While the great scientists of the past recognized a need for a multidisciplinary approach, today's schools often treat math and science as subjects separate from the rest. This not only creates a disinterest among students, but also a potential learning gap once students reach college and then graduate into the workforce. "Cases on…

A teaching and learning sequence aimed at introducing upper secondary school students to the interplay between chance and determinism in nonlinear systems is presented. Three experiments concerning nonlinear systems (deterministic chaos, self-organization and fractals) and one experiment concerning linear systems are introduced. Thirty upper…

Students of all ages are fascinated by the ups, downs, loops, and twists of roller coaster rides! What they may not realize is that there is a lot of science involved in making a roller coaster work. This month's column puts students in the shoes of a roller coaster designer as they work in teams to create their own roller coasters. (Contains 1…

This demonstration is designed to illustrate the concept of limiting reagent in a spectacular way. Via a series of experiments where the amount of vinegar is fixed and the amount of NaHCO[subscript 3] is gradually increased, the volume of CO[subscript 2] generated from the reaction varies corresponding to the amount of NaHCO[subscript 3] until it…

The electrochemical polymerization of aniline and pyrrole, and demonstrations of electrochromism and the polymer battery effect, are presented as demonstrations suitable for high school and introductory chemistry at the university level. These demonstrations promote student interest in the electrochemical preparation of conducting polymers, where…

A simple student experiment investigating dependence on air pressure of the attenuation of alpha particles in air is described. An equation giving the pressure needed to absorb all alpha particles of a given energy is derived from the Bethe-Bloch formula. Results are presented for the attenuation of alpha particles from americium 241 and radium…

Taxonomy, the identification, naming, and classification of living things, is an indispensable unit in any biology curriculum and indeed, an integral part of biological science. Taxonomy catalogues life's diversity and is an essential tool for communication. Textbook discussions of taxonomy range anywhere from three to eight domains of kingdoms.…

The abstract concepts of density and solubility are often difficult for middle-grade students and should be taught within several contexts to provide multiple experiences with the phenomena. To authenticate the learning of these concepts, this article provides instructional guidelines for constructing a liquid motion lamp to engage students in…

This study provides an overview of the issues science teachers faced in the 2006-07 school year with the change to the block schedule in Wake County, North Carolina. The purpose of this research was to address gaps in literature related to changes teachers had made in their instruction and interaction with students after the implementation of the…

The purpose of this study was to quantitatively examine the impact of third-party support service providers on the quality of science information available to deaf students in regular science classrooms. Three different videotapes that were developed by NASA for high school science classrooms were selected for the study, allowing for different…

My NASA Data (Chambers et al. 2008) is a teaching tool available on NASA's website that offers microsets of real data in an easily accessible, user-friendly format. In this article, the authors describe a lesson plan based on an activity from My NASA Data, in which students explore parts of the United States where they would want to live if they…

Scientists in Schools is a project funded by the Australian Government Department of Education, Employment, and Workplace Relations and managed by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Education Section. This paper describes how the project is working to establish and maintain sustained and ongoing partnerships between…

A number of reports have argued that secondary science education needs to be more inquiry oriented and involve authentic and practical investigations to develop scientific literacy and better engage students in learning science. Inquiry-oriented approaches, such as those advocated in the new science national curriculum, require that teachers have…

Global and local climate change has become an important topic in the last few years. Concerns regarding the impact of climate changes on ecosystems in general, resources used by humans (e.g., water, energy, crops), and the intensity and frequency of natural disasters are driving the interest. Phenology is one way researchers are studying historic…

The current educational climate poses a difficult challenge for middle grades science teachers, because they must respond to calls for more inquiry-oriented instruction in the science classroom and, at the same time, prepare students to pass high-stakes proficiency tests based on broad state science standards. The purpose of this article is to…