This paper highlights the design process and implementation for an "all majors" undergraduate course that allows students a chance to reconnect with the natural world. During this course students explore a wide range of biological and physical science based topics that seek to highlight human intervention and our impacts on the planet.…

Place-based education has traditionally had a limited focus on mathematics, and critical mathematics education often lacks explicit attention to place and space. We explore integrating theories of place, spatial justice, and critical mathematics education. To begin, we consider various frameworks of place--including Indigenous, urban, and critical…

Because students have often been conditioned as passive learners and receivers of knowledge, it can be difficult for them to persevere in solving authentic problems. Nevertheless, teachers must persist in preparing students as problem solvers and critical thinkers. In an urban inner-city neighborhood school in the southeast, students embarked on a…

This task asks readers to figure out why when you stir a cup of hot liquid and tap on the side of the cup with a spoon, the pitch of sound starts low and ends up high. The solution to last month's tasks relating to the circumference of the Earth and how many stars are in the (visible) sky is also presented.

Two coordinate systems are related here, one defined by the earth's equator and north pole, the other by the orientation of a telescope at some location on the surface of the earth. Applying an interesting though somewhat obscure property of orthogonal matrices and using the cross-product simplifies this relationship, revealing that a surprisingly…

The reaction that occurs when Mentos are added to bottled soft drinks has become a staple demonstration in earth science courses to explain how volcanoes erupt. This paper presents how this engaging exercise can be used in a marketing research course to provide hands-on experience with problem formation, hypothesis testing, and causal research. A…

Have your students ever wondered what NASA scientists do? Have they asked you what their science and mathematics lessons have to do with the real world? This unit about Earth's atmosphere can help to answer both of those questions. The unit described here showcases "content specific integration" of science and mathematics in that the lessons meet…

In this inquiry-based project, student-generated questions became the basis for student-directed individual and group projects that provided practice with problem solving, critical thinking, and research skills while digging deeper into the Earth science curriculum. The author used her students' high-level questions to provide relevance,…

Describes the sociocultural theory motivating strategy "transformative communication" as well as a specific dialogue sequence that can be used as a cultural tool for accompanying such interaction. Illustrates the utility of the dialogue sequence in four key episodes within and inquiry-based high school earth science class. (Author/SAH)

Describes the stages and outcomes of a junior high school science lesson on erosion and deposition utilizing a "kids as researchers" theme. Stages include awareness, discussion, investigation, experimentation, generalization, and extension. (SK)

Introduces the American Renaissance in Science Education (ARISE) project. Discusses factors influencing the project's success. (YDS)

Reviews an educationally valuable and reasonably well-designed simulation of volcanic activity in an imaginary land. VOLCANOES creates an excellent context for learning information about volcanoes and for developing skills and practicing methods needed to study behavior of volcanoes. (Author/JN)

This article describes an alternative way of testing--a performance assessment--that is different both in process and goals from typical tests, but closer to what teachers believe assessment should be. Teachers who have helped to create, refine, and use this new generation of tests find them valuable because they measure the skills and concepts…

This document focuses on using satellite images from space in the classroom. There are two types of environmental satellites routinely broadcasting: (1) Polar-Orbiting Operational Environmental Satellites (POES), and (2) Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES). Imaging and visualization techniques provide students with a better…

Presented is the best understanding of the flaw discovered in the optics of the Hubble Space Telescope and the possible solutions to the problems. The spherical aberration in the telescope's mirror and its effect on the quality of the telescope's imaging ability is discussed. (CW)