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  • Equal and Opposite

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about pairs of forces that fit Newton’s third law. The probe is specifically designed to reveal whether students can identify third law force pairs as…

  • Onward: Pixar's Tribute to Dungeons and Dragons

    Reports Article |

  • Plants in the Dark and Light

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about plant growth. The probe is designed to find out whether students recognize that plants use their stored food to grow in the absence of light.

  • Are They Talking About Climate or Weather?

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about climate. The probe is designed to find out whether students distinguish between weather and climate.

  • Focus on Physics: How E = mc2 Helps Us Understand Nuclear Fission and Fusion

    Blog Post |

    Nuclear physics has an undeserved reputation for being tough for students. This article may reduce this “toughness” by showing how Einstein’s familiar equation E = mc2 relates to the reductions in mass and enormous…

  • Model of Air Inside a Jar

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about the particle model of matter. The probe is designed to find out if students recognize that air is made up of particles that are widely spaced with…

  • From the Field: Events and Opportunities, April 6, 2021

    Reports Article |

  • Habitat Change

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about adaptation. The probe is designed to reveal whether students think individuals intentionally change their physical characteristics or behaviors in…

  • Teaching About How Scientists Work—With a Focus on Claims-Evidence-Reasoning

    Blog Post |

  • Chicken Eggs

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about food, transformation of matter, growth and development, conservation of mass, and systems. The concepts underlying this probe are complex. It is…

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