New science standards and reform recommendations spanning grades K--16 focus on a limited set of key scientific concepts from each discipline that all students should know. They also emphasize the integration of these concepts with science practices so that students learn not only the "what" of science but also the "how" and…

It is important for students to be exposed to the concept of osmotic pressure. Understanding this concept lays the foundation for deeper discussions that lead to more theoretical aspects of water movement associated with the concepts of free energy, water potential, osmotic potential, pressure potential, and osmotic adjustment. The concept of…

Plants and insects share a long evolutionary history characterized by relationships that affect individual, population, and community dynamics. Plant-herbivore interactions are a prominent feature of this evolutionary history; it is by plant-herbivore interactions that energy is transferred from primary producers to the rest of the food web. Not…

Follow the development of six beginning teachers who participated in an induction program.

Presents an interview with Dr. Shinya Inoue who helped reinvent the use of light microscopes in the study of cells. (MKR)

Describes a simulation that can be used in the classroom to help clarify difficult concepts in protein synthesis. (ZWH)

Presents an alternative approach to teaching Mendelian genetics that includes the use of mathematical procedures and models to describe the occurrence and probabilities of heritable outcomes. Examples illustrate use of the method to calculate genotypic and phenotypic ratios for crosses involving multiple alleles with independent and dependent…

Discusses three approaches that are being developed to aid people with heredity and medical diseases: (1) Determination of DNA Abnormalities and Their Results; (2) Determination of Methods of Correction; and (3) Utilization of Chemical Treatment. (ZWH)

Recounts a debate between Theodore Roosevelt and Abbott Thayer in 1909-12 over whether animal coloration was an adaptation resulting from natural selection or whether the animal's environment acted directly on it to form its color patterns. (ZWH)

Describes a laboratory exercise used by botany students to verify their textbook's teaching about photosynthesis and respiration. (ZWH)

Describes an inexpensive replacement for the gel matrix, agarose, to aid teachers in reducing the cost of supplies needed to perform gel electrophoresis experiments. (ZWH)

Describes how red beets can be used to demonstrate a variety of membrane phenomena. Some of the activities include observation of vacuoles; vacuoles in intact cells; isolation of vacuoles in physiological studies; demonstration of membrane integrity; and demonstration of ion diffusion and active transport with purified vacuoles. (ZWH)

Examines the role mistakes play in the molecular evolution of bacteria. Discusses the interacting physical, chemical, and biological factors that cause changes in DNA and play a role in prokaryotic evolution. (DDR)

Presents a model experiment for quantifying phagocytosis using earthworm coelomocytes and determining the optimum length of time necessary to obtain maximum phagocytosis. Involves incubating coelomocytes from invertebrates with an antigen, staining the cells, counting the number of antigen particles ingested, and measuring the effect of different…

Presents a lecture and play in which the students themselves become the elements of the immune system. Aims at facilitating student comprehension and retention of the complicated processes associated with the immune system. Includes objectives, outline, background information sources, instructor guide, student narrator guide, extension, and topics…