The study investigates in the Benchmark for Scientific Literacy of Chinese Citizens. The background of issuing the Benchmark, its procedure, and contents are analyzed; the key for analysis revolves around the huge debate triggered by the Benchmark on Chinese internet. The debate can be traced to historical discussions in China, regarding the…

In this article, we analyze images from the book "Our Friend the Atom," written by the astrophysicist Heinz Haber in 1957 and developed in the Disney Science Department. In addition to analyzing the work, we investigate its relevance for science education. After the US attack on two Japanese cities with atomic bombs, there was a…

Social scientists have frequently sought to understand the distinct effects of age, period, and cohort, but disaggregation of the three dimensions is difficult because cohort = period - age. We argue that this technical difficulty reflects a disconnection between how the cohort effect is conceptualized and how it is modeled in the traditional…

The typical sound of George Lucas' laser blaster in the "Star Wars" series is well known. What does a laser blaster in "Star Wars" sound like, and why? Here we show a simple way to produce this sound by using low-cost lab material, like a spring or a Slinky. Building on the work of Crawford, who analyzed the sound of a Slinky…

Models are at the core of scientific reasoning and science education. They are especially crucial in scientific and educational contexts where the primary objects of study are unobservables. While empirical science education researchers apply philosophical arguments in their discussions of models and modeling, we in turn look at exemplary…

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has resulted in the rapid emergence of vaccines, the dual benefits of both science and technology have been lauded, while dominant, deficit-based narratives of vaccine hesitancy and mistrust in science and medicine by the general public, particularly minoritized populations, run rampant. In this paper,…

Data from the Kepler satellite were analysed using the Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes database. With the participation of 53 students, we determined the parameters of the HAT-P-7b (Kepler-2) exoplanet system (transit duration, planet-to-star radius ratio, orbital period, semi-major axis and star mass). We used approaches that are easy to…

We present the design of a periscope-type VIS spectrometer for educational purposes that combines strong features from various earlier designs and adds new ones. Three 3D-printed pieces that hold a small thin mirror sheet, a 1/8th wedge of a DVD, and two razor blades are easily assembled and facilitate insight into its construction. A new feature…

The Leaning Tower is a long-time staple of the demonstration room. It can be traced as far back as apparatus catalogues from the 1850s. Some years ago, while teaching himself how to use a new wood lathe, Thomas B. Greenslade, Jr. made a replica of the original design. With the top removed, the tower is stable, but once the top is added, the line…

Fengshui was originally a methodology for nurture of both spirit and fertility based on the relationship between water, wind, and qi, and was first used in the selection of sites of habitation on the loess plateau of northern China. An analysis of this methodology for nurture of the physical is the purpose of this paper. Its prism is the history…

Williamson ether experiments are commonly performed by students in undergraduate organic chemistry instructional laboratory courses. In this multioutcome experiment, students were provided 4-bromophenol and one of three alkyl halides: 1-bromopentane, 1-bromobutane, or 1-bromo-3-methylbutane. The alkyl halides served as the unknown component of the…

Over the years, there have been various calls to increase and better represent astronomy in curricula. This is motivated by views within the astronomy and astronomy education communities that the awe, wonder, and interdisciplinary nature of astronomy has the potential to engage students in STEM across disciplines. Reviews of curricula have shown…

The Washington State ClimeTime Network has been designed to build capacity for climate science learning, as well as broader NGSS implementation. As a network, we acknowledge the diversity of scientific histories and practices and continue to explore these variations to deepen our teaching and learning of climate science. This paper provides…

We present an experiment which was designed to assess the separation technique skills of the gifted high school students who attended the 50th International Chemistry Olympiad 2018. The procedure consists of two synthetic tasks and is also applicable for teaching undergraduates. The haloform reaction of 2-acetonaphthone with sodium hypochlorite in…

This special issue was motivated by the realization that student motivation is inherently complex and no single framework can capture it in its full richness. However, the current zeitgeist in educational psychology seems to explicitly discourage attempts at integration as researchers are incentivized to stay within their own theoretical camps. In…