The author attempts to answer 5 related questions: What are implicit values? Why are these values often considered problematic to traditional science? Why are such values necessary to research? What are the main values of traditional methods in psychology? What are the implications of a value-laden science?

The article is aimed at a partial problem of science process skills development--the evaluation of educational outcomes. In comparison to evaluation of obtained knowledge, the skills development is not so easy to be objectively evaluated. The article provides a proposal of an evaluation tool and describes the first results of its research…

This paper describes a novel outreach approach to high school and middle school students to familiarize them with engineering functions and methods. In this approach students participated in a seven-day summer research camp and learned many engineering skills and tools such as CAD solid modeling, finite element analysis, rapid prototyping,…

The benefits of using data logging to teach "how science works" are presented. Pedagogical approaches that take advantage of other school ICT are briefly described. A series of simple, quick experiments are given together with their resulting charts. Examples of the questions that arise from the charts show how the rich data lead to the refinement…

Most scientific endeavors require science process skills such as data interpretation, problem solving, experimental design, scientific writing, oral communication, collaborative work, and critical analysis of primary literature. These are the fundamental skills upon which the conceptual framework of scientific expertise is built. Unfortunately,…

This paper investigates physics teacher class planning and its consequences during implementation in class mainly focusing the contradictions emerged among teacher's and students' expectations of the class. This situation is analysed from a socio-cultural-historical point of view mainly supported by Activity Theory. We highlight the components of…

Statistics is used in almost every facet of our daily lives: crime reports, election results, environmental/climate change, advances in business, financial planning, and progress in multifarious research. Although understanding statistics is essential for efficient functioning in the modern world (Cerrito 1996), students often do not grasp…

A broad-based survey using the Delphi method was conducted to garner current information from private sector stakeholders and build consensus opinions supporting key ideas for enhancing plant breeder education and training. This study asked respondents to suggest and rate topics and content they deemed most important to plant breeding graduate…

Perspectives are domain-specific strategies employed by experts in a specific field to formulate and investigate questions. Such strategies may therefore serve as good models for acquiring knowledge. Based on this premise, we developed the perspective of form and function, as used by both biologists and technical designers, into a tool for…

In this article, the author presents three different tasks that can be used to assess students' understanding of the concept of length. Three important measurement concepts for students to understand are transitive reasoning, use of identical units, and iteration. In any teaching and learning process it is important to acknowledge students'…

We have developed and implemented a serial experiment in molecular cloning laboratory course for undergraduate students majored in biotechnology. "Pseudomonas putida xylE" gene, encoding catechol 2, 3-dioxygenase, was manipulated to learn molecular biology techniques. The integration of cloning, expression, and enzyme assay gave students…

A growing body of evidence indicates that contact with nature is as important to children as good nutrition and adequate sleep, and therefore, educators need to address children's access to nature. This is particularly important in urban areas, where children have few opportunities to interact with nature. Gardening and nature-based curriculum…

The present study explores the relationship between students' views of the nature of science (NOS) and their views of the nature of scientific measurement. A questionnaire with two-tier diagnostic multiple-choice items on both the NOS and measurement was administered to 179 first-year physics students with diverse school experiences. Students'…

Scotchmoor and a team of natural scientists, social scientists, philosophers, and educators developed a Web site called Understanding Science ("www.understandingscience.org") to explain to teachers, students, and the general public "how science "really" works." The site, launched in January 2009 and funded by the National Science Foundation,…

Quality control (QC) measures are less prevalent in teaching laboratories than commercial settings possibly owing to a lack of commercial incentives or teaching resources. This article focuses on the use of QC assessment in the analytical techniques of high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-vis) at…