This study aimed to investigate the comparative value of experimenting with physical manipulatives (PM) in a sequential combination with virtual manipulatives (VM), with the use of PM preceding the use of VM, and of experimenting with PM alone, with respect to changes in students' conceptual understanding in the domain of heat and temperature. A…

This study examines cognitive and social processes in group interactions that shape collaborative learning in science classrooms. Three small groups of students were observed while working collaboratively on explaining the burning of a candle under a jar. The learning environment served as a context for examination of conceptual convergence, a…

The emergence of molecular tools in multiple disciplines has elevated the importance of undergraduate laboratory courses that train students in molecular biology techniques. Although it would also be desirable to provide students with opportunities to apply these techniques in an investigative manner, this is generally not possible in the…

Cognition is a general term describing the mental capacities of an animal, and often includes the ability to categorize, remember, and communicate about objects in the environment. Numerous regions of the telencephalon (cerebral cortex and limbic system) are responsible for these cognitive functions. Although many researchers have used traditional…

Attitudes to science scales developed earlier in England have been used in and around a Pakistan city with children in Primary/Elementary Grades 4-8. The limitations of a "transferred scale" in a culturally different context are apparent in a failure to reproduce the English factor patterns, but items are identified to serve as a base…

This article presents a lesson plan in which students learn about water in solid, liquid, and gaseous phases through trade books, demonstrations, and artwork. The author illustrates the stages of the lesson plan in the sequence they were conducted in the classroom with a group of students in grades one and two. Each stage targets specific learning…

This article describes a discovery experiment for general chemistry and organic chemistry labs. Although the pinacol rearrangement has been employed in undergraduate organic laboratories before, in this application organic chemistry students act as mentors to students of general chemistry. Students work together using distillation--a new technique…

This article presents our experience on teaching biochemical sciences through an innovative approach that integrates concepts of molecular cell biology and protein chemistry. This original laboratory exercise is based on the preparation of an affinity chromatography column containing F-actin molecules immobilized on chitin particles for purifying…

The present state of information communication technology makes it possible to devise and run computer-based e-laboratories accessible to any user with a connection to the Internet, equipped with very simple technical means and making full use of web services. Thus, the way is open for a new strategy of physics education with strongly global…

In this study our goal was to better understand the development of chemistry teachers who are involved in a continuous professional development (CPD) programme, focusing on using the inquiry approach in the chemistry classroom-laboratory, followed by protocols assembled in a portfolio that can be used to demonstrate evidence-based practice in…

This paper examines the estimation of two-stage clustered RCT designs in education research using the Neyman causal inference framework that underlies experiments. The key distinction between the considered causal models is whether potential treatment and control group outcomes are considered to be fixed for the study population (the…

Teaching is, in many respects, an art. Teachers must strike the right balance between sometimes opposite demands. On the one hand, they should lead students to scientific insights; and on the other hand, their teaching should be attractive. Teachers should not only inform, but also entertain. Experiments and stories can help them to combine these…

This book provides information to help create a themed science fair for childen in grades 4-6. Illustrated instructions and checklists for each of the 100 plus experiments are provided, plus ideas for teachers and students to vary experiments for additional scientific discovery. The experiments are written in age-appropriate language so that…

New suitable approaches were investigated to visualize the photodynamic inactivation (PDI) of bacteria immobilized on agar surfaces. The PDI capacities of a cationic photosensitizer (5,10,15,20-tetra(4-N,N,N-trimethylammoniumphenyl)porphyrin) and an anionic photosensitizer (5,10,15,20-tetra(4-sulfonatophenyl)porphyrin) were analyzed on a typical…

In the so-called electric Aharonov-Bohm effect, a quantum interference pattern shift is produced when electrons move in an electric field free region but, at the same time, in the presence of a time-dependent electric potential. Analogous fringe shifts are observed in interference experiments where electrons, travelling through an electrostatic…