Empirical correlations are a practical means of providing approximate answers to problems in physics whose exact solution is otherwise difficult to obtain. The correlations relate quantities that are deemed to be important in the physical situation to which they apply, and can be derived from experimental data by means of dimensional and/or scale…

A hands-on project was developed to educate new chemical engineering students about the types of problems chemical engineers solve and to improve student enthusiasm for studying chemical engineering. In this project, students studied the phenomenon of carbonated beverages going flat. The project was implemented in 2003 and 2004 at Kansas State…

This study explored relationships between preservice early childhood teachers' views of nature of science (NOS), cognitive developmental levels, and their cultural values. Using the Views of Nature of Science Questionnaire (VNOS-B) and interviews, we assessed views of NOS. The Learning Context Questionnaire (LCQ) was used to determine the…

The reading of science-related, historical nonfiction alone does not necessarily lead students to make personal connections to science or understand science as a human endeavor interdependent with culture, society, and history. Teachers must structure students' reading to ensure that they consider specific aspects of science while reading and…

I report on benefits from 26 teacher-participant evaluators of a computer game designed to motivate learning and to ease conceptual understanding of biology in South Africa. Using a developmental, social constructivist and interpretative model, the recommendation is to include the value systems and needs of end-users (through social dialogue);…

This study investigated whether or not an increase in secondary science teacher knowledge about evolution and the nature of science gained from completing a graduate-level evolution course was associated with greater preference for the teaching of evolution in schools. Forty-four precertified secondary biology teachers participated in a 14-week…

This article explains a simple way to demonstrate natural convection, such as from a lit candle, in the classroom using an overhead projector. The demonstration is based on the principle of schlieren imaging, commonly used to visualize variations in density for gas flows.

Everyone who teaches physics knows very well that sometimes a simple device or experiment can help to make a concept clear. In this paper, inspired by "The Jumping Pencil" by Martin Gardner, I will discuss a simple demonstration device that can be used to start the study of air pressure.

Although one role of computers in science education is to help students learn specific science concepts, computers are especially intriguing as a vehicle for fostering the development of epistemological knowledge about the nature of scientific knowledge--what it means to "know" in a scientific sense (diSessa, 1985). In this vein, the…

Classroom experiments on atmospheric pressure focus largely on demonstrating its existence, often in a most impressive way. A series of amusing physics demonstrations is widely known and practiced by educators teaching the topic. However, measuring the value of atmospheric pressure(P[subscript atm]) is generally done in a rather mundane way,…

Voices the opinion that clearer and more useful explanations of common chemistry are needed to facilitate understanding. Presents examples from the realms of atomic structure, periodic table, history of chemistry, valence, electronegativity, electrode potentials, covalent bonds, polar covalence, bond energy, and causes of chemical change. (GS)

You can't see, smell or taste air - but here's an easy method for experimenting with it. (Editor)

A CONFERENCE WAS HELD IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOCIAL SCIENCE EDUCATION CONSORTIUM (SSEC) TO PROVIDE AN EXCHANGE OF IDEAS ABOUT APPROACHES TAKEN TO SOCIAL SCIENCE CONTENT IN NEW CURRICULUMS. THE CONFERENCE WAS PLANNED IN THE HOPE THAT SUCH AN EXCHANGE WOULD CONTRIBUTE TO THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE GROWING AMOUNT OF ACADEMICALLY BASED CURRICULUM WORK IN…

The first two papers in this booklet provide a review of the pervasiveness of symmetry in nature and art, discussing how symmetry can be traced through every domain open to our understanding, from all aspects of nature to the special provinces of man; the checks and balances of government, the concept of equal justice, and the aesthetic ordering…