All Resources

Journal Article

The Adventures of the Bucket Buddies

Through Bucket Buddies—a collaborative online project—elementary students from more than 150 schools in 33 states and 6 countries have taken samples from local ponds and teamed up to answer the question: Are the organisms found in pond water the ...

Journal Article

Snail Tales

“Snail Tales” is an inquiry-based exploratory lesson for students to investigate learning and memory using common garden snails. This classroom laboratory is based on research by neuroscientists and best classroom practice....

Journal Article

Research and Teaching: Expectations and Difficulties of First-Year Biology Students

In a study done at Tel-Aviv University, Israel, the author tracked 410 students who majored in biological sciences. He focused on different variables, such as students’ preferred instructional methods and learning styles, expectations from learning...

Journal Article

Mercury's MESSENGER

A salient feature of our species is the impetus to explore. Now that most of our own planet is well explored, the Space Age has opened the heavens for our excursions. One of the most challenging space exploration missions that will be conducted this ...

Journal Article

The Case Study: The Case of the Dividing Cell—Mitosis and Meiosis in the Cellular Court (Part II—Court is Back in Session)

The jury filed back into the courtroom, hardly visible to the spectators seated on the benches. Their tiny prokaryotic bodies seemed to bounce along to some inner music. There had been 3 days of testimony and the jury had become comfortable with the ...

Journal Article

Newton's First Law: Not So Simple After All

With the premise that even "simple" ideas aren't always understood by all, these demonstrations and hands-on activities were conducted to help third- and sixth-grade students understand the concepts behind Newton’s First Law....

Journal Article

Editor's Note (March 2004)

If science is the study of the natural world, how can we avoid physics and chemistry? Our students should understand the connections of the biological and physical realms before they hit the more abstract treatment in high school. This editorial in...

Journal Article

Career of the Month: An Interview with Microbiologist Dale B. Emeagwali

Although invisible to the naked eye, viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites can be found everywhere, from the air we breathe to inside our favorite foods. Microbiologists investigate how these organisms exist and affect our lives. Dale B. Emeagwali ...

Journal Article

Idea Bank: Melting a Misconception

The following lab was originally designed to teach the importance of manipulating a single variable in an experiment. However, the lab also dispels a common misconception, teaches the value of following lab instructions, and provides a good working d...

Journal Article

Libros de Ciencias en Español (March 2004)

Spanish-speaking children, like children everywhere, are naturally interested in the world around them. If we are to encourage their understanding and appreciation of the natural and physical sciences, we should provide them with a wide variety of b...

Journal Article

Tried and True: Extending paper chromatography inquiry

With some ingenuity and forethought, teachers can make simple modifications to a standard paper chromatography lesson that will improve student interest and extend inquiry learning. After separating the components of a water-soluble marker, students ...