Science is a human endeavor; the way it is taught, applied, and in some cases exclude populations from having access to it, may affect people for generations (NGSS Lead States 2013). Science education continues to be a complex civil rights issue (Tate 2001), but there is hope. Movements to promote just, equitable, and inclusive opportunities to…

The authors of this article have participated in intensive professional development in the Peruvian Amazon and brought this firsthand experience of the rainforest back to their classrooms. However, the activities presented in this article are designed to be accessible and inspirational to "all students," regardless of whether they or…

One of the most difficult challenges of incorporating literacy in the classroom--as called for by the "Common Core State Standards" (NGAC and CCSSO 2010)--is inspiring reluctant writers. Students are often unmotivated by essay assignments or having to write answers to open-ended questions. Some students may even view these as obstacles…

Science education blogs can serve as powerful digital lab notebooks that contain text, images, and videos. Each blog entry documents a moment in time, but becomes interactive with the addition of readers' comments. Blogs can provide a realistic experience of the peer-review process and generate evolving descriptions of observations through time.…

Too often, students enter our classrooms with insufficient knowledge of physical science. As a result, they have a difficult time understanding content in texts, lectures, and laboratory activities. This lack of background knowledge can have an impact on their ability to ask questions and wonder--both key components of inquiry. In this article,…

As science teachers at a suburban California high school, the authors were concerned about the lab report conclusions written by their upper-level chemistry, biology, and ecology students--which were consistently of poor quality. Their work lacked inferences derived from data and support for their concluding statements. Working as part of a…

Contrary to what we often hear and teach, there is good news to be found on the environmental front. Environmental success stories show us not only that sustainability is possible, but also how people have made it happen. We can make these stories and their lessons accessible to students with help from the EcoTipping Points Project, which has…

Teacher research--often called "action research"--is an intentional and systematic inquiry into one's own classroom practice with the goal of improved student learning (Cochran-Smith and Lytle 1993). In this article, the authors present a teacher research project undertaken to improve student understanding of the gas laws in a high…

While many states are facing challenges to the teaching of evolution in their science classrooms, the University of California Museum of Paleontology, working with the National Center for Science Education, has developed a useful web-based resource for science teachers of all grade- and experience-levels. Understanding Evolution (UE) was developed…

Reports on research results from California's Golden State Examinations science portfolio projects. Findings discussed include gender variations; prior course grades; student ethnicity; multiple-choice questions; laboratory performance tasks; and open-ended questions. (ZWH)

Describes a high school pilot program to meet California's science curriculum guidelines to adopt a Scope, Sequence and Coordination (SS&C) approach. The SS&C curriculum offers four science subjects for each year of high school. Concrete, phenomenological, and descriptive topics are covered during the early years and theoretical and…

Describes the grassroots approach of the California Scope, Sequence and Coordination Project that was designed to achieve widespread and persistent change in public school science education. (PR)