This article discusses the value of narrative for conceptualizing and promoting teacher research and inquiry in early childhood teacher education. The article provides an overview of essential forms and functions of narrative, paying particular attention to the contributions of narrative inquiry, which is a research framework rarely applied to…

Three-dimensional mind maps are a highly effective tool for providing engaging, kinaesthetic and sensory experiences for young children, with real objects used to promote the sharing of knowledge and the creation of connections. The use of real objects allows children the opportunity to connect with those objects at a personal level, thus placing…

Many students (as well as the general public) use modern technology without an understanding of how these devices actually work. They are what scientists refer to in the laboratory as "black boxes." Students often wonder how physics relates to the technology used in the real world and are interested in such applications. An example of one such…

This practical guide will help teachers to use the acclaimed "Literacy Through Photography" method developed by Wendy Ewald to promote critical thinking, self-expression, and respect in the classroom. The authors share their perspectives as an artist, a sociologist, and a teacher to show educators how to integrate four new "Literacy Through…

This paper tries to demonstrate that it is not reasonable to judge the quality of pictures that a camera can produce just by the number of pixels that the sensor has. It does so by trying to relate the number of pixels in a picture to the resolution that the eye can see at various distances away from prints of different size.

On Dec. 27, 2006, we drove with our children and their families to a cabin we rented on the grounds of the "YMCA of the Rockies" in Estes Park, CO, for a few days of winter relaxation and recreation. On the night of the 27th a snowstorm dropped over half a meter of new snow, creating a beautiful winter wonderland. For the next couple of days the…

I recently had a cardiac stress test. It was my fourth. Its purpose was to determine whether my heart is pumping an adequate quantity of blood during exercise. Additionally, is there a partial arterial blockage or damaged heart muscle? The test involves the patient receiving an injection of Cardiolite[R], a substance containing a molecule to which…

Case studies are an effective way to help students understand how science works, and perhaps even more importantly, how science knowledge is constructed. Yet often when we teach the content of science, we overlook the nature of science (NOS), and in particular, how knowledge claims of science are justified (Abd-El-Khalick, Bell, and Lederman 1998;…

This article relates how a class of elementary preservice teachers used technology to share their thinking about a topic that is traditionally difficult to model and discuss--dividing fractions. One type of technology they used, a digital camera, was familiar to most students, but the other type, a SMART Board[TM], was relatively unfamiliar.…

This paper explores the potential of photography for teaching, learning, and studying literacy in elementary school classrooms. We examine the ways shifting between communication systems (photography, oral language and writing) impacts students' ability to problem solve and create rich texts. Specifically, we explore the roles photography plays in…

Photographs can support and serve as prompts for high-quality discussions and increase children's confidence in expressing their views. The authors collaborated on the Young Photographers Project in two phases in Karen's pre-K classroom. They describe the project and reflect on the children's exposure to and practice in using technology to…

This report describes the incorporation of digital learning elements in organic chemistry and biochemistry courses. The first example is the use of pen-based technology and a large-format PowerPoint slide to construct a map that integrates various metabolic pathways and control points. Students can use this map to visualize the integrated nature…

When children look at works of art they tell stories, share experiences, imagine, and explore. This book provides teachers with the skills, and freedom, to design rich and open-ended art experiences for young children. The author looks at the work of a variety of artists and offers guidance for using these artworks as taking-off points for…

Single photons are used for fundamental quantum physics experiments as well as for applications. Originally being a topic of advance courses, such experiments are increasingly a subject of undergraduate courses. We provide interactive screen experiments (ISE) for supporting the work in a real laboratory, and for students who do not have access to…

"Slowmation" (abbreviated from "Slow Animation") is a simplified way of making an animation that enables students to create their own as a new way of learning about a science concept. When students make a slowmation, they create a sequence of five multimodal representations (the 5 Rs) with each one contributing to the learning…