The integration of science with social science and literature captures the spirit of inquiry and pedagogy embodied in the "National Science Education Standards". Multiple instructional approaches--group and individual work, small and large group work, at-home activities, hands-on and virtual instruction, extension into literature, writing and…

Students frequently misconceive the process of problem-solving, expecting the linear process required for solving an exercise, rather than the convoluted search process required to solve a genuine problem. In this paper we present an activity designed to foster in students realization and appreciation of the nature of the problem-solving process,…

A group of high school students (XII Liceum) in the framework of the Roland Maze Project has built a compact telescope of three Geiger-Muller counters. The connection between the telescope and a PC computer was also created and programmed by students involved in the Project. This has allowed students to use their equipment to perform serious…

It is a principle that many teachers have come to trust, from the first time their classes filled test tubes with yeast and loaded mini-volcanoes with baking soda and vinegar, when it comes to science, students learn best by doing, not just sitting and listening. However, some researchers and educators have challenged the argument for hands-on…

We applied the concept of learning communities, whereby students develop their own ideas in cohort-based settings, to undergraduate research training. This creates powerful research communities where students practice science from observation to experimental design to interpretation of data. We describe a biology program, but the approach suits…

Two linked courses examining conservation science and art history of 17th-century Dutch painting are described. The two courses have been taught on campus and, most recently, as study-abroad courses in collaboration with the Center for European Studies, Universiteit Maastricht, The Netherlands. The highly interdisciplinary courses are intense, yet…

This curriculum guide uses hands-on activities to help grade 5-8 students and teachers understand the significance of space-based astronomy--astronomical observations made from outside the Earth's atmosphere. The guide begins with a survey of astronomy-related spacecraft that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has sent into…

This book highlights women's achievements in science and mathematics from the first century A.D. to the present. Included are paleontologists, geologists, astronomers, mathematicians, chemists, botanists, biologists, engineers, physicians entomologists, and atomic physicists. Their noteworthy accomplishments are translated to students through…

This paper outlines the implementation of a Science Rally held at Palm Beach State Primary School (Australia) which has a high proportion of disadvantaged families. Fostering the principles of multi-age grouping in primary schools, the rally aimed at engaging children in meaningful and exciting activities in a non threatening and success oriented…

This book contains science activities that are designed to make learning and demonstrating nonpoint source pollution concepts exciting and fun. These activities can either be used alone or with an existing water resources education curricula. Activities include: Water Tasting, Acting Out the Hydrologic Cycle, Concentration of Chemical Pollutants…

The ability to utilize and change energy is one of the most fundamental characteristics of living things. Plants have the unique ability to change light energy into the chemical energy on which human beings depend for such things as fuel and food. Through the activities in this book students examine how plants and other living things use and…

This activity book designed for grades 1-3 provides teachers with ready-to-use materials designed to get parents and children excited about science, help establish a home-school connection, and provide interesting learning activities for children to share with adults. This program gets parents involved in developing their children's science…

These lesson plans, designed for grades 6-8, have been developed to provide a guide to hands-on experience in science and math. They focus on an International Space Station and are designed for use with students working in groups. The three lesson plans highlighting the importance of the scientific method are: (1) International Space Station…

This guide provides lessons that enable students to learn how important it is for each of us to take care of the environment by minimizing the problems caused by too much trash. In the 10 lessons included here, students and their families learn how they can be part of the solution by practicing source reduction and by reusing, recycling, and…

ChemSource is designed as a strategy to help preservice and inservice high school chemistry teachers promote student learning more effectively. Its major premise is that well-designed laboratory investigations are an important avenue for cultivating student interest, engagement, and meaningful learning in chemistry. The SourceBook component of…