The educational benefit of the traditional didactic lecture to learners in Higher Education is hotly debated. Given increasing student numbers, existing technical set ups and many logistical concerns, lectures remain the norm in many Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). In this personal view piece, we discuss the benefits, opportunities, and…

This report offers technical guidance and encouragement for any instructor or department looking to produce valuable, high-quality Lightboard teaching videos under space and budget constraints. Lightboards were introduced in a chemical education setting around 2015 as a presentation setup that allowed the presenter to speak face-to-face to their…

This study investigates the instructional practices of a chemistry professor during an immersion summer program, with a focus on employing multimodal discourse within a studio-based learning environment. For this study, multimodal discourse includes natural language, gestures, mathematical expressions, symbolic visual representations, and manual…

We investigated students' knowledge and beliefs about the impact of using three-dimensional (3D) multimedia presentations. Students listened to a lecture about the ventricular system, which was presented alone (Experiment 1 only) or with a 3D or a 2D video illustrating the system. Afterwards, students judged how well they would perform on a…

The research on students' perceptions after implementing a teaching style is recommended due to its potential to inform reformed education. The present study surveyed 319 students and revealed their perceptions of multimedia usage in teaching and learning quantum physics. Among these students, 156 were surveyed after learning quantum physics with…

Teachers select multiple representations and adopt multiple visualization approaches in supporting their students to make meaning of chemical phenomena. Representational competence underpins students' construction of their mental models of concepts thus it is important that teachers consider this while developing instructional resources. In…

Video lectures are increasingly being used in physics instruction. For example, video lectures can be used to "flip" the classroom, i.e., to deliver, via the Internet, content that is traditionally transmitted by in-class lectures (e.g., presenting concepts, working examples, etc.), thereby freeing up classroom time for more interactive…

The ability to interpret and reason from Tree of Life diagrams is a key component of twenty-first century science literacy. This article reports on the authors' continued development of a multifaceted research-based curriculum--including an instructional booklet, lectures, laboratories and a field activity--to teach such tree thinking to biology…

An inexpensive light board projection system that enables lecturers to face the classroom while lecturing is described. The lecturer's writing appears in high contrast in front of the lecturer; it is never blocked by the lecturer, even while writing. The projected image displays both the writing as well as the lecturer's gestures and facial…

Detailed accounts of teaching can shed light on the nature and prevalence of active learning, yet common approaches reduce teaching to unidimensional descriptors or binary categorizations. In this paper, I use the instructional systems-of-practice framework and the Teaching Dimensions Observation Protocol (TDOP) to advance an approach to thinking…

In recent years, school science has been the target of increasing critique for two reasons. On the one hand, it is said to enforce "epic" images of science that celebrate the heroes and heroic deeds that established the scientific canon and its methods and thereby falsifies the history and nature of science. On the other hand, the…

Physics education research has shown that students tend to struggle when trying to use mathematics in a meaningful way in physics (e.g., mathematizing a physical situation or making sense of equations). Concerning the possible reasons for these difficulties, little attention has been paid to the way mathematics is treated in physics instruction.…

Demonstrations are used in chemistry lectures to improve conceptual understanding by direct observation. The visual aid described here is designed to demonstrate the change in state of matter with the change of temperature and the change of pressure with temperature. Temperature is presented by the rate of airflow and pressure is presented by…

An introductory organic classroom demonstration is discussed where analogies are made between common societal hand contact and covalent bond formation. A handshake signifies creation of a [sigma] bond ("head-on" orbital overlap), whereas the action of praying illustrates "sideways" overlap and generation of a [pi] bond. The nature of orbital and…

"Science Learning and Instruction" describes advances in understanding the nature of science learning and their implications for the design of science instruction. The authors show how design patterns, design principles, and professional development opportunities coalesce to create and sustain effective instruction in each primary scientific…