Describes nine basic experiments that demonstrate the wave nature of light and the optical properties of water. Finds that a laser pointer works well as a light source in the laboratory. (CCM)

Engaging fourth-grade students in hands-on science was easy when a container of mealworms arrived the second week of school. The author's naturally curious students immediately began asking questions, and soon they were eagerly investigating animal characteristics and behavior. But, the journey did not stop there. After students tested mealworms…

This article reports on the increasing attempts to identify what have been dubbed high-flying schools and figure out what makes them tick to bring all students to higher levels of achievement. A free Web site, launched by the New York City-based Standard & Poor's, began providing a tool that enables users to identify schools that do better…

This article features NASA's FlyBy Math, a series of six standards-based distance-rate-time investigations in air traffic control. Sixth-grade students--acting as pilots, air traffic controllers, and NASA scientists--conduct an experiment and then use multiple mathematical representations to analyze and solve a problem involving two planes flying…

Three major investigations were conducted in an effort to determine the impact of home school regulations on educational enrollments in the United States. Home school regulations were obtained from state departments of education and investigated to determine the strength of the accountability measures. Populations representative of the school-age…

The feasibility of using current software, such as PC-Duo, PCAnywhere or LabVIEW, in training students in instrumental analysis from a remote location is investigated. Findings show that creation of online features is crucial to the use and learning by students and the development of a suitable Web site, which provides an easy-to-use interface to…

Sociocultural researchers have claimed that students' learning of science is a discursive process, with scientific concepts and ways of reasoning being learned through engagement in practical enquiry and social interaction as well as individualized activity. It is also often claimed that interacting with partners while carrying out scientific…

The present study investigated health locus of control, preventive behaviour and previous playing-related health problems of music students; 326 students of music (58% female, mean age 22 years) filled in the Locus of Control Inventory for Illness and Health (Lohaus and Schmitt, 1989) and the Epidemiological Questionnaire for Musicians (Spahn,…

The children from Locks Heath Junior School, Southampton, had perceptive and thoughtful views about "Why science?" In this paper, the children share their thoughts about what science is and why they think it is important. This paper presents only a small selection of their far-ranging thoughts on the subject. The emphasis on…

The Early Excellence centre was established in 1999 to undertake early years curriculum development in the North West, Yorkshire and Humberside regions. As part of development work, small research projects are commissioned in early years settings. This article describes how the authors worked with Wingate Community Nursery School. The work was…

This paper investigates a Deweyan interpretation of constructivism as a means of developing a rationale for teaching science. The paper provides a review of constructivism from recent science education literature, along with some relevant criticisms. The paper then presents an interpretation of Dewey's formulation of the role of knowing and…

The paper argues that the systematic review of qualitative research is best served by reliance upon qualitative methods themselves. A case is made for strengthening the narrative literature review and using narrative itself as a method of review. A technique is proposed that builds upon recent developments in qualitative systematic review by the…

This article provides a typology of reasons for conducting mixed-methods research in special education. The mixed-methods research process is described along with the role of the rationale and purpose of study. The reasons given in the literature for utilizing mixed-methods research are explicated, and the limitations of these reason frameworks…

In this article, a youth officer explains how police partnerships with schools benefit educators and students. The article provides advice on how schools can establish effective relationships with their local police officers, situations when it is appropriate to share information and when it is not, knowing what questions cannot be asked and what…

Balls made of modelling clay (Plasticine[TM]) can be used to generate a classroom discussion about the scientific evidence used to determine the structure of the Earth. This allows pupils to appreciate how evidence is used to support hypotheses and to distinguish fact from hypothesis. It also provides opportunity to correct misconceptions held by…