SCIENCE AND EDUCATION RESOURCES

AAAS Science Sites for Education

The AAAS Directorate for Education and Human Resources Programs (EHR) has several Web sites dealing with education: 

Directorate for Education and Human Resources Programs The EHR site includes news, featured projects, a four-month calendar, links to AAAS science media programs,  the current issue of Science Education News and its archives, more than 50 publications and resources, and two online books. 

SB&F Online The Online version of the review journal Science Books & Films, this web site contains bibliographies of books for all ages, listings for science-related television programs, and feature articles relating to books, videos, and software in all the sciences.

Science Update This site lists each week's 90-second "Science Update" and "Why Is It?" radio programs, with button option for audio. Archives contain past editions of both shows. 

Kinetic City This Web site features "Kinetic City Super Crew," the award-winning children's radio show produced for 8-to-10-year olds. Viewers of this site may access Home Crew Hands-On experiments (and hear them as performed by the crew); receive a clip of the next week's show; find station listings; and see pictures and descriptions of the Crew and "Super Scientists," first person accounts from scientists on what they do and why it's "cool." 

KC Cyber Club The new, complementary online site to Kinetic City Super Crew. This site leads viewers through science mysteries, challenging them to follow clues provided by the Super Crew cast. 

Science NetLinks A web site to help science teachers, librarians and other educators get on the Internet, navigate it safely and efficiently, identify useful resources, and use those resources in a teaching environment. 

These Web-based opportunities and resources--particularly for science activities in elementary classrooms--are either supported or produced by the National Science Foundation (NSF). 

Science in the Home is a link on the NSF education home page aimed specifically at parents and students. It lists Internet resources on science, scientists, and scientific investigations. Students learn about geometric patterns, and can create their own, through a page maintained by the Center for the Computation and Visualization of Geometric Structures, an NSF Science and Technology Center at the University of Minnesota. They can find plans to learn to build a seltzer tablet rocket from a page maintained by the Los Alamos National Laboratory, or they can find out more about James Lovell, the commander of the ill-fated Apollo 13 lunar mission. 

Dragonfly magazine, published jointly by the National Science Teachers Association and Miami University of Ohio, is an NSF-supported bi-monthly printed magazine that contains examples of investigations for elementary school students. The electronic version of the magazine features several interactive articles and experiments. In one, students read about trees and how their component parts--such as stems, leaves, and roots--allow them to adapt to a particular ecological niche. Students are challenged to design a tree of their own to survive in a particular niche. Immediate feedback tells students how they've done.

Project FeederWatch, organized by Cornell University, involves many students and teachers as volunteers throughout North America to monitor birds at backyard feeders from November through March. FeederWatch data show how populations of winter birds are growing or shrinking, and how species distributions are changing. FeederWatch and many similar projects were discussed at an NSF-sponsored national conference in Washington, DC, last fall. The conference proceedings and descriptions of the projects can be found at http://www.terc.edu/ssp.html. 

Professional educators who would like to be able to evaluate the quality of science and mathematics education in their schools may obtain a series of checklists developed by Horizon Research, Inc. of Chapel Hill, NC. The assessment tools were created to measure the effectiveness of programs in NSF's Local Systemic Change Initiative, but are available freely to other interested educators and any Internet user. 

The National Science Foundation also maintains a Web page at  http://www.ehr.nsf.gov/teachlinks.html that lists resources for teachers, primarily elementary school teachers, who are anxious to teach science but are unsure how to begin. 

The Eisenhower National Clearinghouse (ENC) (www.enc.org) searches the Internet for new mathematics and science resources. The ENC's Digital Dozen page updates links monthly at www.enc.org/classroom/dd/frames.htm. Samples follow: 

Astronomy with a Stick (AWS) provides ideas for daytime astronomy for elementary and middle school students. 

NASA Classroom of the Future contains environmental earth science modules that make use of remote sensing and information technology to engage high school students in collaborative scientific inquiry and analysis. 

Visual Physics is a free tool for students and teachers that integrates Internet resources while teaching physics. 

The South Central Regional Technology in Education Consortium offers news about teachers who are succeeding in their use of technology in the classroom. The Kid Speak section is a forum for children to tell about what they are doing with technology. 

The Young Women in Science for Rural Communities site tells of the nine-month science projects of participating high school women. Online field notes describe the scope and results of projects on topics ranging from blacktail deer to recycling to whale rights. 
 

How People Learn:  Brain, Mind, Experience, and School by  John D. Bransford, Ann L. Brown, and Rodney R. Cocking, Editors;Committee on Developments in the Science of Learning, National Research Council, offers exciting new research about the mind and the brain that addresses how teachers and schools can help children learn most effectively.

Starting Out Right:  A Guide to Promoting Children's Reading Success by the Committee on the Prevention of Reading Difficulties in Young Children, National Research Council. The book includes 55 activities to do with children to help them become successful readers, a list of recommended children's books, and a guide to CD-ROMs and websites. 

