This article proposes an indirect method to evaluate the corrosion rate of iron nail in simulated seawater. The official procedure is based on the direct measurement of the specimen's weight loss over time; however, a highly precise scale is required and such equipment may not be easily available. On the other hand, mobile phones equipped with…

This paper describes a simple activity for plotting and characterizing the light curve from an exoplanet transit event by way of differential photometry analysis. Using free digital imaging software, participants analyse a series of telescope images with the goal of calculating various exoplanet parameters, including size, orbital radius and…

This paper discusses potential strategies and sources for approaching uncomfortable topics and reviews the challenges facing teachers who choose to do so with the topic of genocide as an example. Using a variety of techniques, including graphic organizers, political cartoons, comic books and graphic novels, films, children's and young adult…

The Moon appears to be much larger closer to the horizon than when higher in the sky. This is called the "Moon illusion" since the observed size of the Moon is not actually larger when the Moon is just above the horizon. This paper describes a technique for verifying that the observed size of the Moon is not larger on the horizon. The technique…

The activities described here allow students to explore the concept of diffusion with the use of common equipment such as computers, webcams and analysis software. The procedure includes taking a series of digital pictures of a container of water with a webcam as a dye slowly diffuses. At known time points, measurements of the pixel densities…

Stellar parallax is a concept that is dealt with infrequently in the high school classroom other than by qualitative consideration of stereoscopic parallax and argument by analogy. Use of stellar parallax for distance determination can be difficult for students to understand without some type of hands-on experience to explore the concept. Thus,…

In this article, the author talks about innovative high school curricula that engage students through the study of visual art in conjunction with critical study of history and social movements. Just as historians place a premium on locating and interpreting events in time, the visual arts are centered on getting an idea across in a visual form,…

A good high school cultural arts program puts students' creative talents on display, allows them to demonstrate innovative thinking, and gives them direct and indirect exposure to careers in the cultural arts. A truly outstanding program goes even further to emulate real-world authentic artistic experiences and to create multidisciplinary artistic…

This article describes an experiment that measures the forces acting on a flying bird during takeoff. The experiment uses a minimum of equipment and only an elementary knowledge of kinematics and Newton's second law. The experiment involves first digitally videotaping a bird during takeoff, analyzing the video to determine the bird's position as a…

This article describes how counseling psychology graduate students collaborated with high school students in a participatory action research project called, Thru the Lenz. This project was created in order to gain insight into the lives, experiences, and communities of the students. It utilized photography, creative processes, and a humanistic…

Armed with digital cameras, voice recorders, and movie cameras, students from Thomas Dale High School in Chester, Virginia, have been exploring neighborhoods, interviewing residents, and collecting memories of their hometown. In this article, the author describes "Digital History of Chester", a project for creating a commemorative DVD.…

In this article, the author describes how her intermediate art class used silhouettes expressively and interpreted ancient and contemporary silhouettes in a personal way. The students analyze relationships of works of art to one another in terms of history, aesthetics, and culture, justifying conclusions made in the analysis, and using such…

The American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) mission is to enhance the understanding and appreciation of physics through teaching. Aspiring to advance the greater good through physics, AAPT strives to be the leading voice, primary resource, advocate of choice, and driving force in physics education, serving professionals who teach physics…

The high school dropout crisis in diverse urban communities in the United States is evidence of an endemic disengagement from formal education. The project on which this essay reports utilized visual sociology methods to explore city students' perceptions of schools' purposes, as well as the supports for and impediments to their school success.…

A few years ago, the author was introducing her students to David Hockney's "Pearblossom Highway" photo collage, when she decided to try his technique herself. It turned into an assignment that her students love and request. Hockney states that "Pearblossom Highway" gives "a sense of closeness to everything yet at the same time depth can be…