This article reports on a case study that aims to help students develop mechanistic reasoning through constructing a model based stop-motion animation of a physical phenomenon. Mechanistic reasoning is a valuable thinking strategy for students in trying to make sense of scientific phenomena. Ten ninth-grade students used stop-motion software to…

There is an increasing need for research chemists and biochemists to have a basic familiarity with computer programming. Adding programming content to already crowded STEM undergraduate curricula, however, can be challenging. When programming content is introduced within the chemistry curriculum, it is most often incorporated into upper division…

A practical focusing on the synthesis, isolation, and hydrolysis of ammonia borane (AB), H[subscript 3]N·BH[subscript 3], was developed for first-year undergraduate students. By requiring students to propose their own experimental setup to measure the amount of gas produced upon hydrolysis, experimental design skills were introduced and developed…

The aim of this online workshop is to familiarize biomedical faculties students with the principle of RT-PCR method. The following assumption is made, students participating in the workshop: (1) are already familiar with the principle of PCR reaction; (2) can distinguish PCR from RT-PCR; (3) know the basic possibilities of using the above…

A new project-based laboratory (PJBL) was developed for general chemistry students to tackle the steps involved in chemical water quality analysis using an accessible, real-world hydrologic system (the lakes of the Lower Grand Coulee, Washington). This PJBL was developed in a joint general chemistry and environmental geology course by a…

Reasoning about organic chemistry reaction mechanisms requires engagement with multiple concepts and necessitates balancing the relative influence of different chemical properties. A goal of organic chemistry instruction is to support students with engaging in this type of reasoning. In this study, we describe our use of case comparison problems…

Molecular symmetry is a topic that requires mental manipulation of molecules when searching for symmetry elements and their corresponding symmetry operations. Such mental activities are difficult for students in a traditional classroom where only definitions and demonstrations are provided. Therefore, an exploration-based activity was developed to…

Physics teachers are often faced with the challenge of having to set up difficult experiments, or they have to consciously manipulate parameters in order to be able to demonstrate a phenomenon convincingly. Comprehensive laboratory courses are standard procedure in any study program for prospective physics teachers. However, many students, even…

What we emphasize and reward on assessments signals to students what matters to us. Accordingly, a great deal of scholarship in chemistry education has focused on defining the sorts of performances worth assessing. Here, we unpack observations we made while analyzing what "success" meant across three large-enrollment general chemistry…

In the current study, we examined the effect of cognitive apprenticeship with contextualized language instruction on students with LD (SWLDs) and English learners' (ELs) ability to compose scientific explanations using a multiple-probe, multiple-baseline single-case design. Six middle school students (three in each subgroup) participated in ten…

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all sectors of life, including the education sector. Physics learning activities, especially practicum activities, which so far have been very dependent on laboratory space-based activities, are very disturbed. This study aims to develop students' motivation and science process skills (SPS) during the pandemic.…

In an idealized General Chemistry Laboratory curriculum, students would hone their experimental design ability with practice encouraged by laboratory exercises designed to be open-ended. However, traditional General Chemistry Laboratory courses often lack opportunities for students to design their own experiments, instead opting to provide…

It is widely recognised that science explorations is vital in children's lives as they make sense of the world. Now in its fourth edition, Science in Early Childhood provides a comprehensive and engaging introduction to science in the early years. Each chapter has been updated to include current research and to address changing priorities in early…

An important research objective in modelling instruction is defining what students should learn about the model-referent relationship, as when unguided, they tend to errantly think of models as literal interpretations of their referents. Restating this problem we say students should learn about structure-preserving transformations between models…

Practical work must be assessed in a way that will promote the development of key skills necessary for destinations beyond the physics school laboratory. This paper reports on a study which sought to find out teachers' views and practices on the assessment of Advanced Level ('A' level) physics students' practical work skills. Individual interviews…