All Resources

Journal Article

Measure Lines

One tool for enhancing students’ work with data in the science classroom is the measure line. As a coteacher and curriculum developer for The Inquiry Project, the author has seen how measure lines—a number line in which the numbers refer to units...

Journal Article

Point of View: Where Are Skills Learned in a Science Program?

Communication, critical thinking, and collaboration are outcomes we hope students will learn from experts in “other” courses. But if science teachers value certain skills, then they should accept the challenge to help students learn those skills ...

Journal Article

Critical-Thinking Grudge Match: Biology vs. Chemistry—Examining Factors That Affect Thinking Skill in Nonmajors Science

Chemistry students appear to bring significantly higher critical-thinking skill to their nonmajors course than do biology students. Knowing student preconceptions and thinking ability is essential to learning growth and effective teaching. Of the fac...

Journal Article

A Place for Content Literacy

To help students learn and apply science content, teachers can embed content literacy instruction within science instruction. This involves teaching the content and the literacy skills students need to learn that content, such as vocabulary and compr...

Journal Article

The New Teacher’s Toolbox: Homeless Not Hopeless—Tips for the Traveling Teacher

In a world of expanding class sizes and shrinking budgets, it’s rare to find a new teacher with his or her own classroom. New teachers often juggle multiple sections of multiple preps in different rooms—sometimes teaching back-to-back classes on ...

Journal Article

The Early Years: Recording Data With Young Children

Young children collect data every day. They note who has pink sparkly shoes and find out who will share the ball on the playground. Children will be interested in collecting data if the topic is important to them, such as recording their favorite col...

Journal Article

Research and Teaching: A Performance Enhanced Interactive Learning Workshop Model as a Supplement for Organic Chemistry Instruction

In this study, the authors describe a Performance Enhanced Interactive Learning (PEIL) workshop model as a supplement for organic chemistry instruction. This workshop model differs from many others in that it includes public presentations by students...

Journal Article

Every Day Science: January 2011

This monthly column presents facts and challenges for the science explorer. ...

Journal Article

The Affective Elements of Science Learning

Student attitudes can have a positive or negative effect on learning. According to Duschl, Schweingruber, and Shouse, “[students’] goals for science learning, their beliefs about their ability to do science, and the value they assign to science l...

Journal Article

Where Does Our Food Come From?

Problem-based learning (PBL) is one approach to teaching science that supports the notion that students construct knowledge within contextual settings, and that critical thinking and application are best fostered within these realistic contexts. In o...

Journal Article

Connecting Students to Science Through Structured Reading of Historical Nonfiction

Success for many of our students is contingent on the degree to which they identify with and make personal connections to science. Although this may be most true of our nonmajors, it is important for us as science educators to help all our students c...

Journal Article

Using Formative and Alternative Assessments to Support Instruction and Measure Student Learning

Using formative assessment involves gathering data from students on their progress and comprehension so that instruction can be adjusted to meet their learning needs (Popham 2001; Greenstein 2010). This article describes how the author uses homework,...

Journal Article

Safer Science: Building Safety in Foreign Language

A school is about to undergo major renovations and new construction to handle a growing student population. So some science classes and labs are assigned to other parts of the building temporarily. Most teachers are excited about the opportunity to h...

Journal Article

The Concept Attainment Strategy

The concept attainment lesson, recommended by Joyce, Weil, and Calhoun (2004), is designed to give students practice in analyzing data and developing critical-thinking skills—without a complicated lab setup. The inductive lesson structure leads stu...

Journal Article

Favorite Demonstration: Cheap Mirrors—Image Construction With Mylar Mirrors and Whiteboards

The cylindrical mirrors lab described in this demonstration has been done in many forms. However, because of its ease in construction and variation, this version allows students to do the exercise themselves, thereby capturing that sense of confidenc...

Journal Article

Science Sampler: Using video games as an alternative science assessment for students with disabilities and at-risk learners

This article describes how middle school teachers can improve students’ science performance using video games that incorporate principles of the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework. Research indicates that video games can enhance the educ...

Journal Article

How Much Carbon Is in the Forest?

At the start of an integrated Algebra I and Environmental Science class, students were presented with the following challenge: “How much carbon is stored in the Normanskill Preserve?” They were told they had one month to investigate and present t...

Book Chapter

Mastery Learning

The key to mastery learning is that students are required to show mastery of a concept before they are allowed to move on to the next concept. The teacher determines at what level the mastery must be accomplished—for example, 100%, 80%, or 70%. Stu...

Journal Article

No Duck Left Behind

Recently, a group of fourth graders joined Pintail Partners—a year-long collaborative research effort of scientists, students, classroom teachers, preservice teachers, museum educators, and university professors. Students and teachers followed sate...

Journal Article

Scope on Safety: Black lights—Don’t be in the dark

Some middle school science teachers take advantage of black light technology phenomena and fluorescent materials in classroom demonstrations and laboratory investigations. Should they be concerned about students working with or being exposed to this ...

Journal Article

Early Primary Invasion Scientists

“We really need to get the government involved,” said one student, holding his graph up to USDA scientist Steve Seefeldt. Dr. Steve studies methods to control invasive plants, plants that have been introduced to an area by humans and have potenti...