All Resources

Journal Article

Scope on Safety: What Is Your First Aid Policy?

Would you know what to do if one of your students had an accident with a chemical that resulted in contact with the skin? What would you do if a student spilled boiling water on his or her hands? These are the types of potential challenges science te...

Journal Article

Looks Count for Communities

Small-town students embark on a trip to the past that connects them to current trends and issues faced by communities all over the United States—the potential for explosive growth-- helter-skelter, mismatched growth. This inquiry-based unit on comm...

Journal Article

Discovering Flowers in a New Light

Although students may have made observations of plants and flowers, not many have looked closely at their various structures or seen the colorful designs of flowers that are only apparent when magnified. The 5E learning cycle described in this articl...

Journal Article

Using Standards to Address Diversity in Science

A scrutiny of the national and some state science standards indicates that middle school science teachers don't have a frame of reference to depict an "application of equity and diversity" in a classroom. The author helps to fill the void of "how" by...

Journal Article

Learning from Standards-Based Exams: Analyzing student answers to a statewide exam helps a teacher improve his instruction

In this article, find out how a careful analysis of student answers to the standards-based exams proved to be an important instructional tool. ...

Journal Article

Analyzing Instructional Content and Practices: Using data to improve alignment of science instruction with state and national standards

As teachers and school leaders continue to implement standards-based instruction, they need a way to evaluate the current status of science instruction to determine what changes and improvements are necessary. A new approach to analyzing and improvin...

Journal Article

Be a Food Scientist

When approached in the appropriate manner, food can be a useful teaching tool to develop understandings of science and mathematics concepts. This engaging series of food science inquiry lessons builds student skills in measurement, data collection, c...

Journal Article

Editor's Corner: Avoiding Clichés

The Science Teacher’s editor shares thoughts on the current issue reflecting on some of the excellent suggestions offered....

Journal Article

How's Your Visual Acuity?

Students learn about visual acuity through a guided inquiry activity that helps them understand the concepts. These concepts are important in helping students understand their own vision. Visual acuity concepts, inquiry skills, math applications, an...

Journal Article

Ask the Experts

Why are some metal-ion solutions colored, while others are not? What gives rise to the variety of colors that we see? Find the answers in this article....

Journal Article

Using Newspapers to Facilitate Learning

Incorporating newspapers into a science course encourages students to take control of their learning. Assignments related to newspapers facilitate active learning in a classroom environment focused on the learner. Several different types of assignmen...

Journal Article

Teaching "Bad Science"

Sharing both the triumphs and failures of science helps students understand its true nature. Teachers should challenge students to confront the scientific enterprise in its entirety. In doing so, teachers move toward achieving science education's im...

Journal Article

Favorite Demonstration: Using Elodea as a Live Model of the Eukaryotic Cell

In this demonstration, the aquatic plant called Common Waterweed, Elodea Canadensis, serves as a model for cell function. The plant clearly exhibits cell activity by visibly demonstrating cytoplasmic streaming, which occurs in animals, plants, and pr...

Journal Article

Research and Teaching: Successive Concept Mapping

As alternatives to multiple-choice tests, concept maps offer user-friendly ways of evaluating learning. At the same time, they encourage and reward real understanding. The authors explored the value of using successive concept maps as vehicles for as...

Journal Article

Crossing Boundaries

As science teachers, we strive to make our field an effective component of a liberal arts education. How can we make our subject more appealing to the broader community? This article describes how the author taught a conceptual physics/astronomy cour...

Journal Article

Idea Bank: Success with Science Folders

The Idea Bank provides tips and techniques for creative teaching, in about 1,000 words. In this month’s issue, the author describes how using science folders helps students to be more organized and improves achievement....

Journal Article

Commentary: Curriculum Versus the Volcano

An opinion piece about the vinegar-volcano chemistry demonstration, and how science teachers have the tendency to fall back on dramatic demonstrations presented without much explanation or application....

Journal Article

Mnemonic Methods

Students use time-tested strategies to recall scientific information. By means of mnemonics—cognitive strategies that help students learn and remember scientific information such as facts, lists, categories, and procedures—students apply simple a...

Journal Article

Presenting the Scientific Process

In a course titled Scientific Process, the authors introduce undergraduates to the philosophy and practice of science and initiate them into a 2-year undergraduate research track. Engaging exercises and discussions help students understand the scient...

Journal Article

SMATH

Emphasizing both math and science in an interdisciplinary high school program. This three-year math-science curriculum connects the fundamental concepts of physics, biology, and chemistry with algebra and geometry. Interdisciplinary courses allow stu...