This paper provides a detailed analysis of the inclusion of aspects of nature of science (NOS) in the "Next Generation Science Standards" (NGSS). In this new standards document, NOS elements in eight categories are discussed in Appendix H along with illustrative statements (called exemplars). Many, but not all, of these exemplars are…

Six undergraduate research projects were identified in a capstone spatial science course to demonstrate service-learning and reflection within a natural resource curriculum. Students met with state and national organizations and formulated plans for a Firewise certification program for a university; developed an historical trail encompassing…

Science is a much-revised and contested area of the curriculum. A new curriculum has recently been introduced in England which includes far more mathematical aspects of science than previous versions. This study asks what the influences, ideologies and values are which led to this change. A two-phase qualitative approach was followed comprising…

Background: Foundation phase teachers are not science specialists; however, they are expected to teach science. It is important that research determines where teachers face challenges in teaching science in order to assist them to bridge the gaps and to improve their competence in teaching science. Aim: The aim of this research was to explore…

Over the past 20 years research on reform efforts aimed at the chemistry laboratory has focused on different aspects of students' experiences including increasing content knowledge, improving student attitudes toward chemistry, incorporating inquiry activities, and providing students a hands-on experience related to the chemistry concepts learned…

Thinking in Physics (TIP) is a new curriculum that is more effective than commonly used interactive engagement methods for students who have the greatest difficulty learning physics. Research has shown a correlation between learning in physics and other factors, including scientific reasoning ability. The TIP curriculum addresses those factors.…

Sigmatropic rearrangement is one of the main classes of pericyclic reactions, which does not necessarily mean that these rearrangements have a pericyclic mechanism. The allylic saccharin derivative O-cinnamylsaccharin can isomerize into N-cinnamylsaccharin in the polar solvent system toluene/triethylamine in a reaction time of 2 h at 110°C. The…

This paper presents a programming project named NMRviewer that allows students to visualize transformed and processed 1 H NMR data in an accessible, interactive format while allowing instructors to incorporate programming content into the chemistry curricula. Using the MATLAB graphical user interface development environment (GUIDE), students can…

This important contribution to the future of education, by bestselling author and renowned cognitive scientist Allan Collins, proposes a school curriculum that will fit the needs of our modern era. Offering guidelines for deciding what is important to learn in order to become a knowledgeable person, a good citizen, a thoughtful worker, and a…

More knowledge of how the actual design of the laboratory work influence students' communication, is needed to design and implement physics laboratory work lessons. The aim with this quantitative research, conducted at a Swedish upper secondary school, was to explore how the design of the laboratory work affects students' communication. Twenty…

This study seeks to identify the reasons for the decline in science fair participation, ascertain educators' views on the value of science fair as a curriculum tool to teach state science standards and assess the importance and relevance of science fair in today's science curriculum. The Ohio Academy of Science (OAS) provided state data showing…

This study examines the effectiveness of integrating geography into existing math and science curriculum to teach climate change and sea level rise. The desired outcome is to improve student performance in all three subjects. A sample of 120 fifth graders from three schools were taught the integrated curriculum over a period of two to three weeks.…

Engaging students in designing, testing, and revising engineering models using mathematical representation of data from scientific investigations helps them embody the science and engineering practices highlighted in the "Next Generation Science Standards" (NGSS Lead States, 2013). The practices of modeling, conducting failure analysis,…

Our main interest in this article is to explore whether Swedish teachers changed their teaching and assessment practices in relation to the new national tests in science education that were introduced 2009. Data was collected using a web-distributed questionnaire, which was answered by 407 teachers. The concept of teaching traditions is used to…

This article discusses the development by the Royal Society of Chemistry of a framework to provide a relevant and coherent chemistry curriculum for all students. This work has been carried out by our Curriculum and Assessment Working Groups. The framework identifies three components that combine to give a rounded view of the discipline. Within the…