Earth and space science deserve the same level of inclusion in early childhood curriculum as the other science disciplines, and research shows that the sooner children are introduced to concepts like those presented in planetarium programs, the stronger their lifelong interest in science will be. Much astronomy visualization outside of…

In an earlier paper I identified two key forms of "meaningful experience" for participants on a wilderness river rafting journey, namely a feeling of humility and being alive to the present. However, space considerations led me to describe only the first of these forms in any detail. In this paper I identify and describe the qualities of…

In our increasingly digital world, students are often disconnected from the natural environment and may not understand how human actions affect it. One of the most significant human impacts on ecosystems is water pollution. Measuring the water quality of a local stream, river, or lake can be a valuable learning experience but is often impractical.…

Undergraduate research has been shown to be an effective practice for learning science. While this is a popular discussion topic, there are few full examples in the literature for introductory-level students. This paper describes the Geoscience Education Research Project, an innovative course-based research experience designed for…

Eighteen primary teachers across three conditions (Representational Fluency, Representational Agency, Comparison) received two days of training around an inquiry unit on plate tectonics replete with representations. The Representational Agency group also received training around the semiotic and material affordances of representations while the…

Components of complex systems apply across multiple subject areas, and teaching these components may help students build unifying conceptual links. Students, however, often have difficulty learning these components, and limited research exists to understand what types of interventions may best help improve understanding. We investigated 32 high…

The "working scientifically" strand of the new primary science curriculum for England has re-emphasised the importance of children having opportunities to carry out different types of enquiries to answer their scientific questions. To promote this as an ongoing aim of primary science education, it is equally important for trainee primary…

Tomlinson's explanation of Artful Teaching and her 2017 expansion of this concept The Five Key Elements of Differentiation provide the theoretical framework of this examination of the need for science investigations in elementary schools. The Artful Teaching framework uses an equilateral triangle with vertices labeled The Teacher, The Student, and…

The purpose of this descriptive study was to examine teacher instructional dilemmas and opportunities that emerged when students worked with interactive computer-based simulation models during the High-Adventure Science (HAS) project. The intervention included the HAS digital curriculum, designed for grades 7-12. Each curricular unit was framed to…

A series of short (5 to 7 minutes long) geoscience videos were created to support student learning in a flipped class setting for an introductory geology class at North Carolina State University. Videos were made using a stylus, tablet, microphone, and video editing software. Essentially, we narrate a slide, sketch a diagram, or explain a figure…

Computers, laptops, interactive whiteboards, and iPads make regular appearances in our daily lessons, but are they being used to their fullest potential? In an effort to use technology with students in a meaningful way, the authors incorporated a free app and online graphing resource into a second-grade lesson on the characteristics of a lake…

The "Next Generation Science Standards" ("NGSS") shift what it means to teach and learn science. One significant change emerges from the central role of discourse. As the practices are language-intensive and the performance expectations explain what a student should be able to do in science, every student must learn the…

This research project represents the Status of Biodiversity and Its Conservation of Kobadak River basin of Maheshpur Upazila. The study was designed to develop a set of information about the present condition of biodiversity of the study area. Both primary and secondary data have been used to fulfill the survey successfully. Primary data have been…

Promoting collaboration and discourse in asynchronous online courses is challenging; students need something engaging to talk about, a communications medium in which to fluidly discuss it, and a social environment that supports discourse. We designed a fully online introductory geoscience lecture and lab course called Geology Goes Hollywood that…

A traditional mode of Earth Science instruction in public day high schools for students with severe emotional behavioral disorders (EBD) is teacher-delivered lectures supported with paper-based laboratory exercises. These laboratory experiences are often presented through worksheet problems that students are asked to solve and return to the…