K-12 Education

The K-12 science educator faces a number of critical demands in the new millennium K-12 teachers must balance conflicting demands for teaching time. Curricular content continues to expand exponentially, often driven by high-stakes testing. At the same time, national standards suggest that teaching methods traditionally used in the past should give way to more student-centered methods, such as inquiry-based and problem-based learning. Furthermore, multimedia formats play an increasingly important role in all classes. Teachers must deal with these conflicting demands on a daily basis while providing opportunities for students to not only learn science but to be excited by the natural world that surrounds them.

The APS Archive of Teaching Resources can help you accomplish these goals. Here you will not only find labs, lessons, graphics, animations, career resources, and web sites that can enhance the content in your courses, but you will also be challenged to examine how you teach, with pedagogy suggestions linked to many of the teaching resources.

Content Accuracy

Each K-12 item in the Archive has been reviewed by a scientific review panel for science content accuracy, effective pedagogy, and the use of animals/humans in teaching. Most lessons have been field-tested in science classrooms.