Teaching Through Trade Books: The Wonder of Water

Journal Article | November 2008

Water is an extraordinary substance that we often take for granted. Not only is it what makes our planet uniquely habitable, water is the only substance on Earth that naturally occurs in three different forms. In this…

Get Connected to Science: The possibilities abound with today's high-tech classroom resources

Journal Article | March 2000

Too often classroom computers are used for word processing or drill and practice software. However, these uses don’t begin to tap into the rewards of computer technology. This article describes how elementary students…

Student-Centered Seismology Activities

Journal Article | December 1999

This article describes a three-week unit on earthquakes, a high-interest topic that is no doubt taught in most science classrooms. But in this unit, students learn about earthquakes by building equipment for experiments…

Case Study: Uretero What? Gynecological Health Issues, Pregnancy, and an Infant With a Birth Defect

Journal Article | December 2008

This case study follows the life of a successful career woman who is faced with a series of medical problems and career decisions. The purpose of this case study is for students to apply systems-level physiology as they…

Developing Intuitive Reasoning With Graphs to Support Science Arguments

Journal Article | August 2011

This article describes two activities—one math activity and one science activity—that teach students how to make a scientific argument and articulate a scientific claim.

The Moon Project

Journal Article | February 2006

What do Australia, Alaska, Qatar, Indiana, and Ohio all have in common? Similar climates? Population numbers? No, the authentic writing More Observations of Nature (MOON) Project! In this unique project, teachers…

CURRICULUM MAPPING: A How-To Guide—Using curriculum mapping to align instruction

Journal Article | March 2002

Curriculum mapping focuses on what is actually taught. Teachers see which benchmarks or standards are or aren't being met and which information needs to be added. Ultimately, curriculum mapping should produce a…

Racing into Physics: Using creativity and physics to design race cars

Journal Article | February 2002

Conceptual physics emphasizes analysis and analytical thinking skills. This article features an "Edible Race Cars" lab where students design, construct, and race their cars to learn about the concepts of aerodynamics,…

Research and Teaching: An Assessment of STEM Faculty Involvement in Reform of Introductory College Courses

Journal Article | June 2010

Twin strategies of Institutes on the Teaching and Learning of Science and Mathematics and support for faculty through minigrants are shown to be effective in stimulating college science and mathematics faculty to modify…

Fire and Ecological Disturbance

Journal Article | March 2011

Misconceptions are not simply factual errors or a lack of understanding, but rather explanations that are constructed based on past experiences (Hewson and Hewson 1988). If students' misconceptions are not directly…

Statistics and Hypothesis Testing in Biology: Teaching Students the Relationship Between Statistical Tests and Scientific Hypotheses

Journal Article | January 1997

The typical biometry course emphasizes statistical theory and methods, with little opportunity for students to apply statistics in testing scientific hypotheses. Early in education, students should be taught to use…

Methods and Strategies: Thinking Metric

Journal Article | September 2006

Despite educators’ strong recommendation for teaching students measurement skills—and specifically the metric system—measurement continues to be among the lowest scoring mathematics content areas in the United States…

The Campus Lake Learning Community: Promoting a Multidisciplinary Approach to Environmental Problem Solving

Journal Article | February 2005

A multidisciplinary learning community provided environmental management students the opportunity to work with students in different classes and majors to create designs for improving the appearance and environmental…

Connecting Algebra & Chemistry: Creating a combined math and science course

Journal Article | December 2002

A teacher makes interdepartmental connections between the science and math departments as a step toward creating a combined science and math course. This is an important step toward reaching the primary goal—helping…

The Early Years: Summer Science

Journal Article | March 2012

This column discusses resources and science topics related to students in grades preK to 2. This month’s issue discusses summer science notebooks.