This column provides original articles on innovations in case study teaching, assessment of the method, as well as case studies with teaching notes. This month's issue discusses the positive and negative aspects of the "flipped classroom." In the flipped classroom model, what is normally done in class and what is normally done as…

The use of integrated science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) instruction has the affordances of combining harmonious content area connections into real-world experiences that are both engaging and challenging. This article introduces findings from a study that used an integrated robotics module to expose in-service and preservice…

The incorporation of scientific inquiry into college classrooms has steadily risen as faculty work to move away from exclusively didactic methods. One type of inquiry structure, the design task, produces a product rather than simply a conclusion. This offers students a context to apply their understanding of content in a tangible way that has…

This article describes an inquiry-based lesson to deepen preservice teachers' understanding of the spherical Earth model using the Global Positioning System. The lesson was designed with four learning goals: (1) to increase preservice teachers' conceptual knowledge of the spherical Earth model; (2) to develop preservice teachers'…

The emphasis on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education is resulting in more opportunities for scientists and teachers to collaborate. The relationships can result in failed collaborations or success. We recently completed a 6-year regional project that used several approaches to develop scientist-teacher relationships.…

To supplement the summer reading of National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) members, the NSTA Committee on Research in Science Education suggested a list of science education research articles that were published in the journals of NSTA's affiliates in 2012. These articles covered a variety of topics that include learning about…

Students of exercise science are well positioned to facilitate a shift of the nation's attitude on health care from disease treatment to disease prevention. This report chronicles our efforts toward transforming the exercise physiology core course from a lecture-based, instructor-centered class to a student-centered environment in which…

To address the low priority given to university-level outreach, the authors created an outreach program that makes it easy for scientists to connect with the public, while at the same time providing effective transfer of scientific research results to the public and the K-12 community. The result is a program called the Hot Science--Cool Talks…

The phenomenon of resonance is applicable to almost every branch of physics. Without resonance, there wouldn't be televisions or stereos, or even swings on the playground. However, resonance also has undesirable side effects such as irritating noises in the car and the catastrophic events such as helicopters flying apart. In this article, the…

Incorporating newspapers into a science course encourages students to take control of their learning. Assignments related to newspapers facilitate active learning in a classroom environment focused on the learner. Several different types of assignments are described for three different general education science courses. (Contains 3 tables.)