We present the development and validation of a construct map addressing introductory quantum mechanics topics at the high school level, as a subset of a larger learning progression on quantum mechanics. Topics include energy quantization, photon absorption and emission, the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, atom stability, orbitals, wave function,…

Systems thinking is the ability to reason about biological systems in terms of their characteristics and can assist students in developing a coherent understanding of biology. Literature reports about several recommendations regarding teaching systems thinking, while it seems that systems thinking has not reached classroom practice. The main aim…

This study aims to investigate textbook tasks in the Norwegian school subject Natural sciences and the views of science that the tasks mediate to the pupils. Natural science is an interdisciplinary subject taught in Years 1-11 that includes chemistry, physics, biology and parts of the geosciences. We conducted a qualitative content analysis of…

Educational research supports incorporating active engagement into K-12 education using authentic STEM experiences. While there are discipline-specific resources to provide students with such experiences, there are limited transdisciplinary opportunities that integrate engineering education and technological skill-building to contextualize core…

This study reports the effectiveness of nanoscience activities in enhancing secondary school students' understanding of two chemistry concepts: structure of atom and acid and bases. For the purpose of this study, quasi experiment was employed to 163 Grade 10 students from the Northern Region of Malaysia. Sample from the experimental group was…

To promote the integration of aesthetic education into chemistry education, this study designed activities to photograph precipitation reaction experiments with a smartphone, thereby combining experimental inquiry with artistic creation across disciplines. These activities were divided into (i) perceiving, (ii) appreciating, (iii) exploring, and…

Within two sections of science methods for elementary and middle-school teachers, an embedded, multi-case study design was employed to explore whether teaching rehearsals would better prepare preservice teachers (PSTs) to implement explanation-driven science instruction. A teaching rehearsal allows PSTs to practice teaching a segment of their…

The COVID-19 challenge found many instructors in unchartered territory. While some had experience in planning flipped or blended lessons, switching to 100% online instruction was unfamiliar. Many educators faced the problems of too many resources to sift through and too little time to master them before beginning online instruction. While numerous…

Three-dimensional visualization of molecular simulations in virtual reality (VR) is an emerging teaching tool in chemical education. This work describes a VR application which can generate a 3D molecular dynamics (MD) simulation from arbitrary molecular structures and renders that MD simulation trajectory on a VR headset in real-time. This system…

Mass spectrometry is one of the few instrumental analysis techniques that can be relatively well-understood with physics/chemistry knowledge typical of an advanced high school or a beginning undergraduate student. This positions mass spectrometry well to be used as a bridge between abstract concepts typically set as learning goals in courses at…

This work describes a two-year project carried out in an Italian technical high school. Through integrated work, the activity involved the efforts of different teachers and students, particularly those in the Chemical, Electronic, and IT departments. They merged their complementary skills to create an inexpensive device that quickly measures water…

Studies on student learning of scientific concepts have shown that students often experience various difficulties in understanding basic physics concepts such as vector quantities, as a result of formal and informal learning. The purpose of the present study is to document Grade 11 students' difficulties in understanding vectors and their…

Smartphones, coupled with small mobile sensors, make it possible to work with near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy in science classrooms. NIR spectroscopy has become a standard analytical technology in various industries. These new devices enable students to create their own data in real time. This article presents an inquiry-based teaching unit, in…

As soon as children can see, they observe that objects fall freely. From a young age, we spontaneously construct interpretative models to understand this everyday phenomenon. Over the last three decades, numerous experiments have been developed to help students understand physics concepts regarding free fall. Although there are many…

We describe the design and manufacture of a classroom set of devices that simultaneously measures and records the resistivity of four conductive elements (superconductor, semiconductor, metal alloy, and pure metal) as a function of temperature. The unique nature of this multi-semester project was that these devices would be designed, machined and…