All Resources

Journal Article

Scope on Safety: Essential First Aid for Science Teachers

From a practical standpoint, science teachers should be trained to respond to incidents involving burns, bleeding, chemical exposure, swallowed poisons, penetrating objects, lacerations, and shock. Basic training is required to properly handle these ...

Journal Article

Science Sampler: Digital Field Trips

"Take only photographs. Leave only footprints." This is the author's motto as she bubbled forth with ideas and images after taking a digital camera along on trips to Utah, Yellowstone National Park, the Rocky Mountains, and other sites. She collected...

Journal Article

Society for College Science Teachers: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly—Introductory Biology Textbooks

As editions of textbooks age, we are all forced to reexamine the universe of books and select one to use for three to four semesters. After 30 years of selecting textbooks, the author is still confronted with the fundamental question: Why is it so di...

Journal Article

Teaching Through Trade Books: Water Wherever

Whether rain, sleet, or snow, February weather across the country provides students with opportunities to observe the many different ways the water cycle affects our daily lives. This month's trade books that focus on the water cycle include The Snow...

Journal Article

Teaching Science to Newcomers

Many ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) students are in classes primarily devoted to improving English language skills at the expense of other disciplines, such as science. The authors designed a project that brought ESOL students into a ...

Journal Article

AIM for Professional Development

Instructional materials help guide both what and how teachers teach and what and how students learn. Most educators, however, are not aware that the selection of instructional materials can serve as energizing, engaging professional development. This...

Journal Article

Chemistry as a Second Language

Chemistry is a unique language in and of itself that can be difficult for students to understand. As a result, the basic curriculum approach described in this article was designed to make chemistry more accessible to students, especially those who ar...

Journal Article

DNA Mapping Made Simple

The universality of the genetic code has allowed DNA isolated from a specific organism to be transferred and incorporated in another organism, transforming bacterial, yeast, plant, and animal cells. This transformation ability is the essence of recom...

Journal Article

Opening the Science Doorway

This article provides a number of practical strategies for teaching science to English Language Learners (ELLs). The strategies were developed by educators participating in science/ELL workshops and through the author’s own experience as a science ...

Journal Article

Prayer Study

Students read an article about a study of the effects of intercessory prayer on cardiac patients published in a renowned medical journal. After reading the case and discussing the questions in small groups, students evaluate the study for its scienti...

Journal Article

Using Easy-Bake Ovens to Teach Chemistry

After participating in an internship at the American Institute of Baking, the author developed an innovative way for students to explore basic chemistry concepts through bakery science. An Easy-Bake Oven is a quick and safe oven that is perfect for t...

Journal Article

The Fish Kill Mystery

In this case, students speculate on what may have caused a major fish kill in an estuary in North Carolina. In the process they explore how land runoff and excess nutrients affect aquatic communities and learn about the complex life cycle of the dino...

Journal Article

Inquiry-Based Instruction

The term inquiry has been used to form curriculum goals, design instructional strategies, and assess learning. The term also describes what scientists do. Within the science classroom, inquiry is used to promote activity-oriented learning that ref...

Journal Article

Commentary: Personal Guiding Frameworks and Equity Teaching Practices

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) requires that science educators use research-based teaching strategies. This month’s Commentary column cites the following references as excellent resources for science educators to use as personal guidin...

Journal Article

Scope on the Skies: Convening with Comets

In February 2004, not only were the four brightest planets visible across the evening skies, but there was a comet rendezvous mission nearly completed while another was just getting started. Comet missions not only provide information about comets an...