Learning about people from long ago and far away poses a challenge for students because such people seem so distant and different. The lack of easily comprehensible text-based primary sources compounds this problem. Using a built environment as a primary source makes people from the distant past more accessible, concrete and exciting. Broadly…

What better way to interest students in mathematics than using a Super Bowl® commercial? A Prudential® insurance commercial aired during the Super Bowl in 2013 was the impetus for this lesson (see it here on You-Tube™: http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=IsNiKGMSHUQ). In the commercial, four hundred people were polled on "How Old Is the Oldest…

The concept of science as argument, and the view that engaging in scientific argumentation should play a key role in science education, has become widely endorsed. The case is made here that this objective will be enhanced by broad understanding of the nature of argument skills and their directions and patterns of development. A line of research…

Examining data provides a unique opportunity to have students work actively with various technologies, such as computers or graphing calculators. Students can import data into spreadsheet software, execute mathematical calculations, create data graphs, and use this material in reports to present the results of their inquiry. Reinforcing the use of…