Physical Science Resources

Web Seminar

Over the past 100 years quantum mechanics has become central to scientists’ understanding of the physical world: from governing the rules of chemical bonds, to underlying the workings of electronics and computers, to deepening the answers to qu...

Journal Article

Starting to teach science through inquiry can be intimidating for teachers who don’t have much experience with it. Some concerns about teaching science through inquiry often come from misunderstandings of what science entails (Authors et al., 2015...

Journal Article

The creative opportunity inherent in developing a STEM project is a great opportunity for preservice teachers. This article outlines a project in which a Science Education professor collaborated with an elementary STEM teacher to provide background o...

Web Seminar

What is inside our sun and other stars? What fills up the interstellar space? What is lightning? Trying to answer similar questions that come to the curious mind expanded our understanding of what happens to matter at high enough ...

Journal Article

This activity gives students the opportunity to design an experiment, collect data, and solve for the spring constant of different springs. The use of low-cost materials and the inquiry-based structure makes it more accessible for teachers and more e...

Journal Article

Lithium-ion batteries solve many problems, yet also create new problems like thermal runaway. To better understand the phenomenon themselves, the authors participated in a two-day workshop about the science of thermal runaway, when lithium-ion batter...

Journal Article

This three-day unit engages students in the exploration of light behavior and makes connections to the advanced idea of the wave-particle duality of light. Students begin by exploring the behaviors of marbles (particles) as they interact with differe...

Journal Article

Focus on Physics...

Journal Article

This paper discusses two teachers’ experiences implementing a phenomenon and problem-driven curriculum for the first time in two kindergarten classes. It describes how teachers shifted their teaching to support students’ collaborative sensemaking...

Journal Article

A child’s world is one filled with observable daily events or facts referred to as phenomenon that exist or happen, especially those that invoke a cause or explanation in question. From the earliest ages, young children are active learners explorin...

Journal Article

Scope on the Skies regular column. An SEL-based look at comets, their impact on society, and how they are named....

Journal Article

The use of loose parts can be an effective teaching method to improve and enhance student understanding of Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Loose parts can inspire children to use their creativity and critical thinking skills in the classroo...