Describes a simple demonstration of the flow of sand through an orifice at the bottom of a sandbox. Advocates the experiment's use with dimensional analysis for students in an introductory physics course. (WRM)

Discusses ways for teachers to help students understand how to ask questions appropriate for scientific inquiry. (WRM)

Presents a series of experiments that can be used to demonstrate how aspirin can be synthesized and characterized, how the hydrolysis of aspirin can be used as an introduction to kinetics, and how coordination chemistry (chelation) can be introduced by preparing and characterizing the copper complexes of aspirin and salicylic acid. (Contains over…

Presents instructions for carrying out polymerase chain reactions with a bit of inexpensive equipment. (WRM)

Describes some experiments that can be performed at home to illustrate what makes popcorn "pop". (WRM)

Offers free software for timing experiments, instructions for making a timing interface and a variety of switch sensors for any IBM-compatible computer, and suggestions for experiments. (AIM)

Discusses BioProjects, a new technique for helping students understand the scientific method, in which students formulate a hypothesis, test it, and present the project to the class. States that through biological, quantitative investigations conducted outside of the classroom, BioProjects helps students develop investigative as well as oral and…

Emphasizes the importance of using examples from the student's environment to aid in teaching science process skills. The author uses diagrams to aid in discussing the various uses of goldenrod (Solidago sp) galls in the classroom. (ZWH)

Describes the "Teachers + Occidental = Partnerships in Science" (TOPS) program whose goal is to improve high school biology and chemistry students' laboratory instruction by enhancing their teachers' knowledge and classroom application of modern instruments, technology, and experiments. Includes 13 classroom-tested experiments that employ a…

Tests a multifaceted curriculum for use in introductory earth science classes from the secondary school to the introductory undergraduate level. Simulates the greenhouse effect with two fish tanks, heat lamps, and thermometers. Uses a hands-on science approach to develop a deeper understanding of the climate system among students. (Contains 28…

Describes a method for measuring the earth's magnetic field using an empty toilet paper tube, copper wire, clear tape, a battery, a linear variable resistor, a small compass, cardboard, a protractor, and an ammeter. (WRM)

Many students in introductory science courses at both the secondary and tertiary levels learn science as a miscellaneous collection of facts, concepts, and equations that must be memorized to pass examinations. One way to show students that they actually can "do" science is to have them use an observable event to generate a relationship that can…

Case-based laboratories offer students the chance to approximate real science. Based on interesting stories that pose problems requiring experimental solutions, they avoid the cookbook approach characteristic of traditional undergraduate laboratory instruction. Instead, case-based laboratories challenge students to develop, as much as possible,…

This paper reports design experiments on two Japanese elementary science lesson units in a sixth-grade classroom supported by computer support for collaborative learning (CSCL) technology as a collaborative reflection tool. We took different approaches in the experiments depending on their instructional goals. In the unit 'air and how things…

A single heartbeat is a complicated process. In Dutch upper secondary biology textbooks this process is illustrated by the classical Wiggers diagram, which usually shows different heart-related quantities, like voltage (ECG), blood pressure, and the heart sounds. It may help students to understand the nature of the Wiggers diagram if they perform…