This issue of Catalyst includes the following articles:

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This booklet is part of the ‘Innovations in Practical Work’ series published by the Gatsby Science Enhancement Programme (SEP). Silicon-based sensors detect photons that we ourselves cannot, and so provide a real extension to our senses. The booklet looks at these...

Produced by Science & Plants for Schools (SAPS), this investigation looks at end-product inhibition of the enzyme phosphatase. 

The investigation is designed for students following a Scottish Highers course but it is equally useful for other post-16 courses in biology. 

This investigation involves...

A report from the National Curriculum Council (NCC). In January 1991 the Secretary of State for Education and Science announced an urgent review of the attainment targets in mathematics because:
• the structure of the 14 targets was proving an obstacle to...

The Moon Camp Challenge is an educational and inspirational project run by ESA and Airbus Foundation, in partnership with Autodesk. These supporting classroom activities focus on learning-by-design and science experimentation. Students will develop a number of scientific experiments related to the Moon and apply...

A lesson plan that takes the students through the algorithm to plant a seed. It consists mainly of a worksheet task to correctly sequence the steps in planting a seed, in doing so they must discard any superfluous information. The idea is then that they give their algorithm to another child for that child to follow...

This unit asks students to consider the range of factors and the implications of human technological enhancements, focussing on brain-computer interfaces.

Human enhancements can be used to improve human functioning, such as a cochlea implant can help deaf people hear. This unit looks at other technological...

This pack of Nuffield Biology activity sheets was designed to match the National Curriculum Science: Biology at Key stage Four from 1996. The ideas were drawn from materials produced by various Nuffield projects over the previous ten years. The pack includes student...

Purpose: It is good practice for science students to record information as they progress through an investigation. This information may include adjustments in the procedure followed, safety notes, rough data, processed results, links to relevant information and so on. There are a wide range of commercial lab book...

Published in May 2011, this report from the University of Southampton, school of education  is an evaluation of the Action Research for Physics programme which was organised and managed by the National Network of Science Learning Centres between September 2009 and February 2011....

Zoos is a PowerPoint template from the Association for Science Education (ASE) for students to produce their own presentation on the habitat, adaptations and feeding relationships of a particular animal.

The activity improves students' ability to select relevant information for a presentation, develops their...

This unit looks at biofuels and how these relate to the climate crisis, fossil fuels and the food industry and whether they are the future of fuels.

In this unit students consider the relationship between the growing of crops for food or for fuel and conduct independent research to write a policy brief on...

These resources, from the SYCD Primary CD, give guidance for teachers in using ICT to enhance science teaching.

The major resources are:

*Cameras and microscopes  

*Datalogging in the environment - an introduction to the basic theory of datalogging, including the setting-up process and a guide...

Technical briefs are documents produced by Practical Action which are freely available to people in the developing world. They provide detailed technical information on a variety of subjects ranging from how to make jams and pickles to how to build a flood-proof house or an aerial ropeway.

Students can use...