The students in our physical chemistry course pointed out an interesting trend in the bond dissociation energies (BDEs) of successive homolytic cleavages of hydrogens from methane and water. Namely, while there is an increase in BDE from CH[subscript 4] to CH[subscript 3], there is a decrease in BDE from H[subscript 2]O to OH. In order to explain…

Open-ended problems are a very effective tool for engaging student interest. In this paper, we report a physics activity that provides insight into the lifestyle of theropod dinosaurs. This activity generates great enthusiasm among the students since virtually everyone is interested in dinosaurs. In the spirit of the "spherical cow"…

This study examined the degree to which individual differences in students' (N = 232) concepts of size and scale are explained by factors such as students' innate sense of number, out-of-school science experiences, exposure to size and scale instruction, gender identities, and racial/ethnic identities. There is increasing emphasis being placed on…

The acceleration of a vehicle or a bicycle is commonly used in elementary physics courses to illustrate problems concerning Newton's laws of motion when friction forces are involved. The maximum possible acceleration is rarely discussed, although it is of interest to consumers and racing car enthusiasts, and it is sometimes questioned by students.…

Research shows that energy is a concept that is difficult to understand despite different teaching approaches existing. One of the problems is seen in its rather abstract definition. In contrast, we present an approach that activates students' everyday life experiences and uses these to develop a scientific understanding by introducing energy as a…

Background: The importance of music and play in early childhood development is widely acknowledged. However, no recent studies have investigated the potential of music-inspired free play to foster scientific exploration. Aim: The purpose of this qualitative case study is to explain the rationale in utilising musical skills, knowledge and…

This paper reports on a study aiming at examining the effect of using digital concept maps in inquiry learning. Digital concept maps were asked to be created in different stages of the inquiry learning sessions to support their investigations. The participants were a total of 24, 10th-grade students enrolled in a chemistry course at a public high…

Purpose: This study aims to focus on an innovative undergraduate teaching intervention designed to guide students in exploring and narrating the potential futures of climate change. The intervention aimed to reduce the psychological distance associated with climate change by systematically investigating futures in real-world contexts. The study…

This research is a needs analysis study aimed at developing a curriculum based on an interdisciplinary context-based learning approach within the 10th-grade physics course, focusing on the electricity and magnetism unit. The research was designed according to the case study model and data were collected from expert, teacher, and student sample…

Research suggests that by allowing English Learner (EL) students to use their home languages in science class, they can better express their thinking and build content knowledge through underlying crosslinguistic awareness between languages. However, EL students' educational backgrounds and home languages are incredibly varied. In this case study,…

The study of complexity is an important part of science education. This paper presents a pedagogical option that includes potentially feasible field solutions for complex science teachers. This work aims to examine how fieldwork has appeared in the international literature over the past five years and to explore the algorithms that can be used to…

Many concepts in astrophysics research can be difficult for a lay individual to understand or to comprehend their importance. One such example concept is the IceCube Neutrino Observatory, which detects high-energy neutrinos at the South Pole in Antarctica. The observatory uses information from detected neutrinos originating deep in outer space to…

Herein we present an engaging description of the existent analogy between social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic and the collision cross-section of particles as defined in the collisional model for a chemical reaction. In addition, the link between collision cross-sections and kinetic rate constants is thoroughly established, bridging…

Volumetric titrations are an accurate and precise analytical method, which explains their use in industrial and research settings and their inclusion in senior secondary chemistry curricula around the world. Students often have difficulty understanding the intricacies of titrations because they are novices being presented with a long list of…

[This paper is part of the Focused Collection on Curriculum Development: Theory into Design.] A level of curricular design, called "design tactics," is identified to fill a gap in the research literature between the broad principles that guide curriculum development and the detailed writing of specific activities and lessons. The use of…