All Resources

Journal Article

Astrobiology: Discovering New Worlds of Life

This article describes the fascinating new field of astrobiology—a multidisciplinary approach in which scientists apply their knowledge of deep-sea environments to examine the origin of life on Earth and determine the possibility of extraterrestria...

Journal Article

Alternative Assessment: A monthly portfolio project improves student performance

As an alternative method of assessment, students create portfolios by submitting monthly entries that demonstrate and expand their understanding of science concepts. Teachers can also use the portfolios to assess the success of their teaching practic...

Journal Article

The Case Study: The Cheerleader and the Football Player

This is a classic engineering problem involving pulleys. It is suitable for any basic class where Newtonian mechanics are discussed. The objective of the case is straightforward: to teach the mechanical principle of the pulley. The story attempts to ...

Journal Article

Scope on the Skies: All about occultation

This column focuses on astronomy throughout the year. In this month’s issue learn about occultation, or hiding, that occurs when the Moon, in this case, blocks our view of a planet or star other than the Sun. Knowing when an occultation will occur ...

Journal Article

A Garden Story

Gardening in a neglected schoolyard became a catalyst for schoolwide science learning in an urban school in Detroit. Not only did students learn about plant requirements and care for numerous flowers and trees, but they also discovered the motivation...

Journal Article

Expanding Students’ Professional Horizons: A View from the Earth and Space Sciences

Teachers can use this inspiring article to introduce students to careers in the Earth and space sciences. The authors discuss the interdisciplinary nature of the geosciences, job opportunities and prospects, and their relevancy to many economic and e...

Journal Article

Internet Courses: Are They Worth the Effort?

To investigate the effectiveness of an Internet-delivered course, one group of biology students learned the course material employing Internet resources while a second group attended a traditional, lecture-based class. The authors, comparing student ...

Journal Article

What a Relief!

Middle school students in a rural Illinois school visualized and learned more about landforms after making a relief model from a topographic map. They achieved a deeper understanding of topography as the representation of the features and configurati...

Journal Article

Favorite Demonstration: Illustrating Heterochrony and Heterotopy

This article describes an inexpensive, simple method using balloons to demonstrate heterochrony and heterotopy in the classroom. The method can be used to supplement lectures and assigned readings for a course, especially in cases where heterotopy is...

Journal Article

Editor's Corner: The Standard Classroom

The Science Teacher’s editor shares thoughts on the current issue....

Journal Article

Is Inquiry the Answer? Using action research to analyze student performance and opinion

Action research is one of the most informative methods of investigating issues of concern within the educational community—it not only increases awareness of a particular issue but also allows students to discover important information about how t...

Journal Article

After the Bell: The Science and Mathematics of Nature

Sometimes it is difficult to show students that science and mathematics are natural parts of life. The activities in this article can help students take a broad view of their world through careful observation and exploration of the naturally occurrin...

Journal Article

Inquiry by Design: Creating a national and state standards-based high school science program

In this article, the science coordinator examines the science program and wanders if it makes sense for student learning and if it could be adapted to meet state standards. The query was taken to the department and an agreement was reached to invest...

Journal Article

Got Mud?

Wetland ecology is a complex subject that draws from several scientific disciplines. While classroom lectures are necessary to teach the vast body of scientific data, there is no substitute for field and laboratory experiences to enrich learning. Thi...

Journal Article

Who Wants to Make Assessment Fair?

An assessment strategy based on the television game show, “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,” helps teachers make grading fair. The author describes which game show strategies to apply to classroom assessment and which to avoid. This teaching approa...

Journal Article

Why Does My Cruorine Change Color?

The classical research literature provides material appropriate for use in problem-based courses. Here, the spectroscopic study by G. G. Stokes of the reversible “oxidation and reduction” of hemoglobin illustrates how a series of open-ended group...

Journal Article

Idea Bank: Mirror, Mirror

The Idea Bank provides tips and techniques for creative teaching, in about 1,000 words. In this month’s Idea Bank learn about demonstrations using concave mirrors....

Journal Article

Quiz Clues: Providing visual cues for daily quizzes

The teaching strategy of using the word “QUIZ” to provide visual cues for daily quizzes prompted students to talk before class, debating the possible hidden meanings before the quiz. It is not necessary to prepare intricate artwork in advance—...

Journal Article

Teaching Technical Writing: Switching to concept-based lab reports

Technical writers and technical writing skills are in great demand, and the high school science lab is the perfect place to lay the groundwork for technical writing skills. The concept-based lab report addresses two needs of high school students—to...

Journal Article

Skeletons in Your Classroom

This hands-on, create-a-skeleton activity will reinforce skeletal and muscular system knowledge and foster creativity. Students work in cooperative groups to construct life-size skeleton models, write individual lab reports, and give group presentati...

Journal Article

Reading Your Way to Scientific Literacy

Having students read and analyze scientific articles gives them an understanding of scientific information as presented in the literature. After studying classic and recent research articles, students answer homework questions, individually and in gr...