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  • Earth’s Mass

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about the cycling of matter. The probe can be used to determine whether students recognize that once-living matter breaks down and cycles through…

  • Focusing the Lens of the Crosscutting Concepts on Secondary Science Learning

    Journal Article |

  • The Rusty Nails

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about a common phenomenon—rusting. The probe is designed to find out what students think happens to the mass of iron nails after a chemical change.

  • Designing, Sustaining, and Evaluating Environmental Justice Projects: The Critical Community Science Tool

    Journal Article |

  • Floating Balloon

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about the mass of a gas. The probe is designed to reveal whether students recognize that an uninflated balloon will increase in mass when inflated with a…

  • Ectotherm ER: Frogs Under the Weather

    Journal Article |

  • Fire!

    Journal Article |

  • Energy: A Wild Ride

    Journal Article |

  • From Local to Global

    Journal Article |

  • Cookie Crumbles

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about conservation of matter. The probe is designed to reveal whether students think weight is conserved when a whole object is broken up into small…

  • Sugar Water

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about dissolving. The probe is designed to find out what students think happens to sugar when it dissolves in water.

  • A Water Wheel Challenge!

    Journal Article |

  • Integrated Concentration in Science

    Journal Article |

    The Integrated Concentration in Science (iCons) 4-year program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst was designed to promote interdisciplinary STEM collaboration in the solution of real-world problems and encourage…

  • Ecosystem Cycles

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about the transfer of matter and energy in ecosystems. The probe is designed to reveal whether students recognize that only matter is cycled through an…

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