All Resources

Journal Article

Making Thinking Visible

Writing, in conjunction with other activities such as reading and hands-on experiences, contributes to greater critical thinking, thoughtful consideration of ideas, and better concept learning. This article discusses a comprehensive approach toward s...

Journal Article

Keys to Teaching the Nature of Science

Despite continuous and well-reasoned recommendations that students need to have an understanding of science as a human endeavor and the nature and history of science across all grade levels, some students and teachers alike still fail to understand e...

Journal Article

Science Sampler: On the shoulders of giants

To help students understand that what they learn in science class is the product of the hard work of those who have come before them, and to encourage them to be future contributors to our understanding of how nature works, the author developed The G...

Journal Article

Editor's Corner: News Flash—<em>Science Is Important</em>

This issue of The Science Teacher is our attempt to give you some tools to move the understanding of science to the majority, to help provide a more secure future for the scientific habit mind. In our classes, we must help students understand the s...

Journal Article

After the Bell: Mapping for geographic awareness -- Part I

Maps and mapping are of great importance in the field of education because mapping concepts are linked to the development of students’ thinking and cognitive structures. In addition, mapping concepts are based on students’ experiences and learni...

Journal Article

Emphasizing Astrobiology

The project described here involved the design, implementation, and evaluation of an upper-level, undergraduate elective course for science majors. Specific course goals were to help students gain an appreciation of the interdisciplinary nature of as...

Journal Article

Society for College Science Teachers: Facilitator Versus Teacher

Educational fads in higher education are interesting phenomena. They seem to bubble up from the K-12 sector, but have little substantial research to support their use in the college setting. Fads seem to gain footholds easily but are not so easily di...

Journal Article

Science Sampler: Making an impact -- Shatter cones

In this geology activity, students visited the Beaverhead, Montana site of a meteor impact and mapped the locations of shatter cones, which are geologic formations characteristic of an impact site. Using a global positioning (GPS) device and the proc...

Journal Article

Ask the Experts—November 2004

In this month’s column, the experts address the following question: My students wondered how scientists give scientific names to hybrids such as mules?...

Journal Article

Favorite Demonstration: Demonstrating Enzyme Activation—Calcium/Calmodulin Activation of Phosphodiesterase

This exercise provides a simple method to visually demonstrate the third step in the calcium/calmodulin signal transduction pathway, that is, the activation of a target protein phosphodiesterase without the use of radioactivity. Using hands-on method...

Journal Article

Tried and True: Sensations of sound

"The hills are alive with the sound of music," and now your classroom can be too! This series of tried and true activities explore the nature of sound. They can be set up as stations around the room, which students should be able to cycle through in ...

Journal Article

Idea Bank: Look Before You Leap

Induction and deduction are important to logical thinking in general and to science specifically, and should be important elements of the science curriculum. These two logical tools are the foundation of science and understanding them would benefit a...

Journal Article

Editor's Note (November/December 2004)

At a time in which teachers are pressured to teach more and more to higher standards, writing in the content areas can provide an authentic way to teach writing skills. This selection includes notes from the field editor of Science and Children on i...

Journal Article

The Art of Reviewing Science Journals

Science journals are wonderful tools. They offer a glimpse into children’s science understandings, and they are both diagnostic and pedagogically informative to teachers. Examining and reflecting on children’s journal work lets teachers embed ass...

Journal Article

Introduction to Biological Investigations

Introduction to Biological Investigations is a course that was developed to introduce the scientific method through practical application. This active, student-centered experience fosters fundamental skills that promote creativity, critical thinking,...

Journal Article

Bands to Books: Connecting Literature to Experimental Design

This interdisciplinary unit of study on the inquiry process and experimental design that seamlessly integrates math, science, and reading using a rubber band cannon. The authors begin by describing a series of interrelated curricular engagements that...

Journal Article

Science Shorts: Understanding Acid Rain

You may have heard acid rain mentioned as an environmental problem. It doesn't mean that a strong chemical is raining from the sky. The term acid rain describes rain, snow, or fog that is more acidic than normal precipitation. However, a small ch...

Journal Article

The Nature of Science: Always Part of the Science Story

Understanding how science works is crucial to scientific literacy because bound up in content and public policy decisions involving science are issues regarding what science is, how knowledge in science comes to be accepted, and what science can and ...