In the last decades spectroscopy began to play an essential role in physics education research with the recognition that atomic spectra constitute a good occasion to study the concepts of quantum mechanics. Moreover, activities in which atomic spectra are studied in order to understand star structure and evolution have proved particularly engaging…

There is a growing interest in the value of teachers guiding students to generate their own representations to support conceptual learning in science and across complementary subjects such as mathematics. However, this approach to an interdisciplinary focus poses challenges for programme design and learning assessment. In this paper, we report on…

Physics students at Worcester State University visit the Worcester Art Museum (WAM) at the end of a special 100- level course called Physics in Art. The students have studied geometrical optics, and they have been introduced to concepts in atomic physics. The purpose of the museum tour is to show how physics-based techniques can be used in a…

Multilingual skills tend to be an integral part of modern society because a specialist able to speak, read and write in multi-languages is able to meet competition. Given that all the latest discoveries and achievements in the field of natural science have been published in English, in accordance with the theme of our study, Physics teaching in…

We piloted a semester-long, interdisciplinary, introductory science course using recently developed optogenetic technique as a main context. In neuroscience application, this technique introduces the gene of light-sensitive membrane protein into a targeted class of neurons, whose activity then can be modulated with a laser of specific wavelength.…

The rapid academic and industrial development of nanotechnology has led to its implementation in laboratory teaching for undergraduate-level chemistry and engineering students. This laboratory experiment introduces the galvanic replacement reaction for synthesis of hollow metal nanoparticles and investigates the optical properties of these…

Much of the mathematical reasoning employed in the typical introductory physics course can be traced to Pythagorean roots planted over two thousand years ago. Besides obvious examples involving the Pythagorean theorem, I draw attention to standard physics problems and derivations which often unknowingly rely upon the Pythagoreans' work on…

Describes the major contributions to optics of Ibn al-Haytham, prolific Arab scientist. Recent partial translation of his "Book of Optics" enables an accounting of his work and provides the opportunity to connect this historical personage and his contributions to the current debates on multicultural science teaching. Contains 18 references. (DDR)