All Resources

Journal Article

Teaching Through Trade Books: Kite Explorations

Children are delighted by the playful activity of making and flying kites, and this month's trade book article encourages teachers to harness this excitement and connect it to investigations relating to wind, technology, and the design of experiments...

Elementary Teaching Strategies

Journal Article

The Need for Ocean Literacy in the Classroom - Part I: An overview of efforts to promote ocean literacy

Society is largely ocean illiterate and a basic understanding of the key concepts needed for sound decision making on matters related to sustainability and the health of humankind is lacking. At present, a network of approximately 100 members of the ...

Journal Article

Ocean Science in the Classroom

Although ocean or marine science courses can effectively integrate the sciences in ways that stimulate student curiosity and interest, they have not yet received formal recognition for the role they could play in improving science education for secon...

Journal Article

Promoting Discussion in the Science Classroom Using Gallery Walks

A gallery walk is a discussion technique that gets students out of their chairs and actively involved in synthesizing important science concepts, writing, and public speaking. The technique also cultivates listening and team-building skills. This p...

Journal Article

Using Student Peer Review of Experiement Reports in an Undergraduate Physics Class

A class centered on student design of experiments and peer review of the resulting reports is described. Thirteen students in an honors seminar section of an introductory physics class designed experiments to test various types of paranormal phenome...

Journal Article

A Message from the NSTA President: Quality Science Teachers -- Essential to America's Future

Our nation has begun to take science and the accomplishments of scientists in the United States for granted. The telephone, airplane, automobile, electric power, atomic fuel, vaccine, transplants, medicines--all of the discoveries of the past centur...

Journal Article

A Change in Seasons: Increasing Student Observation Skills

The ability to accurately observe and notice small details is a skill important to scientists. To help students develop this skill, have them record and share observations, successively focusing in on smaller, more precise details. When students obse...

Journal Article

A Message from the NSTA President: Quality Science Teachers -- Essential to America's Future

Our nation has begun to take science and the accomplishments of scientists in the United States for granted. The telephone, airplane, automobile, electric power, atomic fuel, vaccine, transplants, medicines--all of the discoveries of the past century...

Journal Article

The Gulf Stream and Density of Fluids

A few kilometers from the shores of Palm Beach County, Florida, the Gulf Stream current—a remarkable "river" within an ocean—makes its closest approach to land. To help students understand why and how the Gulf Stream flows, they study how Florida...

Journal Article

Science Shorts: All That Matters

The states of matter are a foundational property in physical science. Not only do they help students understand the physical world around them but also provide experiences on which to build later concepts, such as atomic structure and changes in mat...

Journal Article

Research and Teaching: Factors Influencing College Science Success

As college science teachers, our work is reflected in the achievement of our students. Their success in achieving course goals is our success, and their failure, ours. Predicting course grades is big business. From the perspective of college scien...

Journal Article

Science Sampler: A five-step approach to planning for technology in new science spaces

Cutting-edge technology such as interactive whiteboards, PDAs, and BlackBerry-enabled cell phones are becoming more common in the classroom, but rapid technological advances such as these present a challenge to those renovating or building new classr...

Journal Article

Tech Trek: Can you podcast?

Podcasting, the practice of distributing multimedia files over the internet or a network for playback on computers or handheld electronic devices, offers an exciting range of possibilities for enriching instruction in science.This article will teach ...

Journal Article

Are You UV Safe?

Students may be slathered with SPF 30 sunscreen all summer at the beach or pool, but what do they know about ultraviolet (UV) light radiation and absorption? How could we help them find out the science behind this important health precaution? We fo...

Journal Article

Perspectives: Defending Inquiry

Inquiry-based lessons incorporate each of the science processes where most appropriate. Science is taught through inquiry in order to learn how scientists work, improve problem-solving skills, and improve student learning of content. Administrators...

Journal Article

Science Learning Environments and Action Research

A learning environment survey can be easily used in your science classroom to evaluate new instructional approaches, to spark enthusiasm, and to produce evidence showing that you are indeed becoming a reflective practitioner. Intellectual professiona...

Journal Article

Methods and Strategies: Think-Alouds in Inquiry Science

As teachers, we know that learning through an inquiry approach is helpful for our students. However, not all students are accustomed to learning through inquiry. Some have never experienced an inquiry investigation in science. How can we assist th...