Students from marginalized populations may be less likely to engage in science education and form science identities. Thus, science education should include culturally responsive pedagogy to engage students from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds and promote science identity in every student (Mhakure and Otulaja 2017). The author is a high…

Fisheries scientists make sure that fish populations ("fisheries") are managed properly, neither over- or under-utilized, to maintain long-term economic and ecological stability. Scientists collect data and conduct surveys to determine fish populations, and then make recommendations about how many fish may be caught by commercial and…

How do scientists make inferences for something they cannot directly observe? The Black Box approach seems ideal to help students understand how scientists work. Black Boxes are sealed units; their interior is not accessible. The effort to determine their possible content (internal structure) demands successive modifications in hypothesis,…

The "Next Generation Science Standards" ("NGSS") emphasize integrating engineering design into the science classroom (NGSS Lead States 2013). Inventing is an authentic and relevant classroom approach, regardless of content area, located at one end of a design continuum opposite from routine problem solving. Invention, at the…

Integrating engineering and science in the classroom can be challenging, and creating authentic experiences that address real-world problems is often even more difficult. "A Framework for K-12 Science Education" (NRC 2012), however, calls for high school graduates to be able to undertake more complex engineering design projects related…

Problem-based learning (PBL) fosters both content knowledge and content understanding, improves critical and process thinking skills, and promotes peer-to-peer learning, leadership, and teamwork (Hmelo-Silver 2004). Instructors support the PBL process by guiding students through activities that challenge their current knowledge and understanding…

In looking at successful inquiry activities, patterns in pedagogical approach emerge (Meyer et al. 2011). This article discusses one such approach--the design challenge. A design challenge can be defined as an activity in which students are given an explicit task to create a product that meets a defined goal. However, simply asking students to…

Many students enter high school with some science knowledge and experience doing investigations but often know little about the nature of science (NOS) or how the knowledge is developed (i.e., science practices). As science teachers, we need to get students excited about science as quickly as possible with activities that introduce the practices…

Teachers typically teach subjects separately, but integrated science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) curriculums that focus on real-world practices are gaining momentum (NAE and NRC 2009). Before release of the "Next Generation of Science Standards" ("NGSS") (NGSS Lead States 2013), 36 states already had a…

Although science is a creative endeavor (NRC 1996, p. 46), many students think they are not encouraged--or even allowed--to be creative in the laboratory. When students think there is only one correct way to do a lab, their creativity is inhibited. Park and Seung (2008) argue for the importance of creativity in science classrooms and for the…

There are many types of inquiry activities out there: Demonstrations, guided or scaffolded inquiry labs, open- or free-inquiry labs, and problem-based or project-based learning activities are all staples in science education. The importance of inquiry is highlighted in such documents as the National Science Education Standards (NRC 1996) and the…

Projectile motion, a cornerstone topic of introductory physics, is usually a student's first exposure to the problem-solving techniques used in this subject. Often, this is an inactive learning experience--students work with pencil and paper to read and solve projectile motion problems (e.g., diagrams and descriptions of balls being hit, kicked,…

Despite student interest, the heart is often a poorly understood topic in biology. To help students understand this vital organ's physiology, the author created this investigation activity involving the mammalian heart and its role in the circulatory system. Students design, build, and demonstrate working artificial "hearts" to exhibit what they…

Whole-class inquiry (WCI) assessments range from challenging, paper-and-pencil puzzles to lab-based problems that require students to apply their own gathered data to a new scenario; the latter might also require students to perform a lab with new parameters, or to answer a question using data from a previous lab. In this article, the authors…

Details a lesson that utilizes trigonometric identities to determine the optimal angle between the atoms of covalent bonds. Generates a proof of the optimal angle for a molecule with four identical atoms bonded to a central atom that has a complete valence shell. (DDR)