Laboratory learning forms a significant and integral part of engineering education, wherein students develop technical, collaborative, enquiry, and observation skills that go beyond theoretical studies. Engineering is inherently a practice-based profession, and consequently, laboratory work has been inseparable for engineering curricula. However,…

Students hold many alternative conceptions of thermal physics which are very resistant to change. A conceptual change strategy, the thinking frames approach, based on evidence from educational research was used to address commonly held naïve conceptions about heat in a series of thermal physics lessons. Students' gains in conceptual understanding…

Chemical equilibrium is one of the most important concepts in chemistry. The changes in properties of the chemical system at equilibrium induced by variations in pressure, volume, temperature, and concentration are always included in classroom teaching and discussions. This work introduces a novel, geometrical approach to understanding the…

Many children and adults have problems differentiating between heat and temperature. As a consequence, intuitive notions developed about the transfer of heat and other thermal concepts do not align with scientific explanations of the phenomena. These notions are formed as alternative conceptions, which are resistant to change and persist as…

Students commencing studies in biochemistry must transfer and build on concepts they learned in chemistry and biology classes. It is well established, however, that students have difficulties in transferring critical concepts from general chemistry courses; one key concept is "energy." Most previous work on students' conception of energy…