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Blog Post
Ecosystems: Interactions, energy, and dynamics
In an NSTA discussion forum, a question was raised about studying ecosystems and food chains at the elementary level. I pointed the readers to articles in this month’s edition of Science & Children, which has a variety of classroom resource...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Ecosystems outside the school door
Since it is now March and in my area we just had our 10th snow day, I am dreaming of planting seeds rather than actually planting them. What should the children plant in the raised bed school garden, a tiny sliver of ground that could not be incorpor...
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
Sylvia Shugrue Award winner 2013
As Director of Distance Learning for University of Minnesota’s Bell Museum of Natural history, each year Chris Tower created and provided professional development for more than 300 teachers throughout Minnesota and Wisconsin via two distance–lear...
By admin
Blog Post
At the end of a unit, there are always students who haven’t completed some assignments. Coming in before or after school is not an option for most of my students. Rather than moving on to the next unit, knowing they’ll fall even further behin...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Observing students as an assessment
As part of a science methods class, we’ve been assigned to create an observation tool to assess students. I’ve seen many articles and suggestions online for helping students become good observers and tools for administrators to use when o...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
What science teachers are reading February 2014
From lessons on writing in science class to exploring and debating socioscientific issues to translating NGSS for classroom instruction, take a look at what science teachers are reading in February on NSTA’s website....
By Claire Reinburg
Blog Post
Afterschool Science Engagement
In this month’s Reaching the Stakeholders section of the Leaders Letter, there is mention of a feature on NPR which raised the point about engagement of students in science in the classroom. A follow up point about engaging students in science op...
By Christine Royce
Blog Post
Science Literacy and Pseudoscience
A recent blog post “Whole Foods: America’s Temple of Pseudoscience” got me thinking about a topic of deep personal concern. As head of the National Science Teachers Association, one of my overarching goals is to improve science literacy in the ...
By David Evans, NSTA Executive Director
Blog Post
I’ve recently switched from a self-contained sixth-grade classroom to a middle school science position where I meet with five different classes each day. I find it challenging to connect with students the way I used to when I had the same students ...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Science of the Winter Olympics: Stability & Vibration
You think the 2014 Winter Olympic Games are over? Not by a long shot. Glue your eyes back on NBC for the Paralympic Winter Games March 7–16. There, you’ll watch Iraq war veteran and Paralympian Heath Calhoun take advantage of the same technology ...
By Judy Elgin Jensen
Blog Post
This is a wonderful themed issue, with all of the articles focusing on helping younger students investigate and understand the science of sound. Unfortunately for secondary students, the science of sound might not get a lot of attention in the curric...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Early childhood science in preschool—a conversation on Lab Out Loud
Listen in on a conversation between early childhood educator and researcher Karen Worth and the science teachers hosts of Lab Out Loud, Dale Basler and Bria...
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
Science of the Winter Olympics: Movement & Robotics
Did you see an Olympic performance (perhaps Davis & White’s gold-medal ice dance) that looked so perfect, so flawless, that it seemed almost robotic? If so, you’ll want to watch Olympic Movement & Robotic Design—another installment in t...
By Judy Elgin Jensen
Blog Post
Are you attending the NSTA conference in Boston this spring?...
By Mary Bigelow