NSTA’s Science Scope is a peer-reviewed journal for middle level and junior high school science teachers. In the November 2008 issue authors Kerri Richardson, Catherine Matthews and Catherine Thompson offered on-the-ground insights into why proportional reasoning is particularly important for middle school teachers to understand in order to instruct their students in developing inquiry skills. Their article, “Linking Proportionality Across the Science and Mathematics Curricula Through Science Literacy Maps” takes a look at the powerful combination of high quality National Science Digital Library (NSDL) resources delivered through information and concepts represented in Science Literacy Maps as a way “to help students construct their own meaning.”

The strand maps developed by Project 2061 at the American Association for the Advancement of Science and published in the Atlas of Science Literacy, Volumes 1 and 2 (2001 and 2007, AAAS Project 2061 and the National Science Teachers Association) are also available as large format books.

The knowledge system that underlies NSDL’s Science Literacy Map Tool is the Atlas of Science Literacy maps that have been published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and Project 2061. The article describes the Atlas and the NSDL-developed Science Literacy Map Tool as a way for teachers to understand science literacy and to align instruction with state and national standards.

The authors asked 50 middle school teachers to complete tasks and present their findings. After completing a set of 8 tasks related to thematic mathematical concepts represented on maps the group concluded that the content and process were a good match in finding appropriate resources for use in instruction. One teacher group reported, “[the science literacy maps] put it together in a big picture for us and gave us new meaning.”

The full article is available through the NSTA web site. NSTA members may access it for free. Cost to nonmembers is .99: http://www.nsta.org/store/product_detail.aspx?id=10.2505/4/ss08_032_03_64.