The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of Design Based Science Education (DBSE) applications on the perceptions of science teacher candidates about engineering education and engineers. In the quantitative part of the study in which the mixed method was involved, a semi-experimental design with single group pre-test post-test was…

The new approach to teaching science presented by the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) warrants training high-quality science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) teachers to prepare the future STEM workforce. We share the implementation of an energy lesson using a nanoscience approach, well-aligned with the NGSS vision, in a…

A low-cost and simple setup to measure the densities of liquids is introduced herein. The results and reliability of this setup were evaluated for pure liquids, water-ethanol binary mixtures, and aqueous NaCl solutions. The constructed densitometer provided density values with acceptable relative errors (less than ±3.0%), which were compared to…

Past studies on the differential effects of active learning based on students' prior preparation and knowledge have been mixed. The purpose of the present study was to ask whether students with different levels of prior preparation responded differently to laboratory courses in which a guided-inquiry module was implemented. In the first study, we…

Despite the inherent potential of cooperative learning, there has been very little research into its effectiveness in middle school laboratory classes. This study focuses on an empirical comparison between cooperative learning and individual learning in the school science laboratory, evaluating the quality of learning and the students' attitudes.…

Allelopathy plays crucial roles in invasive plant viability and agricultural production systems. However, there is no well-established hands-on learning activity to teach the concept of allelopathy. Nor is there an activity which allows students to gain knowledge about glucosinolates and their corresponding enzyme, myrosinase, which are present in…

The main goals of the current study are (1) college students' cyberloafing behaviors during a lab session, (2) reasons that students cyberloaf, and (3) possible solutions to prevent this behavior from the students' perspectives. A total of 184 students registered for lab hours at a public university in Turkey were recruited to participate in this…

The role of practical work in the training of student teachers is central to the development of their future pedagogy and practice. However, not all laboratory based activities give sufficient challenge in the development of both cognitive and practical skills. The activity proposed in this paper helps reinforce an understanding of reaction…

Additions to the popular evaporation rate determination laboratory of alcohol-based hand-rub sanitizers are described here. Significantly, inquiry-driven protocols for formulating hand-rub sanitizers, falling-ball viscometry, and sanitizer efficacy are included. Incorporation of familiar substances ("molecular relevance") enables…

In 1849, Hippolyte Fizeau determined the speed of light in a famous experiment. The idea was to measure the time taken for a pulse of light to travel between an intense light source and a mirror about 8 km away. A rotating cogwheel with 720 notches, that could be rotated at a variable speed, was used to chop the light beam and determine the flight…

The practice of RNA isolation in undergraduate experimental courses is rare because of the existence of robust, ubiquitous and stable ribonucleases. We reported here modifications to our original protocol for RNA isolation from plant tissues, including the recovery of nucleic acids by ethanol precipitation at 0 degrees C for 10 min and the…

Stem cells are cells that can self-renew and differentiate into a variety of cell types under certain conditions. Stem cells have great potential in regenerative medicine and cell therapy for the treatment of certain diseases. To deliver knowledge about this frontier in science and technology to medical undergraduate students, we designed an…

To facilitate learning advanced instrumental techniques, essential tools for visualizing biomaterials, a simple and versatile laboratory exercise demonstrating the use of Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) in biomedical applications was developed. In this experiment, the morphology of heat-denatured and amyloid-type aggregates formed from a low-cost…

Science students need exposure to activities that will help them to become familiar with phenomena exhibiting exponential decay. This paper describes an experiment that allows students to determine the rate of thermal energy loss by a hot object to its surroundings. It requires limited equipment, is safe, and gives reasonable results. Students…

A study was conducted to investigate the extent to which previous science achievement affected student performance in traditional hands-on and virtual laboratory environments. A sample of 70 first-year college students was employed in a counterbalanced A-B-A-B experimental design. The study spanned four instructional weeks of laboratory…