Carbon is at the heart of many of today's environmental challenges. It is the central element responsible for the structure and function of living systems--taken up by plants through photosynthesis and moving from plants to other organisms, soil, and the ocean and into the atmosphere. The imbalance of these connected biogeochemical…

Creative learning is discussed with respect to a specific physics topic. A teaching example, based on an apparatus that demonstrates the standard dynamo model of geomagnetism, is presented. It features many of the basic physics concepts within the syllabus of electromagnetism at high-school and university. To stimulate conceptual learning and to…

Powerful online visualizations can make unobservable scientific phenomena visible and improve student understanding. Instead, they often confuse or mislead students. To clarify the impact of molecular visualizations for middle school students we explored three design variations implemented in a Web-based Inquiry Science Environment (WISE) unit on…

Two of the most frustrating things for me as a teacher are the way units and jargon can get in the way of understanding concepts. When I teach pre-nursing and medical students about blood pressure, they end up memorizing a lot of information that would be obvious if they had remembered some of their basic physics--particularly the ability to…

Model-Based Inquiry (MBI) is an emergent instructional strategy that is gaining acceptance among science educators. This approach to learning realistically mirrors the work of scientists, who develop and test hypotheses to construct more sophisticated understandings of the natural world. This article details how the authors collaboratively taught…

In the lesson presented in this article, students learn to organize their thinking and design their own inquiry experiments through careful observation of an object, situation, or event. They then conduct these experiments and report their findings in a lab report, poster, trifold board, slide, or video that follows the typical format of the…

This article describes a collaborative learning experience in experimental design that closely approximates what practicing statisticians and researchers in applied science experience during consulting. Statistics majors worked with a teaching assistant from the chemistry department to conduct a series of experiments characterizing the variation…

In this study, we compared a traditional teaching sequence (four distinct lessons) with a block schedule dealing with the ecological adaptations of the water lily. The educational unit contained original plant material and both experimental groups received the same tasks and working sheets. Pupils worked together in groups of three to four pupils…

This article is an outline of what the author did in his classroom to incorporate the help of two volunteer engineers to create a powerful learning unit and cumulative review for his eighth-grade physical science students. This unit reviews what students have learned during the school year regarding force, motion, Newton's laws, gas laws, and…

This unit of study for secondary students focuses on energy uses, energy sources, energy forms, and energy conversion. The unit is designed to take five 45-minute class sessions. In the first class session, the teacher conducts several energy conversion experiments. In subsequent sessions, students are divided into seven groups and each is…

This unit of study for elementary students focuses on energy uses, energy sources, energy forms, and energy conversion. The unit is designed to take five 45-minute class sessions. In the first class session, the teacher conducts several energy conversion experiments. In subsequent sessions, students are divided into seven groups and each is…

A science and social studies unit developed around rosin is described. Students develop an understanding of the processing of raw material from a plant source into a commercial product and how to protect wood from weathering by preparing, testing, and evaluating varnish and shellac for their wood protective qualities. (Author/DS)

Described is a praparium, a completely sealed and self-contained living aquarium. Steps on how to set up the aquarium, cautions, and a list of suggested aquarium plants and fish are included. (DS)

This handbook contains information that has been used in the high school laboratory by many teachers. Most of the experiments can be adapted for use as individual laboratory exercises or as teacher-student demonstrations. The resource material in this handbook should be helpful to all physics teachers as they continue to adapt their courses to…

Describes an activity based on shrinkable thermoplastics in which students explore the percentage of shrinkage of a plastic ruler when it is heated. Includes science content knowledge behind the shrink, national science education standards related to this activity, and a complete guide. (KHR)