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  • Freebies and Opportunities for Science and STEM Teachers, April 25, 2023

    Reports Article |

  • 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…

  • Freebies for Science Teachers, Week of July 20, 2020

    Reports Article |

  • Does It Have to Touch?

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit beginning ideas about types of forces. The probe is designed to reveal whether students recognize that forces can act both in direct contact with an object and at a…

  • Nails in a Jar

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about conservation of matter during a chemical change (oxidation). The probe is designed to find out if students think the mass changes as rust forms…

  • Assessment of Demographic Biases Associated With the Ground Rules System in a Large Undergraduate Engineering Course

    Journal Article |

    Despite more women and underrepresented students entering engineering, there are still gaps in achievement. A potential remedy is to establish equitable team dynamics during groupwork. Groupware systems have been…

  • Lunar Eclipse

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about eclipses. The probe is designed to find out what students think causes a lunar eclipse.

  • What’s in the Bubbles?

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about particles during a phase change. The probe is designed to find out if students recognize that the bubbles formed when water boils are the result of…

  • 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…

  • Freebies and Opportunities for Science and STEM Teachers, May 23, 2023

    Reports Article |

  • 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…

  • Warming Water

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about thermal energy. The probe is designed to find out whether students think cold things can have energy.

  • Salt Crystals

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about crystalline solids. The probe is specifically designed to determine how students think atoms are arranged and move in a crystalline lattice.

  • Burning Paper

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about conservation of matter during combustion. The probe is designed to find out if students think the mass changes as paper burns inside a closed…

  • How Many Fish are Really in the Sea?

    Journal Article |

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