JoinAll Resources
Book Chapter
Implementing Your Rationale and Becoming a Mentor
In this chapter, the authors discuss how you can implement your rationale in the classroom and use it to become a mentor to others. As you develop and implement research-based rationale for teaching, you will find yourself changing—teaching and com...
Book Chapter
It's the "Little Things" That Can Change the Way You Teach
The "Little Things" project is a unique curriculum on the soil ecology of microbes that offers students an opportunity to engage in real science research, develop an understanding of the biochemistry of soil microbes and to cultivate in students, an ...
Book Chapter
Sing and Dance Your Way to Science Success
The research in this chapter was conducted at Independence High School in Charlotte, North Carolina to determine whether creating a different kind of classroom learning environment could help at-risk students achieve success in biology. The research ...
Book Chapter
Student Inquiry at the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy
This chapter features the Student Inquiry Program at the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (IMSA)—an internationally recognized, pioneering educational institution created by the State to develop talent and stimulate excellence in teaching a...
Book Chapter
Teacher Action Research on Interactive Lectures: Engaging All Students in Verbal Give-and-Take
Amherst Regional High School is a public school located within a five-college community in western Massachusetts. Most of the work outlined in this chapter springs from a course on Collaborative action research (Car). Conducting action research allow...
Book Chapter
Stop Talking, Start Listening: Turning Didactic Science Teaching on Its Head
In this chapter, the authors hope to illustrate science instruction that focuses on real-world problems and features the science teacher performing a variety of research-based strategies during any given teaching segment. It is a major goal also of t...
Book Chapter
The Sky's the Limit: A More Emphasis Approach to the Study of Meteorology
This chapter features curriculum for the senior Meteorology elective at the Marymount School of New York—an all-female, independent school in New York City. The curriculum is aligned with the National Science Education Standards (NSES) More Emphasi...
Book Chapter
The author—a teacher at Rockwall High School in Texas—covers specific standards in this chapter which includes selecting and adapting curriculum, as well as guiding students in active and extended scientific inquiry. The course is intended to mak...
Book Chapter
Successes and Continuing Challenges: Meeting the NSES Visions for Improving Science in High Schools
The 15 programs described in this book illustrate where we are with respect to realizing the vision of the 1996 National Science Education Standards (NSES)—eight years after their publication and acceptance as needed new directions. The hope and ex...
Book Chapter
Technology and Cooperative Learning: The IIT Model for Teaching Authentic Chemistry Curriculum
Computer technology emerged as a viable tool for classroom instruction. This chapter reflects upon a case study of a high school chemistry classroom where the computer was used in a unique way to deliver and direct curriculum on acids and bases. The...
Book Chapter
Inquiring Minds Want to Know All About Detergent Enzymes
This enzyme unit demonstrates how students can learn using inquiry and questioning techniques. By providing students the opportunity to share ideas, evaluate problem statements, develop hypotheses, design experiments, and make conclusions, they acqui...
Book Chapter
Teaching Ecology by Evolving and Revolving
This chapter features an ecology course started by Harry Hitchcock at Clinton High School (CHS) in Clinton, Tennessee, in response to a need for more elective courses in science. This ecology class is a hands-on course that engages students in person...
Book Chapter
The program highlighted in this chapter—the Biomedical Engineering Challenge-Based Curriculum—features science curricula that meet numerous More Emphasis standards through the use of challenged-based “Legacy Cycle” materials. Challenges are b...
Book Chapter
RIP-ing Away Barriers to Science Education: Inquiry Through the Research Investigation Process
This chapter presents the Research Investigation Process (RIP), an "inquiry" and "critical thinking" model of science education at two high schools—the Academy for the Advancement of Science and Technology (AAST) and Halau Lokahi Public Charter Sch...
Book Chapter
Modeling: Changes in Traditional Physics Instruction
This chapter highlights the modeling approach to high school physics instruction—a curriculum design that engages students in constructing a few basic models of physics. Model development begins with students working in cooperative groups, designin...
Book Chapter
Guided by the Standards: Inquiry and Assessment in Two Rural and Urban Schools
This chapter features the environment in which the authors—Teresa and Steve—work. Both are at schools near the border of Mexico, and while both have a student body of predominantly Hispanic, one is a rural school and one is an urban school. The N...
Book Chapter
The author stumbled across the Physics, Physiology, & Technology (PP&T) program while attending a Modeling Instruction meeting. Modeling Instruction is a national science program that has been tried and proven. In this chapter, the author describes b...
Journal Article
Questioning Cycle: Making Students' Thinking Explicit During Scientific Inquiry
Are you thinking about ways to get your students to think about science? Inquiry learning is an excellent way for students to get actively involved in science. Use the informative questioning cycle described in this article to ensure that students ar...
Journal Article
Small Things Draw Big Interest
Through this partnership between a university and elementary school, third-grade students explore science topics and incorporate microscopy into the lessons. Students also visit the university for further hands-on experience with microscopes, observi...
Journal Article
Progressive Questioning: Improving Students' Critical-Thinking, Logic, and Problem-Solving Skills
The senior-level course Water Pollution and Purification for environmental science majors at the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore requires students to use interdisciplinary knowledge, critical-thinking, logic, and problem-solving skills. Starting...
Journal Article
Society for College Science Teachers: PowerPoint Queens and Online Kings
Technology provides potentially useful tools for colleges and universities. There is always one important ingredient that cannot be left out, however, and that is an effective professor. An effective professor provides opportunities for meaningful i...
Journal Article
Scope on the Skies: January in the skies
Celestial events abound during the month of January, ranging from a potentially bright comet, visible planets in both the morning and evening skies, and the Huygens probe descent into the atmosphere of Saturn's moon, Titan. Reach for the stars this m...
Journal Article
Exposing students to content outside of the classroom encourages them to take control of their learning. This article describes three methods for redesigning courses to create more class time for the development of higher-order skills. The combinat...
Journal Article
The Role of the Research Mentor/Teacher: Student and Faculty Views
A successful undergraduate research experience depends on a good mentor/teacher. Surveys, interviews, and focus group discussions reveal that students and their mentors agree that research learning is very different from classroom learning. But they ...
NSTA Press Book
How to...Weave the Web Into K-8 Science
Like a search engine for science teachers, How to... Weave the Web into K-8 Science is your custom-made guide to bringing the best of the Internet into your classroom. Author David Wetzel has done the work of locating online materials for you. The bo...
By David R. Wetzel
NSTA Press Book
At last, you can stop wondering how to make sense of the confusing world of technology resources for the classroom. This must-have book is the first independent review of curriculum materials for teaching technology. The authors provide a practical l...
By Edward Britton, Bo De Long-Cotty, Toby Levenson
NSTA Press Book
Exemplary Science in Grades 9-12: Standards-Based Success Stories
In this collection of 15 essays, educators describe successful programs they’ve developed to fulfill the National Science Education Standards’ vision for the reform of teaching, assessment, professional development, and content at the high school...
NSTA Press Book
Teaching With Purpose: Closing the Research - Practice Gap
The best science teachers don’t just get up in front of the class and start talking. They draw from a plan… a rationale… a purpose. This book helps you create and implement a detailed, research-based teaching rationale that works even with stud...
By John E. Penick, Robin Lee Harris