Explains the nature and scope of Operation Pathfinder which involves teachers in a two-week course characterized by hands- on experiences with coastal processes and oceanographic research. (DDR)

Discusses the characteristics and benefits of the Nebraska Operation Chemistry (NOC) summer workshops. Provides a brief overview of the workshops and the 11 instructional modules. (DDR)

Presents characteristics of a learning environment drawn from a study of a grade five teacher. Analyzes the instructional activities presented to the students in order to explore the relationship between learning goals and conceptual change. Contains 25 references. (DDR)

Focuses on mapping activities designed to provide simulated experiences that help students understand the techniques used to measure and represent underwater terrain without making direct visual observations. (DDR)

Relates activities implemented in a high school genetics course that enable students to experience "science in the making" (Latour, 1987). Students work in research groups, build explanatory models of observed natural phenomena, present models at class conferences, revise models based on peer feedback or new observational information, and win…

Describes the construction and use of a spectroscope using a compact disk as a reflection grating. Lists instructions for viewing emission spectra of white or fluorescent light sources or discharge tubes, and absorption spectra of colored solutions. Includes modified directions and expanded activities. Contains 16 references. (WRM)

Describes an activity that uses a simple model ocean to investigate the influence that the trade winds have on equatorial Pacific sea-surface temperature and height. (Author)

Examines the effectiveness of an analogy activity designed to overcome junior high school students' misconceptions about the microscopic views of phase change. Uses an analogy activity presented in the form of role playing in which students act as particles. Contains 32 references. (DDR)

Presents relatively simple experiments that allow students to see inductive current and electromagnetic force caused by the earth's magnetic field. (WRM)

Presents a directed-inquiry activity to take students one step beyond observation of how living organisms capture prey. Uses a field lab based upon predator-prey relationships to enliven the teaching of food web concepts to non-science-major freshman undergraduates. Can also be used in teaching high school biology students through college science…

Describes an experiment in which students work together in small groups, take data, and make a calculation to roughly determine the diameter of the blind spot in their eye. (WRM)

Describes a laboratory activity in which students speculate about the extent to which Galileo actually performed an experiment to determine that all pendulums of a given length have the same period, independent of amplitude. (WRM)

Describes classroom use and effectiveness of "The Bean Files," an internet package that uses humorous stories to introduce students to life on a wheat-sheep farm in the Mediterranean climate areas of Australia. The focus of the program is on the role of legume-cereal rotations in the farming system and the science underpinning this…

Describes an experimental procedure that can be used to determine the potential bacterial contamination of stagnant water in emergency laboratory eyewash bottles. Contains 11 references. (WRM)

Presents two classroom activities that help students visualize the concept of entropy and appreciate that entropy tends to increase spontaneously. Contains 20 references. (WRM)