All Resources

Journal Article

Evolving Curricula in the New Century: Putting Universities Back in Touch—A Prototype Program that Links the Community and Institution

The Kellogg Commission calls for a process of engagement in which the expertise found on our campuses is focused collaboratively on the problems faced by society. Expanding interdisciplinary teaching and learning is the primary vehicle of engagement....

Journal Article

Measuring Molecules: An interdisciplinary lesson incorporates ecology and mathematics

This interdisciplinary project investigates the enormous environment-polluting power of uncontrolled petroleum products. While focusing on mathematics and science, this exercise helps students to conceptually transfer the ecological ramifications of ...

Journal Article

Recognizing the Achievements of Women in Science: Tenacity and Talent—The Twin Pillars of Scientific Success for Women

Of the over 300 Nobel Prizes awarded in science since the prizes were first presented in 1901, only 11 have been given to women. This paper considers whether we can learn anything from the experiences of the female winners that will offer hope that m...

Journal Article

Crash into Meteorite Learning: An interdisciplinary study on craters makes a big impact

“An asteroid the size of Texas is hurtling toward Earth!” Blockbuster films like Armageddon and Deep Impact have focused on catastrophic meteor impacts and captured public imagination. Why not capitalize on the excitement and investigate meteor i...

Journal Article

SCST: Changes in Teaching and Learning—The Role of New Technology

In this column the leadership of SCST shares its views with JCST readers. This month's issue shares thoughts on the new electronic communications and what it means for teachers and students....

Journal Article

The Case Study: Alien Evolution—A Futuristic Case Study: The Return of the Cambrian Explosion

You have two days before you and your colleagues must decide the fate of this planet and the hundreds of people who are waiting to re-colonize it. Before you come to any conclusions, however, you need to find out exactly what happened on this planet,...

Journal Article

The Last Teacher: Technology and the Demise of the University

This article presents a visionary tale of the next 30 years where virtual classrooms link students across the world and electronic personalities become the teachers. A time when miniaturized computers become embedded in furniture, clothing, jewelry, ...

Journal Article

Create Your Own Field Guide: Students take field research into the computer lab to make campus field guides

Taking classes outdoors to do field studies can be difficult because students have a hard time identifying the local flora and fauna. To resolve the outdoor identification problem, the teachers and students at Arrowhead High School decided to create ...

Journal Article

Digging Science: Building a fossil pit in your schoolyard

Many scientists are treasure hunters—the valued treasure resulting from a hunt can range from discovering a new component of a neutron to locating a new star in a distant galaxy. These monumental treasures are usually discovered by established scie...

Journal Article

Point of View: Science in the Twenty-First Century Must Include All of Us—Appreciating the Value of Intellectual Diversity in the Sciences

This column shares reflections or thoughtful opinions on issues of broad interest to the community. This month’s issue focuses on the challenge to create an environment within the science enterprise where intellectual talents from all ethnic and ra...

Journal Article

Rethinking the Role of the Science Teacher: Eschewing standardized testing in favor of authentic assessment

Researchers believe an uncomfortable trend is developing in education reform—teaching is being influenced by large-scale assessments that fail to capture students’ abilities to do sustained work. This article focuses on teacher-based assessment w...

Journal Article

Editor's Note: Nothing is as Constant as Change

Science and Children’s editor shares thoughts regarding the current issue....

Journal Article

Teaching Teachers: Reaching the Reluctant Science Teacher

As a science educator, you may have heard many reasons why someone is reluctant to teach science. A "Process Approach to Science," a science course designed at California State University-Long Beach, aims to change these attitudes and abilities. A pr...

Journal Article

Science Festival Fun: A Teaching and Learning Experience

Unlike a science fair that consists of static displays of science investigations completed by students, a science festival includes interactive science exhibits that students share with one another (Parker, 1996). As students manipulate interactive e...

Journal Article

Sidewalk Astronomy: Students and teachers take astronomy to the street

After sharing his large telescope with passersby on a busy street corner in Chicago, the author started the Sidewalk Astronomy Club to involve students in the experience. As a result sidewalk astronomy has become a great means for bringing together p...

Journal Article

Bringing Science History to Life

Can science history be interesting for students? You bet! Science, after all, is creative, and scientists go about their work in a variety of creative ways. In addition to understanding how scientists perform their work, Benchmarks encourages us to e...

Journal Article

Gravitating Toward Reggio: Let the children lead their learning about the concepts of forces and motion

In the “Reggio Emilia Approach,” the teacher elicits ideas from children and channels the curriculum through long-term projects. The children’s predictions lay the foundation for many observations, discussions, and explorations that take place ...

Journal Article

Editor's Corner: Students in Space

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

Journal Article

Teaching Teachers: A Passion for Science—One educator shares how she turned a fear of teaching science into excitement over hands-on science

By introducing the Hands-On Science Program at Hanson Park Elementary School in Chicago, performance improved and the fear of teaching science turned into excitement. The message is clear—develop a passion and it can become the centerpiece of learn...

Journal Article

idea Bank

The Idea Bank provides tips and techniques for creative teaching, in about 1,000 words. In this month’s Idea Bank, find out how writing physics poems can be fun and helpful, how a simple cookie can illustrate percent composition and introduce basic...

Journal Article

Chemistry Wrap Up

Class activities and independent projects for high school students using household plastic wraps can help students understand more about the chemistry of everyday objects. The activities described in this article reinforce one of the fundamental prin...

Journal Article

Earthquake Analysis

Earth science students are expected to master the travel-time curves of the seismic waves generated at the focus of an earthquake and recorded at seismograph stations. Commonly, students are required to calculate the distance to the epicenter and the...

Journal Article

Comments on Students’ Writing

As science teachers, we must provide feedback on both the science content and quality of writing demonstrated in their assignments. Unfortunately, our schedules do not always allow us to hold individual writing conferences or ask for extensive rewrit...