In this article, the authors focus on a one-week research project examining Frederick Douglass's civic actions to challenge racial discrimination African Americans faced before and after the U.S. Civil War. Our one-week research project was implemented at a free public charter school in amid-sized Southern city. Our project connects to the…

Students in introductory college science courses often have a simplified understanding of the scientific method. To introduce students to the complexity of the scientific process and the value of empirical observations, I implemented a semester-long assignment that required introductory-level college science students to build and calibrate weather…

This article describes a lesson plan that harnessed students' abilities to generate new teaching material by constructing country timelines. This involved "crowdsourcing," or the reliance upon task inputs from a large number of people to acquire information. The plan was motivated by an approach that conceives of learning as deriving…

This paper discusses an initiative called Product Innovation and Development (PID) that was launched at Texas A&M University. The goal of PID is to create a high impact learning environment that focuses on innovative product development. Undergraduate students are hired to develop innovative new products. The student teams generate ideas for…

This article demonstrates how a student research project could connect classroom and community. Using local citizens' concerns about the adulteration of cosmetics by prohibited substances as a research problem, fifth-year pharmaceutical chemistry students were challenged to use their knowledge to create cost-effective and environmentally friendly…

In a typical chemistry instrumentation laboratory, students learn analytical techniques through a well-developed procedure. Such an approach, however, does not engage students in a creative endeavor. To foster the intrinsic motivation of students' desire to learn, improve their confidence in self-directed learning activities and enhance their…

This article describes how second-grade students' literacy learning was enhanced as they used their developing knowledge of nonfiction in an integrated English language arts/science unit toward the creation of multimodal nonfiction science books. After explaining the Common Core State Standards that guided the unit, the author outlines the…

In the UK, at key stage 4, students aged 14-15 studying GCSE Core Science or Unit 1 of the GCSE Biology course are required to be able to describe the process of genetic engineering to produce bacteria that can produce insulin. The simple interactive introduction described in this article allows students to consider the problem, devise a model and…

This article explains how an industrial arts department organized to design and produce "X-2 , a rough terrain vehicle. Photographs and line drawings accompany the article. (GR)

Student-made learning centers get students totally involved in the learning process. By creating and using such centers, students are gaining cognitive and affective skills, as well as a knowledge of research methods. Tables show Bloom's taxonomy of learning, steps for creating a learning center, and a center evaluation form. (DCS)

Many methods of student-conducted research exist. Within these methods, four stages are evident: Presearch, Search, Interpret, and Report. This topical bibliography and commentary delineates and discusses each of these specific stages in turn. The bibliography/commentary points out that students can best learn about conducting research by having…

Described is a summer program in which children designed museum exhibits based on their own research. (RM)

This project involves secondary students in selecting and researching an event in U.S. history and writing a poetic ballad, from a first person point of view. Completed works are presented at a school assembly. (RM)

This article offers suggestions to help gifted students develop quality products that demonstrate their research and learning experiences. It stresses the importance of a timeline, selection of media, demonstration of higher level thinking skills, communication to an audience, product evaluation, product celebration, reflection, and skill…

The Super3 research process equips students with their own set of handy tools so that they can take the most ordinary facts and transform them into amazing research projects. The second grade students have created Native American homes by applying the Super3 process and its tools such as graphic organizers, trash and treasure note taking, and the…