Today's students live within a world filled with complexity, uncertainty, and misinformation; thus, educators need to help all learners, including students with learning disabilities, how to comprehend complex information about the natural world and make credible evidence-based claims. Our study is a first step in making this possible. In this…

Primary school science emphasises hands-on interactions, but little is known about how the sensorimotor experiences these interactions provide shape children's science ideas. Early interactions with science need to be engaging as these shape children's developing attitudes towards science and themselves as science learners; however, these…

Fundamental concepts in biochemistry important for drug design often lack connection to the macroscopic world and can be difficult for students to grasp, particularly those in introductory science courses at the high school and college level. Educational research has shown that multisensory teaching facilitates learning, but teaching at the high…

This article describes the driving question board (DQB), a visual organizer that supports inquiry-based instruction through the use of guiding questions. The DQB is a teaching aid designed to increase student engagement alongside science kits. Information is provided on its application to a lesson on buoyancy, highlighting how it improved…

Integration of subjects is something elementary teachers must do to insure required objectives are covered. Science-based Reader's Theatre is one way to weave reading into science. This study examined the roles of frequency, attitudes, and Multiple Intelligence modalities surrounding Electricity Content-Based Reader's Theatre. This study used…

Uses descriptive text, diagrams, and specific assignments to discuss the different learning modalities of students. Equipped with this knowledge and the power of instructional diversity, the joy of learning and teaching can be regained by simply transforming materials currently used in the classroom into materials that best fit a student's…

Describes an activity that was adapted from the Chemical Industry Education Center (CIEC) materials for use with special-needs students. The activity, "Transporting Chocolate," addresses a real-world problem and makes use of multisensory contexts to maximize the student's capabilities while minimizing limitations. (WRM)

The right brain hemisphere is concerned with sensory learning, including creativity, intuitiveness, and metaphors. This article gives two science activities designed to stimulate the right brain function and to motivate elementary students. The two activities concern batteries and metamorphosis, and each includes the concept, story (fantasy),…

The right and left brain hemispheres have been found to be responsible for different processes. Educators are searching for methods of learning which utilize the right as well as the left brain. The activities in this article attempt to develop right-brain functions in Middle School students through metric measurement. (Author/MA)

"Whole body" denotes using the entire body to sense and experience a concept or idea. Typical whole body learning activities involve use of several senses: muscle sense, temperature, pain, pressure, and sense of equilibrium. Four whole body science activities are described, including identifying trees by touch. (Author/JN)

Discusses a phenomenon called Extrasensory Perception (ESP) whereby information is gained directly by the mind without the use of the ordinary senses. Experiments in ESP and the basic equipment and methods are presented. Statistical evaluation of ESP experimental results are also included. (HM)

Describes a study designed to compare student success in a concept mapping exercise with the cognitive preference of the student, and to determine whether students achieve better using individualistic or cooperative learning modes in the concept mapping exercise. Discusses the background, methodology and results. (CW)

Howard Gardner defines naturalists as persons who recognize flora and fauna and other consequential distinctions in the natural world and use this ability productively. A sixth-grade teacher discusses Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences, specifically the naturalist intelligence, and suggests ways to teach the naturalist intelligence through…

Suggests integrating creative writing activities into field trips or outdoor education experiences in science as a method of providing "right-brain" and "left-brain" activities in the same exercise. Provides instructions given to students and a poem written from student "photographs" using imaginary cameras. Also provides two student poems. (JM)

The Science in Action series is designed to teach practical science concepts to special-needs students. It is intended to develop students' problem-solving skills by teaching them to observe, record, analyze, conclude, and predict. This document contains a student workbook which deals with basic principles of life science. Six separate units…