Presents a teaching strategy to successfully teach the periodic table using nuts and bolts as elemental analogs. Describes activities that enable the student to develop a deeper understanding of the periodic table and how it is organized. (JRH)

Describes how an integrated approach to scientific investigation was used to provide a better image of science to potential college students. (ZWH)

Presents a questioning strategy designed to provide teachers with tools for thinking about questions and their use in classroom science inquiry. Topics discussed include history, relationships, application, speculation, and explanation. (JRH)

Presents activities and demonstrations that enable teachers to use various types of confections as tactile experiences to spark chemistry students' interest and generate enthusiasm for learning. Presents uses of candy in teaching about atomic structure, spontaneous nuclear decay, chemical formulas, fractoluminescence, the effect of a molecular…

Suggests humanizing physics classes by incorporating class-wide, local, or national contests. Several examples of this approach are offered and discussed. (JN)

Describes the use of analogies to explain scientific concepts. Presents the teaching-with-analogies model. (JRH)

Describes a project at the Corvallis High School in rural Montana that combines three educational reforms--inclusion of students with diverse academic needs, inquiry-based teaching techniques, and instructional strategies for learning. Discusses project outcomes, including student achievement levels, student attitudes, and student expectations.…

Describes an activity that uses paper airplanes to demonstrate natural selection and is preceded by a lesson on the fossil record to supply a foundation for the concept of evolution. (JRH)

Describes how literature can be used in the science classroom. Discusses Activities; Promoting Excellence in the Classroom; Equity for all Students; and Adapting the Method. (ZWH)

Reviews research related to the question of whether or not science class sizes should be reduced. Research is grouped into two categories: (1) empirical research on achievement; and (2) research on teaching methodology. Discusses the Robert Slavin/Harris Cooper debate, when results defy common sense, and the Tennessee-based…

Describes the use of a Pac-Man model (called a Pactype) in teaching various genetics concepts. Indicates that students can learn to make predictions, analyze patterns of inheritance, and evaluate hypotheses before being introduced to the genetics vocabulary. (JN)

Suggests instructional strategies and student activities related to the study of insects during the winter. Includes possible collecting sites and classroom activities once the insects have been collected. (JN)

Describes various aspects and advantages of the use of rubrics as tools for assessment. Presents additive rubrics as assessment tools that allow students to assume responsibility for the quantity and quality of their work and to see its value beyond the letter grade they receive. (JRH)