Thousands of students around the country have participated in activities using the Data Jam model, creating poetry, songs, videos, or sculpture to improve their data literacy, gain knowledge of local science research, and creatively express their findings. This article introduces the Data Jam model and describes how teachers can use it in…

In order to improve one's teaching in the long run, reflection on the lessons makes up an integral part in the process of developing a sufficient reflection competence. The problem, however, is how this reflection competence can be established in student teachers already and if that concept is compatible with current systems of teacher education…

All too often, subjects in schools present disjointed phenomena as a compilation of data or facts that seem isolated from students' lives. However, current science education pedagogy clearly emphasizes integration of knowledge and skills in real-world settings (NRC 2007). This integrated instructional approach addresses fundamental process skills…

The "Next Generation Science Standards" ("NGSS") emphasizes content and scientific practices, but what does this actually look like in a classroom? The "NGSS" integrates scientific and engineering practices with core ideas and crosscutting concepts, merging the three dimensions from "A Framework for K-12 Science…

Communities, Cameras, and Conservation (CCC) is the most exciting and valuable program the author has seen in her 30 years of teaching field science courses. In this citizen science project, students and community volunteers collect data on mountain lions ("Puma concolor") at four natural areas and public parks along the Front Range of Colorado.…

With some NIH pay lines running at or below the 10th percentile, and funding becoming scarce for large science grants, new approaches are necessary to secure large interdisciplinary grant awards. The UCSD Moores Cancer Center has developed a team approach, starting with the identification of a competitive opportunity and progressing to the…

How do viruses self-assemble? Why do DNA bases pair the way they do? What factors determine whether strands of proteins fold into sheets or helices? Why does handedness matter? A deep understanding of core issues in biology requires students to understand both complex spatial structures of molecules and the interactions involved in dynamic…

How do teachers help children understand the difference between the structure of a flower and that of a root? Depending on the time of year this activity is quite easy. Get a bunch of flowers, germinate some chickpeas and raid the kitchen for carrots and beetroots--the children can experience the "real thing". But what if teachers want the…

Systems thinking suggests that one can best understand a complex system by studying the interrelationships of its component parts rather than looking at the individual parts in isolation. With ongoing concern about the effects of climate change, using innovative materials to help students understand how Earth's systems connect with each other is…

This paper provides examples of Aid-to-Thought uses in urban decision making, classroom laboratory planning, and in a ship antiaircraft defense system. Aid-to-Thought modeling and simulations are tools students can use effectively in a STEM classroom while meeting Standards for Technological Literacy Benchmarks O and R. These projects prepare…

An extensive description of the Modeling Chemical and Biological Systems study organized in different practical projects is presented. The course has a highly favorable effect on students, who make perfect presentations, and it also encourages more students to join the course.

One author shares the unique opportunity to be immersed in the science of "sound at work" through participation in NOAA's (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) Teacher at Sea Program. A third- through fifth-grade learning outcome within the Nature of Science section of the "Next Generation Science Standards"…

The national network of Science Learning Centres is a co-ordinating partner in the Getting Practical--Improving Practical Work in Science programme. The principle of training provision for the "Getting Practical" programme is a cascade model. Regional trainers employed by the national network of Science Learning Centres trained the cohort of local…

In this article, the authors introduce engineering and technology teachers to the process that led to the National Research Council's framework for K-12 science education and some of its content and delve into the dimensions of the framework that should be of most interest to engineering and technology teachers. The framework articulates a vision…

The University of North Texas's Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science began admitting students to its 2-year early college entrance science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) program in the fall of 1988. This program provided accelerated entry for top students in Texas in the areas of mathematics and science. Approximately 200…