pedagogical derivation of the quantum adiabatic theorem for two-level systems (a single qubit) based on geometrical structures of quantum mechanics developed by Anandan and Aharonov, among others. We have chosen to use only the minimum geometric structure needed for the understanding of the adiabatic theorem for this case.…

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of inquiry-based agriscience instruction on student scientific reasoning. Scientific reasoning is defined as the use of the scientific method, inductive, and deductive reasoning to develop and test hypothesis. Developing scientific reasoning skills can provide learners with a connection to the…

Today more than ever, students want their school experience to be relevant. They live and learn in a media-saturated environment where information abounds, but wisdom is often lacking. Teachers must tie their science curricula to students' real-life experiences: When their students see the utility of scientific thought and reason in helping them…

The present study aims at exploring university students' knowledge of sound, especially their understandings of sound phenomena taught in formal science classrooms at junior high school. The participants are 30 university students attending literary courses. They were selected because they were considered to have had few opportunities to formally…