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Journal Article

Teaching Through Trade Books: Becoming a Citizen Scientist

This column includes activities inspired by children’s literature. Both of this month’s activities focus on students identifying potential citizen science topics and contributing to actual research....

Elementary

Journal Article

The Poetry of Science: The Math of Science

Building literacy in playful, meaningful ways. Use this poem to point out that scientists use clocks, timers, and stopwatches to collect and record information....

Elementary General Science Mathematics Lesson Plans Teaching Strategies Literacy

Journal Article

Science 101: Q: How Do Self-Driving Cars Work?

This column provides background science information for elementary teachers. This month’s issue discusses the science behind self-driving cars....

Elementary Middle School Engineering Physical Science Technology Professional Learning old

Journal Article

Science 102: Match Magic

This column shares exercises to challenge content knowledge. This month's issue presents a new challenge and answers The Sound of One Hand Clapping challenge from last month....

Elementary High School Middle School Physical Science Inquiry Phenomena Labs

Journal Article

Methods and Strategies: Ask the Right Question

This column provides ideas and techniques to enhance your science teaching. This month’s issue shows how teachers can use literature and higher-level thinking questions to enhance science instruction....

Elementary General Science Assessment Inquiry NGSS Pedagogy Teaching Strategies Interdisciplinary Literacy New Science Teachers Preservice Science Education

Journal Article

Engineering Encounters: The Internet of Things for Kids

This column presents ideas and techniques to enhance your science teaching. In the “Talking Window Garden” project, students create “smart” plant pots that use sensors to collect and analyze data on the health of their plants....

Elementary Engineering Life Science STEM Technology

Journal Article

Is It Engineering or Not?

To bring engineering tasks into the classroom, know what qualifies—and what doesn’t. ...

Journal Article

Modeling a Membrane

Using engineering design to simulate cell transport processes....

Journal Article

Myths About the Nature of Technology and Engineering

Using the philosophy of technology and engineering to expose misconceptions....

Journal Article

The Stories of Inventions

An interdisciplinary, project-based unit for U.S. history students....

Journal Article

Troubleshooting Portfolios

Using Troubleshooting Portfolios to enhance students’ science practices and concepts when doing engineering design....

Journal Article

Editor's Corner: Engineering for the Future

The Science Teacher’s editor shares thoughts on the current issue....

Journal Article

Science 2.0: Align Your Curriculum With the ISTE Standards

This column shares web tools that support learning. This month’s issue provides some scaffolding to help teachers align the ISTE standards to the example activities in our previous columns....

Journal Article

Focus on Physics: Sailing Into the Wind: A Vector Explanation

This column helps teachers build an understanding of physical principles. In this lesson, students discover surprising facts about sailing and also the intriguing usefulness of vectors....

Journal Article

Health Wise: Getting Their Names Right

This Q&A style column provides up-to-date information on current health topics—helping students (and teachers) make healthy choices. This month’s issue discusses why it is important to pronounce a student's name correctly....

Journal Article

Career of the Month: Civil Engineer

This column shares interviews with professionals using science in the workplace. This month’s issue describes Kristina Swallow's career path to becoming a civil engineer....

Journal Article

Right to the Source: View From the Top

Exploring science and history with the Library of Congress. This month's issue discusses the rise of skyscrapers....

Journal Article

Moving Beyond STEAM

Take an artistic approach to explain the effects of resource availability on organisms in an ecosystem....

Journal Article

Unit Planning Using the Crosscutting Concepts

Discover strategies for integrating crosscutting concepts with disciplinary core ideas and engineering processes in a watercycle unit....

Journal Article

Exploring Terrestrial Isopods: How Terrestrial Isopods’ Behavior Can Influence Survival and Reproduction

Establish a breeding group of “roly polys” and examine the stimuli that affect their behavior....

Middle School Life Science Labs

Journal Article

Incorporating a Farm Into Our Science Curriculum: An Innovative Twist

Foster a connection between students and the outdoors by adopting a farm-based science curriculum....

Journal Article

Teacher's Toolkit: Interactive word walls: Visual Scaffolds That Transform Vocabulary Instruction

This column provides how-to strategies and practical advice for the science teacher. This month’s issue describes how middle school teachers can use interactive word walls to increase their students’ ability to learn and effectively use the langu...

Middle School General Science Curriculum Multilingual Learners NGSS Pedagogy Teaching Strategies Three-Dimensional Learning Literacy

Journal Article

Integrating Technology: Innovative Youth: An Engineering and Literacy Integrated Approach

This column shares how teachers use technology for assessment, student learning, or classroom management. This article describes activities that help students develop literacy and engineering skills while fostering an identity as individuals who are...

