Describes the use of Zebu, a software tool accessed via a standard Web browser that is designed for constructing online collaborative-learning projects, with seventh-grade students. Discusses learning outcomes, student motivation, peer assessment and feedback, and class projects in poetry, social studies, and science. (LRW)

Presents a characterization of students' comments during observation of meal worms or brine shrimp. Finds that many student comments had to do with sex, reproduction, death, violence, and the life history of the organisms. Significant differences in conversations occurred across age and gender groups. Contains 32 references. (Author/WRM)

Describes positive experiences in teaching about floating and sinking with second-grade students. (WRM)

Argues that the United Kingdom's National Curriculum recommendations regarding data analysis tasks do not explain the specific activities clearly enough to assist teachers in deciding what practices to follow. Presents research that shows that the range of data-analysis tasks that pupils can perform depends on the type of data as well as on the…

Describes an activity to help students understand how feathers help insulate a bird's body. (WRM)

Presents protocols for setting up a Winogradsky column and biofilm slides, interpreting the chemical transformations that occur in the column as a result of color changes in the soil, identifying common microorganisms, and determining the microbial composition of the column over specified intervals of time. (WRM)

Describes the construction of an exponential decay graph that can be used in a science class to support discussions about the uses of radioactivity, its risks, limitations, and advantages. (WRM)

Recommends the use of meteor scenarios in the classroom and describes how to conduct this activity. Discusses how to integrate mathematics, language arts, and social studies into the science curriculum. (YDS)

Describes the construction and use of a magnetic needle that is stronger than those conventionally used for experiments with electromagnetism. (WRM)

Presents ideas for teaching elementary school children about scientific inquiry methods. Recommends a Planning Board to scaffold students' thinking as they plan and conduct scientific investigations. (WRM)

Contains information on rain sticks and other similar musical instruments. Describes procedures for making rain sticks and using them in the study of sound. Discusses the physics of sound and how to utilize computers to study sound with rain sticks. (DDR)

Investigates how museum visits can be used to meet the goals of practical work. Introduces a framework to facilitate student learning in museums. Contains 31 references. (DDR)

Presents an exercise in which cutouts or outlines of dinosaur footprints placed independently or in sets on the floor and laboratory benches are used to model dinosaur trackways. The nature, size, speed, and specific behavior of the trackmaker are determined from the trackways and from student-derived data as well as from diagrams and models based…

Presents the results of a study that elucidates children's developing powers of explanation as they relate to global warming and ozone depletion. Discusses the results using charts and provides questions from the questionnaire used in the study. (DDR)

Presents two quantitative Faraday's law experiments using a computer-assisted data-logging system. (Author/ASK)