A Toxicologist discusses common misconception that all chemicals are poisonous to people and the environment and how these misconceptions are perpetuated. Describes what makes a chemical toxic. Defines related concepts including dose, acute and chronic toxicity, and natural verses synthetic chemicals. (MCO)

Explores views about the nature of science held by a small sample of science students in their final year at university. Finds that students draw on a range of views about the nature of science. Contains 32 references. (DDR)

Argues for the inseparability of the process and products of science. Included as part of a series of reprints of articles about science teaching and written in 1965. Contains 24 references. (DDR)

Presents four stories of teachers and learners engaged with natural phenomena. Relates stories of elementary students' inquiry into ecosystems, sound, and matter, and college students' inquiry into the moon. Includes a set of guidelines for helping teachers characterize inquiry in their own classrooms. (Author/WRM)

Elaborates on a framework based on the reconstruction of developments that lead to the formulation of the laws of definite and multiple proportions. Ascertains students' views of these laws and formulates criteria based on the framework for evaluating the treatment of the laws in chemistry textbooks. Provides a rationale for chemistry teachers to…

Discusses the evolution of science through historical accounts. History should become an integral part of science teaching at all levels as it is through history of science that students can become aware of the open nature of science, and more importantly, of the open nature of methods by which science can be done. (Author/SAH)

Discusses controversy over the teaching of biological evolution and other scientific ideas such as Big Bang theory. Recommends that teachers avoid debating creationists, help students develop a greater understanding and appreciation for science as a way of explaining the natural world, and emphasize inquiry and the nature of science. (Contains 19…

Investigates the relationship between students' conceptions of the nature of science and their reactions to evidence that challenged their beliefs about socioscientific issues. Stimulates students to reflect on their own beliefs and defend their opinions and suggests that the reaction of students to anomalous socioscientific data are varied and…

Examines the conceptions of nature of science (NOS) possessed by a group of gifted seventh-grade students from Taiwan. Concludes that there were no significant changes in students' views of NOS after instruction, possibly due to time limitations and a ceiling effect. (Author/MM)

Introduces physics laboratory experiments offered to general public by the Stockholm Science Laboratory demonstrating collaboration between theory and experiment. (YDS)

Presents a theoretical classification of relationships between the philosophy of science and didactics of science, based on the metadiscursive nature which philosophy and didactics share. Describes five different relationships between the two disciplines: material, instrumental, explanatory, rhetorical, and metatheoretical. (Author/MM)

Attempts to solve the problem of hidden structure in school chemistry. Argues that normal chemistry education is isolated from common sense, everyday life and society, the history and philosophy of science, technology, school physics, and chemical research. (Author/CCM)

Explains how Henry Cavendish performed an experiment to measure the density of the earth. Considers the problems that can arise in maintaining the anachronisms of his approach. (MM)

Color is used for studying the chemically-tailored surfaces of silica gel and alumina. When this technique of using color was applied by the students, they were able to grasp the principles of surface engineering and acquire an appreciation of its merits and at the same time they were able to learn the fundamentals of aldehyde chemistry,…

Voltammetry principles are introduced to students by means of a bipotentiometric method to determine vitamin C in fruits and vegetables. The aim is to draw attention to voltammetric methods, particular to the study of current-potential curves, stressing the potential applicability in areas of food quality control.