“Science is About Facts,” or Is It? Changing Student Conceptions About the Nature of Science

Journal Article | November 1999

This paper analyzes some of the issues in teaching and learning in an introductory physical science course to a group of nonscience majors: elementary teacher education students. In particular, it examines the influence…

Recycle Used Oil on America Recycles Day

Journal Article | October 2000

Motor oil doesn’t wear out—it just gets dirty. Students and the general public may not know that used oil can be reused or recycled. The fact is, used oil can be re-fined, blended with additives, and used again. When…

The Dirt on Worms

Journal Article | January 2010

What better way to bring students “down to earth” than by studying worms? Worms are inexpensive creatures that can be used to create rich science experiences that relate to the National Science Education Standards. This…

Leave No Teacher Inside

Journal Article | June 2010

Did you catch it this spring? Less virulent than influenza, but almost as common. Some call the syndrome “Teacher Too Long Inside.” Fortunately, there’s a cure. While you’ve been nurturing, educating, and completing…

Examining Student Work

Journal Article | October 2009

This article presents a model of collaborative inquiry for groups of science teachers who want to systematically improve their practice through analyses of student work. The five-phase APEXST (Advancing High-Leverage…

Science Sampler: Conceptualizing Moon Phases—Helping students learn how to learn

Journal Article | December 2008

Helping students understand how to learn is an important goal for all subjects and levels of education. While this goal is highly regarded, promoting it is extremely difficult. Many times, we as teachers are consumed…

Science Shorts: Larger Than Life—Introducing Magnifiers

Journal Article | June 2009

Even simple technologies can provide important support for the inquiry process. Hand lenses and other magnifiers are ubiquitous technologies in the science classroom. In the following activity, children learn how to use…

Starting the Semester at Odds

Journal Article | October 2004

In contrast with statements by institutions and science organizations about why science should be studied, nonscience majors at two- and four-year institutions said they were enrolled in a science course because it was…

Ask the Experts – February 2007

Journal Article | January 2007

In this month’s Ask the Experts column, the Experts address the following two questions: Does the Heisenberg Uncertainty principle serve as the basis for Chaos theory? and Why doesn’t the United States use the metric…

Prairie Stories

Journal Article | October 2011

Students gain a sense of place by learning about their local ecosystem by listening to stories read aloud, doing prairie-related activities, and writing stories of their own.

Editor’s Corner: Doing Science With PBS

Journal Article | October 2008

Project-based science (PBS) is finding a place in more and more secondary school science programs as teachers discover its power to engage students and develop critical-thinking skills. PBS is firmly rooted in…

Science Shorts: On Observation

Journal Article | December 2005

Observation is a foundational process skill that is part of any curriculum. Each of the other science process skills requires that students first make a set of observations. This articles offers information on…

Scope on the Skies: Sun and Moon upstage each other in October

Journal Article | September 2004

This issue of Scope on the Skies sheds light on the partial lunar eclipse and the total lunar eclipse that occurred within two weeks of each other during the month of October, 2004. In addition, it describes the…

Issue in-depth: Inside alternatively powered vehicles: The problems and the possibilities

Journal Article | December 2005

Like all things natural or human-made, all modes of transportation, from horses to spacecraft are governed by the Principle of conservation of matter, the First law of thermodynamics, and the Second law of…

Scope on Safety: Negligence—Some things you can’t afford to ignore

Journal Article | August 2010

Governmental immunity statutes may not shield science teachers from lawsuits if the teachers fail to take appropriate safety measures in the face of known hazards or dangers in the laboratory. The lesson then seems…