Favorite Demonstration: MOS -- The Critical Elements of Doing Effective Classroom Demonstrations

Journal Article | October 2005

There is a wealth of evidence showing that students can remember many of their science class demonstrations for countless years. This is a good testimony to the emotional impact of demonstrations. One way to make them…

Science Sampler: Jumping to the right conclusions, inferences, and predictions

Journal Article | September 2005

Writing meaningful conclusions, drawing accurate inferences, and making relevant predictions are essential skills that many adolescents lack. The differences among conclusions, inferences, and predictions, although…

Modeling Success during Earth Science Week

Journal Article | August 1999

If your students are going to learn about scientific inquiry and the nature of science, you must be explicit, or purposeful, in your planning, presentation, and assessment of these concepts. The activity and details…

The Early Years: Learning by Nature

Journal Article | February 2012

This column discusses resources and science topics related to students in grades preK to 2. This month’s issue discusses getting children comfortable with nature by facilitating positive outdoor experiences.

Formative Assessment Probes: Confronting Common Folklore—Catching a Cold

Journal Article | August 2012

Formative assessment probes can help teachers find out what students' ideas are before teaching lessons and use the information to adjust instructional strategies. This article gives an example teachers can use to see…

S'COOL Science

Journal Article | April 2004

This article details the experiences of a fifth-grade class taking part in a NASA project in which students make observations of clouds and other weather data in order to reinforce satellite data and scientific research.

Favorite Demonstration: The Effect of Calcium on the Binding of Calmodulin to Calcium/Calmodulin Protein Kinase II: Demonstrating the Calcium-Dependent Binding of Calmodulin to a Target Protein

Journal Article | November 1999

This exercise visually demonstrates that the binding of calcium to calmodulin changes its conformation to allow binding to a target protein, calcium/calmodulin protein kinase II. It introduces undergraduates to the…

Community Service

Journal Article | November 2002

Service learning provides a novel learning experience for science students while furnishing a service to the community. The implementation and assessment of a service learning project involving an Earth science fair are…

Editor's Note (October 2004)

Journal Article | September 2004

Instead of tedious labeling of rocks, geology is a dynamic, relevant field that in many ways provides a context and connection for all other fields of science. This selection includes notes from the field editor of…

Across the City and Across Grades: Investigating Energy Flow in the Boston Harbor Ecosystem

Journal Article | October 2012

Discover how students can conduct an in-depth study of a local ecosystem.

Editor's Note (September 2004)

Journal Article | August 2004

The act of having students commit to an outcome makes them think. It is different than oral brainstorming because everyone is accountable. Students may not volunteer exactly what they are thinking. Like everyone else…

Science Sampler: Water, Water, Everywhere?

Journal Article | March 2002

Many students assume that we have an unlimited supply of water available for human consumption. Through the following investigations, students will gain a better understanding of how much is actually available.

Do You See What I See?

Journal Article | August 2005

This article focuses on the use of artwork to investigate science-process skills in an interesting and unusual way. Preservice teachers examine a painting and share descriptions of the painting (observations), what they…

Science 2.0: Instant Inquiry

Journal Article | October 2010

Since 2008, several digital cameras have offered high-speed movie settings that allow video to be captured at 120 to 1,000 frames per second. That means you can play back a 1-second, real-time event in slow motion that…

Every Day Science Calendar: February 2006

Journal Article | January 2006

This monthly feature contains facts and challenges for the science explorer.