All Resources

Journal Article

Teacher's Toolkit: Using Rubrics to Integrate Crosscutting Concepts

This column provides how-to strategies and practical advice for the science teacher. This month’s issue explains the development of a rubric that may serve as a bridge between the learning outcomes associated with specific crosscutting concepts and...

Journal Article

From the Editor's Desk: Systems Thinking Solutions

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

Journal Article

Citizen Science: Ecosystems and Eagle Populations

This column highlights formal and informal science research projects that students can join and contribute to by gathering and sharing data. Soar into systems thinking with the Mid-Winter Bald Eagle Survey....

Journal Article

Disequilibrium: A Balancing Act

This column shows how to use discrepant events to confront misconceptions. This month’s discrepant event helps students identify and develop an understanding of the simple relationships between various components of a system. Students will find th...

Middle School Physical Science 5E Inquiry Phenomena

Journal Article

Listserv Roundup: From the Archives: Systems

This column shares recent conversations taken from the NSTA listserv community about current science education topics. In this month’s column we dive into the NSTA listserv archives and look at some requests for resources on understanding and teach...

Journal Article

Science for All: Going From Macro to Micro

This column shares strategies for increasing student engagement. In this month's issue we discuss how you can use the theory of multipe intelligences to provide differentiation for your students....

Journal Article

Teacher to Teacher: Assessing Crosscutting Concepts

This column provides practical advice from your peers. Cross Cutter Cards provide a method for students to apply a crosscutting concept when discussing similarities between two different phenomena....

Journal Article

Scope on the Skies: Flipped Constellations

This column focuses on astronomy throughout the year. This month’s issue discusses constellations....

Journal Article

Integrating Technology: Students Making Systems Models: An Accessible Approach

This column shares how teachers use technology for assessment, student learning, or classroom management. Teaching and learning about systems can be challenging without the right tools and curricular supports. The authors developed a tool to support ...

Journal Article

Long-Form Science

Teaching with extended texts....

Journal Article

Short-Form Science

A “close reading” unit on the history of the atom....

Journal Article

Read Like a Scientist

Scientists read, and so should your students....

Journal Article

Text Savvy

Planning rich reading experiences that support language development and science learning....

Journal Article

Editor's Corner: Digital Literacy—Is It Real?

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

Journal Article

Science 2.0: Help Students Become Innovative Designers

This column shares web tools that support learning. The past three columns have described how teachers can implement the first three Empowered Learner Standards established by the International Society for Technology in Education. This month, the aut...

Journal Article

The Green Room: The Top Five Environmental Stories of 2016

This column focuses on making your teaching more environmentally friendly. In this month’s issue the author presents 2016's top environmental stories plus some of the best websites for environmental news....

Journal Article

Focus on Physics: When What You See Is What You Hear

This column helps teachers build an understanding of physical principles. This issue discusses the law of reflection....

Journal Article

Health Wise: Why Teens Need the HPV Vaccine

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 the need for students to receive the HPV vaccine....

Journal Article

Idea Bank: Keep Current With a Journal Club

The Idea Bank provides tips and techniques for creative teaching, in about 1,000 words. Students select science articles to read and report on during a monthly Journal Club. Students look forward to the activity each month. When students are given t...

Journal Article

Career of the Month: Television Writer

This column shares interviews with professionals using science in the workplace. This month’s issue describes Katherine Lingenfelter's career path to becoming a television writer....

Journal Article

Right to the Source: Why Scientists Write

Exploring science and history with the Library of Congress. This month's issue discusses a letter written by Alexander Graham Bell....

Journal Article

What Makes Us Who We Are? Investigating the Chemistry Behind Genetics in an Interdisciplinary Course for Undergraduate Students

This article details the aim, development, and implementation of the Chemistry-Genetics Course Collaborative, a cotaught offering of a human genetics course with an honors introductory chemistry course....

Journal Article

Digital Badges in Science: A Novel Approach to the Assessment of Student Learning

Digital badging is an innovative method of valid, evidence-based assessment that may be used to assess hands-on skills in undergraduate science laboratories, in research laboratories, and in fieldwork. The authors have used digital badging to assess ...

Journal Article

A Discipline-Specific Approach to the History of U.S. Science Education

Through a discipline-specific approach to a course on the history of science education in the United States, the authors have spurred the interest of college science faculty and future high school science teachers as well as doctoral students in disc...

