As human population increases our appetite for meat is growing but very soon demand will outstrip supply. Farming large animals puts a strain on our natural resources and creates polluting waste. Scientists are proposing eating insects to help solve this problem. In this activity students are asked to plan a menu...

This Catalyst article looks at how the structure and properties of chocolate change when it is melted and re-solidified. An experiment is described in which the differences between solid chocolate, and chocolate which has been melted and re-hardened can be found, along with a detailed explanation of the physics...

In this investigation, students extract iron from a breakfast cereal and consider how our bodies are able to digest iron by looking at its reactions with hydrochloric acid.

Ebola can spread quickly with devastating consequences. To help fight it scientists are developing drugs and vaccines. In this activity students are asked if they would trial a new Ebola vaccine. They gather information from different sources, weigh up risks and benefits and apply what they know about genes to...

This is card game in which  students can learn about ecosystems and biodiversity and explore the fascinating natural history of organisms in the United Kingdom. The game includes species interactions, human impacts and diversity while students compete or collaborate in building a food web or classify diverse...

Amy is an ecologist working with the Forestry Commission. Amy is very frank in the video about her school history, describing her school reports as "less than shiny", and the video conveys how applied scientific research focuses her naturally curious nature.

In the video Amy describes how she writes computer...

Ecology is one of the titles in the series of ASE Lab Books that were published in the early 1970s for the Association for Science Education by John Murray. Each title covered one or two topics and brought together the best of the teaching notes and experimental ideas...

These activities allow students to model how environmental scientists compare diversity in different ecosystems by using ordinary playing cards as ‘species’ to generate data to calculate Simpson’s Diversity Index. This can be completed in a single lesson. Some students find the concept of species diversity quite...

Two worksheet based activities that can be used to identify the impacts of technology upon people to sustain their communities in the future. The first activity considers the economic impact upon sustainability with key questions to research and the second task is an analysis activity looking at cultural, economic...

This collection of resources from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) gives support materials for teachers in schools, helping to provoke debate and discussions and providing useful statistics about the UK population. The materials can be used to explore aspects of mathematics, psychology and health as...

In this STEMNET resource, maths teacher Ed Dyke describes a STEM project undertaken by his school in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, called Rocket Day. The project was funded by the York and North Yorkshire Business and Education Partnership (NYBEP). Also involved was STEM Ambassador Clive Bell, who has worked for the...

This report was published by the National Audit Office in 2010 and evaluates progress by the Department for Education in increasing take-up and achievement in maths and science up to age 18. It also reviews the extent to which specific programmes to raise the quality of school science facilities, recruit and retain...

A Catalyst article about careers in educational psychology. For students of psychology there are a range of career options; this article looks at the role of an educational psychologist and a typical working day.

This article is from Catalyst: GCSE Science Review 2006, Volume 16, Issue 4.

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The materials in this resource are from the Secondary National Strategy ‘Progressing to Level 6 and beyond in science’ project. They were intended for science teachers who are focusing on helping their students in developing skills in effective group talk.