This guide provides an introduction to the major issues and literature of science in society. The book is divided into four parts: (1) "The Nature of Science"; (2) "The Nature of Technology"; (3) "Humans in the Environment"; and (4) "Current Issues in Science." The first part covers a history of science technology are covered in the second. In the…

This article sketches a framework of ideas developed in the context of decades of physics teacher-education that was entitled the "perceptional approach". Individual learning and the scientific enterprise are interpreted as different manifestations of the same process aimed at understanding the natural and social worlds. The process is understood…

Includes trade book reviews from 11 categories: Animals; Archaeology, Anthropology, and Paleontology; Biography (Charles. Darwin, Jackal Woman, Rachel Carson, and Marie Curie); Botany; Chemistry and Mineralogy, Environment and Conservation; Geology and Meteorology; The Human Body and Sexuality; Nature and Life; Ocean and Shore Life; and Physics,…

It is important for students to understand that what they learn in science class is the product of the hard work of those who have come before them. It is the author's job to help them understand this work and to encourage them to be future contributors to the understanding of how nature works. As stated in the National Science Education…

Student-scientist-teacher interactions provide students with several advantages. They provide opportunities to interact with experts and professionals in the field, give students a chance at meeting a role model that may impact students' career choices, and increase awareness of available career options combined with an understanding of how their…

Everyone has problems, from the smallest ant competing for a food source to the largest elephant needing to cool down. Fortunately, organisms have structures that function to help them solve these problems. So when a group of fourth-grade students look for solutions to their problems, who do they turn to? A biological champion, of course! Plants…

The theory that natural selection is the key to adaptive evolution, and the reasoning for his conclusions, were Darwin's contributions to science. However, only half of Americans accept the fact of evolution as true (Gallup, 2008). Walsh contends that there are three reasons that students today find life's existential struggle less apparent.…

How can water and a penny demonstrate the power of mathematics and molecular theory? Do spelling and punctuation really matter to the human brain? The third of Thomas O'Brien's books designed for 5-12 grade science teachers, "Even More Brain-Powered Science" uses the questions above and 11 other inquiry-oriented discrepant events--experiments or…

This book is an outlined for the short study (1- to 2-weeks) of chronobiology, a field of science that explores the relationships between time and biological functions. It develops step-by-step the reasoning that leads to the current scientific understanding of biological rhythms. The unit can be inserted into a standard middle or high school…

This document presents a collection of strand maps that show how students' understanding of the ideas and skills that lead to literacy in science, mathematics, and technology might grow over time. The guide discusses strand maps in general and prose directly related to each individual map. The maps are built from benchmarks that were derived from…

Two activities in which students use the human body to collect meaningful data that will be used symbolically in the form of sets of equations to search for patterns in nature are described. The mathematics and science concepts/skills, background information, objectives, lesson outline, and extensions are included. (KR)

This series of activities, which integrates science and social studies, is designed to involve students in experimental learning experiences conducted in an outdoor setting. Throughout the lesson, which is based on a model of instruction called Flow Learning [TM], students (a) simulate the Web of Life, (b) use different senses and scientific…

Many forms of wildlife are being threatened by changing ecological conditions, pollution, pesticides, human carelessness, and conditions. Efforts are being made to preserve endangered wildlife species. This document provides a partial listing of endangered and threatened species of mammals, birds, and reptiles in North America and its nearby…

This curriculum guide was developed for use with public television's Nature series. The materials in the guide are designed to help students actively participate in the study and experience of nature. Students are encouraged to view the programs as naturalists would, observing animals in their environment, noting their behavior, examining the…

This grassroots action guide features a conservation initiative working to bring the impacts of human population growth, economic development, and natural resource consumption into balance with the limits of nature for the benefit of current and future generations. Contents include information sheets entitled "Six Billion People and Growing,""The…