National Science Teaching Association

Tens of thousands of teachers have taken advantage of the Uncovering Student Ideas series to reveal students’ preconceptions.

Each of the first four volumes provides 25 probes with easy-to-follow steps for uncovering and addressing students’ ideas by promoting learning through conceptual change instruction. Probes cover topics such as physical, life, and Earth and space science; the nature of science; and unifying themes. Each volume on page 23 provides topic-specific probes. These invaluable books include teacher materials that explain content, identify links to standards, and suggest grade-appropriate ways to present materials so students learn the concepts accurately. Teachers, professional development coordinators, and college science and preservice faculty will find these resources essential and exciting.

By Page Keeley

The Argument-Driven Inquiry series helps teachers make labs much more active and engaging for their students.

The investigations teach students to use argument to construct, support, and evaluate scientific claims of their own and others. Students will dig into important content as they gain a better understanding of the science and engineering practices, crosscutting concepts, and disciplinary core ideas of the Next Generation Science Standards. These investigations will also enable students to develop the skills outlined in the Common Core State Standards and practice reading, writing, speaking, and using math in the context of science.

The books include reproducible student pages, teacher notes, checkout questions, and standards-alignment matrices, so teachers have everything they need to start incorporating these authentic experiences in their classrooms. Students will have the opportunity to design their own methods, collect and analyze data, generate arguments, and critique claims and evidence. Each book has a companion Student Lab Manual that includes everything students need to complete the investigations.

By Jesus Aguilar-Landaverde, Austin Batson, Ruth Bickel, Peter Carafano, Patrick J. Enderle, Steve Fannin, Daniel FitzPatrick, Leeanne Gleim, Ellen Granger, Jonathon Grooms, Melanie Hester, Todd L. Hutner, Adam LaMee, Kemper Lipscomb, Ashley Murphy, Victor Sampson, Sherry Southerland, Carol Stallworth, Kiesha Williams, Kristin Wilson