You have probably heard that radiation is used to combat cancer, but might be wondering how exactly this works. X-rays deposit a specified dose of high energy into the cancerous tissue. This damages the cancer cells’ DNA beyond repair, causing the cells to stop dividing or die. But what about the surrounding healthy tissue? How do we minimize harm?

This is where medical physicists come in. They specialize in the interaction between radiation and the human body, and help patients get the best results from their cancer therapy. Medical physicist John Winston works to improve the health and lives of patients by protecting them from overexposure to radiation and its harmful side effects.
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Technology has the potential to transform science education through online social network collaboration, satellite navigation and imaging, field and laboratory digital probeware, wikis and blogs, sophisticated online data sets, student response systems (e.g., “clickers”), visualization and modeling tools, tablet computers, serious educational games and interactive simulations, three-dimensional displays, and other evolving technologies. Some of these new tools are featured in this issue of TST.
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Is organic food healthier?
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Last year, the author of this month’s Idea Bank had his 11th-grade physics students in Shanghai, China work with students from Chicago, Illinois. Both sets of students were given a list of questions and problems and asked to work together via Skype—a free videoconferencing program—to complete it. The students enjoyed working with peers from a different culture, and having the chance to share physics knowledge made the activity extremely relevant. This article includes the student handout, entitled “China to Chicago: Newton goes global!”
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When life hands you lemons, make a battery! In this article, the authors describe an activity they refer to as Juan’s Dilemma, an extension of the familiar lemon-battery activity (Goodisman 2001). Juan’s Dilemma integrates oxidation and reduction chemistry with circuit theory in a fun, real-world exercise. The authors designed this activity for a ninth-grade physical science class, and their students have found it to be intriguing and challenging.
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In the science classroom, developing security involves more than just looking up chemicals. Securing high school science laboratories, preparation rooms, and storerooms is an integral part of protecting schools and the general public from terrorist-type activities. This month’s Safer Science column provides a place to start when beefing up security and providing a safer working environment.
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For this issue’s “New Web Tools and Technology” theme, the authors thought it appropriate to showcase one innovative web project in depth. Ben Wildeboer, a science teacher in Connecticut, agreed to talk with them about student blogging and his Project Climate.
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A new online tool called Science Pipes allows students to conduct biodiversity investigations. With this free tool, students create and run analyses that would otherwise require access to unwieldy data sets and the ability to write computer code. Using these data, students can conduct guided inquiries or hypothesis-driven research to investigate patterns and trends—such as the distribution of plant and animal species across biomes or the migration routes of various bird species.
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Self-regulated learning (SRL) encourages students to learn using metacognition, strategic action, and motivation. This nontraditional approach to education relies on the student’s active role in learning and the instructor’s facilitatory role in teaching. This article provides a comprehensive analysis of an SRL instructional model the author designed to deepen the understanding and applications of scientific knowledge among her students. Based on the principles of self-regulation and cooperative learning, students were exposed to a constant project-based environment. They used a multiple learning-intelligence approach to solve real-life problems, adopt scientific knowledge and processes, and develop critical-thinking skills.
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Since 2002, the PhET Interactive Simulations project at the University of Colorado has been working to provide learning tools for students and teachers. The project has developed over 85 interactive simulations—or sims—for teaching and learning science. Although these sims can be used in a variety of ways, they are specifically designed to make scientist-like, inquiry-based activities that are productive and fun learning experiences for students. In this article, the authors focus on the design features of PhET sims that support inquiry learning, highlight their alignment with standards for several science disciplines, and provide examples of inquiry-based activities.
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Technology can be a powerful tool to increase motivation, engagement, and achievement (Park, Khan, and Petrina 2009). In this article, the authors describe their collaborative approach to integrating technology with a lab on bacterial transformation. Students view websites and create videos to increase their conceptual understanding. Although the authors used this project in a 10th-grade biology class, the concept is applicable to all scientific disciplines.
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GENIQUEST is a cyberlearning computer program that allows students to investigate biological data using a research-based instructional model. In this article, the authors make the case for using cyberlearning to teach students about the rapidly growing fields of genomics and computational biology.
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Today, there is a lot out there about “going green”—in your car, at home, for your kids, yourself, your planet. But what about teaching green? In this new column, Amanda Beckrich explores ways to make your classroom, your teaching, and—hopefully—your students more environmentally friendly. Amanda taught Advanced Placement Environmental Science, Chemistry, and Bioethics at St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes School in Alexandria, Virginia, for 10 years and served as the school’s JK–12 sustainability coordinator for 3. This year, she is traveling abroad—and studying the various ways other countries teach and model sustainability in their classrooms. Read on as Amanda shares her insights and suggestions for green teaching!
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New technologies are engaging today’s students the way PowerPoint did a decade ago. The pressure to go digital can seem especially overwhelming to new teachers, but fear not! Teaching in the digital age is easier than you think. This month’s column provides some tips to help you get started.
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