Models related to the topic of chemical kinetics are critical for predicting and explaining chemical reactivity. Here we present a qualitative study of 15 general chemistry students' reasoning about a method of initial rates task. We asked students to discuss their understanding of the terms rate law and initial rate, and then analyze rate and…

Physiology demands systems thinking: reasoning within and between levels of biological organization and across different organ systems. Many physiological mechanisms explain how structures and their properties interact at one level of organization to produce emergent functions at a higher level of organization. Current physiology principles, such…

As part of an ongoing project to examine student learning in upper-division courses in thermal and statistical physics, we have examined student reasoning about entropy and the second law of thermodynamics. We have examined reasoning in terms of heat transfer, entropy maximization, and statistical treatments of multiplicity and probability. In…

Single photon experiments involving a Mach-Zehnder interferometer can illustrate the fundamental principles of quantum mechanics, e.g., the wave-particle duality of a single photon, single photon interference, and the probabilistic nature of quantum measurement involving single photons. These experiments explicitly make the connection between the…

STEM educational reform encourages a transition from instructor-centered passive learning classrooms to student-centered, active learning environments. Instructors adopting these changes incorporate research-validated teaching practices that improve student learning. Professional development that trains faculty to implement instructional reforms…

Although there is a broad agreement among scientists and science educators that students should not only learn science, but also acquire some sense of its nature, it has been reported that undergraduate students possess an inadequate grasp of the nature of science (NOS). The study presented here examined the potential and effectiveness of Nobel…

Inquiry-based classroom is widely distributed in the school science based on its useful and effective instruction. Science teachers are key elements allowing students to have scientific inquiry. If teachers understand and imply inquiry-based learning into science classroom, students will learn science as scientific inquiry and understand nature of…

Understanding of the nature of science is key to the development of new curricular materials that mirror the practice of science. Three problem types (project level, synthetic planning, and day-to-day) in synthetic organic chemistry emerged during a thematic content analysis of the research experiences of eight practising synthetic organic…

We investigated students' conceptual learning of energy topics in an innovative college-level introductory mechanics course, entitled Matter & Interactions (M&I) Modern Mechanics. This course differs from traditional curricula in that it emphasizes application of a small number of fundamental principles across various scales, involving…

In this study, we examine introductory physics students' ability to perform analogical reasoning between two isomorphic problems which employ the same underlying physics principles but have different surface features. 382 students from a calculus-based and an algebra-based introductory physics course were administered a quiz in the recitation…

Undergraduate and graduate students' predictions and submicroscopic level explanations for the melting of four materials (salt, chalk, sugar, and butter), and for the mixing of these solutes in two solvents (water and cooking oil) were collected. Twenty-three undergraduate students and seven graduate students participated in the study, and data…

This study examined how 21 college-level general chemistry students, who had received instruction that emphasized the symbolic level of ionic equations, explained their submicroscopic-level understanding of precipitation reactions. Students' explanations expressed through drawings and semistructured interviews revealed the nature of the…

Student interpretations of the equation for the first law of thermodynamics, [delta]U = q + w, an expression defining work done on or by a gas, w = -[image omitted]PdV, and an expression defining heat, q = [image omitted]C[subscript v]dT were investigated through a multiple-choice survey, a free-response written survey, and interviews. The…

This study proposes a multi-dimensional approach to investigate, represent, and categorize students' in-depth understanding of complex physics concepts. Clinical interviews were conducted with 30 undergraduate physics students to probe their understanding of heat conduction. Based on the data analysis, six aspects of the participants' responses…

We present the analysis of oral interviews with 112 undergraduate nonmajor students during the first week of a General Education Introduction to Astronomy class before they had received any instruction. The students were asked questions relating to Kepler's three Laws of Motion, as well as their understanding of what keeps planets in orbit around…