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  • Is It a Model?

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about models. The probe is designed to find out whether students recognize that models can take a variety of forms besides physical replicas.

  • STEM Education Teaching and Learning

    Position Statement |

  • Elementary School Science

    Position Statement |

  • Turning the Dial

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about a physical property of matter. The probe is designed to reveal whether students recognize that under the same conditions, boiling point remains the…

  • Is It “Fitter”?

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about natural selection. The probe is designed to find out how students interpret the commonly used phrase “survival of the fittest.”

  • Magnets in Water

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about magnetism. The probe is specifically designed to determine whether students believe air is necessary for magnets to work.

  • Mountaintop Fossil

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about mountain formation. The probe is designed to determine whether students recognize that some mountains are formed from the uplift of Earth’s crust…

  • Mountaintop Fossil

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about mountain formation. The probe is designed to determine whether students recognize that some mountains are formed from the uplift of Earth’s crust…

  • Freezing Ice

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about freezing point. The probe is designed to find out if students recognize that the temperature at which water freezes is independent of the volume.

  • Safety and School Science Instruction

    Position Statement |

  • Camping Trip

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about the effect of solar radiation on Earth’s temperature. The probe is designed to find out whether students realize the Earth continues to cool after…

  • Liability of Science Educators for Laboratory Safety

    Position Statement |

  • Science Teacher Preparation

    Position Statement |

  • Global Warming

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about global warming. The probe is designed to find out what students think contributes to global warming.

  • Is It a Solid?

    Lesson Plan |

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about solids. The probe is designed to reveal the macroscopic and/or microscopic properties students use to decide whether a material is a solid.

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