Online Resources from PBS

PBS--The Public Broadcasting Service--has completed the relaunch of a comprehensive online service designed to help K-12 teachers use PBS's television and online programming in the classroom: 
 

Online Learning and Teacher Education 

Three distinctly different Web sites reinforce the trend toward online learning and teacher education: 

Outer Orbit is the Web site of SpaceNews, a weekly newspaper that covers the international space industry. It provides elementary and high school science teachers with resources and ideas for classroom curricula aimed at space exploration. Classroom activities for grades 5-8 and grades 9-12 are updated monthly. SpaceChat, an interactive chat line, connects teachers and students around the country in online discussions with space industry experts. During 90-minute-to-two-hour sessions, students pose questions via computer and view responses within seconds. See Outer Orbit for a schedule of each week's SpaceChat experts. 

 The Science Is Fun Web site was developed by Bassam Shakhashiri, chemistry professor at University of Wisconsin-Madison, and creator of the popular televised "Once Upon a Christmas Cheery, In the Lab of Shakhashiri." The Web site shares the fun of science through home science activities, demonstration shows, videos, and books for all age levels. The site features links to "Chemical of the Week;" Experiments You Can Do at Home;" "A 3-D Message;" and general chemistry course information. 

The Teacher Enhancement Electronic Communications Hall (TEECH) is a three-year project at TERC, funded by the NSF. Its aim is to advance the work of Teacher Enhancement (TE) projects by fostering increased collaboration among leaders in teacher development. The TEECH site provides resources, papers, and discussion groups on topics such as professional development, systemic reform, future funding opportunities, implementing standards, evaluation of TE efforts, curriculum material, TIMSS, and electronic communities. It also provides connections to other projects and colleagues in the field through a searchable database. Viewers can read and participate in discussions, electronically post or download papers, search and add one's project and staff information to the TEECH database, read or listen to lectures, or use TEECH's resource links and calendars of events. 

AAAS's Science + Literacy for Health Drug Education Partnership has produced excellent literacy resources. See The Project & Materials on this Web site for details.  Other excellent resources are listed below. 

Every Child a Scientist

The National Research Council's booklet Every Child a Scientist: Achieving Scientific Literacy for All is intended to help parents and others help local K-12 schools make the transition to standards-based teaching and learning in science. The booklet shows how parents can change the system, explains the importance of high-quality science education, and shows how to measure the quality of school science programs. 

The booklet costs $10 for single copies; $7 for 2-9 copies; and $4.50 for ten or more copies. Shipping charges are $3 for single copies and $.50 for each additional copy. Send checks to National Academy Press, 2101 Constitution Avenue, NW, Lockbox 285, Washington, DC 20055; or call (800) 624-6242 or (202) 334-3313. Orders may also be placed over the Internet at http://www.nap.edu/bookstore. Ordering information for copies of the National Science Education Standards is included in the booklet. 

Educational Practice Report on Limited English Proficient Students

The National Center for Research on Cultural Diversity and Second Language Learning (NCRCDSLL) has published an Educational Practice Report entitled Learning Science and English: How School Reform Advances Scientific Learning for Limited English Proficient Middle School Students.

The report presents findings of exemplary middle school science and mathematics programs for students with limited proficiency in English, and shows how four schools in Texas, California, and Massachusetts give students access to stimulating science and mathematics curricula by instructing them through the students' primary language or in English using sheltered instruction. 

PBS Literacy Links
Funded by a five-year $15 million grant from the US Department of Education Star Schools Project, LiteracyLink is creating an integrated instructional system of video and online computer technology to help adult students advance their GED and workplace skills. LiteracyLink also offers professional development resources and training to literacy educators. In addition, LiteracyLink offers a web site (http://www.pbs.org/learn/literacy) to provide general information to the public about Literacy. 

DRUG EDUCATION RESOURCES

See Science + Literacy for Health Drug Education Partnership materials listed in The Project & Materials section of this Web site. 

Action on Smoking and Health
ASH makes available the proposed FDA regulations on youth access, press releases, newsletters, and links to other smoking related sites. 

Addiction Research Foundation (ARF)
An agency of the province of Ontario, the ARF's mission is to learn about alcohol, tobacco and other drugs and to put that knowledge to work in the form of products, programs and services that can be used in the community. This is a major resource for alcohol and other drug information. It contains many informative fact sheets which are also available in French. 

Center for Education and Drug Abuse Research (CEDAR)
CEDAR serves to elucidate the factors contributing to the variation in the liability to drug abuse and determine the developmental pathways culminating in drug abuse outcome, normal outcome, and psychiatric/behavioral disorder outcome. 

Community Tool Box
This is a site is a model for using the Internet to organize communities and disseminate information. This site provides a computer information database and exchange network for community health and development. Included are content areas for coalition building, a search engine (with good instructions), and links to city home pages. 

