All Resources

Journal Article

Editor's Roundtable: Real testing, real learning

This article features activities based on hands-on learning and alternative assessment. As science and technology become more important teachers need to make sure students are prepared for the future by understanding not just science facts, but also ...

Journal Article

Weather Detectives: Searching for Cool Clues

It is a well-kept secret that weather is nature's way of redistributing energy and converting it to heat. There are many opportunities to teach these concepts—all it takes is a little detective work to recognize them. To teach these concepts, the a...

Journal Article

Thought for Food: Students learn science with healthy eating

This article features activities used in a schoolwide science unit on nutrition. ...

Journal Article

Scope on the Skies: January Blues

This column focuses on astronomy throughout the year. This month’s issue explains the occurrence of a second full moon within a month—this January happens to be such a month. ...

Journal Article

Web of Life Connections; Learning about the interdependence of life

This article offers suggestions for helping students understand the interdependence of life through firsthand experiences, by focusing on something familiar—their family, and by playing "what if" games to open up an array of possible scenarios. It ...

Journal Article

Classroom Meets Real World

To achieve a truly multicultural curriculum, the entire composition of lessons must be re-envisioned to embrace the global community. Principles are recommended for designing and implementing culturally responsive middle school science programs. A mu...

Journal Article

1948: The New Imperative for Science Literacy

This paper was presented by the author at the February 1998 Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)....

Journal Article

Using a Small-Scale Demonstration Farm as a Teaching Arena in Biology and Environmental Science: Learning Ecological Principles While Growing Food

Small-scale sustainable agriculture is a rich, vibrant arena for teaching and learning. This article features a farm used to teach students in a course on environmental education. Farm research is relatively easy to plan and conduct, and it provides ...

Journal Article

Favorite Demonstration: Floating Spinach Disks—An Uplifting Demonstration of Photosynthesis

This exercise is ideal for studying the overall process of photosynthesis. It employs disks punched out of a spinach leaf with a hole-puncher. The flexible experimental design provides the opportunity for open-ended, student-directed original inquiry...

Journal Article

A Botany Laboratory Inquiry Experience: Investigating the Effect of Soil Resistance on Bean Seedling Emergence

This article describes how a Botany Laboratory Inquiry Project (BLIP) can be included in a general botany laboratory. The stated purpose of the BLIP component is to provide a student with the opportunity to select a hypothesis, develop a logical expe...

Journal Article

Applying Inquiry-Based and Cooperative Group Learning Strategies to Promote Critical Thinking: Training Students' Minds and Improving Their Intellect to Become Informed Members of Society

This paper demonstrates how a course in molecular genetics can use problem-based activities and cooperative group strategies to support students learning the necessary skills for critical thinking, The course format can be implemented in most science...

Journal Article

Editorial: City Science—Filling the Education Vacuum for Our Inner-City Populations

The Journal of College Science Teaching’s editor shares thoughts regarding the need for an urban program sponsoring applied research related to the improvement of the lives of city residents....

Journal Article

Using E-mail to Improve Communication in the Introductory Science Classroom: An Excellent Tool for Encouraging Students to Enter Into Conversation with the Instructor and Each Other

This article focuses on the use of E-mail to improve student-instructor interaction and create an atmosphere of instructor support. E-mail also promotes the use of computer technology and provides a way to encourage students to write about topics dis...

Journal Article

Research and Teaching: Criteria for Designing Inquiry Activities that are Effective for Teaching and Learning Science Concepts: Constructing Effective Inquiry-Based Lessons—Bringing Teaching in Line with the “National Science Education Standards”

The criteria described in this article for designing inquiry activities is the result of an 8-year study completed by the author. This criteria should help educators construct effective inquiry-based lessons to achieve the goals enumerated in the N...

Journal Article

SCST: Using the Online Classroom—Lessons from English for Science Courses

In this column the leadership of SCST shares its views with JCST readers. In this month’s issue, the author discusses the use of technology in the classroom....

Journal Article

Research & Teaching: Using Action Research to Bring the Large Class Down to Size—Employing Focused Classroom Investigations to Improve Individual Teaching Practices

Action research is an approach to teaching that leads to the improvement of instructional practices. This article summarizes several action research studies conducted at Montana State University in an introductory astronomy course....

Journal Article

Guest Editorial: The National Science Imperative—Focusing on the Future: Increasing Research Funding and Making America Thoroughly Science Literate

The future will be dramatically different—not only from today but even from our best predictions. The 21st Century will be a rapid-paced century of scientific breakthroughs. This article features the major developments needed to encourage and maint...

Journal Article

SCST: Hypotheses, Theories, and Laws—A Look at Textbooks’ Treatment of an Issue from the CASE Standards

In this column the leadership of the Society for College Science Teaching (SCST) shares its views with JCST readers. This month's issue features an introduction to a document entitled "CASE Standards for Science Teacher Preparation."...

Journal Article

Hearing the Case for Genetic Engineering: Breaking Down the Barriers of Anonymity Through Student Hearings in the Large Lecture Hall

An effective way to implement active learning in a large lecture science classroom is to combine "learning cycle" instruction with a public hearing on an interesting issue. This article illustrates a model for active learning using the topic of "gene...

Journal Article

A Multi-Week Inquiry for an Undergraduate Introductory Biology Laboratory: Investigating Correlations Between Environmental Variables and Leaf Stomata Density

Many freshmen students lack sufficient confidence, organizational skills, and content background for open-ended student-directed investigations. In this article, one solution is an intermediate step that retains some of the ownership and empowerment ...

Journal Article

Using Internet Relay Chat to Provide On-Line Tutorials in a Distance-Learning Chemistry Course: Holding Class On-Line at a Commuter-Only University

With today's technological advances, distance education has progressed significantly from the old-fashioned correspondence course to encompass a smorgasbord of electronic communications options. This article features the challenge of distance learnin...

Journal Article

A Successful Model for Introducing Research in an Undergraduate Program: Confronting the Challenge of Drawing Minorities into Graduate Computer Programs at Florida A&M University

The challenges of introducing research in undergraduate programs at four-year institutions are many. Florida A&M University (FAMU) designed a model for stimulating research activities among faculty and students and for increasing the number of stude...

Journal Article

The Case Study: The Petition—A Global Warming Case Study: Debating the Causes and Consequences of Earth's Changing Climate

This column provides original articles on innovations in case study teaching, assessment of the method, as well as case studies with teaching notes. In this month's issue learn about the greenhouse effect, global warming and its possible causes....

Journal Article

An Integrated Mechanics and Calculus Course for Poorly Prepared Students: Avoiding the All-too-Pervasive Assumption that Students have a Common Starting Point

This article reports on a new coordinated introductory precalculus, calculus, and mechanics course designed to overcome the barriers presented by traditional courses. The course is based on the premise that all students can succeed given appropriate ...