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Virgin Galactic is in the business of making astronauts with a mission to open up space to change the world for good. How do they do it? With a six seater, two stage, air-launched, rocket-powered spaceplane. Virgin Galactic's Space Flight System cons...

Middle School Elementary High School Aerospace Engineering STEM

Web Seminar

Archive: Science Update: Soaring into the Future with NASA Aeronautics, May 13, 2021

With so much recent media attention on our Commercial Crew Program and Mars 2020 “Perseverance” rover, it might be easy to forget the first “A” in NASA. However, without the foundational “small steps” of aeronautics research, there would ...

Middle School Elementary High School Aerospace STEM

Web Seminar

Archive: Science Update: NASA's Perseverance Rover Landing on Mars...What to Expect!, February 17, 2021

The main goal of NASA's Perseverance Rover mission is to seek for signs of ancient life on Mars and collect samples of rock and regolith for possible return to Earth.  The Rover is expected to land on the surface of the Red Planet on Thursday, F...

Middle School Elementary High School Astronomy Earth & Space Science Engineering STEM

Journal Article

Why Should Science Teachers Practice Gratitude in 2021?

By Ann Haley MacKenzie

High School Teaching Strategies

Journal Article

Teaching Students to Observe Their World

By Danna Bell

Biology Literacy Teaching Strategies

Journal Article

Entomologist Ary Faraji

By Luba Vangelova

High School Biology Careers Life Science

Journal Article

Let’s Clear the Air

By Nancy Nasr

High School 5E Earth & Space Science Inquiry Labs Lesson Plans Multicultural NGSS Pedagogy Phenomena STEM Teaching Strategies

Journal Article

For Your Eyes Only

By Zeynep Gonca Akdemir, Muhsin Menekse, Mahdi Hosseini, Arindam Nandi, and Keiichiro Furuya

High School Computer Science Labs Physics

Journal Article

Using Student-Generated Questions to Investigate Chemical Reactions

By Hilary Gawne

High School Chemistry Labs NGSS Science and Engineering Practices

Journal Article

Sparking a Movement

By Matthew D. Stilwell, Chunhua Yao, Dale Vajko, Kelly Jeffery, Douglas Powell, Xudong Wang, and Anne Lynn Gillian-Daniel

High School Chemistry Crosscutting Concepts Engineering Interdisciplinary Labs NGSS Physical Science Physics Science and Engineering Practices STEM

Journal Article

Ecosystem in a Jar

By Emily Cizmas

High School 5E Biology Crosscutting Concepts Disciplinary Core Ideas Environmental Science Inquiry Lesson Plans Life Science NGSS Performance Expectations Phenomena Science and Engineering Practices Teaching Strategies Three-Dimensional Learning

Journal Article

The Survival Games

By Gabriela E. Rodriguez, Zainab Shoda, Hannah R. Assour, Vanessa Fischer, and Janelle M. Bailey

Middle School High School Biology Climate Change Environmental Science Inquiry Life Science Teaching Strategies

Journal Article

Field Trips Last a Lifetime

By Chris Anderson

High School Teacher Preparation Teaching Strategies

Journal Article

The Bohr Model of the Atom

By Paul G. Hewitt

High School Physical Science Physics

Journal Article

A Window to the Wild

By Jill Nugent

High School Citizen Science Earth & Space Science Instructional Materials

Journal Article

Teacher Spotlight: Steve Metz

High School Pre-service Teachers Careers Preservice Science Education Teacher Preparation Teaching Strategies

Journal Article

Taking the Office Hour Out of the Office

Science classrooms across our campus have changed dramatically over the past 10 years as an increasing number of instructors have incorporated a variety of active learning techniques into their teaching practice, using, for example, classroom respons...

By Patrick Cafferty

Postsecondary Crosscutting Concepts Teacher Preparation Teaching Strategies

Journal Article

Practice Makes Better

Practice effects are ubiquitous human phenomena that have been scientifically studied for over half a century. They are also among the most directly applicable psychological phenomenon, holding broad implications for any domain involving human expert...

By Jeff Shrager

Postsecondary Biology Phenomena Teaching Strategies

Journal Article

Sustainability, Energy, and the Green Economy

Interdisciplinary education offers a collaborative approach to multifaceted topics, such as environmental sustainability. In this article, we present the conceptual framework and lessons learned from a team-taught course, entitled Sustainability, Ene...

