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Journal Article
Idea Bank: Modeling a Sinkhole
Limestone lies underneath approximately 15 percent of the United States. Fractures, cracks, and weaknesses develop due to Earth’s natural processes or manmade sources, resulting in structural change to the limestone. As a result, the formation of s...
Journal Article
While the importance of teamwork is emphasized in the National Science Education Standards, getting teams to share equally in the academic assignments and interact in a positive and productive manner often eludes even the best of teachers. These stra...
Journal Article
Science 101: What causes tides?
Tides exhibit predictable cycles on daily, monthly, and yearly scales. The magnitude of the tides is dependent on the position of the Earth and Moon in relation to the Sun, but is also influenced by other factors. This is a brief introduction to what...
Journal Article
This design challenge required students to design, build, test, and race fuel-cell cars. As part of the Fuel-Cell Car Challenge, student cars had to drive up an inclined plane with increasingly steep angles and compete in a speed race. This activity ...
Journal Article
Zoo projects that encourage reflective learning and are legitimate undertakings for untrained undergraduates are hard to develop. The two themes of the author’s primate studies course lead students to observe and evaluate the social behavior of non...
Journal Article
Providing sun-safe environments, schedules, and activities; teaching and modeling sun-safe behaviors; and implementing a sun-safe school policy are ways that schools can help protect children from sun overexposure and lay the foundation for a healthy...
Journal Article
There has been renewed discussion of the scientific method, with many voices arguing that it presents a very limited or even wholly incorrect image of the way science is really done. At the same time, the idea of a scientific method is pervasive. Thi...
Journal Article
The experts address the following questions in this month’s column: How do sunscreens work? Does baby oil really make you tan faster? Why do some people tan more than others or end up getting a bad sunburn after spending the same amount of time in ...
Journal Article
Editorial: What <em> JCST </em> Can Do for You
In this month’s column, the new Field Editor, Randy Moore, introduces himself and outlines several goals for his 3-year term as editor of JCST. He hopes to continue the tradition of making JCST a leader in college science teaching—as it was u...
Journal Article
A field trip to the shore can engage students in real-world science and offer plentiful opportunities for interdisciplinary learning. This field trip "action plan" ensures that a day at the beach goes smoothly for students and chaperones alike....
Journal Article
Favorite Demonstration: Tips for Using Demonstrations Effectively
Demonstrations are powerful learning tools when properly used in combination with other teaching strategies. They are effective ways to model scientific principles in a manner that allows students to visualize, practice, and apply the information bei...
Journal Article
Teaching Science to the Visually Impaired
Science educators must address the needs of visually impaired students by making the appropriate accommodations in the laboratory and science classroom. This article provides practical strategies for engaging visually impaired students in science-rel...
Journal Article
Tech Trek: Software that makes the grade
As you make plans for the upcoming school year, consider reviewing one of the many gradebook software packages that are available for organizing and computing your classroom grades. Many different packages are available (see Figure 1) which range in ...
Journal Article
Idea Bank: Got Milk? Do Biochemistry
Bacteria are very useful for introducing high school students to biochemical processes in the cell, including the hydrolysis of nutrients, the production of waste products, and changes in pH. All of this can be demonstrated to students using simple m...
Journal Article
As part of an ongoing environmental project and partnership with a local university, high school students monitor changes to Fossil Creek in Arizona. Components of the project include fish behavior studies, responses to fishing, water chemistry measu...
Journal Article
By June, most teachers are more than ready to leave the classroom routine, but they are seldom able to leave their love of science behind. They travel, explore, and read, so that they can return in the fall better prepared to share science with stude...
Journal Article
Scope on the Skies: Summer skies
In its path around the Sun, the Earth follows an elliptically shaped orbit. On July 5, 2004, the Earth reached aphelion, its maximum distance from the Sun, and is approximately 1.0166933 AU (Astronomical Unit) from the Sun. An AU is equal to the aver...
Journal Article
College students often struggle to understand complex technical language inherent in scientific communication. In some cases, this struggle leads to plagiarism. We performed a statistical analysis to find which teaching strategies are best suited to ...
Journal Article
Science Sampler: Museums as resources for science teachers
Need local resources to complement your science curricula? Why not check out your local museum, zoo, or nature center? A class visit to an informal science center can do wonders to broaden students’ horizons while challenging creative thinking. And...
Journal Article
Powerful Ideas in Physical Science
Powerful Ideas in Physical Science (PIPS) is a preservice curriculum that provides modules for physical science courses designed for elementary education majors. Because the courses are built on the learning cycle approach, students develop concepts ...