The research aims to articulate the experiences and opinions of Year 6 (Y6) teachers, primary headteachers and primary science coordinators as a contribution to the debate about the effect of statutory national testing in England and its abolition in Wales. A multi-faceted approach of quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis was…

Cell water relationships are important topics to be included in cell biology courses. Differences exist in the control of water relationships in plant cells relative to control in animal cells. One important reason for these differences is that turgor pressure is a consideration in plant cells. Diffusion and osmosis are the underlying factors…

Three plain mirrors, perpendicular to each other, reflect a beam of light back into the direction it came from. An activity is suggested where pupils can employ this feature of perpendicular mirrors and make their own corner cube retroreflector--a kind of cat's eye. (Contains 7 figures and 1 footnote.)

To engage students in a real-world issue (Bransford, Brown, and Cocking 2000) that affects their communities, the author designed an entire unit to investigate air pollution in their home state, Connecticut. The unit's goal is to understand how the use of resources, such as fossil fuels, might affect their quality of life. Through this unit,…

Although butterflies are a common topic of study in many early childhood classrooms, integrating art production broadens the scope of the study and allows children to deepen their knowledge and understanding through creative self-expression. This article presents a set of integrated activities that focus on helping children fully grasp the process…

This paper explains mirror concepts with the front-back reversal.

We report on the competition problems given at the 39th International Physics Olympiad held in Hanoi, Vietnam, which consist of three theoretical and one experimental problems. The abbreviated solutions are presented. The distribution of marks for the problems is also shown. (Contains 2 tables and 8 figures.)

For anyone who has wondered about how creativity looks in practice, this article offers a picture of how creativity can be a powerful force in the classroom. The author provides three examples illustrating some alternatives that he has developed that work with pupils and teachers in many countries all over the world. The magic bucket activity…

With the range of conflicting ideas about issues such as climate change and global warming, it has never been more important to let our students outside--beyond the classroom door--to evaluate the validity of such claims by observing nature, collecting data, and providing evidence. The good news is that it has never been easier for students to…

Flowering plants that live underwater in marine and estuarine habitats (seagrasses) are important because they support human food sources, such as crabs and fish, as well as endangered animals, such as turtles and manatees. Seagrasses are now known to be declining globally, largely as a result of increasing pressure from human populations living…

The main purpose of the stellar demonstrator is to help explain the movement of stars. In particular, students have difficulties understanding why, if they are living in the Northern Hemisphere, they may observe starts in the Southern Hemisphere, or why circumpolar stars are not the same in different parts of Europe. Using the demonstrator, these…

The familiar kaleidoscope toy was developed by the Scottish physicist David Brewster (1781-1868) in 1816, patented by him in 1817, and described in his 1819 book, "A Treatise on the Kaleidoscope." Generations of elementary students have made their own kaleidoscopes by assembling three microscope slides inside a tube and looking through it at a…

State/representative soil is one of many symbols (e.g., tree, flower, bird, etc.) adopted by citizens to be recognized as an important item to their state. We have developed a set of laboratory exercises, assignments, and exam questions utilizing the state/representative soil that gives college students an opportunity to practice interpretation of…

An activity has been designed for the purpose of teaching how light is dispersed in a straight line and about the interaction between matter and light as well as the related concepts of shadows, partial shadows, reflection, refraction, primary colours and complementary (secondary) colours, and differentiating the relationship between colours, all…

We develop an Easy Java Simulation (EJS) model for students to experience the physics of idealized one-dimensional collision carts. The physics model is described and simulated by both continuous dynamics and discrete transition during collision. In designing the simulations, we discuss briefly three pedagogical considerations namely (1) a…