By Monika Sikand, Claudio Mazzatenta, Keith Wong, Joseph Bush, and Aaron M. Socha

Postsecondary Environmental Science Teaching Strategies

Journal Article

Incorporating Programming, Modeling, and Data Analysis Into an Introductory Biology Course

This paper describes an introductory biology course for undergraduates that heavily incorporates quantitative problem solving in activities and homework assignments. The course is broken up into a series of units, each organized around a motivating b...

By Eliot C. Bush, Stephen C. Adolph, Matina C. Donaldson-Matasci, Jae Hur, and Danae Schulz

Postsecondary Biology Interdisciplinary STEM Teaching Strategies

Journal Article

Making Science Personal

General education college astronomy courses offer instructors both a unique audience and a unique challenge. For many students, such a course may be their first time encountering a stand-alone astronomy class, and it is also likely one of the last sc...

By Christine O’Donnell, Edward Prather, and Peter Behroozi

Postsecondary Astronomy Earth & Space Science

Journal Article

What to Expect With Group Work

Instructors who wish to take advantage of the benefits of collaborative group work often hesitate over concerns about conflict or problems that arise between students. There are no estimates of the level of conflict that can be expected even if best ...

By Peggy Brickman, Austin Lannen, and Jill Beyette

Postsecondary Pre-service Teachers Biology Teacher Preparation Teaching Strategies

Journal Article

Primary Literature in Undergraduate Science Courses

Primary literature—consisting of novel peer-reviewed articles and conference proceedings—has been associated with several positive outcomes for students within undergraduate science courses. Primary literature is the principal method of written s...

By Jeremy David Sloane

Postsecondary Curriculum Interdisciplinary Literacy Teaching Strategies Three-Dimensional Learning

Journal Article

Implementing Peer-Led Team Learning and Cyber Peer-Led Team Learning in an Organic Chemistry Course

Peer-Led Team Learning (PLTL) is a small-group, collaborative problem-solving model that has significantly increased student performance in a variety of chemistry undergraduate courses and other STEM courses. Cyber Peer-Led Team Learning (cPLTL), an ...

By Sarah Beth Wilson and Pratibha Varma-Nelson

Postsecondary Pre-service Teachers Chemistry Inclusion Teacher Preparation Teaching Strategies

Journal Article

Assessing Preservice Teachers’ Experience With Wind Energy Education Through a Cooperative Learning Experience

The purpose of this study was to investigate knowledge and attitudes of preservice teachers toward wind energy education. The participants for this study were preservice teachers enrolled in a science methods for teachers course. The preservice teach...

By Mamta Singh

Postsecondary Pre-service Teachers Assessment Earth & Space Science Interdisciplinary Preservice Science Education

Journal Article

Facilitating Conceptual Change by Engaging Students’ Preconceptions During College Science Classroom Instruction

Whether to engage student preconceptions to facilitate conceptual change is an area of debate among conceptual change theorists. Here, we evaluate the efficacy of a preconceptions-based instructional sequence about groundwater previously described by...

By Leilani A. Arthurs, Justin Elwonger, and Chelsie M. Kowalski

Postsecondary Biology Environmental Science Teacher Preparation Teaching Strategies

Lesson Plan

Why Is a Covered Planet a Healthy Planet?

High School Is Lesson Plan

Lesson Plan

Why Does the Green Crab Love Climate Change?

Middle School Climate Change Disciplinary Core Ideas Is Lesson Plan Life Science NGSS Phenomena Science and Engineering Practices Three-Dimensional Learning

Lesson Plan

Why is something that’s happening out in the ocean such a danger to us on the land?

Informal Education Chemistry Climate Change Disciplinary Core Ideas Environmental Science Is Lesson Plan Life Science NGSS Phenomena Science and Engineering Practices Three-Dimensional Learning

Lesson Plan

How can growing seaweed help mussels?

Middle School Chemistry Climate Change Disciplinary Core Ideas Engineering Is Lesson Plan Life Science NGSS Phenomena Science and Engineering Practices Three-Dimensional Learning

Web Seminar

Archive: Teacher Tip Tuesday: The Meaning Beyond The Words: How Language, Race, & Culture Impact Science Teaching & Learning, February 2, 2021

For years, research on the language of classrooms explored how the way we say things impacts students’ sense of belonging. Despite this research, Science and Technology Education have failed to adequately explore how issues of race, language, and c...

Middle School Elementary High School General Science

Journal Article

Science Is a Human Endeavor

By Beth Murphy

Informal Education STEM

Journal Article

Balancing Individual and Collective Agency in Informal STEM Learning Experiences

By David Schouweiler and Sara C. Heredia

Middle School Informal Education Engineering STEM Teaching Strategies