Investigations that integrate concepts from geological sciences with biology and chemistry are rare. The authors present an investigation that introduces high school students to microbe-mineral interactions by tying together anaerobic respiration, reduction reactions, metal ion solubility, and groundwater pollution. During the investigation,…

Recent initiatives in the laboratory curriculum have encouraged an inquiry-based approach to learning and teaching in the laboratory. It has been argued that laboratory instruction should not just be hands-on, but it should portray the essence of inquiry through the process of experiential learning and reflective engagement in collaboration with…

The introduction of outcomes-based education in South Africa placed many challenges on the transformation of science classrooms. The 2009 National Education Evaluation and Development Unit (NEEDU) Report concluded that South African rural and township schools are largely dysfunctional. This article examined some of the reasons for the…

A cloud network system is combined with standard computing applications and a course management system to provide a robust method for sharing data among students. This system provides a unique method to improve data analysis by easily increasing the amount of sampled data available for analysis. The data can be shared within one course as well as…

Maria Andree focuses on an immigrant student whose error in a laboratory activity leads to a novel, colorful outcome that she excitedly shares with peers. After engaging in class activities for a few weeks she returns to her earlier dislike of science, saying: "I hate science, particularly Chemistry." The classroom activity system…

This report describes the origin and development of CESAME (The Center for Science and Mathematics Education) at Stony Brook University. The analysis identifies key ingredients in areas of personnel, funding, organizational structures, educational priorities, collaboration, and institutionalization. After a discussion of relevant issues in…

School science laboratory classes and hands-on public engagement activities share many common aims and objectives in terms of science learning and literacy. This article describes the development and evaluation of a microbiology public engagement activity, "The Good, the Bad and the Algae", from a school laboratory activity. The school…

This study aims to reveal to what extent Turkish chemistry teachers use laboratories effectively and their perceptions on laboratory applications and the factors related to laboratory applications. In this cross-sectional survey, 408 chemistry teachers from the secondary schools in Izmir were given "Teacher Demographic form", "The…

When attempting to integrate any Information and Communications Technology (ICT) based resource into Post-Primary Schools (High Schools) many potential barriers must be considered. Importantly, many of these barriers revolve around the individual teacher and hence they are an important starting point in understanding the change process in schools.…

A science librarian in the laboratory can become a "point of access" for database instruction and provide a learning opportunity for students to develop their information literacy skills. A case study describes how a librarian in an organic chemistry laboratory helps the class run smoothly and identifies the science librarian as an ally and a…

This column provides best safety practices for the science classroom and laboratory. In this month's issue, pregnancy policy in the laboratory is discussed. One can't ignore the fact that student and faculty pregnancies--and the resulting potential hazards in the science laboratory--exist at the high school level. Science teachers need to be…

In this article we report on the use of a graduate "Special Topics" course to provide vital research and practical laboratory experience, within the context of developing a chemical process to manufacture biodiesel from algal sources. This course contained several key components that we believe are necessary skills in graduate research: 1) a…

This article showcases a virtual interactive participatory design activity for building a digital entomology lab. Conceptualized as a virtual complement to a general entomology course at Kansas State University, the lab would allow learners to explore morphological aspects of insects--their various forms and functions--in order to understand…

The aim of this study is to examine the effectiveness of collaborative learning with hints and peer tutoring with hints, and individual learning with hints in chemistry laboratory education in a secondary school. A total of 96 eleventh graders participated in this study. The study has a randomized pre-test and post-test design with a delayed…

Online education has exploded in popularity. While there is ample research on predictors of traditional college student success, little research has been done on effective methods of predicting student success in online education. In this study, a number of demographic variables including GPA, ACT, gender, age and others were examined to determine…