Presents detailed descriptions and diagrams for having students build their own miniature box kites. Describes the educational benefits of the kite building. (PR)

This paper reviews design teaching at a total of 15 chemical engineering departments across Australia, Singapore, and the United Kingdom. The emphasis is on the capstone Design Project, which can be viewed as a major transition subject for students as they move into the workplace. The study shows that this subject has evolved to act as an…

School science students can benefit greatly from participation in student-directed, open-ended scientific inquiry projects. For various possible reasons, however, students tend not to be engaged in such inquiries. Among factors that may limit their opportunities to engage in open-ended inquiries of their design are teachers' conceptions about…

Recent calls for teacher preparation to become more grounded in practice prompt the questions: Which practices? and perhaps more fundamentally, what counts as a model of instruction worth learning for a new professional--i.e., the beginner's repertoire? In this report, we argue the following: If a defined set of subject-specific high-leverage…

Immunological detection of proteins is an essential method to demonstrate to undergraduate biology students, however, is often difficult in resource and time poor student laboratory sessions. This method describes a failsafe method to rapidly and economically demonstrate this technique using biotinylated proteins or biotin itself as targets for…

Teaching is a complex activity that requires making ongoing multiple decisions and sporadic, responsive actions all while performing preplanned prescribed tasks. Evidence of certain aspects of teaching can be best assessed with a well-designed observation instrument. This instrument was designed to assess the enactment of the essential elements of…

This open-ended practical series titled "Molecular Identification of Unknown Food Bacteria" which extended over a 6-week period was designed with the aims of giving students an opportunity to gain an understanding of naturally occurring food bacteria and skills in contemporary molecular methods using real food samples. The students first isolated…

Human rhinovirus (HRV) is one of the most common human respiratory pathogens and is responsible for the majority of upper respiratory illnesses. Recently, a phylogeny was constructed from all known American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) HRV sequences. From this study, three HRV classifications (HRVA, HRVB, and HRVC) were determined and techniques…

The "Biotechnology Discoveries and Applications" guidebook aims to provide teachers with an overview of the recent advances in genetics and biotechnology, allowing them to share these findings with their students. The annual guidebook introduces a wealth of modern genomic discoveries and provides teachers with tools to integrate exciting…

One of the most pressing issues in education is the importance of creating learning contexts and communities that are based on children's thinking in science and enhancing their understanding of pertinent concepts. In this research study, fifth grade students (N=20) were asked to design a game teaching younger students about the ocean environment.…

This paper advocates the use of independent research projects as a practical means of individualizing science instruction within the framework of a traditional school program. The science program at Model Laboratory School, Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond, Kentucky, is discussed as an example of independent study being an integral part of…

Discusses the approach taken in a science project program at a math/science/computer magnet school. Explains the procedures, student requirements, and scheduling needs of the program. Contains a checklist of 17 steps for completion of the project. (ML)

Discusses various methods the author has used in high school chemistry classes to maintain interest and keep grades at an acceptable standard. Integrated within the curriculum are research projects, library research, creative work, laboratory write-ups; a two-level curriculum is provided for nonscience and science majors. (CS)

Describes a chemistry program offered at East Mecklenburg High School in Charlotte, North Carolina. The philosophy underlying this program and its teaching techniques are also included. (HM)

Describes an energy resources ranking simulation program for high school and college students. This program has the major objective of illustrating the complexity of issues concerning energy by involving students in a decision-making process that will call upon information from different disciplines. (HM)