Elementary students learn best when they make observations about perplexing natural phenomena, ask questions about what they observed, and pursue answers to their own questions through engagement in science practice. However, facilitating such learning experiences can be challenging for novice instructors. In this unit, pre-service elementary…

In the nonmajor science classroom, case studies--when used as learning tools--should help students build the necessary framework to understand the nature of science. For most students, the nonmajor science course (in this case, Astronomy 101) may be the last time that they interact with science in a formal learning setting. A National Science…