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Journal Article
Teaching From a Global Point of View
Teachers of all disciplines . . . need to recognize the importance of science in the curriculum not simply as science per se, but in how it relates to the social, political, and economic spheres of human endeavor . . . We must see science as a bridge...
Journal Article
The Crosswicks Creek Caper: A third-grade geology investigation
In this inquiry-based “caper,” students designed and conducted experiments to find answers to their questions related to "mystery rock." Through this investigation, the children learned that rocks and minerals have unique physical and chemical pr...
Journal Article
The Impact of Science on Society
There is one thing we can say about scientific education as it existed 100 years ago: Certainly as far as America is concerned, the scientific education of the 19th century—taken almost as a whole—did not produce great scientists… There was som...
Journal Article
Recruiting and the Economic Status of the Science Teacher
Our schools are threatened by a drastic shortage of teachers. The facts about our teacher shortage are deeply disquieting and altogether convincing to thoughtful parents and discerning citizens. Many teachers are leaving our classrooms—over 600,000...
Journal Article
Project WET (Water Education for Teachers) is an international, broad-based water science and education program for formal and informal educators of students in grades K–12. It is part of a larger water resource education program called The Waterco...
Journal Article
Enquiry, the Science Teacher, and the Educator
What our teachers need to teach is determined, first, by the first that our national need is a dual one. There is an urgent pressing need for an increasing number of fluid enquirers and original engineers. There is also need for a voting and supporti...
Journal Article
The Galápagos Islands are sometimes thought of as the birthplace of evolution. Not because evolution begins there, not because evolution occurs there and nowhere else, but because the results of evolution so visible. A visit to these islands in 1835...
Journal Article
This article is one of a series that grew out of the question: Just what does educational research have to say to science teachers? In the case of the topic dealt with here, however—the effects of caring teachers on student learning—the question ...
Journal Article
Multicultural Science Education
There are many definitions of multicultural education. One of the most comprehensive definitions describes multicultural education as at least three things: an idea or concept, an educational reform movement, and a process. Multicultural education in...
Journal Article
Teachers who successfully use diverse learning modes in their instructional approaches accomplish several remarkable things. First, they create a climate where the ways of knowing central to the different modalities are all seen as legitimate, accept...
Journal Article
When an ethical issue is still being debated publically, it is inappropriate for schools to advocate a particular position—either explicitly or implicitly. Nevertheless, we can and should prepare students to integrate values and scientific knowledg...
Journal Article
It is the authors hope that the science education community will use the results of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) to explore current issues in science education. Among these issues are the balance between breadth and d...
Journal Article
As teachers make the transition to inquiry-centered science, they discover a need for new assessments. In response to this need, a group of 125 elementary teachers embarked on a three-year investigation of science assessment. This project was a compo...
Journal Article
Charles W. Eliot’s Legacy to Science Education
Had Charles W. Eliot—a young Harvard graduate trained in chemistry—accepted an offer in 1865 to become a superintendent of the Merrimac Mills in Lowell, Massachusetts, the history science teaching in American high schools might have been very dif...
Journal Article
Last year the authors embarked on a study to find out whether more student-centered instruction was occurring in block-scheduled biology classes than in those of traditional duration and whether the student-centered strategies recommended by the Stan...
Journal Article
Science education reform is a topic that has gained increased exposure with such headline-making proposals as SS&C and Goals 2000. While these are only two of the many recent reform initiatives, efforts to maximize science teaching and learning exper...
Journal Article
A Permanent Agenda for Science Teachers
It may seem a singular act of arrogance for us to suggest that a permanent agenda for science teaching exists. Trends come and go, and veteran professionals have seen the recurrence of familiar ideas. But the persistence of learning as a motivating f...
Journal Article
When the mathematical structure of physics is used instead to show the relationships between ideas and concepts, without the algebraic manipulations and computations, students are not intimidated. This type of physics—taught in their own language w...
Book Chapter
Modern Science and the Book of Genesis
Many religious people, including scientists, hold that God created the universe and the various processes driving physical and biological evolution and that these processes then resulted in the creation of galaxies, our solar system, and life on Eart...
Book Chapter
Before middle grades, a student’s experience with objects, motion, and energy centers on exploring one thing at a time. Understanding energy, distinguishing between different kinds of energy, and learning about the nature of energy and energy tran...
Book Chapter
This section uses protozoa to help students either review already acquired lab skills or learn entirely new ones. As students are led through the investigations in this section, they are encouraged to observe and compare biological processes among th...
Book Chapter
This section enables students to model the fundamental life processes of many organisms, including humans, by using microorganisms. The section also explores some of the operating principles of cellular physiology and organismic biology using protozo...
Book Chapter
Interacting with other Organisms
Life on Earth forms a complex web. Each organism depends on others for its health and well being. This section explores how such relationships are essential for maintaining balanced ecosystems. Students conduct investigations into mutualistic and par...
Book Chapter
All species of organisms live in communities and occupy ecological niches. Protozoa, by contrast, live in a wide variety of habitats, including soils, water, and inside other organisms. This section explores the varied habitats of protozoa, especial...
Book Chapter
Life thrives or perishes depending upon its ability to adapt to changes in the environment. Over time, living organisms develop adaptive strategies that enable them to meet the demands precipitated by those changes. In this section, students explore ...
eBook
How to... Ask the Right Questions (e-Book)
Questions, questions, questions! They are a large part of a teacher’s stock-in-trade. We use questions to help students review, to check on comprehension, to stimulate critical thinking, to encourage creativity, to emphasize a point, to control cla...
Journal Article
Testing the Waters: The standards saturate schoolwide water theme
In a small rural school in southwest Missouri, coordination of a schoolwide water theme provided students with science learning experiences with a Science-Technology-Society orientation reflecting many of the Standards. Together, teachers incorporate...
Journal Article
The National Science Education Standards
The authors use the 1992 challenge from the National Committee on Science Education Standards and Assessment to frame the discussion in this article. Here is their challenge: ...
NSTA Press Book
The Creation Controversy and The Science Classroom
Organized into three practical parts, The Creation Controversy provides teachers with insights into modern science and the Book of Genesis, effective strategies for teaching evolution and other controversial topics, and the NSTA Position Statement on...
By James W. Skehan S.J., Ph.D., Craig E. Nelson, Ph.D.
NSTA Press Book
How to ... Ask the Right Questions
Questions, questions, questions! They are a large part of a teacher’s stock-in-trade. We use questions to help students review, to check on comprehension, to stimulate critical thinking, to encourage creativity, to emphasize a point, to control cla...
By Patricia E. Blosser