Using Comics in the Science Classroom: A Pedagogical Tool

Journal Article | December 2005

Comic strips found in newspapers and magazines can be used to assess both student and teacher understanding of science concepts. They can also be used to get students’ attention, introduce a new topic, and stimulate…

Packing Peanut Properties

Journal Article | February 2002

Students work with various types of packing peanuts to investigate states of matter and chemical and physical changes. One of the activities involves making slime. The activities can easily be modified for students with…

Scope on Safety: Black lights—Don’t be in the dark

Journal Article | December 2010

Some middle school science teachers take advantage of black light technology phenomena and fluorescent materials in classroom demonstrations and laboratory investigations. Should they be concerned about students working…

Thinking Outside the Block: An innovative alternative to 4x4 block scheduling

Journal Article | January 2002

Block scheduling is a schedule composed of four 90-minute class periods in a day. This article focuses on the experiences of a high school's adoption of block scheduling but rethinking the block to a 4x1 block schedule—…

Using Powers of 10 to Help Students Develop Temporal Benchmarks

Journal Article | November 2009

One of the greatest challenges for middle school Earth science teachers is helping our students get a feel for the magnitude of the long spans that make up Earth’s history. The intent of the strategy presented here is…

Perspectives: The Art (and Science) of Asking Questions

Journal Article | September 2008

Questions serve as formative assessments that provide information to teachers about student learning in relation to curricular goals. In addition to helping students build science concepts, teacher questions can help…

Methods and Strategies: Science First

Journal Article | June 2005

Lesson chronology is key when combining science and literacy. For teachers involved in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Science Teacher Enhancement Program Unifying the Pikes Peak Region, STEP-uP professional development…

Case Study: Resistance Is Futile ... or Is it? The Immunity System and HIV Infection

Journal Article | April 2012

This column provides original articles on innovations in case study teaching, assessment of the method, as well as case studies with teaching notes. In this month’s issue the case study uses an interrupted progressive…

Teaching for Understanding: Bridging the gap between student understanding and state and national tests and standards

Journal Article | August 2000

Elementary science teaching is under increasing scrutiny. Some teachers may feel caught between state and national standards and tests of children’s understanding of science. What happens when contradictions arise…

Science 101: What causes wind?

Journal Article | March 2010

There’s a quick and easy answer to this question. The Sun causes wind. Exactly how the Sun causes wind takes a bit to explain. We’ll begin with what wind is. You’ve no doubt heard that wind is the motion of air…

Improving Preservice Elementary Teachers’ Writing in a Science Context

Journal Article | June 2008

The authors investigated whether a series of mini prewriting assignments linked to a formal paper describing an original research project would improve preservice elementary teachers’ writing abilities in a science…

Teaching Through Trade Books: Snowflake Science

Journal Article | December 2002

This month's featured trade book, Snowflake Bentley, introduces students to a self-made scientist who spent his life taking pictures of snowflakes. Background information and snow activities for different age groups are…

Learning Outside the Classroom: Practical Suggestions for Reorganizing Courses to Promote Higher-Order Thinking

Journal Article | December 2004

Exposing students to content outside of the classroom encourages them to take control of their learning. This article describes three methods for redesigning courses to create more class time for the development of…

Idea Bank: More than Multiple-Choice

Journal Article | September 2006

Multiple-choice questions typically dominate tests in high school chemistry classes. The modification described in this article requires students to explain their reasoning behind each multiple-choice answer. This…

Research and Teaching: How Do College Students Best Learn Science? An Assessment of Popular Teaching Styles and Their Effectiveness

Journal Article | April 2000

This paper is based on William Leonard’s “How Do College Students Learn Science?” Chapter 1 in Effective Teaching and Course Management for University and College Science Teachers, edited by E. Siebert, M. Caprio, and C…