In the new biology-learning curriculum for Israeli high schools, known as Biomind, students experience "open-inquiry." This paper describes a qualitative action research project that was performed in order to investigate the characteristics of the open inquiry learning process. Specifically, the research investigates this process in…

This study focuses on 11 African American undergraduate seniors in a biology degree program at a predominantly white research institution in the southeastern United States. These 11 respondents shared their journeys throughout the high school and college science pipeline. Participants described similar precollege factors and experiences that…

Five years ago when the author worked during the summer at the chemical company W.R. Grace, he, along with his colleague Walt Dutton, developed a plan to make science relevant for his students. Their plan consisted of developing a partnership between W.R. Grace and the high school where he teaches chemistry and biology. In this article, the author…

This article describes how a biology teacher's search for a cross-curricular project in science, math, history, and environmental science, that would help her students connect what they were learning in the classroom to their everyday life, resulted in an ongoing stewardship project. Working together with the Louisiana Sea Grant College Program…

For several decades, science teachers have used bottles for classroom projects designed to teach students about biology. Bottle projects do not have to just focus on biology, however. These projects can also be used to engage students in Earth science topics. This article describes the Earth System Science Project, which was adapted and developed…

While babysitting or preparing home meals, young people (and adults too) sometimes overlook cleanliness procedures. One of the first employment opportunities for teenagers is often in a fast-food restaurant where the safe handling and proper cooking of foods is essential. To teach students about food safety practices, the U.S. Food and Drug…

Educational practice today encourages interdisciplinary teaching as teachers address important basic themes from a variety of angles. In this article, the author talks about one of her successful projects that focuses on "sense of place" as one such theme, with the more specific charge of viewing Earth from both scientific and artistic…

This article describes a course for reinforcing the knowledge of biochemistry in secondary school science teachers. The Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of the University of Barcelona designed a course to bring these teachers up to date with this discipline. In addition to updating their knowledge of biochemistry and molecular…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the degree to which A. Bandura's ([1997]) hypothesized sources of self-efficacy predict the science self-efficacy beliefs of middle school students (N = 319), to replicate previous findings that science self-efficacy predicts science achievement, and to explore how science self-efficacy and its…

Bumble bees are valuable pollinators of native and cultivated flora. Despite our knowledge of bumble bee nest site selection, most efforts to attract bumble bees to artificial domiciles have been met with limited success. Creating and evaluating artificial domiciles provides students an opportunity to investigate a real problem. In this lesson,…

Using a composite example of field trips from several years of traveling to Yellowstone with high school biology students, the author illustrates how to raise the cognitive level of science instruction and student learning through science field trips. The author examines what teachers can do to raise the level of both teaching and learning in all…

To maintain the legacy of cutting edge scientific innovation in the United States our country must address the many pressing issues facing science education today. One of the most important issues relating to science education is the under-representation of African Americans and Hispanics in the science, technology, and engineering workforce.…

The topic of wetlands provides a rich context for curriculum integration. This unit contains seven activities that integrate environmental science with math, technology, social studies, language arts, and other disciplines. In this series, students will identify plants and animals found in wetlands, understand the function of wetlands through the…

The method for extracting and separating hydrophobic photosynthetic pigments proposed by Katayama "et al." ("Japanese Journal of Phycology," 42, 71-77, 1994) has been improved to introduce it to student laboratories at the senior high school level. Silica gel powder was used for removing water from fresh materials prior to…

The study describes a teaching action undertaken in the belief that the use of methodologies based on active and cooperative learning could obviate some of the most worrying deficiencies in current scientific teaching, while at the same time supporting the validity of the constructivistic theory that prompted them. A teaching action on genetically…