The objectives of the present study are to investigate both the history of the collection of scientific instruments from the Maraslean Teaching Center (MTC) and the potential for the collection's use in STEM education programs. Although MTC went by a number of different names during its long history, its institutional goal remained the same:…

Portuguese schools hold important collections, most organised in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This scientific heritage, however, is still to be discovered. This article focuses on the creation, development, and role of natural history collections in Portuguese secondary schools, between the second half of the nineteenth…

In this article, Peter Sainsbury advocates the use of microscopes in the primary classroom to transform the familiar into something quite amazing. After Sainsbury's school borrowed a Royal Microscopical Society (RMS) Microscope Activity Kit, both Sainsbury and the school changed their attitude and approach to using microscopes in the primary…

Experiments, as we all know, are especially important in science education. However, their impact on improving thinking could be even greater when applied together with the methods of inquiry-based learning (IBL). In this paper we present our observations of a high-school laboratory class where students used computers to carry out and analyse real…

Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Science Kits provide sets of science equipment, including worksheets and/or teachers' guides, and are valuable science resources for poorly equipped schools, particularly those located in geographically isolated areas. This paper reports an investigation of how four teachers in four different schools used an Astronomy Science…

This longitudinal study reports the results of a replication of "Tutorials in Introductory Physics" in high schools of a Latin-American country. The main objective of this study was to examine the suitability of "Tutorials" for local science education reform. Conceptual learning of simple resistive electric circuits was…

This study focuses on the availability and use of Science Laboratories at the secondary education level in Visakhapatnam District of Andhra Pradesh, India. It is commented that most of the schools do not possess well equipped laboratories and even when equipment is available some science teachers are not utilizing the laboratory facilities.…

While it is a commonplace in the historiography of electricity that itinerant lecturers and instrument makers were "somehow" part of the "electrical flare" of the 18th century, very little is actually known about them, about their background, their careers and their self-understanding. Yet, research focusing on these…

The increasing complexity of human body models enabled by advances in diagnostic imaging, computing, and growing knowledge calls for the development of a new generation of systems for intelligent exploration of these models. Here, we introduce a novel paradigm for the exploration of digital body models illustrating cerebral vasculature. It enables…

Examination of relationships between manner of utilization of human and material resources and secondary school students' achievement in and attitude toward science found that frequency of use of laboratory resources had highest positive correlation with achievement, followed by quality of use of laboratory resources. Quality of use of laboratory…

Discusses experiences in teaching high school physics in the Cameroon. Comments on the educational system, the school, instructional strategies, materials/equipment, and the author's personal experiences teaching in this developing country. (JN)

This article discusses factors in the design, commissioning, project management, and intellectual property protection of developments within a new clinical anatomy facility in the United Kingdom. The project was aimed at creating cost-effective facilities that would address widespread concerns over anatomy teaching, and support other activities…

Describes a British secondary school's use of a spectrometer to identify minerals. Discusses the origins of mineral spectra, the preparation of the specimen, the actual spectroscopic scanning, and the interpretation of the spectra. (TW)

This collection of articles, originally published in national and international journals, is fifth in a series devoted to trends in teaching chemistry. The volume is divided into nine sections, each with an introduction explaining why papers have been selected and outlining their particular interest. Section I provides a list of atomic masses,…

Provided is an annotated bibliography of items of particular interest to science education. Items are arranged alphabetically by author (or in some cases by title) within each of the following sections: (1) techniques in the lab and field; (2) nature and evolution of science; (3) teaching strategies; (4) curriculum and examinations; (5) young…