This article introduces a flexible and easy-to-implement open-ended scientific inquiry activity called the Paper Towels Challenge. After experimentally determining which of three unbranded paper towels is the most absorbent, students discuss their results and methods. The teacher facilitates the discussion of epistemological issues. This activity…

Mosquitoes (Culicidae) are disease vectors, which are responsible for an estimated one million deaths per year. Female mosquitoes, which need blood for survival and reproduction, collect blood with a disease present from a host, and will transmit that disease from one host to another as it feeds on additional food sources. This continuous feeding…

Bacteria, viruses, and other invisible creatures are, in brief, microorganisms. Especially with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the features of microorganisms, their density, and relevant precautions have grown in importance. Knowing the density of microorganisms at school will cause our cleaning habits to change. In this study, efforts were…

In this study, an extracurricular observation module is suggested for the purpose of observing the sustainability of biodiversity based on gathering evidence regarding different seed dispersal processes in the natural environment. These observations were made during the period of the COVID-19 pandemic, a time when human activity inflicted a…

School science is often very different from "real world" science. One important difference, and possibly the main one, is that in school science the relationships between variables have often been sanitized -- essentially "cleaned up" -- so that there is very little (and often no) variation in the data from the relationship…

It may be asserted that there is no more effective deterrent to crime than the certainty of detection. Equally true is that there is no surer way to establishing identity than by fingerprints. The detection of fingerprints at the scene of crime is therefore one of the most powerful tools available in casework investigations. However, if the crime…

The "Forty Electronic Challenges" is a "discovery learning" and socio-constructivist science activity that has become rather popular in Canada. The article recalls its emergence and development. It discusses its theoretical underpinnings and how it fits into the existing literature. It then gives educators all the guidelines…

This work describes an alternative approach for introducing the concept of pH in high school. We develop an experimental protocol to demonstrate in classroom as pH affects the life of microorganisms. At the same time, we constructed low-cost equipment and a homemade culture media using ordinary products, which they are easily found by the teachers…

The purpose of this article is to describe a modeling sequence about the digestive system. "What happens in your body when you have lactose intolerance?" is the initial question that will guide the activities. Students will build a 3D plaster cast of the digestive system as part of a modeling cycle through which they are expected to…

Kids are drawn to dolls and dump trucks, and crashing the two together might just be a child's favorite pastime. Who knew such a simple pleasure could serve as an accessible, compelling phenomenon for instigating investigations of force and motion. With a few inexpensive materials straight out of the toy box (literally, a doll, a dump truck, a…

This paper introduces a scientific activity named "Pythagorean Cup of Justice" for teacher candidates to discuss values by integrating moral and ethical dimensions into science education, offering crucial insights into the cup's historical significance, enhancing fluid dynamics understanding, and engaging STEM-based activity. The study…

In this article, simple models of optical computing circuits (1 x 4 demultiplexer (DEMUX), 4 x 1 multiplexer (MUX), Boolean logic, and half-adder (HA)) are shown with mechanically controlled plane mirrors. Photographs of the proposed computational circuits are also shown. It is very useful for the school student to understand optical logic and…

Our 4th grade year has become known as "the field trip year", with over 10 trips carefully aligned with learning units across the year. This article describes the first trip of the year, which in many ways sets the stage for students' effective use of field trips as engaging extensions and applications of classroom learning. The Pike's…

We present an example of a novel, model-based approach to instruction in which learners constructed a representation of a specific phenomenon, evaluated their representation, and then revised it, via an abstraction process, to construct a model. The example took place in high school in the context of solution chemistry. The aim of the instruction…

The study presents an integrated STEM activity involving a 3D printer and entrepreneurial problem solving. The study was conducted with 20 high school students who worked in groups to make their own unique kolonya (a traditional Turkish sanitizer), similar to eau de Cologne. They then designed kolonya bottles using TinkerCad before producing them…