Teachers participating in curricular reforms, especially reforms based on constructivism, are expected to bring about change in their teaching approach. This is often a difficult, complex and intensive process, and demands a radical reculturing of the classroom. This is also the case for social constructivist reforms in chemistry education, which…

How to improve students' understanding of energy transformation and conservation remains one of the main challenges of energy teaching. To address this challenge, we developed a new teaching strategy suited to high school based on history and philosophy of science (HPS). It involves five key ingredients: study and reproduction of Joule's…

This paper examines the use of social media as a collaborative and engagement tool for participants in a middle school science research project conducted over a three-year period. Sky Stories is a learning initiative that employs a blend of Indigenous and Western knowledge of astronomy to engage Year 5-8 middle school students in investigative…

Creating and using models are essential skills in chemistry. Novices and experts alike rely on conceptual models to build their own personal mental models for predicting and explaining molecular processes. There is evidence that chemistry students lack rich mental models of the molecular level; their mental models of reaction mechanisms have often…

Inquiry-based learning (IBL) is a requirement of school science education in Australia. Numerous student-centred strategies have been referred to as inquiry-based teaching (IBT), resulting in a lack of understanding of the exact nature of inquiry-based science learning within the science teaching profession. This article describes three essential…

A pair of galvo mirrors reflecting light from a laser pointer is suggested for use as a school demonstration of Lissajous figures. The device is small, cheap and easy to assemble. Combined with a two-channel waveform generator, a full spectrum of excellently stable Lissajous figures can be generated (concerning frequency ratio, amplitude ratio and…

The implementation of an integrated approach to upper-level undergraduate chemistry laboratory instruction that incorporates student choice both in the selection and sequencing of the experimental work is presented. The approach involves combining laboratory work in several traditional subdisciplinary areas of chemistry in a single course.…

In order to introduce the concept of covalent organic frameworks (COFs), an important class of predictable crystalline porous polymers, an integrated laboratory experiment for advanced organic chemistry students is reported. The importance of these kind of polymers and their multiple applications are presented as a part of key concepts in polymer…

A lot of attention has been given to the role failure plays in learning and innovation. Yet, we know little about the conditions necessary for the experience to result in positive outcomes. In this study, we sought to answer three research questions: (1) What is the relationship among attend, interpret, and respond when experiencing failures…

Recently, manuscripts that use bioinformatics tools to convert proteins and other biological materials into music have appeared in several journals. The authors claim that this type of studies adds joy to education of life sciences and attract public attention to biochemistry education along with other uses. We thought the reverse of the process…

The Force Concept Inventory is a multiple-choice test and is one of the most popular and most analyzed concept inventories. It is used to investigate student understanding of Newtonian mechanics. A structured approach to data analysis can transform it in a "diagnostic" instrument that can validate inferences about student thinking. In…

The introduction of the Wireless Smart Cart by PASCO scientific in April 2016 has ushered in a paradigm shift in the design and implementation of low-cost undergraduate physics and engineering laboratory experiments. The use of smartphones in experimental physics is by now widely accepted and documented. The smart cart in combination with…

A single laboratory exercise in introductory physics that includes a bit of calculus, a little programming, some breadboard wiring, and making mathematical connections between motion, net force, and power provides a nice STEM experience for students. If you can add in a biomechanics component you hopefully have something that overall can be an…

Nowadays the majority of young people are exposed to a wide and constantly rising range of stimuli by different media. This sensory overload leads to higher stress levels and therefore decreases the ability to concentrate and focus. Laboratory work, however, requires high concentration in order to achieve reliable results under safe conditions.…

This paper was inspired by the work of a previous contributor on the subject of modelling plague epidemiology by comparing it to the physics of series radioactive decay, RC transients, and fluid dynamics. An Arduino-based experiment to illustrate the fluid-dynamical case is described. Attention is drawn to important differences between systems…