Groundwater is a critical component of the global water cycle and standards-based topic within science education. However, students articulate an array of ideas about groundwater systems, including their natural and human elements. One way to support students' learning about groundwater systems is through the use of data-driven, computer-based…

Biomimicry, the process of using nature to guide innovative thinking and development, can be useful in helping students grasp scientific concepts. Teachers interested in incorporating biomimicry into lesson plans might find that experiential learning at informal science institutions (ISIs) with natural models and artifacts is a valuable tool to…

This article reports on the theoretical output of a design research study, which concerns the design of a learning environment (LE) for helping students challenge the 'balance of nature'-idea and reach an up-to-date understanding about ecosystems' contingency. Our focus is set on whether it is feasible to articulate an empirically tested theory of…

EngQuest, an initiative of Engineers Australia, provides an exciting, non-competitive way for students to participate in free, fun and educational engineering activities involving mathematics, science and technology. This article describes a project designed to teach middle school students how to construct a water catchment system. Water…

Evaluation is an important aspect of science and is receiving increasing attention in science education. The present study investigated (1) changes to plausibility judgments and knowledge as a result of a series of instructional scaffolds, called model-evidence link activities, that facilitated evaluation of scientific and alternative models in…

In the lesson on which this practical article is based, third grade students constructed a "lift-the-flap" page to explore food webs on the prairie. The moveable papercraft focused student attention on prairie animals' external structures and how the inferred functions of those structures could support further inferences about the…

This article describes a lesson in which fourth-grade students create a habitat for terrapins while reducing erosion. A client and their needs were presented to the students: The city purchased a piece of shoreline on the bay previously owned by a private company. The company had started to develop the land, exposing soil up to the water's edge.…

Nitrogen- or phosphorus-based fertilizers, used in agriculture, can run off into nearby waterways during periods of heavy rain or high flow and cause harmful blooms (Paerl et al. 2016), low oxygen (Joyce 2000), and decreased biodiversity (Sebens 1994). Studies of the effects wetlands can have on water and habitat quality (Verhoeven and Meuleman…

The nature of science (NOS) describes what science is and how knowledge in science is developed (NSTA 2013). To develop elementary students' understandings of how scientists explore the world, the authors--an education professor and a third-grade teacher--endeavored to integrate NOS into a third-grade life science unit. Throughout the lesson,…

In this article, the author describes the "Be your own groundhog" project in her grades 9-12 Earth and environmental sciences courses, in which students use citizen science databases to research the physical changes that signal the arrival of spring. This project starts with a simple question, "When will spring spring?" This goes beyond the…

Sustainable management of marine resources raises great challenges. Working with this socio-scientific issue in the classroom requires students to apply complex models about energy flow and trophic pyramids in order to understand that food chains represent transfer of energy, to construct meanings for sustainable resources management through…

The use of stories from professional experience in continuing professional education has been on the rise in many fields, often aimed at bolstering capacity through sharing professional knowledge and/or supporting reflective practice. Practice stories are also suggested to be beneficial in supporting professional learning of new concepts. These…

This article describes a one-week introduction to stochastic groundwater modeling, intended for the end of a first course on groundwater hydrology, or the beginning of a second course on stochastic hydrogeology or groundwater modeling. The motivation for this work is to strengthen groundwater education, which has been identified among the factors…

Misconceptions are not simply factual errors or a lack of understanding, but rather explanations that are constructed based on past experiences (Hewson and Hewson 1988). If students' misconceptions are not directly engaged in the learning process, they may persist--even when faced with instruction to the contrary (Bransford, Brown, and Cocking…

Instilling an appreciation of nature in our youth is an important precursor to environmental protection and support for sustainability. Research has shown that involving students in environmental projects improves their motivation, skills, and achievement on standardized tests, This document contains images of the body parts of small mammals with…