JoinAll Resources
Journal Article
Try using an assessment cycle to effectively probe students' understanding of scientific concepts. The diagnostic, formative, summative, and confirmatory assessment can be embedded into any unit of study. ...
Journal Article
An elementary school brings in community volunteers for a full-day, all-school event focused on real world science. This article describes the planning process and types of science professionals and non-professionals recruited for the event....
Journal Article
Discover why we don't feel like we are spinning even though the Earth is spinning at close to 1,609 kph by delving into this month's, Ask the Experts column. You're sure to be satisfied with the interesting and factual answer to this thought-provokin...
Journal Article
Scope on Safety: Sticker Shock--There’s a high price to pay for ignorance about Electricity
Lighting a fluorescent bulb by touching it to the nose of a student who has one hand on an electrostatic generator is an illuminating demonstration of the properties of voltage. It demonstrates that the several hundred thousand volts of electricity p...
Journal Article
Favorite Demonstration: An Inexpensive Resonance Demonstration
Resonance is commonplace and easy to recognize when it occurs. Yet it is also one of the most impressive and often unexpected phenomenon in all of physics. This article describes a visually appealing resonance demonstrator that uses readily available...
Journal Article
Editorial: Nature, Vanity, and the Teaching of Evolution
We enjoy learning about nature--we're fascinated by medical breakthroughs, technological advances and Earth's natural wonders. But there is another side of nature that many people don't like to hear about. Instead of being harmonious and altruistic...
Journal Article
In this science- and social studies-integrated lesson, students researched the produce found at their local grocery store. The class learned the difference between fruits and vegetables and learned the origins of various “exotic” food items. Stud...
Journal Article
This article describes an “inventors workshop” in which second-grade students used Lego and Robolab computer software to create and test their own inventions. After exploring Legos and their history, students created and programmed vehicles....
Journal Article
Writing and Drawing in the Naturalist's Journal
The mutually reinforcing integration of science and art is clearly seen in the journals and notebooks kept by creative thinkers and explorers since the time of Leonardo da Vinci. The Naturalist’s Journal is an effective tool for learning about natu...
Journal Article
In this section the editor discusses opportunities for teachers to demonstrate science concepts on the playground or in one's local neighborhood. The current journal issue is dedicated to finding and using these local resources, referred to as "Comm...
Journal Article
Formative Assessment Probes: Uncovering Students' Ideas in Science
Formative assessment probes can help teachers find out what students' ideas are before teaching lessons and use the information to adjust instructional strategies. This article defines formative assessment probes, provides examples of probes, and des...
Journal Article
Merging Science and Society: An Issues-Based Approach to Nonmajors Biology
The effectiveness of an issues-based approach to nonmajors biology was investigated. The integration of online critical-thinking exercises and in-class discussions of science-related issues did not improve exam scores. However, students did indicate ...
Journal Article
Editor's roundtable: Standard-izing test items (January 2005)
American Association for the Advancement of Science's Project 2061, one of the first organizations to focus on content standards and their role in curriculum, instruction, and assessment, is launching a new effort funded by the National Science Foun...
Journal Article
Editor's Corner: Making Sense of the World
In this month's Editor's Corner, the Field Editor paints a vivid word picture to describe the theme in this month's edition of The Science Teacher, which is the blending of art and science to help students make sense of the world. The overlap of art ...
Journal Article
Idea Bank: A Resonance Tube Experiment Using "Boomwhackers"
Bring the "sound of music" to your science classroom--this activity uses the lengths and fundamental frequencies of a set of resonance tubes to verify the expression for the relationship between these two quantities and the value of the speed of soun...
Journal Article
Science Sampler: Assessment for All
There are many ways of assessing students and the work they do, and many ways of getting them ready for those assessments. Special needs students provide an extra challenge to educators because they have difficulty communicating what they know. This ...
Journal Article
The experts address the following questions in this month’s column: If the scientific exploration of chemistry is still evolving, are there new elements still left to be discovered? If a new element were discovered, how would it fit onto the curren...
Journal Article
The Science Management Observation Protocol
Teachers often lack the procedural knowledge needed to manage a classroom where collaboration and scientific inquiry are emphasized. To combat this problem, a great deal of educational research has been devoted to the goal of identifying what makes a...
Journal Article
Idea Bank: Getting a Crack out of Ice
Why does an ice cube make a cracking sound when it is dropped in a glass of water? How can we make a louder cracking sound? Does the loudness depend on the temperature of the water? Can the cracking sound be eliminated? Does the shape of the ice cube...
Journal Article
Career of the Month: An Interview with Landscape Architect Brandon DeRosa
From planning the layout of a zoo to recreating wetlands impacted by a development project, landscape architects use a blend of science and art to design outdoor spaces. As a consultant for the restoration of natural sites, Brandon DeRosa strives to ...
Journal Article
Inquiry labs in the science classroom help students make connections and discover scientific relationships for themselves. This article describes an inquiry-based laboratory in which students explore the properties of a pendulum. This activity illust...
Journal Article
Inquiry in the Chemistry Classroom
A recent survey of high school chemistry teachers indicated that many teachers are not using inquiry labs in their classrooms. One reason is that although teachers understand the theory of inquiry, they lack practical experience developing and conduc...
Journal Article
Idea Bank: Diving Into Professional Development
The challenge of the Research and Education: Volcanoes, Exploration and Life (REVEL) Project, sponsored by the University of Washington School of Oceanography, is to teach, energize, and reinvigorate teachers, so that they can excite their students a...
Journal Article
The Virtual Gorilla Modeling Project (VGOR)—a professional development project—is a collaboration of middle and high school in-service teachers, Zoo Atlanta primatologists, science and computer educators, and students. During a 10-day professiona...
Journal Article
Astrobiology refers to the “origin, evolution, and distribution of life in the universe.” Astrobiologists study extreme environments on Earth and characterize the life forms that occupy them. These environments provide Earthly analogues to enviro...
Journal Article
Commentary: Taking Responsibility for Professional Development
The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 contains numerous references to “high-quality professional development. The quantity and the quality of professional development are critical issues in the NCLB Act with direct impact on student achieveme...
Journal Article
Editor's Corner: Learning to Like Professional Development
Science teachers today face unprecedented opportunities for professional development. From genomics to planetary exploration, new scientific discoveries are announced almost daily, discoveries that are changing our basic understandings of nature. New...
Journal Article
Teachers can easily identify what subjects their students have trouble with, whether it is transcription and translation, glycolysis and fermentation, balancing chemical equations, or vector analysis of forces acting on an object. This article descri...