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Grand Challenges (GCs) are complex, global, and multifaceted science and societal problems such as climate change, viral pandemics, loss of biodiversity, and quests for new energy sources. In this article, we advance a position, based on current research and theory, that GCs should be a prominent feature of the science curriculum. This move towards a GC-based curriculum challenges the positioning of canonical scientific concepts as the central organising feature of the curriculum, which is typically the default position of most science education programmes. A GC-based curriculum can create natural avenues for students to learn science, develop an interest in science, and build media and information literacy skills to become informed agents of change. Design principles, which help to define what a GC curriculum can look like and guide creation of GC materials, are introduced. These design principles call for the GC curriculum to be contextualised in global issues with local connections, culturally responsive, practice oriented, attentive to student voice, and coherent within and across units. Examples are provided to demonstrate how these design principles are implemented in a sample curriculum. 

Abstract This article describes a novel method for quantifying fixation disparity and evaluates its role in visuospatial cognition during an authentic learning task, specifically, the determination of molecule chirality in organic chemistry involving mental rotation and pattern comparison. The first study examined the influence of molecular model dimensionality (2D vs. 3D) on chirality determination performance and visual attention of 55 participants. The second study explored how the sustained playing of the tile‐matching game Mahjong, a pattern comparison game, can affect visual attention and visuospatial performance during the chirality determination task of 59 participants. Fixation disparity was one of the eye tracking variables explored. Both studies revealed that (1) individuals with higher fixation disparity underperformed on the chirality task, which involves mental rotation and pattern comparison, and (2) fixation disparity improved over time in participants who played Mahjong. This work provides important implications for using fixation disparity as a possible biomarker of visuospatial performance. 

Catalyzed by copper sulfide nanoparticles (CuS NPs), polycarbonate (PC) degradation exhibits different degradation behaviors in varying solvents, showing competitive processes of chain scission, branching, and crosslinking. 

Conversion of plastic wastes to fatty acids is an attractive means to supplement the sourcing of these high-value, high-volume chemicals. We report a method for transforming polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) at ~80% conversion to fatty acids with number-average molar masses of up to ~700 and 670 daltons, respectively. The process is applicable to municipal PE and PP wastes and their mixtures. Temperature-gradient thermolysis is the key to controllably degrading PE and PP into waxes and inhibiting the production of small molecules. The waxes are upcycled to fatty acids by oxidation over manganese stearate and subsequent processing. PP ꞵ-scission produces more olefin wax and yields higher acid-number fatty acids than does PE ꞵ-scission. We further convert the fatty acids to high-value, large–market-volume surfactants. Industrial-scale technoeconomic analysis suggests economic viability without the need for subsidies. 

This article describes the use of a comic book to anchor a cryptology and cybersecurity curriculum for upper elementary students. Perceptions about the comic book from 138 students across 11 afterschool programs were examined using survey, classroom observation, and interviews. Data analysis revealed that the comic book created a “macrocontext” to situate learners in an exciting adventure about cryptology and cybersecurity. Students found the characters relatable, and their perceptions were tightly tied to other components of the curriculum. Reading the word bubbles was chal- lenging at first, but got easier over time. This study illustrates how comic books can anchor unfamiliar STeM content for younger learners.