The premiere book in the STEM for Our Youngest Learners Series introduces the Infant Toddler Inquiry Learning Model, a new way to think about how young children (birth-age 3) explore, think, and learn STEM concepts. The book also demonstrates how the Inquiry Teaching Model can guide teachers in implementing STEM experiences for this age group.…

REL Southeast developed this facilitator's guide on the topic of mathematical problem solving for use in professional learning community (PLC) settings. The facilitator's guide is a set of professional development materials designed to supplement the What Works Clearinghouse practice guide, Improving Mathematical Problem Solving in Grades 4…

Often, students who solve fraction tasks respond in ways that indicate inadequate conceptual grounding of unit fractions. Many elementary school curricula use folding, partitioning, shading, and naming parts of various wholes to develop children's understanding of unit and then nonunit fractions (e.g., coloring three of four parts of a pizza and…

Creative thinking is important to scientists and engineers as they frame their work and engage in the practices of their fields. Elementary-age children need opportunities to think about and develop an idea from its inception through to its conclusion to expand their thinking and engage in scientific processes. Generating and expanding on ideas…

Learn the 5 practices for facilitating effective inquiry-oriented classrooms: (1) Anticipating what students will do--what strategies they will use--in solving a problem; (2) Monitoring their work as they approach the problem in class; (3) Selecting students whose strategies are worth discussing in class; (4) Sequencing those students'…

Recommends the use of an instructional strategy that is ideal for examining students' conceptions of the nature of science. Defines cooperative controversy as a situation in which one person's ideas, information, conclusions, theories, or opinions are incompatible with those of another. (DDR)

Follows 168 Greek students ages 13-14 involved in a new sociocultural situation--a specially-designed introductory chemistry sequence. Results show that conceptual development occurred during the sequence. (Author/CCM)

Illustrates how knowledge of the ways children develop understandings of science subjects can be used to improve instruction. Probes students' problems in understanding excretion. Suggests that understanding can be promoted through strategies that build on students' existing knowledge, elicit conceptual development, and establishes meaningful…

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

Explains the use of a card lab to demonstrate how a population bottleneck impacts genetic diversity and the survival of a population. Uses a standard deck of playing cards to show how age structure can magnify bottleneck effects. (DDR)

Examines a root-approximation method using fixed points as a pedagogical tool for reinforcing and expanding students' conception of functions. (KHR)

Concept maps are graphical ways of working with ideas and presenting information. They reveal patterns and relationships and help students to clarify their thinking, and to process, organize and prioritize. Displaying information visually--in concept maps, word webs, or diagrams--stimulates creativity. Being able to think logically teaches…

Concept mapping, a technique based on David Ausubel's theory of meaningful learning, involves the organization of concepts into an hierarchical arrangement. Suggestions for incorporating this learning strategy into the biology classroom are presented and discussed. Steps in concept mapping include: (1) identifying important concepts in the study…

Presents a method for teaching aspects of mechanics using juggling. This approach requires an understanding of the three ball juggling pattern. Recommends teacher-guided deconstruction of the ball motion and discusses acceleration, force, gravity, impulse, and momentum. (DDR)

Presents an activity to teach natural selection that involves students in a microbiological investigation. Students discover that a change in environmental conditions tests a species' range of adaptations. (DDR)