Try the Inductive Approach

Journal Article | December 1999

When science teachers pass up the use of an inductive approach in their teaching, they miss a golden opportunity to improve their chances of attaining one of their avowed and highly regarded objectives of science…

Point of View: What Makes it Science? A Modern Look

Journal Article | June 2006

Scientific inquiry differs from other human inquiry in the kind of evidence scientists pay attention to. Scientific evidence was born, historically of human curiosity and its search for practical explanations of…

One Mode is Not for All

Journal Article | December 2005

This article examines the construction of science journal texts by three elementary school children identified with special learning needs. These texts are examined to demonstrate how each child differently represented…

Shrinking Science

Journal Article | January 2002

Watch student interest grow as they shrink down everyday items in this study of thermoplastics.

Elk Habitat: A Case Study of Scientific Inquiry

Journal Article | October 2009

A case study is an excellent way to help students think like scientists as they work to solve a dilemma. This article describes a case study of elk in Yellowstone National Park. Students read short narratives, based on…

Commentary: Talk of the Town

Journal Article | October 2001

An opinion piece about the concerns highlighted at the Town Meeting at the 2001 NSTA Convention.

Dating the Moon

Journal Article | January 2013

This article describes ways to teach lunar stratigraphy and the nature of science.

Society for College Science Teachers: Never Underestimate the Dark Side of the Force

Journal Article | February 2007

Implementing best practices, however well supported by research, is resisted by both circumstances and people. Thus, what you read and hear about methods others have used must be modified and compromised to fit the…

Formative Assessment Probes: Is It Living?

Journal Article | March 2011

Uncover the hidden meanings children construct.

Scientific Inquiry Meets Storytelling and Filmmaking: Creating Video Lab Reports Using a Project-Based Learning Approach

Journal Article | December 2012

Design, create plan, direct, edit, and produce a video lab report using students' own experimental data.

Ask the Experts—September 2004

Journal Article | August 2004

The experts address the following question in this month’s column: Why do geckos make sounds and why mostly at night?

Arguing for Evolution

Journal Article | January 2000

On August 11, 1999, the Kansas State Board of Education voted six to four to remove references to cosmology and evolution from the state’s education standards and assessments. However, the author believes that students…

Switch on Student Interest: Learning to derive the equation for resistors in parallel

Journal Article | November 2000

In this lab activity, traditional parallel circuit problems were used to evaluate students' understanding of the relationship that exists among resistors in parallel. But the students now "owned" the equation that they…

Challenging Disciplinary Boundaries in the First Year: A New Introductory Integrated Science Course for STEM Majors

Journal Article | April 2012

This article describes the mobilization, planning, and implementation of a first-year interdiciplinary course for STEM majors that integrates key concepts found in traditional first-semester biology, chemistry, computer…

FIRST: A Model for Developing New Science Faculty

Journal Article | April 2005

Developing education skills in future college faculty is challenging. At the postdoctoral level, Fellowships in Research and Science Teaching (FIRST) fellows effectively integrate research with mentored undergraduate…