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Journal Article
Tried and True: Traffic control tips for hands-on labs
The following are some tried and true methods of avoiding materials management and traffic problems associated with hands-on activities. While each class has its own personality and each teacher has his or her own style, these tips can be useful and ...
Journal Article
Outbreak! is an online, interactive educational game that helps students and teachers learn and evaluate clinical microbiology skills. When the game was used in introductory microbiology laboratories, qualitative evaluation by students showed very po...
Journal Article
English Language Learners in the Science Classroom
What can we as teachers do to help English Language Learners (ELLs) learn science when we do not speak their languages or know their cultures? Both pre- and in-service teachers have successfully used the following strategies in teaching in teaching ...
Journal Article
Teaching for Conceptual Understanding
A series of lessons were taught in a second-grade classroom to assist students’ conceptual understanding of celestial motion. After assessing student misconceptions about space and the movement of planets and the Sun, the teacher engaged the studen...
Journal Article
With a little direction and a few resources, students can be scientists at home in a way that is rewarding to the teacher, students, and their families. Through “My Own Science,” a home science program, students are able to choose, research, dev...
Journal Article
Career of the Month: An Interview with Deep-Cave Explorer Barbara Anne am Ende
Barbara Anne am Ende first learned about the wonders of caving during a simple visit to a commercial cave at the age of 14. Shortly thereafter she took a spelunking tour (studying caves and their contents) and was hooked; she joined the National Sp...
Journal Article
One of the most abstract concepts that you will teach to your students is the concept of time. Usually introduced at the beginning of the school year, the concept of time is taught along with measurements and scientific units such as length, mass, an...
Journal Article
In the following experiment, students are asked to construct a visible-light spectrometer using commonly available and relatively inexpensive equipment. In doing so, they are able to clearly see and understand basic spectroscopic principles and measu...
Journal Article
Creating a Fair Classroom Environment
Reduce your students’ first day jitters by implementing these specific classroom management suggestions that are designed to reduce student anxiety and create a fair environment. These strategies will effectively help all students to participate an...
Journal Article
Idea Bank: Measuring Wavelength with a Ruler
In the late 1960s, Arthur Schawlow, co-inventor of the laser, visited the author’s high school physics department to share some intriguing laser demonstrations. He popped colored balloons inside transparent ones, and showed interesting diffraction ...
Journal Article
What to Toss and What to Keep in Your Curriculum
As teachers adopt curriculum, they often have the false notion that every page of the text must be read in order to cover all of the standards required by the state. In fact, nearly all middle school science texts contain so much detail that they are...
Journal Article
Inquiry in the Large-Enrollment Science Classroom
The authors conduct research workshops twice each semester in their cell biology lecture course. Instead of solely analyzing data obtained by others, students form groups to design research questions and experimental protocols on a given topic. The m...
Journal Article
Using Scoring Rubrics to Evaluate Inquiry
This article explores the problem of assigning grades to students engaged in nontraditional activities, especially scientific inquiry. The authors suggest using scoring rubrics to guide students in their work and to assist teachers with grading. They...