Choice, Control, And Change: Using Scientific Evidence to Promote Healthful Food and Activity Choices
November 2007
Childhood obesity and its long-term health implications should be of major concern to science educators. In an effort to support teachers and youth about this growing problem, a five-unit, 19-lesson module entitled Choice, Control, and Change (C3) was developed at Teachers College Columbia University. C3 is a standards-driven and inquiry-based curriculum that is framed around the driving question, "How can we use scientific evidence to help us make healthy food and activity choices?" The curriculum provides teachers and students with rigorous, yet relevant investigations into how an understanding of biology, the environment, and personal behaviors impacts weight and health.
Solve Medical Mysteries
November 2007
Wondering how to make the study of the immune system and infectious agents more relevant to your students' lives? The online adventure series, Medical Mysteries, can provide the context and motivation. The series combines the drama of television's CSI episodes with science to address several of the National Science Education Content Standards. This free teaching tool incorporates online games with classroom activities for middle school students. The virtual experiments engage students in analyzing data, interpreting charts and graphs, and drawing conclusions.
Weather to Make a Decision
February 2006
Try DECIDE, a web-based, teacher-friendly, integrated approach designed to stimulate learning by allowing students to make decisions using scientific weather principles (DECIDE is available free of charge, see Resources). This learning unit integrates weather science, decision theory, mathematics, statistics, geography, and reading in a context of decision problems relevant to the lives of middle school students. The modules are standardized to help teachers quickly and easily prepare for class.