Journal Article

From the Editor's Desk: Innovative Teaching = Learning

Science Scope’s editor shares thoughts regarding the current issue....

Journal Article

Citizen Science: Summer Night Sky Citizen Science With Globe at Night

This column highlights formal and informal science research projects that students can join and contribute to by gathering and sharing data. The Globe at Night international citizen science project aims to increase awareness of the growing global is...

Journal Article

Disequilibrium: How Heat Affects the Density of Water

This column shows how to use discrepant events to confront misconceptions. This month’s discrepant event illustrates what happens when a container filled with warmer, less dense water is placed on top of a container filled with denser, cooler water...

Middle School Earth & Space Science General Science 5E Inquiry Phenomena

Journal Article

Listserv Roundup: Four Effective Ways to Improve Laboratory Management

This column shares recent conversations taken from the NSTA listserv community about current science education topics.This month’s column focuses on laboratory-related advice from the NSTA listservs....

Journal Article

Science for All: Kinesthetic Learning in Science

This column shares strategies for increasing student engagement. This month's topic describes creating a classroom environment where students can be in motion. The authors include their favorite ways to get students moving while they learn....

Journal Article

Teacher to Teacher: Transitioning to Three-Dimensional Learning With Evidence Statements

This column provides practical advice from your peers. Incorporating three-dimensional learning in the classroom requires teachers to change how they present lessons and assessments to students. This article shows teachers how to use the Next Genera...

Journal Article

Scope on the Skies: Vocabulary of the Skies

This column focuses on astronomy throughout the year. This month's issue provides a list of astronomical terms that students can apply to events that they can witness this summer....

Journal Article

Can a Diversified Instructional Approach Featuring Active Learning Improve Biology Students’ Attitudes Toward General Education?

The authors reorganized sections of their nonmajors biology course using current issues in biology and society as a premise to promote coherence among course content and emphasize the relevance of biological concepts to everyday life. A key aspect o...

Journal Article

The Windwalker Project: An Open-Ended Approach

Students in a beginning level undergraduate classical mechanics course engaged in collaborative inquiry through the Windwalker Project. The aim of this project was for students to create a free-standing movable structure as a way of testing and apply...

Journal Article

Facilitating Active Engagement of the University Student in a Large-Group Setting Using Group Work Activities

It is envisaged that small-group exercises as part of a large-group session would facilitate not only group work exercises (a valuable employability skill), but also peer learning. In this article, such a strategy to facilitate the active engagement...

Journal Article

Geoscience Videos and Their Role in Supporting Student Learning

A series of short (5 to 7 minutes long) geoscience videos were created to support student learning in a flipped class setting for an introductory geology class at North Carolina State University. This study sought to compare student learning about k...

Journal Article

Development and Impact of a Training Program for Undergraduate Facilitators of Peer-Assisted Learning

The authors created a Peer-Assisted Learning (PAL) program focused on improving student performance in high-risk STEM courses. Our PALs are modeled after the Peer-Led Team Learning program, which has been shown to provide long- and short-term benefit...

Journal Article

Research and Teaching: Undergraduate Students’ Scientifically Informed Decision Making About Socio-Hydrological Issues

To engage effectively with contemporary water-related challenges with scientific and social dimensions, students need to understand the properties of water and the nature of scientific processes and practices. However, students have difficulty in un...

Journal Article

Research and Teaching: Does the Classroom Matter? How the Physical Space Affects Learning in Introductory Undergraduate Science Courses

The authors compare student learning and perception data from astronomy, physics, and geology courses taught in a traditional classroom with individual desks to the same classes taught in a large auditorium....

Journal Article

Research and Teaching: Online Collaborative Misconception Mapping Strategy Enhanced Health Science Students’ Discussion and Knowledge of Basic Statistical Concepts

Collaborative activities in the area of science need to incorporate the co-critiquing of a flawed external source, with appropriate scaffolding to also benefit students with low self-regulation levels by mediating cognitive and metacognitive processe...

Journal Article

Research and Teaching: A Comparison of Long-Term Knowledge Retention Between Two Teaching Approaches

The purpose of the research in this article was to test assumptions regarding the effectiveness of reform-based instructional approaches to facilitating knowledge retention in students. We conducted an experimental study of knowledge retention at a m...

Journal Article

Point of View: First-Generation College Students: How to Recognize Them and Be Their Ally and Advocate

This column shares reflections or thoughtful opinions on issues of broad interest to the community. This month’s issue discusses the importance of identifiying first-generation college students and helping them become advocates for themselves....