Although American millennials are the first generation of "digital natives"--that is, people who grew up with computers and the internet--they are not very tech savvy. Using technology for social networking, surfing the web, or taking selfies is a far cry from using it to solve complex problems at work or at home. Truly tech savvy people…

This research aims to determine whether Problem-Based Learning (PBL) helps in fostering scientific creativity among fifth graders. Students' scientific creativity (SC) was investigated in the product dimensions of (a) solving scientific problems, (b) understanding scientific phenomena, (c) advancement in scientific knowledge, and (d) improvisation…

Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) plays a key role in introductory organic chemistry, spanning theory, concepts, and experimentation. Therefore, it is imperative that the instruction methods for NMR are both efficient and effective. By utilizing eye tracking equipment, the researchers were able to monitor how second-semester organic…

Adult learners seeking a high school equivalency degree are a highly motivated group of students that almost universally meet outreach audience goals of serving minority, low-income, and other disadvantaged populations. Despite the demonstrated need of this population, these students are not commonly served by university-sponsored science outreach…

The use of external representations has the potential to facilitate inquiry learning, especially hypothesis generation and reasoning, which typically present difficulties for students. This study describes a novel three-dimensional cognitive mapping (3DCM) approach that supports inquiry learning by allowing learners to combine the information on a…

Science standards in the U.S. have shifted to emphasise science and engineering process skills (i.e. specific practices within inquiry) to a greater extent than previous standards' emphases on broad representations of inquiry. This study examined the alignment between second-career science teachers' personal histories with the latter and examined…

Many university science outreach programs involve presentations of research projects to high school students. These presentations often focus more on exciting scientific content and less on fostering direct relationships between high school students and scientists. Such interactions are important for sustaining student interest in science…

Few research studies have examined postintervention data from professional development interventions on science teaching and learning. Given the limited research, it is recommended that more studies examine the lasting effects of science professional development on teachers and students. The purpose of this current study was to examine the…

This article reports on the wonders of winter weather, as it often inspires teachers' and students' interest in collecting weather data, especially if snow falls. Beginning weather data collection in preschool will introduce children to the concepts of making regular observations of natural phenomena, recording the observations (data),…

This article describes the assembly of a simple, low-cost, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) system and its use in the undergraduate chemical engineering laboratory course to perform simple experiments. By interpreting the results from these experiments students are able to gain significant experience in the general method of…

In recent years, there has been upsurge of interest in the applications of interdisciplinary perspectives on science in science education. Within this framework, the implications of the so-called "economics of science" is virtually an uncharted territory. In this paper, we trace a set of arguments that provide a dialectic engagement with…

Maybe the most difficult aspect of thinking about chemistry arises from the fact that chemistry isn't an homogeneous subject. As a central science, it draws on a range of philosophical perspectives which in turn can result in different cognitive, learning and teaching styles in chemical education. This idea, apparently non-controversial, needs to…

In this activity for the beginning of a high school Biology 1 evolution unit, students are challenged to reconstruct organisms found in an owl pellet as a model for fossil reconstruction. They work in groups to develop hypotheses about what animal they have found, what environment it inhabited, and what niche it filled. At the end of the activity,…

Many teachers seem to have followed the "dunking theory." That is, they dunk their children in a variety of investigations and hope that through their practical work they will absorb a thorough understanding of enquiry skills. Children seem to have quite a good natural waterproof coating when it comes to absorbing scientific skills through…

Across Canada many initiatives have been initiated to generate more interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education; however, no single or comprehensive overview has been conducted that takes into account the impact of these STEM initiatives on teaching/learning outcomes in K-12 education. This knowledge synthesis of…