This study explores the effectiveness of conceptual change oriented instruction and standard science instruction and contribution of logical thinking ability on seventh grade students' understanding of heat and temperature concepts. Misconceptions related to heat and temperature concepts were determined by related literature on this subject.…

A microarray experiment is presented that, in six laboratory sessions, takes undergraduate students from the tissue sample right through to data analysis. The model chosen, the murine erythroleukemia cell line, can be easily cultured in sufficient quantities for class use. Large changes in gene expression can be induced in these cells by…

This article presents an activity for early-in-the-year parents' night. The beginning of a new school year is an exciting time. The authors, as teachers, like to capture that excitement by engaging their 10th-grade biology students in an inquiry project demonstrating the nature of science and scientific inquiry. They developed the Next Step…

The desire to observe and understand the natural world is strong in young children, but high school students often consider science irrelevant to their daily lives. Therefore, as teachers of older age groups, the authors constantly struggle to engage students in scientific exploration so they can master concepts and appreciate the nature of…

In this article, the author discusses the CHANCE (Connecting Humans and Nature in the Costa Rican Environment) program, a coordinated effort between The Pennsylvania State University (PSU) and the Pennsylvania Department of Education that trains 9th- through 12th-grade teachers to be more like scientists and develop a unique, pedagogical tool for…

The recent promotion of inquiry-based learning techniques (Uno, 1990) is well suited to the use of animals in the classroom. Working with living organisms directly engages students and stimulates them to actively participate in the learning process. Students develop a greater appreciation for living things, the natural world, and their impact on…

We describe a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) protocol suitable for use in secondary schools and colleges. This PCR protocol can be used to investigate genetic variation between plants. The protocol makes use of primers which are complementary to sequences of nucleotides that are highly conserved across different plant genera. The regions of…

Stress facilitates memory formation, but only when the stressor is closely linked to the learning context. These effects are, at least in part, mediated by corticosteroid hormones. Here we demonstrate that corticosterone rapidly facilitates synaptic potentiation in the mouse hippocampal CA1 area when high levels of the hormone and high-frequency…

The present paper focuses on the application of a structured template, maximum impact flow (MIF), in order to encourage young students in the area of optics and optical engineering. MIF introduces a template in terms of individual steps and linked functionality and is shown to fuse separate learning tools together into a cohesive unit.…

A laboratory experiment is presented for the upper-level undergraduate physical chemistry curriculum in which the ternary phase diagram of water, 1-propanol and n-heptane is measured using proton nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The experiment builds upon basic concepts of NMR spectral analysis, typically taught in the undergraduate…

The kinetics experiments on the ligand-C[subscript 60] exchange reactions on (dihapto-[60]fullerene) pentacarbonyl tungsten(0), ([eta][superscript 2]-C[subscript 60])W(CO)[subscript 5], form an educational activity for the inorganic chemistry laboratory that promotes graphical thinking as well as the understanding of kinetics, mechanisms, and the…

Propensity score analysis is one statistical technique that can be applied to observational data to mimic randomization and thus can be used to estimate causal effects in studies in which the researchers have not applied randomization. In this article the authors (a) describe propensity score methodology and (b) demonstrate its application using…

Undergraduate biology programs are currently undergoing reform to involve students in biomedical research. Engaging students in more active, hands-on experiments allows students to discover scientific principles for themselves, and to develop techniques of critical thinking and problem solving. This models the world of real scientific research,…

This paper presents the development of a 3-D virtual environment in Second Life for the delivery of standards-based science content for middle school students in the rural Appalachian region of Southeast Ohio. A mixed method approach in which quantitative results of improved student learning and qualitative observations of implementation within…

The WWW is now in widespread use for delivering on-line learning content in many large-scale education settings. Given such widespread usage, it is feasible to accumulate data concerning the most useful learning experiences of past students and share them with future students. Browsing events that depict how past students utilized the learning…