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…

Background: One of the unfortunate side effects of the industrial revolution has been the constant assault of the environment with various forms of pollution. Lately, this issue has taken a more critical dimension as prospects of global climate change and irreversible ecosystem damage are becoming a reality. Purpose: College graduates (especially…

Collaboration between Industry and University is becoming more important in order to improve the competitiveness of the research and development activities. Moreover, establishing synergies to bridge the gap between the academic and industrial spheres has demonstrated to be advantageous for both of them. Nowadays, Industry is moving towards an…

A lithography lab course has been developed that is applicable to students from the middle-school level up to college students. It can also be inserted into electronics technology or similar courses in two- and four-year colleges, or used to demonstrate applications of polymers in chemistry classes. Some of these techniques would enable research…

Creativity, invention, and innovation are values championed as central pillars of engineering education. However, university environments that foster open-ended design-build projects are uncommon. Fabrication and prototyping spaces at universities are typically "machine shops" where students relinquish actual fabrication activities to…

Nowadays, outreach labs are important informal learning environments in science education. After summarizing research to goals outreach labs focus on, we describe our evidence-based gene technology lab as a model of a research-driven outreach program. Evaluation-based optimizations of hands-on teaching based on cognitive load theory (additional…

The relationship that exists between students and science and technology (S&T) is a complex and important one. If it is positive, then social, economic and environmental consequences are to be expected. Yet, many problems of interest/motivation/attitude (I/M/A) towards S&T have been recorded. A lot of research has been conducted on this…

Attempts at integrating mathematics and science have been made previously but no definitive, widely adopted teaching model has been developed to date. Research suggests that hands-on, practical, student-centred tasks should form a central element when designing an effective model for the integration of mathematics and science. Aided by this…

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the authors' interaction-engagement approach in facilitating online courses, which focused on a guided inquiry approach to build understanding of core science concepts using hands-on experimental science investigations. The graduate-level courses were taught during 2005 through 2010, entirely online. The…

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 article presents the design and development of i*CATch, a construction kit for physical and wearable computing that was designed to be scalable, plug-and-play, and to provide support for iterative and exploratory learning. It consists of a standardized construction interface that can be adapted for a wide range of soft textiles or electronic…

As a science teacher educator and former science teacher, the author has long known that the science fair should be part of his professional experience, but he had not given it much thought until recently. As he worked with his daughter's project, he became convinced that it is time to reconsider the range of activities one calls "science fairs."…

LEGO bricks can be used for a number of demonstrations of chemical structures and properties, especially at the nanoscale level. These bricks can also be used to model instrumentation that probes these structures and properties. Detailed resources about many of these demonstrations are located on the extensive Web site "Exploring the Nanoworld…

The importance of healthy soil and of conveying the importance of soils starts by conveying a few basic concepts of soil science cannot be overstated. This article provides three hands-on exercises Extension professionals can add to natural resources or Master Gardener education curricula. These natural sciences exercises are easy to prepare for…

The recreational fishing activity presented in this article provides a hands-on, problem-based experience for students; it unites biology, math, economics, environmental policy, and population dynamics concepts. In addition, the activity allows students to shape environmental policy in a realistic setting and evaluate their peers' work. By…