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Journal Article
Teaching Science to ELLs, Part I
Since 1995, the population of English language learners (ELLs) in the United States has increased by an astonishing 57% (Maxwell 2009). Though ELLs come from many different backgrounds, they share the common challenge of learning English while respon...
Journal Article
Research and Teaching: Online Homework, Help or Hindrance? What Students Think and How They Perform
To improve students’ retention rates in general chemistry, online homework was introduced into our curriculum. Replacing quizzes directly by online homework significantly improved (p < .0005) success rates in second-term general chemistry. Attitudi...
Journal Article
Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K–12 (Books published in 2010)
What makes an outstanding book for a young reader? Although it would be hard to create a rubric for every book, experienced teachers recognize them quickly. They fascinate and captivate with both their content and style. Award-winning trade books ins...
Journal Article
Idea Bank: Selecting Software for Students With Learning and Other Disabilities
Have you ever bought a computer program that you thought would be great for your struggling students, only to find that it did not work on your school computers, or that your students found it difficult to use? Selecting science software for students...
Journal Article
JCST Sunsets Favorite Demonstration Column
The Journal of College Science Teaching announces that this long-running column will be discontinued. We will continue to publish those articles which have been previously accepted, but we will no longer accept new manuscripts for this column. We wis...
Journal Article
The New Teacher's Toolbox: Combating Cheating in the Classroom
Cheating is nothing new—students have been finding ways to do it for years. Though you'll never be able to catch every cheater, there are some steps you can take to minimize cheating in your classroom. This month's column provides tips that take li...
Book Chapter
This book, and particularly the stories which lie within, provide an opportunity for students to take ownership of their learning and learn science in a way that will give them a more positive attitude about science. In addition, it will serve to hel...
Book Chapter
The story, in this chapter, is meant to show students the importance of leavening agents in making baked goods. Yeast, a living organism (a fungus), is necessary for baking risen yeast breads. This fungus can be ineffective if it is not healthy. The ...
Book Chapter
Springtime in the Greenhouse: Planting Season
Children and adults alike are prone to believe that if a little of something is good, more is better. In the case of this story, your students will probably believe that if fertilizer is good for growing plants, it must be good for germinating seeds....
Book Chapter
Students may have the impression that all kinds of reaction time responses can be improved through practice. They may believe also that every kind of stimulus produces the same kind of reaction time. The story, in the chapter, provides the opportun...
Book Chapter
In this chapter, this story really leaves us hanging! It’s a great one for real investigation! There are two purposes of the story: the first is to investigate closed systems. Anything that happens inside uses up only the materials in the jar, beca...
Book Chapter
Melting and dissolving are two of the most often misunderstood concepts in both child and adult populations. Many children believe that when a substance dissolves in a solvent it does not exist any longer. This chapter’s story’s purpose is to a...
Book Chapter
Your students will probably not be able to distinguish between heat and temperature as concepts. The main purpose of this chapter and story is to help students understand the dynamics of heat energy transfer. Another purpose is for them to understand...
Book Chapter
Students often focus more on the visible properties of objects, like shininess, than the material of which they are actually made. In this chapter, the story will allow students to become aware that some materials give up and take in thermal energy ...
Book Chapter
The story in this chapter has two purposes. One is to apply what is known about pendulums to a new problem and the other is to use technical skills to solve a problem. The swing operates on the principles of periodic motion and the crooked branch, up...
Book Chapter
This chapter’s story is based a bit on the ESS (Elementary Science Study) activity “Mystery Powders.” The problem with the original activity was that the students were introduced to the tests for various ingredients without a motivating hook. A...
Book Chapter
Your students will probably not consider friction to be a force. In this chapter, the story focuses on friction, both static and kinetic. Jimmy had trouble overcoming the static friction that needed a pushing force to get him started and then had t...
Book Chapter
Using the Book and the Stories
It is often difficult for overburdened teachers to develop lessons or activities that are compatible with the everyday life experiences of their students. A major premise of this book is that if students can see the real-life implications of science ...
Book Chapter
Using the Book in Different Ways
Although the book was originally designed for use with K–8 students by teachers or adults in informal settings, it became obvious that a book containing stories and content material for teachers who are intent on teaching in an inquiry mode had oth...
Book Chapter
There is currently a strong effort to combine science and literacy, because a growing body of research stresses the importance of language in learning science. Discussion, argumentation, discourse of all kinds, group consensus, and social interaction...
Book Chapter
The purpose of this story used in this chapter is to help students learn about the source of heat energy that warms their planet. Of course that is the Sun, and it only has an effect on the temperature of the Earth when it is shining on a particula...
Book Chapter
The author’s research and that of others show that children have a difficult time understanding the recycling of organic matter in an ecosystem. The story in this chapter aims to have students speculate about what happens to organic material over t...
