Understanding how scientific conclusions are drawn from data is central to learning about the nature of science. Many students struggle with aspects of reasoning from data, including identifying relationships among variables, interpreting graphs, coordinating theory and evidence, and not allowing personal beliefs to outweigh the data when forming…

The increased emphasis on STEM related careers and the use of science in everyday life makes learning science content and concepts critical for all students especially for those with disabilities. As suggested by the National Resource Council (2012), more emphasis is being placed on being able to critically think about science concepts in and…

Identification and quantification of an unknown illicit drug (cocaine) from both simulated drug paraphernalia and simulated urine can be achieved via direct analysis in real time (DART) triple quadrupole linear ion trap (QTRAP) mass spectrometry (MS). We describe a novel, hands-on laboratory activity which utilizes the recent DART technology…

Contemporary research has suggested that for students to compete globally, pedagogy must shift to emphasize the infusion of mathematics into science instruction to strengthen understanding. Innovative professional development programs are necessary to achieve this goal, particularly with respect to teaching graphing skills in the context of…

Some research findings showed that Indonesian students' critical thinking skills below average, especially those who have a low academic ability; even though that skills are needed to face this 21st century. There should be a strategy to train students to develop their critical thinking, one of them is by implementing an appropriate learning…

The Conceptual Survey of Electricity and Magnetism (CSEM) has been used to assess student understanding of introductory concepts of electricity and magnetism because many of the items on the CSEM have strong distractor choices which correspond to students' alternate conceptions. Instruction is unlikely to be effective if instructors do not know…

This study tests a hypothesized learning progression for the concept of energy. It looks at 14 specific ideas under the categories of (i) Energy Forms and Transformations; (ii) Energy Transfer; (iii) Energy Dissipation and Degradation; and (iv) Energy Conservation. It then examines students' growth of understanding within each of these ideas at…

"Problem-Based Learning in the Physical Science Classroom, K-12" will help your students truly understand concepts such as motion, energy, and magnetism in true-to-life contexts. The book offers a comprehensive description of why, how, and when to implement problem-based learning (PBL) in your curriculum. Its 14 developmentally…

This study is concerned with how teachers use data about students' ideas in science, elicited from embedded formative assessment probes, to make decisions about next steps in instruction. Since Black and Wiliam's (1998) seminal work on formative assessment, researchers and practitioners alike concerned themselves with formative assessment and its…

This document describes the features of a statewide summative science assessment that has been designed to embody standards based on the "Framework for K-12 Science Education," such as the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)--to reflect its intent, grounded in the specific expectations of three-dimensional standards. Importantly,…

The famous motto of the Lucky Luke comics series and its accompanying drawing are analyzed from a physicist's viewpoint. They provide useful pedagogical tools to discuss such aspects of relativity as causality, the equivalence principle, gravitational blue shift, and the tachyonic antitelephone. [This article was first published in Hungarian in…

The "Next Generation Science Standards'" three dimensions--disciplinary core ideas (DCIs), science and engineering practices (SEPs), and crosscutting concepts (CCs)--were headliners at NSTA's national conference in Chicago and featured in many of the organization's other professional-development efforts this year (NGSS Lead States 2013).…

The "Next Generation Science Standards'" three dimensions--disciplinary core ideas (DCIs), science and engineering practices (SEPs), and crosscutting concepts (CCs)--were headliners at NSTA's national conference in Chicago and featured in many of the organization's other professional-development efforts this year (NGSS Lead States 2013).…

Recent research efforts have argued for the "persistence" of some of students' frequent scientific misconceptions, even after correct answers are produced. Some of these studies, based on the analysis of reaction times, have recorded latencies for counter-intuitive or incongruent stimuli compared to intuitive or congruent ones. The…

We present experiments giving new insights into the classical light-emitting pickle experiment. In particular, measurements of the spectra and temperatures, as well as high-speed recordings, reveal that light emission is connected to the polarity of the electrodes and the presence of hydrogen.