Although the existence of and access to clean water are essential for sustaining life on Earth, multiple studies have demonstrated students' nascent understanding of basic water principles. Students have misconceptions related to the water cycle (Ben-zvi-Assarf and Orion 2005), groundwater (Dickerson and Dawkins 2004; Covitt et al. 2009), and the…

During the second industrial revolution (1870-1914), scientists moved away from trial-anderror methods to more systematically apply the principles of chemistry, physics, and biology (Mokyr 1998). The authors chose this period as the foundation of a project-based learning (PBL) unit integrated with the ninth-grade U.S. history curriculum (Thomas…

Project-based learning (PBL) takes student engagement to a higher level through reflective collaboration, inquiry, critical thinking, problem solving, and personal relevance. This article explains how six high school teachers developed an interconnected, interdisciplinary STEM-focused PBL called "Sculpting the Barnyard Gene Pool." The…

At the start of an integrated Algebra I and Environmental Science class, students were presented with the following challenge: "How much carbon is stored in the Normanskill Preserve?" They were told they had one month to investigate and present their results, and asked, "What do you need to begin?" This hook served to introduce…

Introduces a Storm Trackers unit that uses actual hurricane data to track hurricane movements. Uses an inquiry-based teaching approach in a cooperative learning environment. (YDS)

As teachers, they strive to implement imaginative, creative lessons to connect their students with the dynamic mystery of science. To help infuse curricular programs with the philosophy of learning by doing, the staff of Emerson Junior-Senior High School designed and implemented an authentic interdisciplinary project called…