National Institutes of Health (NIH)

• The NIH Office of Science Education has a curriculum supplement series of interactive, inquiry-based teaching units that combine current science research with effective instructional techniques—specifically the constructivist (5E) model. The units are free to teachers, aligned to the National Science Education Standards, and grade specific for grades K–2, 6–8, and 9–12. The NIH is working to align the units to all state standards for science, math, and language arts. The units were developed under contract with BSCS and field tested, so they meet the No Child Left Behind Act mandate that they be “research-based.”

  Currently six high school units, five middle school units, four pending middle school units, and one elementary unit are available. Units can be accessed by visiting http://science.education.nih.gov, then selecting “supplements.” Or go directly to the supplement page at http://science.education.nih.gov/supplements.

• NIH’s career database, called LifeWorks, enables students, parents, mentors, advisors, and guidance counselors to research more than 100 careers and learn what the jobs entail on a daily basis, what the salary is, and how much education is required. LifeWorks also provides suggestions for high school and college courses that can help someone achieve success in a particular career. The site is constantly being updated, so the numbers of listed careers will continue to grow. Students can also choose to take a short survey (Career Finder) to help them determine which careers they might be interested in pursuing. LifeWorks can be found at http://science.education.nih.gov/LifeWorks.

• In partnership with the NIH Office of Science Education, the National Institute of General Medical Sciences has produced a middle-school science curriculum supplement called Doing Science: The Process of Scientific Inquiry. The supplement contains four lessons designed to help students explore methods of inquiry, ask testable questions, refine critical-thinking skills, and appreciate the purpose of scientific research. Teachers and school administrators may order single, free copies at http://science.education.nih.gov/customers.nsf/middleschool.htm.

• Tox Town, an interactive website, enables students and teachers to learn about the environmental health concerns in various neighborhoods: town, city, U.S.-Mexico border, and farm. Users will explore such potential environmental hazards as radon, asbestos, and carbon monoxide, and the website will help them make connections among chemicals, the environment, and human health. A high school student writing a paper about the health effects of lead could choose the "Lead" button, for example, to find out what lead and lead poisoning are and how to prevent lead poisoning in children. Educators are encouraged to review this site and provide NIH’s National Library of Medicine with suggestions and comments so that Tox Town can be continually improved and present relevant information for use in the classroom. See http://www.toxtown.nlm.nih.gov. Tox Town has resources available in Spanish as well at http://toxtown.nlm.nih.gov/espanol/index.html. Tox Town is an NSTA SciLinks® website.
  

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