Book Chapter
What’s the Moon Like Around the World?
A great deal of confusion arises from the lack of understanding about the Moon’s journey around the Earth and its apparent shape changes. This investigation is aimed at confronting this confusion by looking at the Earth-Moon system and how it appea...
Book Chapter
Astronomical rules are not always correct, especially when they use the word “always.” Students should learn that unless they live on or very near the equator, there are only two days in the year that the Sun rises directly in the east—the sp...
Book Chapter
Lichens are everywhere, yet most people fail to notice them because they are so familiar. The story in this chapter was written to help persuade teachers to acquaint their students with these unique forms of life. Many biology teachers tend to gloss ...
Book Chapter
Comeback Cans: Potentially Energize “You CAN Do” Science Attitudes
Learners predict-observe-explain the rolling behavior of the two cans in terms of kinetic and potential energy conversions and friction. Two seemingly identical opaque cans are set against each other in a race on a flat surface. Initially, both can...
Book Chapter
Follow That Star: <i>National Science Education Standards</i> and True North
Earth’s magnetic field and its effect on compasses can help people find their bearings relative to a fixed target or direction. In this activity, many learners will have difficulty locating their compass bearings if they are inside a room (especi...
Book Chapter
“Horsing Around”: Curriculum-Instruction-Assessment Problems
The nature of science (NOS) involves actively seeking (rather than avoiding) challenging problems that may require looking at situations differently and thinking outside of artificially imposed constraints. Science, like art, is a creative endeavo...
Book Chapter
Magical Signs of Science: “Basic Indicators” for Student Inquiry
Advertisements capture consumers’ attention and motivate them to buy certain products. Similarly, teachers need to sell science to students by walking the talk of research-informed best practices. Magic signs with (dis)appearing messages (or col...
Book Chapter
Verifying Vexing Volumes: “Can Be as Easy as Pi” Mathematics
Mathematics is both a key to unlocking the secrets of nature and, for many students, a stumbling block to conceptual understanding in science. In this activity, two sheets of 8.5 in. × 11 in. paper are used to construct two cylinders with surprising...
Book Chapter
Bottle Band Basics: A Pitch for Sound Science
In this activity, three identical-size glass soft drink bottles with varying amounts of water are used to make sounds of various pitches. Upon initial consideration, the pattern established when using the bottles as wind instruments seems to suggest ...
Book Chapter
Metric Measurements, Magnitudes, and Mathematics: Connections Matter in Science
This model-building activity helps learners visualize SI’s base-ten relationships; the connections between the meter, liter, and gram; the real-world relevance of mathematics to science; and the somewhat abstract concept of powers of ten that is so...
Book Chapter
Cookie Mining: A Food-for-Thought Simulation
In this activity, various brands, sizes, and textures of chocolate chip cookies are “mined” as an edible analogy for natural resource management and conservation....
Book Chapter
Teachers (or students) are asked to generate and discuss a list of the Top 10 Crazy Ideas in Science and a related list of Top 10 Challenges of Learning Science. This brainstorming activity focuses on science as a school subject that can be mindless...
Book Chapter
In this activity, the wording and validity of the scientific and economic claims for compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs) are critically examined. Their environmental impact relative to standard incandescent lightbulbs is also discussed....
Book Chapter
A Terrible Test That Teaches: Curriculum-Embedded Assessment
In this activity, a “terrible test” appears to be impossible to pass. However, it is intentionally designed to include common errors in item construction that, if noticed, allow the test-wise learner to ace the test without any prior knowledge of...
Book Chapter
Diagnostic Assessment: Discrepant Event or Essential Educational Experiment?
In this activity, learners are asked to complete sample diagnostic assessments that model how nongraded, preinstructional “tests” support learner-centered curriculum and instruction. These kinds of tests, the specific questions asked, and the mis...
Book Chapter
Dual-Density Discrepancies: Ice Is Nice and Sugar Is Sweet
Seemingly identical crystalline cubes (ice versus halite crystals) are observed to either sink or float in two seemingly identical clear, colorless liquids (ethanol and water). Also, a handful of sugar cubes are observed to sink in a container of ...
Book Chapter
Inferences, Inquiry, and Insight: Meaningful “Miss-takes”
The Nature of Science (NOS) includes making scientific inferences based on available empirical evidence (observation) and logical arguments (e.g., prediction based on pattern recognition). Making and learning from “miss-takes” uncovered via sk...
Book Chapter
Pseudoscience in the News: Preposterous Propositions and Media Mayhem Matters
The nature of science (NOS) is to rely on empirical evidence, logical argument, and skeptical review, versus pseudoscience (e.g., astrology), which falsely claims scientific validity and credibility despite the weight of contradictory evidence. Both...