This case study examines the performances of 18 10th-grade students (age 15-16 years) in the process of performing problem-solving tasks in the physics and chemistry laboratory. The study focuses on different types of problems arising in the process of transferring responsibility to students in a context of teacher assistance to autonomous…

A study on the effect of a structured problem-solving strategy on problem-solving skills and conceptual understanding of physics was undertaken with 189 students in 16 disadvantaged South African schools. This paper focuses on the development of conceptual understanding. New instruments, namely a solutions map and a conceptual index, are…

Molecular evolution provides an interesting context in which to use problem-based learning because it integrates a variety of topics in biology, biochemistry, and molecular biology. This three-stage problem for advanced students deals with the structure, multiple functions, and properties of lactate dehydrogenase isozymes, and the related…

During the past few years the authors have developed a new approach to the teaching of physical science, a general education course typically found in the curricula of nearly every college and university. This approach, called "Physics in Films" (Efthimiou and Llewellyn 2006 Phys. Teach. 44 28-33), uses scenes from popular films to illustrate…

When learning, students yearn for meaning, challenge, and relevance. Integrated learning fulfills these desires by limiting the compartmentalization of learning--providing a more coherent learning environment. Too often, mathematics and the physical sciences are taught as separate entities. Yet, many commonalities exist, especially between…

This research consists of a longitudinal study of 12 female elementary preservice teachers' conceptual understanding over the course of several months. The context in which the participants received instruction was in an inquiry-based physics course, and the targeted science content was the cause of moon phases. Qualitative research methods,…

Appropriate technologies able to be easily and economically constructed from readily available materials by local craftspeople have a central role in the alleviation of poverty in the developing world. However, research and development of these technologies are generally apportioned relatively modest support by the developed world's institutions,…

There are many schools (grades K-12) around the country that offer some sort of science research option for students to pursue. Often this option is a local science fair, where students do smaller projects that are then presented at poster sessions. Many times the top local projects can advance to some type of regional and, possibly, state science…

The purpose of the current article is to examine the impact of laboratory demonstrations and computer visualizations on learning in a third-year fluid mechanics course at Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). As a first step, on entering the course, students were exposed to a laboratory demonstration focusing on the nature of…

We describe experiments on Benard-Marangoni convection which permit a useful understanding of the main concepts involved in this phenomenon such as, for example, Benard cells, aspect ratio, Rayleigh and Marangoni numbers, Crispation number and critical conditions. In spite of the complexity of convection theory, we carry out a simple and…

A "spring physics camp" for future physics teachers proved to be an interesting optional informal complement of the standard pre-service training. A scholarly programme at the camp is based mainly on small "miniprojects". This paper discusses the motivation and reasons for making such a camp, comments on some of its special features, presents…

Today's method of teaching the concept of falling bodies in French physics classes is ineffective, not only because it ignores the physical aspect of the phenomenon by addressing only its mathematical aspect, but also because it does not take into account students' initial conceptions, which are often incompatible with scientific knowledge. The…

An important result of physics education research is that students' learning and success in a course is correlated with their beliefs, attitudes, and expectations regarding physics. However, it is hard to assess these beliefs for individual students, and traditional survey instruments such as the Maryland Physics Expectations Survey (MPEX) are…

Preinstruction SAT scores and normalized gains (G) on the force concept inventory (FCI) were examined for individual students in interactive engagement (IE) courses in introductory mechanics at one high school (N=335) and one university (N=292), and strong, positive correlations were found for both populations (r=0.57 and r=0.46, respectively).…

It may not seem like school is the best place to crank up the bass for glass-cracking extreme energy, but subwoofers just might make better teaching and learning tools than they do music makers. Faced with the fact that electricity is invisible, electrical technology students encounter significant challenges in the classroom when abstract concepts…