The "Next Generation Science Standards" (NGSS Lead States 2013) urge science teachers to include engineering practices and ideas in their already full science curriculum, but many teachers do not know where to start. Only 7% of high school science teachers report feeling "very well prepared" to teach engineering. The…

Sixty-seven deaths per week, nine per day, one every two hours: Motor-vehicle crashes are the number one killer of teenagers in the United States, and although fatalities have declined in recent years, almost 3,500 teenagers still die every year in motor vehicle crashes (NHTSA 2011). In fact, 35% of all deaths among 16- to 19-year-olds are…

Many students probably take pictures daily. Whether snapshots of their friends at a Justin Bieber concert or of their latest skateboard trick, these images document changes in a student's life. Digital cameras can do more, however, than record memories to post on Facebook. They can also help students examine changes in their environment. This…

Through a collaborative project in Pennsylvania, high school students developed a method for converting batches of their cafeteria's waste fryer oil into biodiesel using a 190 L (50 gal) reactor. While the biodiesel is used to supplement the school district's heating and transportation energy needs, the byproduct--glycerol--is used to make hand…

This article provides an instructional approach to helping students generate open-inquiry research questions, which the authors call the "open-inquiry question template." This template was created based on their experience teaching high school science and preservice university methods courses. To help teachers implement this template, they…

As the upcoming school year approaches, many science teachers may be looking for new ways to incorporate inquiry in their classrooms. Fortunately, teachers have an array of inquiry activities at their fingertips. But with so many resources available, it can be challenging for a teacher to make an educated decision about which experiments to…

Changes of buoyancy related to temperature of an aluminum block system in water are investigated. Three hypotheses to explain the observed change are developed and tested, and the intellectual processes used in the various steps are noted. (CP)

This activity attempts to address a lack of emphasis in most science curricula on the microbial activity that determines soil's health. Presents an experiment that involves students in seeing how the enzyme assay is used as an indicator of soil quality and microbial activity. Contains procedures and discussion questions. (LZ)

Contains three demonstrations to help students develop an adequate understanding of the nature of science. Two use the inquiry method to show students the importance of evidence in formulating explanations, and the third uses the history of science to show that science is tentative as well as based on evidence. (LZ)