This unit is a different and fun way to engage students with an extremely important topic, climate change, which cuts across scientific and nonscientific disciplines. While climate change itself may not be listed in the curriculum of every science class, the authors contend that such a unit is appropriate for virtually any science curriculum.…

This article reports on our work of developing a learning progression focusing on K-12 students' performances of using energy concept in their accounts of carbon-transforming processes in socio-ecological systems. Carbon-transforming processes--the ecological carbon cycle and the combustion of biomass and fossil fuels--provide all of the energy…

The use of inquiry in life science can be particularly daunting because of the additional management and care living systems require. However, there are some low-maintenance organisms that work well in the classroom. One of these is the common fruit fly, "Drosophila melanogaster." Its small size, low cost, easy availability and maintenance, and…

This study assesses the environmental proficiency of Texas life science educators certified from 2003 to 2011 by analyzing their TExES 138 8-12 exam results in domains V and VI. The sample consisted of all the individuals that took and passed the TExES 138 life science 8-12 exam. During this period, approximately 41% of the individuals who took…

Recently, schools nationwide have expressed a renewed interest in school gardens (California School Garden Network, 2010), viewing them as innovative educational tools. Most of the scant studies on these settings investigate the health/nutritional impacts, environmental attitudes, or emotional dispositions of students. However, few studies examine…

In this article, the authors share a project developed and implemented in an eighth-grade science classroom in which students apply what they have learned about biomes to create sustainable cities. This project promotes environmental literacy through helping students understand the interrelated elements of sustainable environmental systems and how…

This study examined the mental models of the desert environment held by fourth- and seventh-grade students in the USA and whether those mental models could be affected by: (1) classroom field trips to a desert riparian preserve, and (2) interaction with family members at the same preserve. Results generally indicated that students in this study…

Engineering education, like many fields, has started to explore the benefits of concept maps as an assessment technique for knowledge integration. Because they allow students to graphically link topics and represent complex interconnections among diverse concepts, we argue that concept maps are particularly appropriate for assessing…

Even though photosynthesis is an obligatory part of the science curriculum, research has shown that students often have a poor understanding of it. The authors advocate that classroom coverage of the topic of photosynthesis should include not only its biochemical properties but also the role of photosynthesis or photosynthetic organisms in matter…

Biology laboratories are usually designed around convenient and available subjects. For example, for animal laboratories "Daphnia magna," "Drosophila melanogaster," frogs, rats, and mice are common animals that are relatively easy to obtain, relatively cheap, and consequently lend themselves well to laboratory experimentation. On many campuses, …

An instructional unit incorporating some of the Global Learning and Observation to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) hydrology protocols provides an excellent way to connect academic learning, scientific inquiry, multiple subjects, and the values required for concerned citizenship in a democracy. This article describes the GLOBE hydrology protocols…

This article describes learner and tutor reports of a learning network that formed during the completion of investigative projects on a residential field course. Staff and students recorded project-related interactions, who they were with and how long they lasted over four phases during the field course. An enquiry based learning format challenged…

This article describes a project in which eighth graders at East Side Middle School in New York City used an interactive multimedia program called "Pollution Solution" in a science unit on environmental pollution. Students assumed the role of environmental consultants working at fictional corporations which were being investigated for…

The North Jersey Conservation Foundation has published the results of 5 years of research in conservation curriculum for grades 1-12. (GB)