All Resources

Journal Article

Point of View: An American University Professor in Africa: Crossing Cultural Boundaries to Teach Physics at the University of Botswana

This column shares reflections or thoughtful opinions on issues of broad interest to the community. This issue focuses on an American University professor's tenure in Africa at the University of Botswana....

Journal Article

Push-ups and Propulsion

In this activity, students build and experiment with a balloon car for a hands-on investigation of action and reaction in a jet propulsion simulation, with the help of a few plastic plungers from Push-Up ice cream treats. This activity helps develop ...

Journal Article

The MORE Thinking Frame: Guiding Students' Thinking in the Laboratory

The Model-Observe-Reflect-Explain (MORE) Thinking Frame is a laboratory-based instructional tool developed to address some of the weaknesses of undergraduate science programs. The tool was developed to engage students in the thinking processes underl...

Journal Article

SCST: 'What Am I Doing Here?,' Revisited: Some Columns I Wish I Had Written

In this column the leadership of the Society for College Science Teachers (SCST) shares its views with JCST readers. ...

Journal Article

Addressing the Standards in the Garden

This article answers the call to achieve scientific literacy by using the Garden Explorations program—a hands-on science camp focusing on the processes of science to enhance student understanding of scientific inquiry....

Journal Article

Sumos and the Center of Mass

It is true that science can be found anywhere, even in the ancient Japanese sport of sumo wrestling. This activity gives students insight into both Japanese culture and an important science lesson on center of mass....

Journal Article

A Science Showdown

This activity features an after-school "Science Challenge Day," with the idea of getting students excited and involved in science, both inside and outside of the classroom. For this educator, just hearing the students' comments at the end of the chal...

Journal Article

After the Bell: Science Sensibility

Early exposure to scientific activities may lay the foundation for a student's journey from learning science as a novice to achieving science expertise....

Journal Article

The Total Science Experience Laboratory for Sophomore Biology Majors: Transcending the Laboratory to Learn Much More Than Just Biology

In the Total Science Experience (TSE) lab, students become team research scientists. Proposal writing and reviewing, project management, team coordination, manuscript writing, and presentations help students make career decisions at an appropriate ph...

Journal Article

Favorite Demonstration: La Fiesta Radioactiva: Distinguishing Alpha, Beta, and Gamma Emissions from Orange-Glazed Dinnerware

This demonstration involves measuring the radioactivity emitted by Fiesta dinnerware. It will acquaint students with the rudiments of radiation detection and shielding, and requires little preparation or in-class time....

Journal Article

Tuned In, Turned On

This activity "TV Graphic Journal," allows students the freedom to choose TV programs that meet their interests. Keeping up their journals adds extra work but students can learn on their own turf and make connections between home, school, and the wor...

Journal Article

Guest Editorial: The Need for More Schoolteachers in Science and Math—How Colleges Can Help

An opinion piece about the need for more schoolteachers in science and math and how colleges can help. This article appeared in an issue of "The Chronicle of Higher Education," and reprinted here, with permission....

Journal Article

Creating a Classroom Museum

Creating a classroom museum is one way to bring the excitement of a museum into the classroom year-round. In this activity, students have so much fun designing their own exhibits that they don't realize they are developing a deeper understanding of s...

Journal Article

Dopplerball

Dopplerball is used at the end of a unit on waves and sound to give students firsthand experience with the Doppler effect. Students play the game in silence wearing a blindfold....

Journal Article

Semester-Length Field Investigations in Undergraduate Animal Behavior and Ecology Courses: Making the Laboratory Experience the Linchpin of Science Education

Undergraduate science laboratory courses often use "cookbook" exercises where expected results are known without the need for thought or experiment. In this article the University of Iowa's elective courses Animal Behavior and Ecology provide an auth...

Journal Article

Research and Teaching: Cultural Factors in Science Education—Variables Affecting Achievement: Exploring the Relationship Between Mathematical Knowledge and Scientific Success

The course in this article is a first-semester general chemistry class with a large-enrollment lecture section of students with minimal background in chemistry at The University of Texas at San Antonio—a designated minority (primarily Hispanic) in...

Journal Article

Looking Out for Latex: Become aware of dealing with latex allergies

The author of this article shares information learned from actual classroom experiences with latex allergies. These allergies are new to the teaching profession as "a topic of which to be aware." Awareness of the numerous sources of latex in the clas...

Journal Article

Scope on the Skies: Pluto returns to the ninth position

This column focuses on astronomy throughout the year. This month’s issue highlights the rare event that takes place this February and everyone who thinks that Pluto is the ninth planet in our solar system will be in the right again....

Journal Article

Editor's Note: Come On, We Can Do It!

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

Journal Article

Guest Editorial: So, How Does a Multicultural Classroom Look? Sound?

An opinion piece about the importance of and the opportunities for learning in multicultural elementary classrooms....

Journal Article

The Case Study: The Bee and the Groundhog: Lessons in Cooperative Learning—Troubles with Groups

This column provides original articles on innovations in case study teaching, assessment of the method, as well as case studies with teaching notes. This month’s issue takes a look at a typical group of students struggling to survive a general biol...

Journal Article

Reading the Literature in the Jargon-Intensive Field of Molecular Genetics: Making Molecular Genetics Accessible to Undergraduates Using a Process-Centered Curriculum

Primary literature in molecular genetics is often inaccessible to undergraduates. This article describes an adaptation of a method of teaching students to read primary literature. The quality of students' lab projects improved, as did students' abili...

Journal Article

What's My Line?

A teacher adapts the format of the show What's My Line? for a unit on famous scientists and inventors. The project consists of a five-paragraph essay, an oral presentation in clue form, and a visual aid. For the oral presentation students create and ...

Journal Article

"Streamlined" Contract Grading—A Performance-Measuring Alternative to Traditional Evaluation Methods: Raising the Importance of Concept Mastery by Reducing the Emphasis on Grades

Grading in mass enrollment, introductory labs can easily consume a large amount of the instructor's time. This article features the "streamlined" contract grading scheme which has many potential advantages, including a reduction in instructor effort ...

Journal Article

SCST: Two Cultures? Pfui! On Complementarity in Science and Humanities Teaching

In this column the leadership of the Society for College Science Teachers (SCST) shares its views with JCST readers. This month's issue covers the SCST definition of scholarship in college science teaching that advances the concept that the teaching ...

Journal Article

A Fishy Adventure

This article features the "Fishing for Clean Water" activity which can be modified for K-12 students and can be inquiry based or problem solving in nature. It provides basic comprehension of the effects of direct and indirect human actions on freshwa...

Journal Article

Teaching Multiple Intelligences

In this article, a questionnaire was developed and administered to assess students' attitudes toward science. The results confirmed that many students have negative attitudes. Students also completed a multiple-intelligence inventory to identify thei...