Lab safety begins with the teacher. Teachers must make learning how to be safe an integral and important part of their professional development and work. Teachers who are unfamiliar with laboratory instruction should take whatever steps necessary to prepare for the unique challenges associated with safety in conducting laboratory investigations…

Science teachers often have two different curricula--the ideal framework on paper and the real, day-to-day instructional program that occurs in the classroom. A number of factors can affect how much of that ideal framework is accomplished. For example, how a facility is designed and how space is used can affect student achievement, classroom…

The high school science laboratory provides a natural environment for students to learn through scientist-teacher partnerships. Scientists represent an excellent resource for teachers and students: They possess specialized knowledge and skills, have access to laboratory equipment and materials, and are immersed in a culture of collaborative…

At the 102nd annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) in Salt Lake City, Utah, members of the Genome Consortium for Active Teaching and faculty from around the world gathered to discuss educational genomics. The focus of the gathering was a series of presentations by faculty who have successfully incorporated genomics and…

Membrane transport is a fundamental concept that undergraduate students of cell biology understand better with laboratory experience. Formal teaching exercises commonly used to illustrate this concept are unbiological, qualitative, or intricate and time consuming to prepare. We have developed an exercise that uses uptake of radiolabeled nutrient…

The purpose of this brief paper is to provide insight into the kinds of work being done by an education research group in a US physics department. As will be evident, instructional technology raises many interesting questions and lends itself to a wide variety of studies. References and contacts are provided for readers wanting more detailed…

This study investigated associations between teacher-student interaction and students' attitudes towards chemistry among 497 tenth grade students from three independent schools in Singapore. Analyses supported the reliability and validity of a 48-item version of the Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction (QTI). Statistically significant gender…

The purpose of this study was to investigate (a) what effect the use of interactive computer-based simulations (ICBSs), the use of laboratory inquiry-based experiments (LIBEs), and the use of combinations of an ICBS and a LIBE, in a conceptually oriented physics course, have on science teachers' beliefs about and attitudes toward the use of these…

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's unmanned mission to Mars has inspired students throughout the United States and abroad to take part in a variety of science lessons and projects. These particular students get to sit down the hall from the Mars Exploration Rover navigational team and work on projects directly related to the…

Provides background information and considers a number of issues raised with reference to science education in Palestine. Presents survey results that show a need for more science laboratory rooms in all secondary schools, a reorganization of current rooms, improvements in the evaluation process in the laboratory class, and greater coverage of…

This research investigated the extent to which science laboratory experiences encountered by Utah high school students aligned with reform efforts outlined in national standards documents. Through both quantitative and qualitative methods the findings revealed that while there were instances of alignment found between science laboratory…

At many colleges and universities undergraduates pursuing nonscience majors complete introductory science courses which are structured to provide a broad overview of the field. Commonly such courses include large lecture sections which meet twice a week, and small lab sections that are held once a week. A survey was developed to evaluate the…

Many have become aware of the need to assess both teachers' and students' perceptions of the learning environment. This study involved 1,592 tenth grade students and their teachers (n=56) in a study that investigated four aims: (1) to cross validate a slightly modified version of the actual and preferred versions of the Science Laboratory…

This guide provides an overview of waste generating processes and operations that occur in educational or research institutions and presents options for minimizing waste generation through source reduction and recycling. A broad spectrum of waste chemicals in laboratories, art studios, print shops, maintenance, and other operations can be…

This monograph is intended to guide teachers of water resources, technicians and university students in establishing physical facilities which can introduce learners to methods, techniques, and instruments used in water resources management and assessment. It is not intended to serve as an exhaustive list of equipment and their descriptions or as…