This study is based on two exploratory questions with the aim of determining the relative effectiveness of two different student activities, called "Reading, Presenting and Questioning" (RPQ) and "Experimenting and Discussing" (ED), in changing students' perceptions and attitudes about the impact of physics learning on the…

The purpose of this project was to investigate the effects of virtual versus physical manipulation using a simulation-based laboratory activity (SBL) and a microcomputer-based laboratory activity (MBL). Both the SBL and the MBL used computers to collect, graph, and analyze data. A major difference was that the MBL allowed the students to…

Acid/base homeostasis is one of the most difficult subdisciplines of physiology for medical students to master. A different approach, where theory and practice are linked, might help students develop a deeper understanding of acid/base homeostasis. We therefore set out to develop a laboratory exercise in acid/base physiology that would provide…

Differential scanning calorimetry analyses of two easily prepared polymorphs of acetaminophen (also known as paracetamol) are recorded. The density of the forms can be found in the literature. Rules for heats of transition, heats of fusion, and density, as well as methods for determining the solid-solid transition temperature between the forms,…

Heterogeneous, gas-solid processes constitute an important class of catalytic reactions that play a key role in a variety of applications, such as industrial processing and environmental controls. Heterogeneous catalytic chemistry can be demonstrated in a simple heated flow reactor containing a fragment of the catalytic converter from a vehicular…

A ladder network constructed by an elementary two-terminal network consisting of a parallel resistor-inductor block in series with a parallel resistor-capacitor block sometimes is said to have a non-dispersive dissipative response. This special ladder network is created iteratively by replacing the elementary two-terminal network in place of the…

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry is an important bioanalytical technique in drug discovery, proteomics, and research at the biology-chemistry interface. This is an especially powerful tool when combined with gel separation of proteins and database mining using the mass spectral data. Currently, few hands-on…

Whether it is a rapid-fire Twitter event as part of #ASEchat, or BBC Radio 4's "Inside Science," the discussion of practical work generates powerful debate. While it is right that the best use of practical work is continually discussed, its value in science teaching is without question. The level of discussion is being further heightened…

We selected diabetes mellitus for this laboratory exercise to provide students with an explicit model for scientific research concerning the association between the R230C polymorphism and susceptibility to type 2 diabetes mellitus, which is highly prevalent in the Mexican population. We used a collaborative project-based learning to engage…

An introductory, nonscience-majors chemistry course was converted to a Web-based course. The differences in student populations, teaching strategies, laboratory methods, and learning outcomes are described. Practical information is also given on the use of software and other online technology to implement course conversion. (Contains 2 tables.)

I present a witty solution in this article about how we may obtain data simply and cheaply from physical experiments, with which we can do counting, as well. To this interdisciplinary task I turn to Delphi for help, in which we can program a digital video as a multimedia element. I show an example from the programming of plain multimedia elements…

A survey was conducted of four-year institutions that teach undergraduate organic chemistry laboratories in the United States. The data include results from over 130 schools, describes the current practices at these institutions, and discusses the statistical results such as the scale of the laboratories performed, the chemical techniques applied,…

An excellent common activity in technology and engineering classes involves dropping an egg from a significant height in a protective device designed and built by students. This article describes how the author uses the classic "egg drop" as an inspiration to have students modify a small crash test vehicle that speeds down a track and crashes into…

Many instructional strategies that appear to improve learners' performance during training may not realize adequate posttest performance or transfer to a job. The converse has been found to be true as well: Instructional strategies that appear to slow the learner's progress during training often lead to better posttraining or transfer performance.…

Emphasis on improving higher level biology education continues. A new two-step approach to the experimental phases within an outreach gene technology lab, derived from cognitive load theory, is presented. We compared our approach using a quasi-experimental design with the conventional one-step mode. The difference consisted of additional focused…