Describes a nine-week unit that focuses on student development of science-based contraptions that work. Students are allowed to design, construct, and test a device of interest that performs a simple task, such as picking up a paper towel or turning a page in a book. (ZWH)

Describes a teaching tool that helps students understand that science is not a fixed body of knowledge but a continuous, dynamic process of human searching for answers often over a very long period of time. Using historical vignettes (short stories), teachers can help students make connections between the past and the present. (ZWH)

Explains how archaeologists who found the "Mesa Site" in Northern Alaska used evidence to make interpretations about America's earliest settlers. Includes related science activities and a color poster. (PR)

Describes an effective laboratory method for demonstrating bacterial flagella that utilizes the Proteus mirabilis organism and a special harvesting technique. Includes safety considerations for the laboratory exercise. (MDH)

The still video camera stores color images on a small, removable disk. Describes several classroom uses of this camera for science instruction. (PR)

Describes shifting the teaching focus from a class of students to the individual student. (PR)

Presents a design for constructing a colorimeter as an alternative to the more expensive spectrophotometer. The materials cost less than $25.00. (PR)

Describes a project to help students shift from the precision they expect in science to the more ambiguous nature of taxonomy. Students are asked to project themselves 500 years into the future when, as a result of humankind's pollution, there are only 10 remaining organisms. Some organisms are unlike any previously known. Students name and…

Reviews a range of developments in methodology for studying digestive physiology including comparative anatomy, fistulas and canals, imaging, electromyography, and tracers. Exercises for gathering firsthand data on the use of tracers, analyzing secondhand data on tracers, and interpretation of comparative anatomy of bird stomachs are given as…

Presents a lesson that introduces students to polarized light using a problem-solving approach. After illustrating the concept using a slinky and poster board with a vertical slot, students solve the problem of creating a polarized light show using Polya's problem-solving methods. (MDH)

Uses extremely strong neodymium magnets to demonstrate several principles of physics including electromagnetic induction, Lenz's Law, domain theory, demagnetization, the Curie point, and magnetic flux lines. (MDH)

Presents the Weather Lab, a computer-based tool for assessing student knowledge and understanding of weather phenomena by involving students in generating weather forecasts or manipulating weather components affecting the final formulation of a forecast. Contains 37 references. (Author/ASK)

Argues that part of the value of expressive writing is that it can provide communication within the chemistry classroom and involve students in the course. Describes the process of in-class writing with suggestions for its use. Contains 86 references. (DDR)

Presents the equations of motion governing the trajectory of a cricket ball subject to a linear drag force. Uses a perturbation expansion technique to solve the resulting trajectory equation for the range of a cricket ball struck into the outfield. (Author/ASK)

Explains how students developed Hypercard stacks to report the results of their study of vent science. Describes each step in the project process that included projects related to geography, technology, physics, chemistry, and biology. (DDR)