Instead of teaching his fifth-graders a formula, a teacher leads them to discover an important mathematical concept on their own. Learning through discovery is probably the very essence of meaningful understanding and retention. (Author/MLF)

A low-cost, low-tech colorimeter was constructed from a film canister. The student-constructed colorimeter was used to show the Beer-Lambert relationship between absorbance and concentration and to calculate the value of the molar absorptivity for permanganate at the wavelength emission maximum for an LED. Makes comparisons between this instrument…

Presents an activity designed for use during National Chemistry Week 2002 with the theme "Chemistry Keeps Us Clean". Allows students to discover more about a cleaning product they use everyday. Students make their own toothpaste and compare its properties with those of commercial toothpaste. (MM)

Students compare several different window cleaner recipes to determine the purpose each ingredient serves, then develop their own "New and Improved" recipe to test its performance against commercial window cleaner. Complements the National Chemistry Week 2002 theme, "Chemistry Keeps Us Clean." (Author/MM)

In their article in the same "Educational Leadership" issue, Berg and Clough have severely misjudged how teachers use the Hunter lesson design model. The Hunter repertoire has enhanced science teaching by providing research-based strategies to promote retention, increase the quantity of concepts learned, keep students on task, and enable…

The Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum in Ann Arbor, Michigan, encourages the natural curiosity of young people to explore, participate, and get involved in exhibits, demonstrations, and activities. Described are the museum's history, exhibits, programs, services, volunteers, resources, and affiliations. (JDD)

These 13 project ideas, designed to be reproduced, cut, and distributed to elementary/middle school students, can serve as launching points for in-depth independent study in social studies. Topics include dramatization, maps, letter writing, cartoons, creative writing, charts, editorials, opinion, comparisons, sketching, oral presentation,…

Provides activities for the study of light as a theme for December, which encompasses Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa. Includes science activities and suggested books for children and teachers. (HTH)

Outcome-based education (OBE) advocates use mechanistic terminology suggestive of the business world, not organic words embodying reflection, serendipity, and discovery. With OBE, outside experts prescribe what is best for students and teachers, who remain essentially voiceless. Teaching is defined in technical dimensions. Such linear,…

Suggests that the outdoor environment is often quite separate from "out of doors" in early childhood classrooms and is seldom used to teach about the environment. Provides guidelines and suggestions for learning centers that can help teach about nature. (HTH)

Reports a study comparing direct instruction with discovery teaching on learning disabled (n=10), behaviorally disordered (n=6), and nonhandicapped (n=91) students' science achievement. No significant differences were found in the immediate posttest scores for mode of instruction. Discovery learning students outperformed others on a retention test…

Describes in detail the steps necessary to develop a Gallery Walk, a classroom project that was used to foster shared-learning, communal inquiry and individual empowerment. (NH)

Describes the fundamental attitude of learning-from-the-child as integral to observation. Discusses how one learns what motivates each child through patience, humility, repeated experience, objectivity, and faith. Outlines some human tendencies, and challenges us to ensure these tendencies are answered within the Montessori environment. (JS)

From a personal perspective, the author reflects upon the notion that many research findings appear falsely to possess the quality of being "obvious". Specific attention is given to the topic of teacher effectiveness. The feeling that findings are obvious can be related to the following: the false consensus effect, selfserving cognition, hindsight…

In this era of high-stakes testing, many teachers feel forced to aim instruction toward what will be assessed and ignore what students really want to learn. Publishers create materials guaranteed to boost students' test scores, but they neither broaden students' understanding nor increase their interest in learning. When the textbook becomes the…