Potash, an essential raw material of the 18th century, used to be produced from the ashes of plants. Known since antiquity, it was in 1807 that Humphry Davy put an end to the decades-long controversy about its nature as a compound. The technology behind potash production was implemented in Brazil by the Portuguese naturalist Frei Velloso. The…

Water is one of Earth's fundamental natural systems. It is crucial to foster water literacy in today's global citizens, particularly through formal education. The purpose of this research, in parallel with a study focused on human dimensions of water systems (Mostacedo-Marasovic et al., in press), is to examine water-related K-12 standards for…

Throughout the country, there are many bodies of fresh water affected by algal blooms. By focusing on a water source near their school, students can become scientists, too. Situating science content in real and meaningful learning experiences encourages students to be invested in their own learning, construct deeper understandings, and apply those…

Scientists rely heavily on tree-ring records to better understand climate variability of the past millennium. Tree rings can also be utilized to give students a window into paleoclimate research, the methods scientists use, and the importance of scientific findings. Here, we present five online labs that introduce undergraduate students to the…

This study shows how students can learn about green and sustainable chemistry by using the knowledge perspective of a local indigenous culture as a starting point. This learning approach encourages students to learn chemistry by connecting culture with learning about green chemistry. The cultural context selects the use of a phytochemical agent…

The widespread occurrence of flooding and the fact that both precipitation data and river flow data are readily available for many locations provides an excellent opportunity for educators to bring relevant professionally collected data into their teaching. By connecting those data to the use of models, students can collect, interpret, and…

The mining industry in Brazil, despite contributing to economic growth, is one of the human activities that negatively impacts the environment. This situation can be contextualized in discussions of several curricular chemistry topics. One way in which science, technology, society, and environmental issues can be discussed in classes is through…

Herbivores are important to ecosystems because they transfer energy stored in plant matter to other organisms. However, when herbivores occur in high abundances, they can become pests and harm the plants that form the basis of food webs. Mangroves are saltwater tolerant trees found along most tropical and subtropical shorelines. Because mangroves…

Garden-based learning (GBL) curricula represents a pedagogy that increases student exposure to nature and connects them to engaging activities for higher classroom achievement. GBL is proposed to enhance student science self-perceptions, engagement, and desired outcomes in science learning and identity by connecting students to relatable,…

This research was supported within the scope of TÜBITAK-4004 Nature Education and Science Schools Program with Project number 121B899. In this research, it is aimed to evaluate the "Artvin gets Color with Science and Robotics 2" project, which was carried out with 30 secondary school 6th and 7th grade students between 2-8 August 2021…

In this study, a process was designed, in which a lemon seed grew into a seedling, using the inquiry-based science learning approach. This aimed to increase the overall development of the scientific process skills of children and their sensitivity to nature. The germination, growth and development of a plant were meticulously and systematically…

In 2020, just as COVID-19 reached Australian shores, a group of enthusiastic teachers had been anticipating their imminent Bush Blitz TeachLive expedition to Rungulla National Park to take part in Australia's largest biodiversity survey. It took two years for their trip to eventuate, but it was worth the wait. Three candidates from the deferred…

This article describes a three-dimensional 5E (Engagement, Exploration, Explanation, Elaboration, Evaluation) lesson that investigates 3-LS4-1: Analyze and interpret data from fossils to provide evidence of the organisms and the environments in which they lived. A phenomena-based approach was used to engage third graders in the story of Maya, who…

In this article, Nicky Bolton describes how she devised an approach that would encourage both experienced and newly qualified and trainee teachers to approach outdoor learning confidently. The challenge was to enable every teacher to view the outdoors as an effective learning. She called this model 'Bucket School' and initially developed the…

What does a scientist do? What is an engineer? What is technology? What do mathematicians do? Questions about the nature of STEM are fundamental to help elementary students gain a deep understanding of the STEM disciplines. Yet, starting a lesson with such abstract questions can be difficult for any learner. Instead, teachers can use concrete STEM…