Misconceptions about sinking and floating phenomena are some of the most challenging to overcome (Yin 2005), possibly because explaining sinking and floating requires students to understand challenging topics such as density, force, and motion. Two scientific principles are typically used in U.S. science curricula to explain sinking and floating:…

Instructional inquiry models are curricular and instructional practices that can promote, facilitate, and engage students in scientific inquiry and science content. However, current, existing learning-cycle models do not specifically incorporate essential instructional teaching strategies that promote or document strong conceptual understanding…

Cookbook labs have been a part of science programs for years, even though they serve little purpose other than to verify phenomena that have been previously presented by means other than through investigations. Cookbook science activities follow a linear path to a known outcome, telling students what procedures to follow, which materials to use,…

The Deepwater Horizon explosion on April 20, 2010, and the subsequent release of oil into the Gulf of Mexico created an ecological disaster of immense proportions. The estimates of the amounts of oil, whether for the amount released per day or the total amount of oil disgorged from the well, call on numbers so large they defy the capacity of most…

In the authors' science classrooms, students respond favorably and with more enthusiasm when they engage them with doing activities and building their own connections, as opposed to simply listening to or reading about the important concepts. Creative activities are important in science classrooms because creativity is not only an integral…

Earth and space science in the middle school classroom are composed of intricately intertwined sets of conceptual systems (AAAS 1993; NRC 1996). Some systems of study, such as the water and rock cycles, are quite explicit and often found as stand-alone middle school science units. Other phenomena are not so apparent, yet they play an extremely…

The activity described in this article poses a question, provides evidence needed to answer the question, and uses a cooperative learning structure within which students analyze the evidence and create their own questions. Students see how a single cause can interact with two natural systems--the water cycle and the bald eagle food chain--to…

Interdisciplinary teaching is a great way to focus on overarching concepts and help students make connections across disciplines. Historically, art and science have been connected disciplines. The botanical prints of the 18th and 19th centuries and early work with microscopes are two examples of a need for strong artistic skills in the science…

Less than a century ago, astronomers began to unlock the cosmic distances within and beyond the Milky Way. Understanding the size and scale of the universe is a continuing, step-by-step process that began with the remarkably accurate measurement of the distance to the Moon made by early Greeks. In part, the authors have ITEAMS (Innovative…

Many science problems require students to convert units. While this skill may not get the attention that more central science concepts do, teachers in the middle school and early high school grades will be doing their students a great service by leaving them with a strong understanding of both the skill itself and the reasons behind it. When the…

Co-teaching has become a popular concept in the field of education, especially as related to special education. Students with exceptionalities in co-taught classes have been found to improve in academics, behavior, social skills, and self-esteem as compared to those taught solely in a special education classroom. There are five main forms of…

If we want our students to become capable practitioners of scientific inquiry, we should not stop at providing opportunities to do inquiry. We need to be intentional about assessing and teaching the competencies necessary for inquiry. However, the ability to conduct scientific inquiry can be difficult to assess. Therefore, the author created The…

We want to challenge our students, but we need to give them tasks and assessments they can realistically succeed at and are valid indicators of their learning. Deconstructing planning, teaching, and assessment can help teachers instruct and assess more appropriately, leading to more confident, motivated, and higher-achieving learners. In this…

Most middle school students comprehend that organisms have adaptations that enable their survival and that successful adaptations prevail in a population over time. Yet they often miss that those bird beaks, moth-wing colors, or whatever traits are the result of random, normal genetic variations that just happen to confer a negative, neutral, or…

In this article, the authors present an inquiry-based approach to facilitate student understanding of the differences among common cloud descriptive characteristics through the use of a semi-dichotomous key developed by a former West Virginia state climatologist. The authors also demonstrate how students can analyze common class data sets that…