The online flipped classroom (OFC) has emerged as a new teaching method in universities worldwide, which combines asynchronous and synchronous online learning. OFC differs from the traditional flipped classroom as it does not involve face-to-face interaction between teachers and students. Instead, the class meeting is conducted online, and it is…

The problem-based learning (PBL) methodology has been applied in a set of chemistry courses at the University of Barcelona to determine the main factors that are relevant to a satisfactory application of this educational approach in different contexts (from undergraduate to master subjects). The exceptional situation resulting from the COVID-19…

This paper illustrates the integration of the hybrid Problem-Based Learning (PBL) approach in the development of the prototype C[superscript 2]HADAM, a multimedia courseware that is intended for the teaching and learning of the Science subject for form two students in Malaysian secondary schools. The discussion begins with the Constructivist…

A qualified teaching method is hard to achieve without traditional classroom lessons. For learning purposes, students need to interact and influence each other, like being part of an osmotic process. They need to learn in a stimulating environment, developing the ability to manage conflicts and to compare opinions. How can this be possible during…

As scientific literacy plays a contributing role in identifying, analysing, and solving environmental matters that our world is facing, there is growing consensus to mandate environmental matters in science classrooms following five decades of efforts in promoting environmental education. However, much remains unknown about the relationship…

It is a well known fact that the Earth carries a net negative charge that produces a downward electrostatic field. The present experiment shows how this field can be measured with a Field Mill which has been constructed from components readily available in the Laboratory. In fine weather conditions a value of 120 (±10) V m[superscript -1] was…

A surprising phenomenology from a traditional demonstration experiment in Geometrical Optics reveals here an interesting matter of discussion and analysis. Hence, the main focus of this paper is to observe and discuss such an innovative phenomenology.

It has been noted that the static friction force poses challenges for students and, at times, even their instructors. Unlike the gravitational force, which has a precise and unambiguous magnitude (F[subscript G] = mg), the magnitude and direction of the static friction force depend on other forces at play. Friction can be understood rather well in…

The compatibility of the Newtonian formulation of mechanical energy and the transformation equations of Galilean relativity is demonstrated for three simple examples of motion treated in most introductory physics courses (free fall, a frictionless inclined plane, and a mass/spring system). Only elementary concepts and mathematics, accessible to…

The author has acquired a yellow laser with the specific wavelength of 589 nm. Because this is the first time such a laser has been discussed in this journal, I feel it is appropriate to provide a discussion of its function and capabilities. Normal laser safety should be employed, such as not pointing it into eyes or at people, and using eye…

While Physics Education Research has a rich tradition of problem-solving scholarship, most of the work has focused on more traditional, well-defined problems. Less work has been done with ill-structured problems, problems that are better aligned with the engineering and design-based scenarios promoted by the Next Generation Science Standards. This…

As the partisan divide becomes more toxic to civil discourse, the role of science in that conversation also suffers from collateral damage, becoming suspect at best, and marginalized at worse, in terms of its contribution to resolving issues rooted in science having national and global significance. The authors suggest ameliorating that damage by…

Science and art are traditionally represented as two disciplines with completely divergent goals, methods, and public. It has been claimed that, if rightly addressed, science and art education could mutually support each other. In this paper I propose the recurrent reference to certain famous paintings during the ordinary progress of physics…

Much of analytical chemistry involves the analysis of complex mixtures, where careful attention to sample preparation and method selectivity is required to avoid interferents and obtain accurate data. As this type of analysis is very different from simple colorimetric analysis that most students are exposed to in general chemistry, this laboratory…

The derivation for the Gibbs phase rule, provided in physical chemistry text books, often assumes that all the components are present in all the phases coexisting at equilibrium. However, very often we have situations where all the phases at equilibrium do not have all the components, the binary eutectic system being a classic example. The melt…