Pedagogical approaches for supporting students' argumentative writing in science laboratories have not been fully established. This article examines the development of argumentative abilities in undergraduate students enrolled in chemistry laboratory courses that employed two teaching sequences: (i) an argumentative writing workshop for conceptual…

A technique has previously been described for secondary school-aged children to make ultraviolet (UV) dosimeters from highlighter pen ink drawn onto strips of paper. This technique required digital comparison of exposed ink paper strips with unexposed ink paper strips to determine a simple calibration function relating the degree of ink fading to…

This quantitative, exploratory study examined whether a Project-Based Guided Inquiry (PBGI) chemistry laboratory course supported more incremental ability beliefs among students, examined achievement outcomes for students grouped based on changes in student-reported chemistry ability beliefs from pre- to post-course, and provided explanations for…

Digital badging is an innovative method of valid, evidence-based assessment that may be used to assess hands-on skills in undergraduate science laboratories, in research laboratories, and in fieldwork. A digital badge contains information about who was awarded the badge, the criteria used, the evidence submitted, the issuer, the date issued, and…

How does the degree of inquiry-based laboratory instruction impact student performance and student perseverance in the laboratory portion of a first-semester general chemistry course? The implementation of a new first-semester general chemistry laboratory curriculum provided an opportunity to address this question. A modified version of…

The ADDIE (analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation) model was applied to help redesign a General Chemistry course to improve student success in the course. A team of six professionals spent 18 months and over 1,000 man-hours in the redesign. The resultant course is a blend of online and face-to-face instruction that utilizes…

Diagrams and figures play a central role in science and science education. Research has indicated that, when presented and used properly in a classroom setting, these external representations can contribute to students' understanding of scientific concepts; however, it is apparent that students do not always use, understand, interpret, or value…

This paper describes an action research approach toward an implementation of a new teaching methodology (specifically active learning) in a preparatory college chemistry classroom. The initial implementation involved the use of process-orientated guided inquiry (POGIL) activities. The treatment classes with either all POGIL activities during…

In a large enrollment, multiple-section course, review sessions enable efficient and consistent delivery of information to all students. A redesigned review session has been implemented to increase attendance and improve effectiveness. The new design involves a practice quiz consisting of about 20 multiple-choice questions that students answer…

Development of a research instrument to measure student achievement requires planning and reliability and validity testing before the instrument is used to collect data. These steps are often overlooked in research studies, but when the instrument is to be used across a wider population, the inclusion of these steps is vital to address the…

Finnish students' opinions about the frequency of learning activities and communication in the Finnish science classroom, their interest in science and science studies and careers, their sense of self-efficacy, and their beliefs about their own competence as well as their performance in science are analyzed based on PISA 2006 Scientific Literacy…

This study investigates the proximal and distal images of the nature of science (NOS) that A-level students develop from their participation in chemistry laboratory work. We also explored the nature of the interactions among the students' proximal and distal images of the NOS and students' participation in laboratory work. Students' views of the…

Presents a brief description of a study done to assess the impact of the use of calculators during examination, showing that the use of the instruments did play a major role in chemistry grade determination. (EB)

Investigates several aspects or modes of cognitive functioning, or styles, that may be indicative or predictive of success in undergraduate chemistry achievement. A concurrent investigation was also made of nonscience majors' congnitive styles. (Author/HM)

Describes the philosophical orientation and methodology employed in a laboratory chemistry program at Princeton University. Discusses the program's approach and use of challenging experiments, teaching assistants, and mastery teaching. (ML)