A Catalyst article about the fruit fly which has played a succession of key roles in developments in biological science over the last 100 years as a laboratory subject in genetics.

Researchers have found that many aspects of the biochemistry of fruit flies and humans are similar. It is due to the fact that...

A Catalyst article describing how a medical drug is made into a form which works well in the body. Medicines rarely contain just one pure chemical substance. The vast majority are made of a complex mixture that contains an active ingredient (the compound that has the desired effect in the body) and compounds called...

ENTHUSE Partnership funding enables groups of four to eight schools and colleges to work together, with support from STEM Learning on a two-year intensive programme to raise aspiration and achievement in STEM subjects. Each Partnership can access up to £20,000 worth of support, including face-to-face CPD, in-school...

A Catalyst article about how the study of ancient rocks and sediments can help deduce how the Earth's atmosphere has changed over billions of years. There used to be much less oxygen than there is today. This article describes how the composition of the atmosphere has changed through history; it also explains the...

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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This UNESCO publication draws on a wide range of research into pedagogical approaches that aim to engage learners and lead to desirable outcomes in mathematics. The report looks to deepen the understanding of educational practices that optimise opportunities for mathematics learners.

The report aims to...

What is science? Science is a way of knowing, a method of learning about nature. Rooted in common sense, its formal, systematic method is called scientific inquiry. In doing scientific inquiry, scientists use a variety of empirical approaches, techniques, and procedures to collect data from nature, examine and...

In this booklet, Reinhard Pekrun draw upon empirical evidence to address the emotions experienced by students at school. He discusses the nature and diversity of these emotions, their function on student’s learning, their individual antecedents, ways to regulate these emotions, and the influence on teachers,...

The purpose of this booklet is to offer guiding principles about learning in the twenty-first century. It is intended for teachers, curriculum designers, school leaders, and others involved in all levels of school education and can be used for any age group, as the principles it contains are general enough to be...

This booklet, draws on research and experience to presents eight key principles of creative thinking that are interlinked and interrelated and equally important for nurturing creativity in the educational context.

Creative thinking is defined as the thinking that enables students to apply their...

A Catalyst article looking at climate change. In particular the science of phenology, the study of the times each year that certain life-cycle events occur, is examined. It involves recording data on when birds migrate, eggs hatch or when leaves change colour. If the climate is changing, the timing of these events...

A Catalyst article about what causes faults in electrical appliances and the wiring installations in homes, and why people receive electric shocks. How regulations can reduce the risk of electrical faults and electric shocks is also examined together with the use of fuses, fuse wire and modern RCDs (residual...

A Catalyst article about the UK's extremely reliable electricity supply system generated in power stations which burn gas or coal, or use nuclear fuel. The article looks at how this is achieved using high voltages and how the demands for power at different times of the day and year are met.

This article is...

This publication, from Warwick University, reports on the STEM Careers Awareness Timeline Pilot. The Timeline project seeks to establish how schools can embed a more systematic programme of careers awareness into the existing subject curriculum. The report gives emerging findings from working with stakeholders and...

This Catalyst article looks at harlequin ladybirds, just one of the invasive species that has spread through Western Europe. Over the last century there has been a dramatic increase in the movement of so called alien species around the world as a consequence of international trade and travel. Invasive alien species...