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Using animated computer-generated graphics to assist instruction has recently attracted the attention of educators and educational researchers. The specific focus of this study is to compare the influence of animated visuals with static visuals on college students' understanding of organic reaction mechanisms in chemistry. This study also focuses on the relationship between students' achievement and spatial ability. The results demonstrate that students using animated visuals performed significantly better than students using static visuals, who in turn performed significantly better than a control group with respect to knowledge of organic reaction mechanisms. A positive correlation was found between students' spatial ability and their achievement in organic chemistry. The results also indicate that students with high spatial ability gain more by viewing the kinetic visualizations.

The importance of reflection in teaching and learning lies in encouraging one to view problems from different perspectives. Reflective practice can be useful in designing teacher education and sustainable professional development. Conscious reflection is an important element for helping teachers and learners in problem-solving and decision-making processes and fostering their critical-thinking abilities. The aim of the present research was to investigate teachersí views about the nature of their experiences with reflective practices and reflective teaching. A survey consisted of three dimensions used to collect the data. It was distributed to 458 (237 male and 221 female) science teachers working at high schools in Saudi Arabia. The results have indicated that teacher practices of almost all reflective activities included in the three dimensions ìthe extent of practicing reflectionî, ìareas of practicing reflectionî, and ìways of practicing reflectionî are at ìhighî level from their point of view. The results have also shown that there are no significant differences in the teachersí views about their practices of reflective activities related to their gender, or experiences in the teaching profession.