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Green Science: Revisiting Recycling
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This column focuses on issues related to environmentally friendly and sustainable science. This month’s issue covers recycling.
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The Virtual Gorilla Modeling Project (VGOR)—a professional development project—is a collaboration of middle and high school in-service teachers, Zoo Atlanta primatologists, science and computer educators, and students.…
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The <i>Next Generation Science Standards</i>: A Focus on Physical Science
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This article focuses on the NGSS disciplinary core ideas in physical science, the development of those ideas across time, the importance of blending core ideas with scientific and engineering practices to build…
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Safe Science: Using Ionizing Radiation—A Hot Opportunity
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The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) website dealing with education resources reported the results of an inspection, by an environmental engineer, that revealed radioactive materials in a Massachusetts high school…
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Helping students to identify variable can be the key to other aspects of an investigation, such as the use of tables or graphs. In this article, we describe a tool we have successfully used to highlight the role of…
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Outdoor Adventures: Tracking Eastern Box Turtles
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This project engages students in an authentic task involving an endangered species, the eastern box turtle. It emphasizes learning by doing science and promotes character growth, teamwork, reflection, and scientific…
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The Case Study: Case Studies and the Media
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Just as comedians find content for their material in newspapers and on television, it is possible for educators to use the media as a great source of material. As case study teachers it is important to look for hooks in…
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Editor's Corner: Food for Thought
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Food issues often appear in the news and other media. For example, the media regularly address food safety concerns—from Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) or “Mad Cow Disease” to Salmonella and Escherichia coli…
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Use of Genomic Databases for Inquiry-Based Learning About Influenza
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The genome projects of the past decades have created extensive databases of biological information with applications in both research and education. We describe an inquiry-based exercise that uses one such database,…
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This fascinating interdisciplinary project combines satellite imagery with the technique of silk painting in batik. Students choose a Landsat image, enlarge the area of interest, and paint it onto silk. To assess the…
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Third-grade students display their understanding of life science concepts by creating an imaginative newspaper. This creative writing project engages students in researching, writing, and editing a newspaper based on a…
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Rubrics are learning tools for students and teachers. They can be used to clarify learning goals, provide feedback, and improve critical thinking. Simply using a rubric to score student work, however, is not enough to…
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Enabling Science: NSF's Program for Persons with Disabilities
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To promote greater inclusion of disabled students in science classrooms and to address the underrepresentation of persons with disabilities in science and engineering careers, the National Science Foundation (NSF)…
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Hydrogel Beads: The New Slime Lab?
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Students experience an inexpensive inquiry activity on chemical bonding, properties, and replacement reactions. In this activity, students synthesize a cross-linked polymer: hydrogel.
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Spatial Thinking Strategies: Promoting cognitive processes in the elementary classroom
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While some people consider spatial thinking a “gift” that only some individuals have, many others view spatial thinking as a cognitive process that can be developed. Much research supports the developmental view of…