The frequent use of familiar materials provides students with personal experience with science. Exploration is encouraged, with materials made available outside of class. Pre-prepared scientific kits are used sparingly since real science rarely involves taking a box off the shelf and knowing what all the answers will be. An activity guide implementing interactive learning techniques is under development. The course encourages students to work in groups, and it is made clear that helping someone else will not hurt anyone's grade.
Students make excellent teachers for others struggling with a concept they are all trying to master.
Students discover that explaining a concept aides their own understanding. It is the source of all true art and science. It is the why of things that engages the imagination, that makes science one of the great creative endeavors of humanity. Students must leave our classes not with an assemblage of facts, but with the ability to learn science, so that they may always explore the why .