In general, laboratories are exercises with a primary focus on the verification of established laws and principles, or on the discovery of objectively knowable facts. In laboratories, students gather data without comprehending the meaning of their actions. The cognitive demand of laboratory tasks is reduced to a minimal level. To prevent these deficiencies, activities in a physics laboratory course were redesigned using problem-based learning. Problem-based learning is an inquiry based instructional design in which experiential learning organized around the investigation, explanation, and resolution of meaningful problems. In activities, instructional strategy is student-centered and learning has to occur in small student groups under the guidance of a tutor. Authentic real world problems are primarily encountered in the learning sequence. To solve the problems, students propose hypothesis, and test their hypothesis with suitable experiment designs. Laboratory design and instruction strategies are very suitable for performing science process skills.

Radical reform in science and mathematics education is needed to prepare citizens for challenges of the emerging knowledge-based global economy. We consider definite proposals to establish: (1) Standards of science and math literacy for all students. (2) Integration of the science curriculum with structure of matter, energy, models and modeling as unifying themes. (3) Pedagogy promoting scientific inquiry and argumentation. (4) Sustained professional development and support for teachers. (5) Institutional support from local universities for continuous upgrades in curriculum and teaching practices. Physics plays a central role in all these reforms.

Research on the learning and teaching of science is an important field for scholarly inquiry by faculty in science departments. Such research has proved to be an efficient means for improving the effectiveness of instruction in physics. A basic topic in introductory physics is used to illustrate how discipline-based education research has helped identify certain conceptual and reasoning difficulties that are common among university students and pre-university teachers. The results have been used to guide the design of instruction that has brought about a significant improvement in learning. The type of research illustrated requires a deep knowledge of physics and ready accessibility to students as they study that subject. Both of these conditions are usually present only in physics departments, not in departments in which the primary focus is on educational theory and methodology. Although the context of this paper is physics, analogies can readily be made to other sciences.

The author discusses the balance and mutual influence of the language of instruction and mathematics in the context of CLIL, Content and Language Integrated Learning. Different aspects of the relationship of language and Mathematics teaching and learning are discussed: the benefits of using a foreign language of instruction, as well as the advantages of using Mathematics as a tool to teach a foreign language. Based on research among pre-service teacher trainees, the author presents different approaches to CLIL-lesson planning, pointing out the focus of the teacher trainees on content and/or language and the development throughout the ongoing course of CLIL at the University, with respect to the different specializations of the teacher trainees.

A highly interactive, integrated and multi-level simulator has been developed specifically to support both the teachers and the learners of modern computer technologies at undergraduate level. The simulator provides a highly visual and user configurable environment with many pedagogical features aimed at facilitating deep understanding of concepts which are often difficult to grasp by the students. The rational behind the development is explained and the main features of the simulator are described. A brief account of the ways in which the simulator has been used to support undergraduate lectures and tutorials is given. The current state of the research in assessing and evaluating the value of the simulations at undergraduate levels is presented.