All Resources

NSTA Press Book

The Story of Science: Einstein Adds a New Dimension

Now, it’s time for your students to look over Albert Einstein’s shoulder as he develops a new kind of physics that points the way to more recent theories of particle physics and quantum mechanics. Joy Hakim will demonstrate how scientific thought...

By Joy Hakim

Elementary High School Informal Education Middle School General Science Assessment Curriculum Instructional Materials Science and Engineering Practices Professional Learning old

Book Chapter

A Boy with Something on His Mind

Fifteen-year-old Albert Einstein is miserable. He is trying to finish high school in Germany, but he hates the school; it’s a strict, rigid place. To make things worse, his parents have moved to Italy. They think he should stay behind until his sch...

Elementary High School Middle School Assessment Curriculum Instructional Materials Teaching Strategies Research Teacher Preparation

Journal Article

Idea Bank: Literature Circle Roles for Science Vocabulary

The study of science is often vocabulary intensive. An analysis of high school chemistry, biology, physics, and Earth science textbooks showed that approximately 1,000 to 3,000 novel science terms are contained in each (Groves 1995). Given the shear ...

Journal Article

Editor's Note: Investigating Water (Summer 2007)

Water is a major world currency and continues to be critical for all. We can figure out how to live without oil but it is quite a cumbersome task to consider living without water. In this month’s installment of the Editor’s Note section we rece...

Journal Article

Can Inexperienced Researchers Teach Open-Ended Laboratories?

Using exit surveys of biology students we examine whether undergraduate instructors can teach investigative labs, and share perspectives on the challenges of working with undergraduate lab instructors....

Journal Article

Solstice, Science, and Summer Reading

Like generations before them, teachers often use the energy of the summer Sun to nurture seeds of growth (both real and virtual) for another year. Whether you believe the ancient legends or not, summer provides catch-up time. You can turn off your ...

Journal Article

Favorite Demonstration: A Candle Lights the Way to Scientific Discourse

The science conversation cited in this article showed the development of an inquisitive attitude, scientific reasoning skills, the motivation and competence to participate in a scientific discourse, and a deeper understanding of the nature of science...

Journal Article

Ask the Experts—Summer 2007

The experts address the following question in this month’s column: How do fireflies get their light power?...

Journal Article

Teaching through Trade Books: Down the Drain

In developed countries such as the United States, it is easy to take water for granted. Americans use more water per capita than anywhere else in the world, up to 100 gallons a day. That’s 10 times the amount of the water that an average person l...

Journal Article

Mentoring New Science Teachers

Most experienced high school science teachers are asked at some point to serve as a mentor to a novice teacher. While mentor-training programs have been established in many states, they often only focus on how the mentor can help new science teachers...

Journal Article

WebGURU: The Web-Based Guide to Research for Undergraduates

Undergraduate research (UR) is widely promoted by faculty, administrators, institutions of higher learning, government laboratories, private industry, professional associations, and funding agencies as an effective method of training college students...

Journal Article

Bringing Light onto Shadows

“What starts out long but gets shorter then longer each day?” Shadows! This students clever riddles was an opportunity to investigate how the Sun’s daily position in the sky influences shadow length. Thus began a mini-lesson which was create...

Journal Article

Extreme Arthropods: Exploring Evolutionary Adaptations to Polar and Temperate Deserts

In this activity, Namib and Antarctic arthropods are used to illustrate several important biological principles. Among these are the key ideas that form follows function and that the environment drives evolution. In addition, students will discover t...

Journal Article

Science 101: How can an ocean liner made of steel float on water?

Sinking and floating is a subject covered in many science classes, from kindergarten through college physics. Even the audiences of late-night talk shows get to predict whether an object will sink or float in water. And of course, we all know that wi...

Journal Article

Celebrate Summer with Reading

School is out and the summer is full of both official and unofficial holidays that prompt us to enjoy science and the profession of sharing it. As in past years, the reviewers and editors of NSTA Recommends—ready and willing to share their enthusi...

Journal Article

Do Open-Book Exams Impede Long-Term Learning in Introductory Biology Courses?

Students in an introductory biology course who were given open-book exams during the semester earned significantly higher grades on these exams, but significantly lower grades on the closed-book final exam, than students who took in-class, closed-boo...

Journal Article

Science Sampler: Building bridges between scientists and teachers to bring the joy of science to British Columbia students

Although it is hard to claim that one or two school visits by a scientist will change how students think about science and their place in it, the authors’ experience suggests that, for many students, a school visit by a scientist makes a big and lo...

