Measuring the factors affecting the implementation process are critical steps for understanding how, why, and under what circumstances integrated STEM curriculum innovations work. The overarching goal of this National Science Foundation (NSF) funded project was to design, field-test, implement, and evaluate contextualized integrated STEM learning…

Neo magnets are neodymium magnet beads that have been marketed as a desktop toy. We proposed using neo magnets as an alternative building block to traditional ball-and-stick models to construct carbon allotropes, such as fullerene and various nanocone structures. Due to the lack of predetermined physical connections, the versatility of carbon…

Creative learning is discussed with respect to a specific physics topic. A teaching example, based on an apparatus that demonstrates the standard dynamo model of geomagnetism, is presented. It features many of the basic physics concepts within the syllabus of electromagnetism at high-school and university. To stimulate conceptual learning and to…

Understanding what happens at the particulate level when ionic compounds dissolve in water is difficult for many students, yet this understanding is critical in explaining many macroscopic observations. This article describes a student-centered activity designed to help strengthen students' conceptual understanding of this process at the…

Describes a sequence of activities which explore the nature of magnetism. Presents background information and details for classroom instruction for the following activities: plotting two-dimensional magnetic fields, making the reed switch and the reed relay, building a ribbon and moving coil loudspeaker, and investigations of a toy commutatorless…

The unit presented in this teacher's guide is one of two developed for the sixth and final year in the Science Curriculum Improvement Study (SCIS) curriculum. The concept of a scientific model is introduced in this unit with activities directed toward increasing student understanding of electric and magnetic phenomena through concrete experience…