Finding the Power: A Tobacco Advocacy Guide for Asian, Pacific Islander,  Hispanic and Latino Youth
From KCET Television, this excellent resource is really two Web sites in one--each targeted specifically to Asian and Hispanic audiences.Winner of  the Aurora Gold Award for Health Programming and the PRISM Certificate of Merit for Community Service, Finding The Power contains an online tobacco quiz, facts and statistics, an action plan to counter pro-tobacco influences in the community, and more. 

Join Together Online
As a project of the Boston University School of Public Health funded by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Join Together Only is a leading (and probably oldest) national online resource specializing in community-based strategies to reduce substance abuse. With over 14,000 documents online, 100 new ones added weekly, and several interactive tools. 

Knowledge Exchange Network (KEN)
KEN is a one-stop source of information and resources on prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation services for mental illness. KEN is a service of the Center for Mental Health Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 

The Marin Institute for the Prevention of Alcohol & Other Drug Problems
The Marin Institute has made its alcohol policy and industry database available to the public via its Web site. 

Mayo Health O@sis
Produced by the Mayo Clinic, this site is a online library of information health topics such as cancer, nutrition, heart disease, women's health, substance abuse and so. Use the search engine to find information. The site also includes interactive quizzes and health assessment, one of which relates to alcohol. 

The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University (CASA)
CASA's mission is to inform the American people of the cost of abuse of all substances (legal and illegal drugs, alcohol, tobacco) throughout society and its impact on their lives, to determine what works for whom in prevention and treatment, and to encourage each individual and institution to take responsibility to combat substance abuse. Their web site provides access to information, research and commentary on tobacco, alcohol and drug abuse issues including prevention, treatment and cost data. 

National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD-New Jersey)
This site contains reprints of articles from the excellent newsletter "Perspectives on Public Policy & Prevention." In addition to topics of relevance to New Jersey, the newsletter covers policy issues of national significance. 

National Families in Action Online
This site is dedicated to providing accurate drug information to parents and young people. It includes information on common drugs of abuse, information about partner organizations that are targeted to specific ethnic groups, and an "Ask an Expert" column which draws upon experts in a variety of fields to answer questions. 

National Institute on Drug Abuse
The home page of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) includes information about drugs of abuse such as LSD, anabolic steroids, cocaine, marijuana, and nicotine. The following are among the excellent resources you can find there.

Don't Harm Yourself: Arm Yourself With Knowledge About Drugs
This online booklet from NIDA provides factual information about the dangers of drug use as well as anti-drug activities that are designed for families. 

Facts About Marijuana
These are actually two booklets, one is aimed at teens and the other is for parents. The booklets are clearly written and nicely illustrated. They put into plain language research-based facts about marijuana and provide practical suggestions based on that research.  Also available in Spanish, these publications may be reprinted without permission. Both brochures are available in graphic and text versions.

Mind Over Matter
This is a seven-part series targeted to middle school students about the effects of drug abuse on the body and the brain. These materials and a teacher's guide have been redesigned as online versions. 

Slide Teaching Packet I, for Health Practitioners, Teachers and Neuroscientists, from the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Ilustrates the chemical interactions involved in drug action and addiction and includes high quality graphics that can be used to make slides or overheads for use in your own presentations. 

Project Cork Institute
The Project Cork Institute at Dartmouth Medical School supports educational efforts through its online database of substance abuse information, the preparation of curriculum materials, and involvement in curriculum development efforts. The Project Cork Database contains references (with abstracts) to over 13,000 journal articles, books, etc. on the subject of alcoholism and substance abuse. The file is updated quarterly. It is available for searching, at no charge. 

The QuitNet
Funded by the Massachusetts Tobacco Control Program as a national one-stop shop for smokers who want to quit, and for anti-tobacco advocates. High-end interactive databases drive features such as customized quitting tips (based on individual questionnaires) and online chat and message forums for peer support in the quitting process. 

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration of the Department of Health and Human Services (SAMHSA) publishes the following online resources: 

National Household Survey on Drug Abuse  SAMHSA's annual National Household Survey on Drug Abuse reports on the prevalence, patterns and consequences of drug and alcohol use and abuse in the general U.S. civilian non-institutionalized population age 12 and over. The survey is conducted annually and is designed to produce drug and alcohol use incidence and prevalence estimates. 

PREVLINE: Prevention Online  PREVLINE offers electronic access to searchable databases and substance abuse prevention materials that pertain to alcohol, tobacco, and drugs. The research and statistics page is particularly good with lots of statistics and graphs. Also excellent is the "Quick Docs" section that contains numerous fact sheets that are categorized by topic and by audience. Most of the fact sheets are quite easy to read and can be printed and used in educational programs. Included in this section are resources targeted to multicultural audiences, including people with disabilities, elders, and faith communities.