This paper describes an interdisciplinary collaboration of faculty and students from chemistry and mathematics to develop and implement an activity showcasing the relevance of calculus in chemistry to first-semester calculus students. The activity focuses on using calculus optimization methods to maximize the ground-state radial probability…

Integration of content areas allows students to deepen and transfer knowledge. An area that allows for an organic integration of STEM content is through combining mathematics with science instruction. This paper describes how we integrated a lesson coupling flower structure with data representation in a Year 3 classroom. The lesson occurred over…

This paper explores Computational Thinking (CT) through the experiences and interactions of sixth-grade students as they were engaging in a science lesson utilizing robotics. This robotics unit institutes the shifting from traditional to engaging hands-on activities coupled with CT skills that are exciting, intriguing, and inviting to students.…

Methods for teaching early childhood mathematics and science are often addressed in a single, dual-content course. Approaches to teaching this type of course include integrating the content and the pedagogy of both subjects, or keeping the subject areas distinct. In this article, the authors discuss and illustrate their approach to such a combined…

This research study explored robotics as the catalyst for computational thinking (CT) by sixth-grade students as they are engaged in a science lesson. The interactions, understandings, and applications are discussed, along with the participants' connections and implementations of CT concepts (decomposition, abstraction, pattern recognition, and…

What pedagogical strategies support students from a refugee background connecting to the natural world? What would these strategies look like for fifteen students participating in a language intensive New Arrivals Program (NAP)? These questions were the focus of a small collaborative project set up to investigate the impact of pedagogical…

Scenes from the works of William Shakespeare were incorporated into individual and group projects for an upper-level chemistry class, instrumental analysis. Students read excerpts from different plays and then viewed a corresponding video clip from a stage or movie production. Guided-research assignments were developed based on these scenes. These…

This article describes a multi-class project that employs statistical computing and writing in a statistics class. Three courses, General Ecology, Meteorology, and Introductory Statistics, cooperated on a project for the EPA's Student Design Competition. The continuing investigation has also spawned several undergraduate research projects in…

Recognition of the value of a scientifically literate citizenry has driven American science education reform since the 1950s. We have seen some improvement in the comprehension of science facts in the past 10-20 years, but far less improvement in Americans' understanding of the nature of science. College science courses are ideal venues for…

As a college biology instructor, I often see graphs in lab reports that do not meet my expectations. I also observe that many college students do not always adequately differentiate between good and poor (or misleading) graphs. The activity described in this paper is the result of my work with students to improve their graphing literacy. The…

This comprehensive book offers a practical pathway for developing twenty-first-century skills while simultaneously strengthening content-area learning. "Digital Learning" contains a wealth of research-based practices to integrate the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) National Education Technology Standards (NETS) for both…

Humans have long wondered about life in the universe. Are we alone? Is Earth unique? What is it that makes our planet a habitable one, and are there others like Earth? NASA's Kepler Mission seeks the answers to these questions. Kepler is a space-based, specially designed 0.95 m aperture telescope. Launching in 2009, Kepler is NASA's first mission…

When learning, students yearn for meaning, challenge, and relevance. Integrated learning fulfills these desires by limiting the compartmentalization of learning--providing a more coherent learning environment. Too often, mathematics and the physical sciences are taught as separate entities. Yet, many commonalities exist, especially between…

Snails, lizards, frogs, and toads can be used to generate student interest in elementary school science. Art, writing, and science activities involving these animals are suggested. (CB)

Recent curriculum changes in Scotland and England have provided teachers and children with an exciting opportunity. The focus is shifting from a content-led curriculum to one that has a greater emphasis on skills and personal capability. In Scotland this is particularly evident with the emphasis on the development of children as successful…