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Journal Article

Science 102: Raindrops Keep Falling Answer

This column shares exercises to challenge content knowledge. This month's issue answers the Raindrops Keep Falling challenge from last month....

Elementary Middle School Earth & Space Science Physical Science Inquiry Phenomena

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Engineering Encounters: An Engineering Design Process for Early Childhood

This column presents ideas and techniques to enhance your science teaching. This month's issue shares information about trying (again) to engineer an egg package....

Early Childhood

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Methods and Strategies: Put Your Walls to Work

This column provides ideas and techniques to enhance your science teaching. This month’s issue discusses planning and using interactive word walls to support science and reading instruction....

Elementary Earth & Space Science General Science 5E Crosscutting Concepts Multilingual Learners Instructional Materials NGSS Pedagogy Teaching Strategies Interdisciplinary Literacy

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Editor's Note: Meeting the Challenges of Communicating Science

Science and Children’s editor shares thoughts regarding the current issue....

NGSS Literacy

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“Accelerating” Science Learning With Reading

Use close reading to explore the physical science topics of force, motion, and acceleration....

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An Interdisciplinary Approach to Gene Therapy

Integrate T-W-L-H-Q, Word Splash, and discussion-based literacy strategies into a genetics unit....

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Learning to Read Science

Explore the unique challenges students face when reading science texts....

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Using Place-Based, Structured Inquiry to Motivate At-Risk Students

Engage students with real-world activities that address the needs of the school, community, and region....

Journal Article

From the Editor's Desk: Speaking Up for All

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

Journal Article

Classic Lessons 2.0: Science Cafés

This column shares updated perennial classroom favorites. An affordable, easy-to-implement model that introduces young girls to STEM-related topics, careers, and role models....

Journal Article

Teacher's Toolkit: Rocking Out Science!

This column provides how-to strategies and practical advice for the science teacher. This month’s issue describes how to use music videos to engage students and assess science learning....

Journal Article

Citizen Science: Fly Into Schoolyard Citizen Science With eBird

This column highlights formal and informal science research projects that students can join and contribute to by gathering and sharing data. Engage students in science as you contribute authentic data to eBird by uploading bird surveys conducted in ...

Journal Article

Disequilibrium: Edible Candles

This column shows how to use discrepant events to confront misconceptions. Students must distinguish between observations and inferences. This month’s discrepant event will refresh your students’ knowledge about the difference between the two....

Middle School General Science 5E Phenomena

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Science for All: Accessibility at the Onset

This column shares strategies for increasing student engagement. By beginning class with a task that the majority of students will be able to complete on their own, such as asking an open-ended question, you will foster a welcoming classroom environm...

Journal Article

Listserv Roundup: Four Essential Strategies for Differentiating Science Lessons

This column shares recent conversations taken from the NSTA listserv community about current science education topics. In this month’s column, the author focuses on the general differentiation advice shared via the NSTA e-mail listservs....

Journal Article

Teacher to Teacher: Instructional Scaffolds Can Support Students

This column provides practical advice from your peers. The author discusses two scaffolds that she uses to support student writing: writing frames and graphic organizers....

Journal Article

Scope on the Skies: The Historic Stars in Our Skies

This column focuses on astronomy throughout the year. This month’s issue discusses the luminosity, or apparent brightness, of some stars as seen from Earth....

Journal Article

Materials Science and the Problem of Garbage

Where does all that stuff go?...

Journal Article

Learning From the Fruit Fly

A card game for teaching Mendel’s laws, meiosis, and Punnett squares....

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Settling the Score

Exploring the historic debate over atomic bonding....

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The Microscopic World of Diatoms

Students collect stream water to study a biological indicator that can help detect pollution....

Journal Article

Editor’s Corner: Growing Mountains of Trash

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

Journal Article

Science 2.0: When Students Become Digital Citizens

This column shares web tools that support learning. This month, the authors discuss the Digital Citizen standard where “students(will) recognize the rights, responsibilities, and opportunities of living, learning, and working in an interconnected ...

