Discusses a teaching strategy for introducing quantum ideas into the school classroom using modern devices. Develops the concepts of quantization, wave-particle duality, nonlocality, and tunneling. (JRH)

Describes a strategy used in a meteorology course to increase its relevance to students' lives. Involves combining the lecture and laboratory portions of the course and including a Connections section in the lab report in which students comment on the connections they saw between the coursework, the laboratory exercises, and their own experience.…

Presents simple laboratory experiments to help students understand the principle of buoyancy and mass balance. Buoyancy experiments can simulate lithospheric mass balance, crustal loading and unloading, and can be used to model differences between the oceanic and continental lithosphere. (MKR)

Presents an inexpensive laboratory experiment that combines the recommended techniques for teaching fractal geometry in the classroom with the standard procedures for studying electrochemical deposition of ramified patterns in the regime of low solution concentration and low applied constant driving force. Introduces students to fractal growth…

Presents an activity that uses basketball shoes to introduce the concept of friction. Discusses setting up, friction fundamentals, and fun friction facts. (JRH)

Presents activities in which students explore the conditions necessary for a candle to stay lit. Enables students to construct an accurate concept to explain their observation of water rising inside a tube in which a candle has burned out. (JRH)

Investigates students' causal beliefs about the relationship between variables in an electric experiment and the degree to which their tendency to make either idea-based or evidence-based statements depends on a prior belief about the causal efficacy of that variable. Reports that 34% of responses were idea-based despite the presentation of…

Presents demonstrations that use a "magic" flask to teach elementary concepts such as the color changes of various indicators and using the scientific method to predict the sequence of color changes. Catches students' attention by using an unexpected trick or element of magic. (JRH)

Presents a range of experiments in heat conduction suitable for upper-level undergraduate laboratories that make use of heat sensitive liquid crystal film to measure temperature contours. Includes experiments mathematically described by Laplace's equation, experiments theoretically described by Poisson's equation, and experiments that involve…

Investigates students' changes in conception about diffused shadows during Nussbaum and Novick's suggested sequence of teaching. Reports that (a) students'"entering" ideas were unstable, (b) language and materialistic views of light influenced students' ideas, (c) students' ideas were influenced by group concepts of the nature of light,…

Identifies practical ways to introduce students to thermodynamic concepts, such as heat and mechanical energy. Introduces three different energy transformations that everyone should be able to envisage. (SOE)

Presents an educational game designed for first- or second-year high school students who have already studied themes related to the periodic table elements, such as their symbols, electronic configurations, properties, and uses. The game is designed to help students learn the symbols of the elements and their properties or uses in a fun, engaging…

Provides classroom activities centered around how the electromagnetic spectrum yields vital insights about the evolution of the universe. Activities targeted for grade levels 6-12 illustrate the importance of light and color in space exploration. Includes a poster. (Author/SOE)

Presents an historical timeline and related activities that illustrate the importance of the electromagnetic spectrum in providing clues about the evolution of the universe. (Author/SOE)

Describes how to design, organize, and implement a student-centered physics fair. Involves fifth grade students teaching physics concepts to kindergarten students. Indicates that "students" retained what they learned, exhibited increased understanding of the scientific method, and gained confidence in their ability to be "scientists" while…