Journal Article

Implementation of Peer-Reviewed Homework Assignments

In large, introductory courses, instructors and teaching assistants often struggle to provide detailed feedback on student homework in a timely manner. This article describes a peer-reviewed homework system that provides quick turnaround while offeri...

Journal Article

Sesame Street Picnic: An Introductory Activity to Claims, Evidence, and Rationale

Recent calls for reform in K–16 STEM education not only emphasize mastery of content, but also call for students to engage in the scientific practice of making evidence-based claims, or scientific argumentation. However, students often struggle to ...

Journal Article

Research and Teaching: Using a Practical Instructional Development Process to Show That Integrating Lab and Active Learning Benefits Undergraduate Analytical Chemistry

The authors describe how a practical instructional development process helped a first-year assistant professor rapidly develop, implement, and assess the impact on her Analytical Chemistry course caused by three changes: (a) moving the lab into the s...

Journal Article

Research and Teaching: Using Models From the Literature and Iterative Feedback to Teach Students to Construct Effective Data Figures for Poster Presentations

Analyzing, interpreting, and clearly presenting real data are skills all students should develop, majors and nonmajors alike. These process skills require lots of practice coupled with targeted feedback from instructors or mentors. This article pres...

Journal Article

Research and Teaching: Virtually the Same: A Comparison of STEM Students’ Content Knowledge, Course Performance, and Motivation to Learn in Virtual and Face-to-Face Introductory Biology Laboratories

Biology I is a required course for many STEM majors and is often their first college-level laboratory experience. The replacement of the traditional face-to-face laboratory experience with virtual laboratories could influence students’ content kno...

Journal Article

Research and Teaching: Measuring Student Interactions Using Networks: Insights Into the Learning Community of a Large Active Learning Course

Collaborative learning in small groups is commonly implemented as a part of student-centered curricula. In large-enrollment courses, details of the interactions among students as a consequence of working in collaborative groups are often unknown but ...

Journal Article

Point of View: Science Classrooms as a Gateway to Comprehensive Pedagogy

This column shares reflections or thoughtful opinions on issues of broad interest to the community. This month’s issue discusses the importance of college-level science classrooms practicing interdisciplinarity....

Journal Article

Two-Year Community: Using Formative Assessment to Improve Microscope Skills Among Urban Community College General Biology I Lab Students

The authors sought to improve student microscope skills by implementing formative assessment techniques in addition to summative assessment approaches....

Journal Article

Case Study: Let’s Get Personal: Putting Personality Into Your Cases

This column provides original articles on innovations in case study teaching, assessment of the method, as well as case studies with teaching notes. This month’s issue discusses the importance of personalizing case study stories....

eBook

Inquiring Scientists, Inquiring Readers in Middle School: Using Nonfiction to Promote Science Literacy (e-book)

Great news for multitasking middle school teachers: Science educators Terry Shiverdecker and Jessica Fries-Gaither can help you blend inquiry-based science and literacy instruction to support student learning and maximize your time. Several unique fe...

Book Chapter

Big Data, Small Devices: Investigating the Natural World Using Real-Time Data (Book Sample)

Now your students can transform their mobile phones and tablets into tools for learning about everything from weather to water quality. Big Data, Small Devices shows you how. This book is designed for Earth and environmental science teachers who want...

Book Chapter

Air Quality

In this lesson, students will explore the relationship between tropospheric ozone and temperature and how human populations affect ozone levels. Disciplinary core ideas covered are weather and climate and human impacts on Earth systems. Tips for scal...

Book Chapter

Climate From Pole to Pole

In this lesson, students will use mean (average) temperature data to determine changes in surface temperature over time in different areas of Earth. Disciplinary core ideas covered are Earth’s systems and weather and climate. Tips for scaling down,...

Book Chapter

Extreme Weather

In this lesson, students will use a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) database to identify extreme weather events throughout the United States in different locations or over time. Disciplinary core ideas covered are Earth’s sys...

Book Chapter

Weather Mapper

In this lesson, students will use weather data to create a current weather map by drawing station models for multiple locations. Disciplinary core ideas covered are Earth materials and systems and weather and climate. Tips for scaling down, scaling u...