The usefulness of the JANAF tables is demonstrated with specific equilibrium calculations. An emphasis is placed on the nature of standard chemical potential calculations. Also, the use of the JANAF tables for calculating partition functions is examined. In the partition function calculations, the importance of the zero of energy is highlighted.

Mathematics and science education has increasingly become more important for students in our globally competitive society. New alternative certification teachers, particularly in mathematics and science, need to support student learning in these areas in order for the United States to stay globally competitive. This article presents some ideas…

One of the greatest challenges facing education systems is implementing the changes that make schools, and therefore, nations, internationally competitive. The resistance to change, the possibilities of change, and the roles the many and various stakeholders play in leading change have been noted by scholars on the topic of change in school. While…

This paper explores how strategic management concepts, especially the notion of 'wicked problems', can be useful in analysing the professional practice of teachers in higher education. The keeping of a dialogical journal with a colleague helped illuminate that strategic management and education have much in common. Both are situated in…

Unfortunately, many students learn about the concept of systems of linear equations in a procedural way. The lessons are taught as three discrete methods. Connections between the methods, in many cases, are not made. As a result, the students' overall understanding of the concept is very limited. By the time the teacher reaches the end of the…

Chocolate chip cookies are used to illustrate the importance and effectiveness of control charts in Statistical Process Control. By counting the number of chocolate chips, creating the spreadsheet, calculating the control limits and graphing the control charts, the student becomes actively engaged in the learning process. In addition, examining…

A guided-inquiry experiment was designed and implemented in an introductory organic chemistry laboratory course. Students were given a mixture of compounds and had to isolate two of the components by designing a viable workup procedure using liquid-liquid separation methods. Students were given the opportunity to apply their knowledge of chemical…

In the mathematics classroom, making sense of story problems can be a challenge for all students. Strategies that promote student discourse offer teachers one way to support their students' sense-making processes. In this article, the authors present a mathematical discourse strategy that was introduced to elementary school teachers during Project…

The group work test is an assessment strategy that promotes higher-order thinking skills for solving context-rich problems. With this format, teachers are able to pose challenging, nuanced questions on a test, while providing the support weaker students need to get started and show their understanding. The test begins with a group discussion…

This paper discusses laboratory activities that can improve the meaningfulness of natural product chemistry course. These laboratory activities can be useful for students from many different disciplines including chemistry, pharmacy, and medicine. Students at the third-year undergraduate level of chemistry education undertake the project to…

Despite the instinctive perception of mass and heat transfer principles in daily life, productive learning in this course continues to be one of the greatest challenges for undergraduate students in chemical engineering. In an effort to enhance student learning in classroom, we initiated an innovative active-learning method titled…

Magic captivates humans because of their innate capacity to be intrigued and a desire to resolve their curiosity. In a mathematics classroom, algorithms akin to magic tricks can be an effective tool to engage students in thinking and problem solving. Tricks that rely on the power of mathematics are especially suitable for students to experience an…

In many scientific contexts, students need to be able to use mathematical knowledge in order to engage in scientific reasoning and problem-solving, and their understanding of scientific concepts relies heavily on their ability to understand and use mathematics in often new or unfamiliar contexts. Not only do science students need high levels of…

One of the "hottest" topics in the educational measurement community in the past decade has been the assessment of 21st century skills. This special issue demonstrates work being performed in this realm. The present article provides a context for the four primary articles that follow and a brief but broad view of some models of 21st…

This article describes a type of professional development focused on students' thinking that occurs in middle school mathematics classrooms. This type of professional development is called "Classroom Embedded" and occurs over one or two days in a classroom with middle school students and their teacher. Teachers actively participate in…