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Journal Article

The Case Study: Senior Seminar

Incorporating a case study format into a senior seminar course is a novel method of teaching the components of a successful seminar. Within this format, seminar presenters familiarize their audience with relevant background information, present a cas...

Journal Article

Journey into the Five Senses

As part of her doctoral research, this author visited a multi-age (K–2) classroom as it studied the five senses. The student-centered, hands-on unit took a community approach—involving visiting professionals, parents, a museum, and school colleag...

Journal Article

Teaching through Trade Books: The Science of Invention

The books What Is a Scientist? and Girls Think of Everything: Stories of Ingenious Inventions by Women are used as springboards for projects in which students in grades K–3 and 4–6 create or modify inventions....

Journal Article

Adapting to the Environment: Helping students understand natural selection

A classroom activity based on the story of the peppered moth sheds light on natural selection. While the topic of evolution is often difficult to approach in high school biology, this activity captures student attention and helps them learn about the...

Journal Article

Idea Bank: Substitute Success

The covering teacher's duty includes creating a successful classroom experience for a limited period or a one-time basis. Tips provided in this article can help enhance the classroom experience whether a teacher absence is a planned day or an emerge...

Journal Article

Science Centers for All

University professors suggest ways to bridge gaps among diverse learners—of different cultural, socioeconomic, physiological, and linguistic backgrounds—through the use of science centers in the classroom. Includes ideas for setting up science ce...

Journal Article

Research and Teaching: Graduate Students as Middle School Content Experts

This article describes how an NSF project sponsors graduate students who provide rich science content expertise for middle school teachers and their students and simultaneously gives these graduate students extensive exposure and understanding of the...

Journal Article

Scope on Safety: Safety is for everyone

The National Science Education Standards reject any situation where some people are discouraged from pursuing science and excluded from opportunities to learn it. In concert with the Standards are federal laws and regulations mandating equal access ...

Journal Article

Digesting Complex Carbohydrates: Using yeast as a model system for human digestion

A fermentation lab focuses on the energy of the digestive system and engages students in the topics of metabolism, enzymology, bioengineering, and genetics. The authors describe how Beano can be used in the lab to show effects of enzymes on digesting...

Journal Article

Editor's Note (February 2003)

Aren’t patchwork quilts beautiful? What would you answer if you were asked, “Why is the patchwork quilt usually the favorite of quilt fanciers as well as the average person?” Most of us prefer the patchwork quilt because of its beautiful color...

Journal Article

Science 101: What is a fossil?

A fossil is a preserved trace of an organism or event. There are many types of fossils. Usually these are preserved in sedimentary rocks—like sandstone, limestone, and shale—laid down on the surface of the planet or under its oceans. A paleonto...

Journal Article

Energy Underground: Studying matter and energy processes within caves

Students observe underground caverns and discover that matter recycling occurs on many levels and is directly related to the amount of energy present during the exchange process. The author describes an integrated science unit that correlates several...