Games Students Play: Teaming up in physics class leads to cooperative learning

Journal Article | March 2001

The case for motivating students through cooperative learning has been made and supported throughout the last two decades. Two well-known cooperative learning techniques—Student Teams-Achievement Divisions (STAD) and…

Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12 (2005)

Journal Article | February 2006

The annual list of Outstanding Science Trade Books for K-12 students was selected by a committee of National Science Teacher Association members. This comprehensive list of selected books were all published in 2005.

Enquiry, the Science Teacher, and the Educator

Journal Article | December 1999

What our teachers need to teach is determined, first, by the first that our national need is a dual one. There is an urgent pressing need for an increasing number of fluid enquirers and original engineers. There is also…

Networking Antarctic Research Discoveries to a Science Classroom

Journal Article | September 2008

In 2006, a unique scenario transported eighth-grade Earth science students from the classroom into the cold, dry, pristine surroundings of Antarctica. The mission was to expose the students to hands-on science using…

Editorial: Bewilderment Disorder

Journal Article | June 2009

Once upon a time in a land far from here, there lived a farmer’s son. Stu was a hard-working and pleasant lad, always willing to put his shoulder against any project. He was cheerful, friendly, strong, and obedient,…

Science Shorts: Hypothesis Testing—It’s Okay to Be Wrong

Journal Article | January 2009

Students often seek affirmation from their teachers about their thinking and can be embarrassed at the thought of being “wrong.” In science, we want children to feel comfortable making hypotheses and to know that it’s…

Five Strategies to Support All Teachers

Journal Article | February 2011

Five strategies are outlined that have been used with elementary school teachers as they moved from a "cookbook" approach in science to an approach that is inquiry based. Suggestions to get off the slippery slope of "…

Making a Big Impact

Journal Article | March 1999

This article features a teacher on assignment to NASA who joined a NASA expedition to the Iturralde Structure, a suspected impact crater in Bolivia.

Soil, Weeds, and Computers

Journal Article | April 2004

After a 2001 wildfire in the state of Wyoming, scientists were interested in learning what hydrophobic layers existed in the heavily burned areas and at what depth. In a collaborative, inquiry-based project, high school…

Drawing Out the Quiet Voices: Making science lectures accessible to all students

Journal Article | December 2001

Lectures are still a key component of most science courses. During a survey of student groups who find lectures particularly challenging, a science teacher implemented “interactive lectures,” a method of conveying…

Student-Centered Learning in an Earth Science, Preservice, Teacher-Education Course

Journal Article | June 2009

In an effort to get elementary teachers to teach more science in the classroom, a required preservice science education course was designed to promote the use of hands-on teaching techniques. This paper describes course…

Idea Bank: Microscopic Impressionism

Journal Article | March 2005

Claude Monet meets the world of science through Histro-Art, a concept that was conceived from the impressions of an 11th and 12th-grade college preparatory human anatomy and physiology class who were studying histology…

The Case Study: Science, Law, and the Pursuit of Knowledge

Journal Article | February 2002

Science and law are institutions for developing, testing, justifying, and authorizing belief, yet are often viewed as two different ways of knowing. Although science and law both claim to be based on “facts,” their…

Science 101: Are Bats Dangerous?

Journal Article | September 2004

Bats are fascinating and beneficial animals, but students often have many misconceptions and fears about them. This introduction to bats will provide teachers with the information they need to help students learn more…

Creating Deep Time Diaries: An English/Earth Science Unit for Middle School Students

Journal Article | March 2006

Students love a good story. We all do. That's why incorporating literary fiction that parallels teaching goals and standards can be so effective. In the interdisciplinary, thematic six-week unit described here, the…