Presents methods commonly used for investigating enzyme activity using catalase and presents a new method for measuring catalase activity that is more reliable and accurate. Provides results that are readily reproduced and quantified. Can also be used for investigations of enzyme properties such as the effects of temperature, pH, inhibitors,…

Presents activities that use toy balloons to offer students interesting opportunities to connect algebra and geometry. Involves students measuring the speed of a released balloon and investigating the subtle relationship between the volume of a sphere and its surface area. Prompts a rich and revealing discussion about why the experimental results…

Offers a group exercise for teaching students how to achieve consensus concerning rank order. Explains that students are assigned to rank the incidence of animals biting their own species in New York City. Reports that the teacher chooses a group member to explain the group's ranking. Identifies evaluation methods for the exercise. (SG)

Describes the use of investigations for the purpose of assessment, teaching, and learning. Lists types of questions that can be included in investigations. Explains how to write an investigation and provides some examples. (ASK)

This paper explores one school's implementation of a locally developed curriculum reform known as "Math-Science Investigations". At one level, it offers an account of a reform told from the perspective of a classroom teacher and her 3rd- and 4th-graders. At another level, it reconstructs their experience to explore the understandings of the…

This month, "The Early Years" is focusing on magnets. The predicting and testing students do in this month's activity also relate to "Science and Children's" theme this issue, teaching the nature of science. Magnets are typically included in early childhood science curriculums because they are irresistible to children. Also, understanding that…

Nanometer-scale investigations offer the potential of providing first-principles understanding of tribo-systems in terms of fundamental intermolecular forces. Some of the basic issues and motivation for use of scanning probes in the area of nanotribology is presented.

In this article, we summarize a good portion of the CASL research program on reading in the early grades. We first describe investigations conducted in kindergarten, where our focus was on the development of decoding and word recognition. Then we discuss studies conducted in first grade, where we continued to emphasize decoding and word…

The authors assessed perceived control, dysphoria, hopelessness, self-esteem, and optimism in 280 college students involved in abusive and nonabusive relationships. Women reported higher levels of dysphoria and lower levels of self-esteem and optimism than men. Women in abusive relationships reported more psychological symptoms than men in abusive…

Discrepancies among informants' ratings of child psychopathology have important implications for diagnosis, assessment, and treatment. Typically, parents and children complete measures (e.g., self-report checklists, diagnostic instruments) to assess child dysfunction. Ratings gathered from these sources reveal relatively little agreement on the…

This article addresses the construction of "critical friendships" within the practice of one particular program evaluation. It focuses on the evolution of relationships developed during one 2-year program evaluation study that examined a collaborative educational project. Findings show that a caring interest and mentoring rapport developed between…

Recent studies have used pretreatment analyses, termed competing stimulus assessments, to identify items that most effectively displace the aberrant behavior of individuals with developmental disabilities. In most studies, there appeared to have been no systematic basis for selecting the sampling period (ranging from 30 s to 10 min) in which items…

Research in student learning can be based on a theoretical framework, observations of students' learning, the products of this learning, and students' own conceptions of the subject and of learning. In the final analysis, such investigations have a clear purpose--to improve student learning. We report on using the results of research into student…

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which a preschool program followed the recommendations outlined by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) in their joint position statement "Early Childhood Mathematics: Promoting Good…

The purpose of this study was to compare and contrast laboratory simulations with traditional (equipment) explorations in physics to determine differences, if any, in student achievement and changes in attitude toward science. Based upon the investigations conducted in undergraduate physics classes with 96 students who were non-science majors, it…