All Resources

Journal Article

Research and Teaching: Development and Validation of a Scale to Measure Attitudes toward Science and Technology

Interest in science and technology is essential to good citizenship. By adapting items from other scales and writing new items, the authors developed the Attitudes Toward Science and Technology scale, containing 30 items. The norm group consisted of ...

Journal Article

Point of View: Approaches to Undergraduate Research and Their Practical Impact on Faculty Productivity in the Natural Sciences

The many and diverse demands on faculty at primarily undergraduate institutions (PUIs) are such that any research endeavors undertaken must be efficient and beneficial to both students and faculty. Sustaining faculty productivity into midcareer and b...

Journal Article

Editorial: A Sporting Chance

In this month’s column, the author admits that she didn’t have a particularly positive image of student-athletes when she began teaching. She anticipated that the “student” part of that name was merely vestigial: a useless appendage not yet e...

Journal Article

Case Study: Learning About the Nature of Science With Case Studies

Case studies are an effective way to help students understand how science works, and perhaps even more importantly, how science knowledge is constructed. Yet often when we teach the content of science, we overlook the nature of science (NOS), and in ...

Journal Article

Favorite Demonstration: Using Dice to Explore the Consequences of DNA Mutations

Working collaboratively, students explore the effect of different types of DNA mutations using dice. The exercise provides students with a tangible way of visualizing how mutations may contribute to genetic diversity and the randomness with which the...

Journal Article

Society for College Science Teachers: A Reader’s Response to SCST November/December 2008 and the Author’s Response

Thomas Lord in his column in the November/December issue of JCST claims that “The shift from academic merit to student consumerism is one of the two greatest reversals of direction in all the history of American Higher Education …” He goes on t...

eBook

Issues in Science Education: Professional Development Leadership and the Diverse Learner (e-book)

Make science teaching better for every student. Help learners from different backgrounds—and with different learning styles—by developing new skills, resources, and knowledge. This book discusses the ways in which professional development can hel...

eBook

Issues in Science Education: Professional Development Planning and Design (e-book)

There’s got to be more to professional development than in-service workshops. This thoughtful book paves the way to change. It shows the circumstances under which professional development has the most impact on student learning, reviews programs th...

eBook

Polymer Chemistry: Introduction to an Indispensable Science (e-book)

Here’s an interesting statistic: More than half of all chemists work on some aspect of polymers. For high school teachers who want to introduce polymer science basics, properties, and uses, this book is uniquely helpful—much deeper than simple mo...

eBook

The Creation Controversy and The Science Classroom (e-book)

Organized into three practical parts, The Creation Controversy provides teachers with insights into modern science and the Book of Genesis, effective strategies for teaching evolution and other controversial topics, and the NSTA Position Statement on...

Book Chapter

Daniel and the Old Lion Hunter

Daniel Bernoulli wanted to be the Newton of the eighteenth century; he thought he could do it by studying fluids (by that he meant liquid and gases). His thoughts and his principle will percolate in other heads and help bring changes in science and l...

Elementary High School Middle School Interdisciplinary

Book Chapter

The Promise of Professional Learning Communities

In this chapter, the authors discuss the origin and the characteristics of professional learning communities (PLCs) and summarize the research findings on the impact and results achieved by schools that are organized as PLCs. ...

Book Chapter

"Late-Start Mondays": The Catalyst for Change in an Urban High School

At the high school level, the task of creating a whole-school community of practice is often monumental and requires tremendous energy to disrupt the status quo. The story that follows describes the process by which a large, urban high school formed ...

Book Chapter

Teaching Learning Collaborative: A Process for Supporting Professional Learning Communities

The teaching learning collaborative (TLC) is a unique professional development strategy that engages groups of teachers in collaborative planning and teaching of a science lesson, coaching and mentoring, and examining student work. In this chapter, t...

Book Chapter

Building Professional Development Cadres

This chapter begins with a vignette based on several anecdotes that were relayed to the authors during their years working in the Los Angeles basin with a cadre of professional developers. This story sets the stage for exploring challenges tackled by...

Book Chapter

Creating and Sustaining Science-Focused Professional Learning Communities Through Partnerships

In this chapter, the authors share selected components of The North Cascades and Olympic Science Partnership (NCOSP) model for professional learning communities (PLCs) and the impact those communities had on instruction and student learning. They off...

Book Chapter

Attributes of Content-Focused Professional Learning Communities That Lead to Meaningful Reflection and Collaboration Among Math and Science Teachers

After five years of developing and investigating professional learning communities (PLCs) in school districts in Arizona, the authors have uncovered attributes that differentiate high-performing PLCs from lower-performing PLCs and have begun to uncov...

Book Chapter

The Role of Local and State Science Leaders in Developing Professional Learning Communities

This chapter tells two stories, both focused on the role of science leadership in developing the teacher leadership that is essential for creating and maintaining professional learning communities (PLCs). The first story provides insight into how dis...

Book Chapter

K20 Model: Creating Networks, Professional Learning Communities, and Communities of Practice That Increase Science Learning

The K20 Model develops professional learning communities (PLCs) and has been successful in district-wide and school initiatives across Oklahoma. It is based on four interrelated structures for engaging people in communities: networks, PLCS, communiti...

eBook

Everyday Science Mysteries: Stories for Inquiry-Based Science Teaching (e-book)

What causes condensation? Does temperature affect how well a balloon will fly? How do tiny bugs get into oatmeal? Through 15 mystery stories, this book memorably illustrates science concepts for students and reinforces the value of learning science t...

Journal Article

Solar Paths: An International and Integrated Look at the Sun and Seasons

Some of the most difficult concepts for students to understand in Earth science are the ideas and explanations related to the Sun and seasons. The daily rotation of the Earth causes day and night, and the differences of how it is observed at differen...

Journal Article

Every Day Science Calendar (April 2009)

This monthly feature contains facts and challenges for the science explorer. ...

Journal Article

Health Wise—April/May 2009

The number of MRSA cases per year is rising—especially during football season. Could you tell me more about MRSA and what is causing this rise? ...

Journal Article

Stories in Science

Storytelling is not just something experienced at bedtime, in the movies, or with friends. Rather, it is a way that knowledge has been transferred for generations. Stories allow the listener to gain understanding in a natural way. A good story can ca...

Journal Article

Partners in Learning

What happens when children and scientists learn together? A partnership is formed, that’s what! This article describes how a university scientist and a teacher teamed up with a local fourth-grade teacher to provide a unique opportunity for students...

Journal Article

The Big Sky Inside

The University of Montana (UM)—Missoula has implemented a problem-based program in which students perform scientific research focused on indoor air pollution. The Air Toxics Under the Big Sky program (Jones et al. 2007; Adams et al. 2008; Ward et a...

Journal Article

Tech Trek: TeacherTube for Science

Following in the footsteps of YouTube, TeacherTube is a website where teachers can access a trove of videos that can be used in the classroom to improve instruction. The inclusion of YouTube as a venue in the presidential debates of 2008 has brought ...