Too often, students enter our classrooms with insufficient knowledge of physical science. As a result, they have a difficult time understanding content in texts, lectures, and laboratory activities. This lack of background knowledge can have an impact on their ability to ask questions and wonder--both key components of inquiry. In this article,…

Teachers know what a daunting job it can be to ensure that all students in a class learn effectively. In addition to the usual difficulties of gaining everyone's attention at once, instructors also run into the issue of preferred learning styles. In any classroom environment, the same topic is taught to multiple students, and each student may…

Points out that second-language learners, females, low-income students, and students of color sometimes experience difficulties and struggle with science instruction. Describes the interactive lecture in which students use critical thinking skills and suggests possible techniques that teachers can use when conducting an interactive lecture. (YDS)

In this article, the author discusses "The Biology of Food" course. This course--a large lecture course with no laboratory section--is a mixture of kitchen chemistry, post-eating food metabolism, origins of different foods (from crop breeding to evolution), and ecological and environmental impacts of farming and harvesting practices. Nearly every…

Describes a two-week lesson on electric fields that combined lecture, interactive video, lab experimentation, computer spread sheets, and computer-assisted-graphing. (PR)