Journal Article

Focus on Physics: The Moon Is Falling!

This column helps teachers build an understanding of physical principles. This month's column describes the sideways motion of tangential velocity, which keeps the Moon and all artificial Earth satellites falling around rather than into our planet....

Journal Article

The Green Room: Losing Sight of Our Stars

This column focuses on making your teaching more environmentally friendly. This month’s issue discusses light pollution and the different activities to investigate this problem....

Journal Article

Health Wise: Too Many Teens Have High Cholesterol

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 teens and cholesterol....

Journal Article

Idea Bank: Measurement by the Numbers

The Idea Bank provides tips and techniques for creative teaching, in about 1,000 words. This month’s Idea Bank discusses how to train students in measurement....

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Career of the Month: Conservation Scientist

This column shares interviews with professionals using science in the workplace. This month’s issue describes Lilian Pintea's career path to becoming a conservation scientist....

Journal Article

Right to the Source: A Slightly Damaged House

Exploring science and history with the Library of Congress. This month's issue discusses the Johnstown Flood using a photograph....

Journal Article

Effects of Gender on Student Response to Course-Based Research

There is wide consensus among educators that participation in authentic research is valuable for undergraduate science students, and incorporating research into large-enrollment courses is one way to provide that opportunity to many students. There ...

Journal Article

Instructional Design Changes in an Undergraduate A&P Course to Facilitate Student Engagement and Interest

In this article the authors describe changes in an undergraduate anatomy and physiology (A&P) curriculum designed to address educational goals at a private, comprehensive university. Educational goals included making course material more relevant to ...

Journal Article

An Authentic Research Experience for Undergraduates on a Budget: Using Data From Simple Experiments to Develop Mini-Research Proposals

The author describes how she has incorporated mini-research proposals into her lab courses. Students use the data they collect during class experiments as preliminary data, from which they formulate a next-step question and hypothesis, and then rese...

Journal Article

Team-Based Learning Reduces Attrition in a First-Semester General Chemistry Course

Team-based learning (TBL) is an instructional method that has been shown to reduce attrition and increase student learning in a number of disciplines. TBL was implemented in a first-semester general chemistry course, and its effect on attrition was a...

Journal Article

In the Midst of a Shift: Undergraduate STEM Education and “PBL” Enactment

In the engineering field, problem- and project-based learning, both of which are often referred to as PBL, are the dominant instructional models called for by accreditation agencies. The aim of this qualitative case study is to analyze and capture a ...

Journal Article

Research and Teaching: Beyond Correctness: Using Qualitative Methods to Uncover Nuances of Student Learning in Undergraduate STEM Education

Through this case study, the authors offer insight into the value of using qualitative methods in course assessment to science instructors in higher education....

Journal Article

Research and Teaching: Eight Is Not Enough: The Level of Questioning and Its Impact on Learning in Clicker Cases

Three college faculty taught large general biology classes using case studies and personal response systems (clickers). Each instructor taught the same eight cases in two different sections, except the questions within the cases differed. In one sec...

Journal Article

Research and Teaching: The Variation in Spatial Visualization Abilities of College Male and Female Students in STEM Fields Versus Non-STEM Fields

The purpose of this study was to determine whether there is a difference in spatial visualization ability between college students in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields and those in non-STEM fields. The study also examine...

Journal Article

Point of View: In Defense of the Lecture, Revisited

This column shares reflections or thoughtful opinions on issues of broad interest to the community. This month’s issue discusses the value of traditional lecturing....

Journal Article

Two-Year Community: Increasing Science Knowledge Among High-Risk Student Populations Through a Community College Honors/Service-Learning Program

State and national data suggest a strong correlation between student performance in STEM subjects and student socioeconomic status, race, and ethnicity. Queensborough Community College is situated in one of the most ethnically diverse areas in the co...