Value judgments, prescriptions and proscriptions concerning instructional proposals seem to be very frequent in works in Didactics (papers, communications,…). In this paper we tackle the question of whether claims of this kind are legitimate. In few words, we wonder whether didactics can say how to teach. For that, we analyse and compare the…

The nature of science (NOS) is a phrase used to represent the rules of the game of science. Arguably, NOS is the most important content issue in science instruction because it helps students understand the way in which knowledge is generated and validated within the scientific enterprise. This article offers a proposal for the elements of NOS that…

In this response, I argue that Hodson and Wong's (2017) (see EJ1133274) critique of the consensus view, though valid, lacks a sufficiently detailed and elaborated alternative. Their emphasis on practice fails to define what the goals of engaging in practice might be. In contrast, the picture of science offered as consisting of six different…

A simple diffraction experiment was designed using banana stem as natural grating. Coherent beams of lasers with wavelengths of 632.8 nm and 532 nm that pass through banana stem produce periodic diffraction patterns on a screen. The diffraction experiments were able to measure the distances between the slit of the banana stem, i.e. d = (28.76 ±…

Computational approaches toward simulating chemical systems and evaluating experimental data has gathered great momentum in recent years. The onset of more powerful computers and advanced software has been instrumental to this end. This manuscript presents a hands-on activity which trains students in basic coding skills within the Matlab…

In addition to considering sociocultural, political, economic, and ethical factors (to name a few), effectively engaging socioscientific issues (SSI) requires that students understand and apply scientific explanations and the nature of science (NOS). Promoting such understandings can be achieved through immersing students in authentic real-world…

The article focuses on the analysis of curriculum documents from Taiwan to investigate how benchmarks for learning nature of science (NOS) are positioned in different versions of the science curricula. Following a review of different approaches to the conceptualization of NOS and the role of NOS in promoting scientific literacy, an empirical study…

The Next Generation Science Standards support understanding of the nature of science as it is practiced and experienced in the real world through interconnected concepts to be imbedded within scientific practices and crosscutting concepts. This study explored how fourth and fifth grade elementary students' views of nature of science change when…

An application for visualizing the aggregation of structureless atoms is presented. The application allows us to demonstrate on a qualitative basis, as well as by quantitatively monitoring the aggregate surface/volume ratio, that the enhanced reactivity of nanoparticles can be connected with their large specific surface. It is suggested that,…

We developed and validated a conceptual survey that focuses on the formalism and postulates of quantum mechanics covered in upper-level undergraduate quantum mechanics courses. The concepts included in the quantum mechanics formalism and postulate survey (QMFPS) focus on Dirac notation, the Hilbert space, state vectors, physical observables and…

This column contains exercises to challenge content knowledge. This month's issue discusses static charge buildup.

This study aims to examine nature of science themes, philosophical movements, and overall concepts covered in the documentary film, "Einstein and Eddington". A qualitative research method was used. In this study, the documentary film "Einstein and Eddington," the viewing time of which is 1 hour and 28 minutes, was used as the…

The motions of Newton's cradle, consisting of several steel balls hanging side-by-side, have been analysed in terms of a sound pulse that travels via points of contact among the balls. This presupposes a focused energy beam. When the pulse reaches the fifth and final ball, the energy disperses and dislocates the ball with a trajectory equivalent…

Contributing to the recent debate on whether or not explanations ought to be differentiated from arguments, this article argues that the distinction matters to science education. I articulate the distinction in terms of explanations and arguments having to meet different standards of adequacy. Standards of explanatory adequacy are important…

We have observed a nice example of chromatic dispersion due to refraction in water, in the form of color fringes bordering the black stripes that exist at the bottom of a swimming pool. Here we give a qualitative description of the phenomenon, explaining the role of the black stripes and the dispersive index of refraction of water.