A highly flexible learning tool, referred to as a dynamic reaction figure, is described. Application of these figures can (i) yield the correct chemical equation by simply following a set of menu driven directions; (ii) present the underlying "mechanism" in chemical reactions; and (iii) help to solve quantitative problems in a number of different…

Traditional curriculum for teaching bonding often fosters the use of over-simplifications and over-generalizations. Therefore, there is a need for a presentation that is consistent with current scientific knowledge and that provides the student with the proper intellectual infrastructure for further studies. In this article, we present a general…

This article describes an approach to teaching organic chemistry, which is to have students build their knowledge of organic chemistry upon a strong foundation of the fundamental concepts of the subject. Specifically, the article focuses upon a core set of concepts that I call "the six pillars of organic chemistry": electronegativity, polar…

Animations of the particulate level of matter are widely available for use in chemistry classes and are often the primary means of representing molecular behavior. These animations may also be viewed by individual students using textbook Web sites, although without reinforcement or feedback. It is not known to what extent the material in these…

In this paper, we present a multi-dimensional study concerning Heisenberg's "gamma ray microscope", a thought experiment, which is intimately connected with the historical development of quantum mechanics (QM), and also with the most disputed interpretations of quantum theory. In this study: (a) we investigate how philosophers of science read and…

A survey instrument using everyday teaching scenarios was developed to measure teacher conceptions of inquiry. Validity of the instrument was established by comparing responses for a group of secondary teachers to narrative writing and group discussion. Participating teachers used only three of the five essential features of inquiry detailed in…

Helping young children avoid developing deeply held misconceptions and promoting developmentally appropriate Nature of Science (NOS) ideas will establish a foundation for students from which they will later develop more accurate and sophisticated NOS understanding. This article delineates important NOS ideas and practical K-4 classroom teaching…

It is well known that the pitch of the sound produced by an excited glass shell can be tuned by adding some liquid in it. In this paper, it will be proved that the distribution of the liquid inside the shell plays a crucial role in this frequency shift. Thus it provides another way to tune the pitch of the sound by modifying the liquid…

The heating of tissues by diagnostic ultrasound can pose a significant hazard particularly in the imaging of the unborn child. The demonstration of the temperature field in tissue is therefore an important objective in the teaching of biomedical physics to healthcare professionals. The temperature field in a soft tissue model was made visible and…

The remarkable successes of the physical sciences have been built on highly general quantitative laws, which serve as the basis for understanding an enormous variety of specific physical systems. How far is it possible to construct universal principles in the cognitive sciences, in terms of which specific aspects of perception, memory, or decision…

This seven to eight week hands-on Marine Debris Clean-up Project used a service project to provide an introduction of marine science ecology, watershed interrelationships, the scientific method, and environmental stewardship to 8th grade middle school students. It utilized inquiry based learning to introduce marine debris sources and impacts to…

Students' ability to participate in scientific discourse and to appropriately use empirical evidence to support beliefs or conclusions has been consistently stated as a core goal of science education. In the present study, we analyzed the quality of scientific reasoning in elementary school science classrooms, using the Evidence-Based Reasoning…

Discussing themes from my paper "Scientists at play in a field of the Lord," three forum participants identify and discuss continuing social and epistemological issues which continue to challenge effective evolution education. I extend these themes and further amplify the vexing nature of an effective dialectic regarding evolution, especially for…

The Paleo Exploration Project was a professional development program for K-12 teachers from rural eastern Montana. The curriculum was designed to incorporate geospatial technologies, including Global Positioning Systems (GPS), Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and total station laser surveying, with authentic field experiences in geology and…

Software has an important role in supporting scientific work. This dissertation studies teams that build scientific software, focusing on the way that they determine what the software should do. These requirements engineering processes are investigated through three case studies of climate science software projects. The Earth System Modeling…