Many K-16 educators agree that active learning is a key component for student success in life sciences. At the same time, some instructors are frustrated by inconsistent student participation in these activities and may revert to traditional teaching strategies. Horse caregivers face a similar frustration when they lead a horse to water and it…

Excluded-volume interactions are ubiquitous to modeling the average size of polymers in solution. This paper shows how simulations can be used by students to explore the emergence of mathematical scaling relations from excluded-volume interactions. Simulations provide robust visual representations of the system, and can be used to investigate a…

A key aspect of learning in K-12 education is the idea that what students know and are able to do grows and evolves over time. Simple ideas learned in the early elementary grades gain levels of detail and complexity as students progress in their education. Connections between different topics and disciplines are made. Therefore, a key feature of…

Early experiences with planning and guiding children's learning can be exciting for preservice teachers in undergraduate teacher training programs. In this article, observations of a preschool play session guide four preservice teachers to design a series of play-centered lessons addressing serious science concepts (Hall 2010). While the concepts…

A pedagogical technique, named the Bridge activity, has been developed to assist students' transition from preclass preparation to in-class learning within a flipped organic chemistry course. Bridge activities form the basis of an initial interactive discussion to activate students' prior knowledge and encourage meaningful learning. This paper…

The discovery of and research into penicillin resistance by Sir Edward Abraham and Sir Ernst Chain can be used to teach the concept of natural selection and also multiple nature of science (NOS) objectives associated with Next Generation Science Standards, such as "scientific knowledge is based on empirical evidence" and "science is…

The domain of motion or kinematics is important because it forms the basis of mechanics, an important branch of physics. By studying kinematic phenomena in the laboratory, high school students are likely to develop a better understanding of kinematics concepts as well as elements of the scientific approach to study natural and constructed…

In this article, Helen Wilson, Bridget Holligan, and Pam Hanley share outcomes from the "Thinking, Doing, Talking Science" (TDTS) project, which encourages children's learning and engagement with science through simple and effective activities. The article contains the following prompts used to facilitate discussion during "The…

Now in a fully updated seventh edition, "The Teaching of Science in Primary Schools" provides essential information for students, trainee, and practising teachers about the why, what and how of teaching primary science. Paying particular attention to inquiry-based teaching and learning, the book recognises the challenges of teaching…

Here's good news: With this practical book, you can learn from experienced elementary school educators about how to make physical science both challenging and accessible for a diverse range of students. Written by teachers for teachers, "Universal Design for Learning Science" will inspire you to reframe your lessons to reflect how…

The rapid change that higher education is undergoing is impacting all of the core mission elements: teaching and learning, research, service, and engagement with the external world (e.g., community engagement and health care delivery). Navigating this environment requires understanding of the underlying dynamics, with particular attention to how…

This column provides ideas and techniques to enhance your science teaching. This month's issue discusses using the 5E learning cycle to create coherent storylines. The 5E learning cycle provides an important framework to help teachers organize activities. To realize the full potential of the 5E framework for student learning, lessons must also…

Often when the term "transition" is heard, it is with reference to the move between key stages 2 and 3 (upper primary 11-year-olds moving to secondary school). Sometimes it refers to movement between other key stages and, less often, to movement within the classroom itself. Again, often, when the term is used it is in relation to…

In this article we describe current educational research underlying a comprehensive model for building a scientific classroom discourse community. We offer a professional development activity for a school-based professional learning community, providing specific science instructional strategies within this interactive teaching model. This design…

Field-note poetry is the product of the authors' efforts to combine current research in learning and cognition with integrated geoscience and language arts activities. In this article, they present a fun and effective activity that teaches students how to record detailed field notes and sensory observations that become the framework and…