Mathematical reasoning skills are a desired outcome of many introductory physics courses, particularly calculus-based physics courses. Novices can struggle to understand the many roles signed numbers play in physics contexts, and recent evidence shows that unresolved struggle can carry over to subsequent physics courses. Positive and negative…

We present a novel activity to demonstrate the Doppler shift of a sound wave, incident at an angle, upon a moving reflector. This activity is intended for use in an introductory physics laboratory focused on preparing students for the health and medical fields. The activity is designed to simulate Doppler velocity measurements from ultrasound…

Practical skills in chemistry are considered an essential outcome of an undergraduate chemistry degree. To achieve this, chemistry curricula are designated a substantial number of hours in teaching laboratories. However, the general method of a summative assessment of these sessions is through a written laboratory report and not through the actual…

Current K-12 and undergraduate students have grown up with constant exposure to visual popular culture (e.g., movies, TV programs, graphic novels, etc.). Because youth find pop culture references in the classroom to be engaging, many science and engineering instructors have shown that examples found in visual pop culture can be used to teach…

Computational thinking" (CT) is still a relatively new term in the lexicon of learning objectives and science standards. The term was popularized in an essay by Wing, who said, "To reading, writing and arithmetic, we should add computational thinking to every child's analytical ability." Agreeing with this premise, in 2013 the…

This comprehensive volume advances a vision of teacher preparation programs focused on core practices supporting ambitious science instruction. The book advocates for collaborative learning and building a community of teacher educators that can collectively share and refine strategies, tools, and practices. A renewed interest in practice-based…

A key aspect of learning in K-12 education is the idea that what students know and are able to do grows and evolves over time. Simple ideas learned in the early elementary grades gain levels of detail and complexity as students progress in their education. Connections between different topics and disciplines are made. Therefore, a key feature of…

Presently, it is possible to use virtual learning environments for simulating abstract and/or complex scientific concepts. Multimodal Virtual Learning Environments use multiple sensory stimuli, including haptic feedback, in the representation of concepts. Past research on the utilization of haptics for learning has shown inconsistent results when…

Teacher-student conversations are central to student learning within the science classroom. Educational literature recommends teachers aim to build a common scientific language and, through dialog, develop shared meanings with students. This study examines teacher-student conversations in the specific situation of an integrated science and…

Though extensively documented, the exact mechanism responsible for pattern formation on insect bristles and scales is not completely understood. Using both scanning and transmission electron microscopy, we assemble a rough time series of pattern formation on butterfly wing scales. We also perform a numerical simulation of the Swift-Hohenberg…

Poor results on the first exam in a course can be a shock to freshmen college students who found great success in high school. The experience can be demoralizing and put students in the mindset that academic success is out of reach. To convince such students that not only is academic success possible but readily achievable, I presented a 25-minute…

Despite the potential of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) to positively impact science education, educators require time and support to learn the standards and their implications for science teaching and learning in the classroom. The Hawai'i Department of Education adopted the NGSS in 2016. While schools received professional…

Interactive learning materials can be a more efficient and engaging way of studying physics than lecturing. This research aims to explore the use of interactive H5P video as an alternative to traditional teacher-led class presentations at the university physics practicum. The quasi-experimental research design was implemented with 60 undergraduate…

The use of virtual reality (VR) as a medium for education can contribute to the learning efficiency of students. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of VR application in advanced biology courses, specifically in enhancing the comprehension and understanding of high school students toward the topic of human organs and other related…

This study determined the efficacies of cognitive conflict and 5E instructional models on students' conceptual change achievement and self-efficacy in particulate nature of matter concepts in physics. In this study, non-equivalent groups quasi-experimental design was used. A sample of 195 senior secondary school year 1 students (SSI) with an…