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  • A Hands-on Activity to Understand the Nature of Science and Authentic Scientific Inquiry in Large Laboratory Courses

    Journal Article |

    Integrating authentic research practices into introductory laboratory courses to prepare tomorrow’s scientists has become increasingly prevalent over the past decade. However, an incomplete understanding of the nature…

  • Coldest Winter Ever!

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about weather versus climate. The probe is designed to find out if students distinguish between a one-time weather-related change and a change in climate…

  • 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.

  • Renewable or Nonrenewable?

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about Earth’s natural resources. The probe is designed to find out if students can distinguish between renewable and nonrenewable natural resources.

  • What Do You Know About Volcanoes and Earthquakes?

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about plate tectonic features and events. The probe is designed to uncover commonly held misconceptions about volcanoes and earthquakes.

  • Grand Canyon

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about the formation of the Grand Canyon. The probe is designed to find out if students recognize the role of rivers and flowing water and connect them to…

  • The Greenhouse Effect

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about the greenhouse effect. The probe is designed to reveal whether students confuse the greenhouse effect with other environmental concerns or lump the…

  • Inquiring Astronomy: Incorporating Student-Centered Pedagogical Techniques in an Introductory College Science Course

    Journal Article |

    Increases in student-centered pedagogy have been more prevalent in K–12 education than in collegiate undergraduate science education. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of using student-centered…

  • A Web of Ideas

    Journal Article |

    Fostering scientific discourse with spider web discussions

  • Using the Putting the Pieces Together Instructional Routine

    Professional Learning Unit |

    In this module, educators will be introduced to the four elements of the Putting the Pieces Together (PT2) Instructional Routine. In the Putting the Pieces Together Instructional Routine, students synthesize ideas they…

  • A Design Heuristic for Analyzing and Interpreting Data

    Journal Article |

    Students reasoning with data in an authentic science environment had the opportunity to learn about the process of science and the world around them while developing skills to analyze and interpret self-collected and…

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