Journal Article

Scope on Safety: Shedding light on laser pointer safety

With the introduction of physics concepts at the elementary and middle school grades resulting from the National Science Education Standards and No Child Left Behind legislation, teachers are looking for exciting technology that will turn kids on to ...

Journal Article

A Drop Through Time

Did you know that the water you use today is the same water that was used millions of years ago? How is this possible? Water is continuously replenished through a naturally occurring process known as the water cycle. To help students learn about thi...

Journal Article

Editor’s Corner: Supporting New Teachers

Many new teachers who leave schools after the first year report lack of support and poor working conditions as the primary reasons for leaving. New teachers can feel alone and vulnerable even working in a school building alongside scores of other tea...

Journal Article

Supporting Beginning Science Teachers

The focus of this article is the more immediate way to help new science teachers, which comes from the experienced and professionally active teacher—you! As science teacher educators who work with and study the development of beginning teachers, th...

Journal Article

Science Sampler: NASA’s Dawn mission—Helping define planets, dwarf planets, and asteroids

The decision by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in 2006 to redefine the term planet has caught the attention of the public and students from grade school to graduate school. The IAU’s decision has not changed the makeup of the solar sy...

Journal Article

Watershed Seasons

All schools are located in watersheds, land that drains into bodies of water. Some watersheds, like the one which encompasses the school discussed in this article, include bodies of water that are walking distance from the school. The watershed cit...

Journal Article

Becoming A National Board Certified Teacher: One Teacher’s Perspective

Reflecting on one’s practice, whether it is a conversation with a single student, a lesson, or a unit plan, is the surest way for a teacher to improve. Going through the process of becoming a National Board Certified Teacher (NBCT) is a journey of ...

Journal Article

Careers in Science and Technical Communication

This article provides practical guidance for science teachers to help students who love both science and writing, and are struggling to find a career that will allow them to combine these disparate talents and interests. It includes descriptions of c...

Journal Article

Point of View: R.E.S.P.E.C.T.—A Teaching Primer

Respect is the key to successful teaching because it unlocks barriers to student learning. Treating students with respect opens their minds, thereby facilitating the learning process. Treating students with respect opens their minds, thereby facili...

Journal Article

Editor’s Roundtable: Our solar system and beyond

This month’s column reveals our themes for the upcoming school year and beyond, which have been intentionally designed to touch on all the NSES content standards for grades 5-8. In addition, you are encouraged to write a manuscript to share with yo...

Journal Article

Career of the Month: An Interview with Ethnobotanist Maria Fadiman

According to Plant Talk (2007), approximately 270,000 species of plants exist on Earth. The numbers of known species—including trees, flowers, fruits, and herbs—increases almost daily as scientists make new discoveries. From indigenous cultures i...

Journal Article

How Does Student Performance on Formative Assessments Relate to Learning Assessed by Exams?

A retrospective analysis examines the relationships between formative assessments and exam grades in two undergraduate geoscience courses. Pair and group-work grades correlate weakly with individual exam grades. Exam performance correlates to individ...

Journal Article

Biosocial Problems in Contemporary America: A Course on the Use and Misuse of Scientific Knowledge

This writing-intensive seminar for biology majors deals with the social and political implications of biological explanations for social phenomena. The class focuses on critical thinking, evaluation of data, and the validity of the conclusions drawn ...

Journal Article

The Case Study: I'm Looking Over a White Striped Clover: A Case of Natural Selection

The case presented in this article is an exploration of the process of natural selection using white clover (Trifolium repens) as an example. In general, two forms of white clover can be found around the world in various habitats. One type has plain ...

Journal Article

Scope on the Skies: Summer skies—Planets, an eclipse, and shooting stars

This summer, in addition to viewing several of the bright visible planets and another lunar eclipse, there will be an opportunity for viewing the target of an upcoming NASA mission, the asteroid Vesta. Highlights of the summer skies and other celesti...

NSTA Press Book

Teacher Research: Stories of Learning and Growing

Think you don’t have time to do research? How about professional growth—think that’s out of reach? Let your peers take you on their journeys and inspire you through their stories in Teacher Research. You will gain insight into teacher research�...

Elementary High School Middle School General Science Assessment Curriculum Instructional Materials Inquiry Teaching Strategies Equity Professional Learning old Research Teacher Preparation