Commentary: On Symmetry

Journal Article | January 2001

An opinion piece about symmetry stating that it has been increasingly recognized by physicists as fundamental to the forumlation of the laws of physics.

Enhancing the Instructional Environment: Optimal Learning in Introductory Science Classes

Journal Article | June 2005

A survey of 55 colleges showed that the learning environments in introductory science courses are not always as supportive as they should be. Furthermore, most innovative teaching techniques, as recommended by the…

Teaching With Visuals in the Science Classroom

Journal Article | December 2011

Visuals play an important role in the teaching and learning of science and should be embedded within and supportive of authentic science inquiry. This article provides seven suggestions for helping students get the most…

Corn Snake Genetics: Students learn about the fundamentals of Mendelism by studying corn snakes

Journal Article | December 2003

On a visit to a local pet store, one teacher learned that corn snakes can be interesting models for Mendelian genetics. Corn snakes became the focus of a genetics unit that included making observations of classroom corn…

A Bat Is Like a …

Journal Article | October 2001

Analogies, or comparisons based on similarities between things that are otherwise dissimilar, can greatly enhance science learning for children. Analogous reasoning “is a central component of human cognition. It is…

Designing Project-Enhanced Environments

Journal Article | November 2005

The concept of waves is fundamental due to its occurrence throughout the natural world (water, sound, and electromagnetic waves). Because the concept occurs in so many places, high school students come to the classroom…

Teaching Through Trade Books: Seasons by the Sun

Journal Article | June 2005

Understanding the Sun has challenged people since ancient times. Mythology from the Greek, Inuit, and Inca cultures attempted to explain the daily appearance and nightly disappearance of the sun by relating it to a…

Honeybees, Butterflies, and Ladybugs: Partners to Plants

Journal Article | January 2009

Honeybees, butterflies, and ladybugs all have fascinating mutually beneficial relationships with plants and play important ecosystem roles. Children also love these creatures. But how do we teach children about these…

Editor’s Roundtable: Model behavior

Journal Article | October 2010

Models are manageable representations of objects, concepts, and phenomena, and are everywhere in science. Models are “thinking tools” for scientists and have always played a key role in the development of scientific…

The Early Years: Adding Up the Rain

Journal Article | June 2009

Having your class measure and record the amount of precipitation that falls daily is a job young children can do as part of learning about measurement and weather. Summer is a good time to prepare to teach about…

The Pressure’s On

Journal Article | August 2000

If the pressure’s on to enhance the growth and development of students’ inquiry skills, use a discrepant event. A discrepant event is a demonstration designed to present a situation or phenomenon that has an unexpected…

Online Class Review: Using Streaming-Media Technology

Journal Article | October 2006

This article presents an automated system that allows students to replay both audio and video from a large nonmajors’ organic chemistry class as streaming RealMedia. Once established, this system requires no technical…

Scope on the Skies: Exploring the Earth's Atmosphere

Journal Article | November 2012

This column focuses on astronomy throughout the year. This month’s issue details information about the layers of the atmosphere.

The Early Years: Exploring the Properties of a Mixture

Journal Article | December 2007

Children learn about properties of materials as they walk through a fabric store, help in the kitchen, or dig in the garden. Directed explorations in the classroom build on these early experiences. In the inquiry-based…

What’s It Like Where You Live? Meeting the Standards through technology-enhanced inquiry

Journal Article | December 1999

“What’s It Like Where You Live?” is a unit that involves an extended comparison of biomes, defined as regions characterized by distinctive climate, plants, and animals. By designing the curriculum around the Standards,…