eGFI – For Teachers » Special Features

Feature: Competition Breeds Success

Posted on November 16th, 2009 by Jaimie Schock

Think science fair on steroids. Many teachers involve students in science competitions, but few can match Paul McElligott in the frequency and variety of contests his students pursue.

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Contests entered by Paul McElligott’s students

Posted on November 16th, 2009 by Jaimie Schock

Science teacher Paul McElligott and his students regularly compete for scholarship money and prizes. Here are some examples.

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Tags: Chemistry, Competitions for Students, Grades 9-12, Physics, Robotics, Science

Feature: Roller Coaster Physics

Posted on November 2nd, 2009 by Jaimie Schock

When Elizabeth Smallwood’s 11th and 12th graders climb onto the rollercoaster at Six Flags theme park near Buffalo, N.Y., it won’t be just for the thrill. They’ll be concentrating on how gravity affects acceleration, monitoring their own queaziness and trying to assess any temporary effects on the brain.

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Profile: Arne Duncan

Posted on October 19th, 2009 by ASEE

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan got his start in education doing chores at an inner-city Chicago after-school center run by his mother. The Sue Duncan Center was attended by kids from elementary to high school age, nearly all of them African Americans struggling with the grind of urban poverty — crime, drugs, gangs, absent parents.

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Tags: Education Policy

Feature: Space-Age Gardening

Posted on October 19th, 2009 by Jaimie Schock

Move over, NASA. Remy Dou’s high school students are developing plants that can survive in space. They are learning to master aeroponics, an engineering process in which a nutrient-rich mist is sprayed on the roots. Requiring no soil and very little water, the plants can grow even inside the International Space Station, though Planet Earth is also an option.

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Tags: Biotechnology, Competitions for Students, Environmental Engineering, Research on Learning

Feature: Defying Tradition

Posted on October 5th, 2009 by Jaimie Schock

Kevin Cieszkowski sounds like a glutton for punishment. “Students hit me with a sledge hammer, watch a bowling ball swing towards my face and see me lie on a bed of nails,” says the Richardson, Tex. physics teacher. “And that’s only the first semester.”

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Tags: Research on Learning, Technology for Learning

Feature: Teaching the How and Why of Science

Posted on September 29th, 2009 by Jaimie Schock

Craig Kohn has an outside-the-box approach to education. His students take on real-world agriscience challenges, like converting algae to biofuel. “If our students walk away memorizing facts but are unable to use them, we have failed,” he says.