Presents hands-on activities to teach about the causes and consequences of strokes. (YDS)

Presents two components of a piece of experimental equipment, the optical training ground and the electrical panel, which can be used to construct and test different electrical circuits and study laws of electricity, experimental problem solving, and basic light phenomena. (YDS)

Genetics is often a fascinating but difficult subject for middle level students. They can see the results of genes in every organism, but trying to visualize what happens at the level of genes is challenging for concrete thinkers. The author discusses an approach that helps students understand how genotypes can translate into phenotypes, then…

Systems biology, metabolomics, metabolic engineering, and other recent developments in biochemistry suggest that future biochemists will require a detailed familiarity with the compounds and pathways of intermediary metabolism and their biochemical control. The challenge to the biochemistry instructor is the presentation of metabolic pathways in a…

Recrystallization of benzoic acid is an excellent way to remove insoluble impurities. In a traditional organic laboratory experiment, insoluble impurities are removed through the recrystallization of benzoic acid utilizing water as the recrystallization solvent. It was our goal to develop a peer-led, problem-solving organic laboratory exercise…

Human Biology courses are typically offered for non-biology majors who, like students in high school biology courses, have varying degrees of motivation and background. The primary focus is on explaining the biology behind human health and disease, but human ecology, human evolution, and human genetics may also be covered. Hence, Human Biology…

In this article we recount our experiences of teaching photosynthesis in an integrated way to secondary school students and teachers, science undergraduates and postgraduates. Conceptual questions were posed to investigate learners' fundamental understanding of simple light-dependent and light-independent processes taught to most students at…

Science centers can engage students; accommodate different learning styles and individual interests; help students become independent and confident learners; and encourage social skills among students. In this article, the author worked with third-grade students as they completed activities at learning centers during a week-long unit on simple…

This research paper examines phylogenetic tree construction-a form of problem solving in biology-by studying the strategies and heuristics used by experts. One result of the research is the development of a model of desired performance for phylogenetic tree construction. A detailed description of the model and the sample problems which illustrate…

Many students face chemistry courses with a sense of fear and foreboding because it is a required course. Yet at the same time, fundamentals of chemistry have become intertwined in countless professions to say nothing of its growing importance in our everyday lives. Educators must bridge this dichotomy between attitude and importance. This paper…

The main objective of this study is to construct models based on strategies students use to solve chemistry problems and to show that these models form sequences of progressive transitions similar to what Lakatos (1970) in the history of science refers to as progressive 'problemshifts' that increase the explanatory' heuristic power of the models.…

The research described in this paper leads to an instructional design approach which is an alternative to the consideration of such issues as mathematical skills or level of cognitive development. The approach uses an analysis of traditional instructional tasks to specify the underlying cognitive processes and structures necessary for the…

This project addressed the question: What knowledge and processes enable individuals to construct and modify representations of novel, nonroutine problems? The theoretical goal was to extend the information-processing theory of problem solving to include processes that have been characterized as restructuring of problems and productive thinking by…

The Information Age has been shaping the conception of thinking in education through the capability of computerized problem solving, through the resulting application of the information processing model to human thinking, and through the theories emerging from other cognitive science research in metacognition, construction of knowledge, and…

This information sheet examines three areas: (1) what research tells about problem-solving in chemistry; (2) why students have such difficulty in solving chemistry problems; and (3) if there are some ways of teaching students to solve problems that are more effective than others. From several research studies on problem-solving in chemistry, it is…