JoinAll Blog Posts
Blog Post
On teaching life cycles of living things
The changes living organisms go through fascinate us (and sometimes freak us out) even if we’ve seen the process before. Early childhood educators especially feel this because every day we come to work we are fascinated by the development and growt...
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
NSTA’s 75th: Celebrating the Past, Educating for the Future
Editors Note: Today in this blog series commemorating NSTA’s 75th Anniversary we celebrate the many stakeholders who work hard every day so that ALL students are engaged in science learning and who have helped NSTA to become a dedicated advocate fo...
By Kate Falk
Blog Post
Building STEM Ecosystems: Community Partnerships
When I was a classroom teacher, I relished opportunities to connect my high school biology students to real world science and applications of their textbook science. Now, in the informal sector, I find my role reversed, and I get to collaborate with ...
By Korei Martin
Blog Post
High School Teachers, The STEM Forum & Expo is for You
Teachers at the high school level expose students to learning that is applicable for college and career readiness. At the STEM Forum & Expo, hosted by NSTA, attendees will experience this STEM pipeline firsthand. STEM educators at the high school...
By Korei Martin
Blog Post
8th Annual STEM Forum & Expo: We Need You!
On behalf of the entire steering committee for the 8th Annual STEM Forum & Expo, we invite you to join us from July 24 – 26, 2019, in beautiful San Francisco for the premier, international STEM education professional development event....
By Korei Martin
Blog Post
STEM, literacy and the young mind
What is the best way to introduce science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) through literacy lessons in kindergarten? —Y., New Mexico ...
By Gabe Kraljevic
Blog Post
Elementary Science—Best Practices for All Students
Envision a room filled with noise, excited whispers, and students shouting across tables. Piles of tinfoil, plastic cups, scissors, string, and tape are scattered around the room. Paper, pencils, and notebooks filled with sketches are strewn across g...
By Cindy Workosky
Blog Post
Contemporary Instructional Approaches to Promote STEM Learning for English Learners
The release of the report English Learners in STEM Subjects: Transforming Classrooms, Schools, and Lives (shortened to “the report” hereafter) (NASEM 2018) is timely, as three emerging forces shape the changing landscape of K–12 science educati...
By Okhee Lee
Blog Post
Addressing Electrical Hazards in the Lab
Accidents in the lab involving electricity can produce fire, smoke, electrocutions, and explosions. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), “electrical equipment shall be free from recognized hazards that are likely t...
By Kenneth Roy
Blog Post
Administration Budget Request Would (Again) Cut Funding for Key Ed Programs
President Trump submitted his budget request for Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 programs last week and, as expected, discretionary funding for the U.S. Department of Education would be cut significantly for FY20 programs that would begin this October. ...
By Jodi Peterson
Blog Post
Ed News: A Wave of State Bills Could Threaten Science and Climate Education
...
By Kate Falk
Blog Post
What are some interesting ways to introduce some of the major players in scientific discoveries so that my students can have a better grasp at who these people were and that they can aspire to be just as innovative and crucial to the world of science...
By Gabe Kraljevic
Blog Post
Ideas and inspiration from NSTA’s March 2019 K-12 journals
Regardless of what grade level or subject you teach, check out all three K-12 journals. As you skim through titles and descriptions of the articles, you may find ideas for lessons that would be interesting for your students, the inspiration to adapt ...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Using Art as an Introduction to Science
“Ms. Anne! Did you know kelp is a plant like the sunflowers?” That was just one of many questions I heard last week as my class turned the classroom into a kelp forest. It all began with the otters. No, it really all began with the students...
By Korei Martin
Blog Post
The Role of Instructional Resources in Supporting Investigation and Design
We are at an exciting time in science education. The Framework for K-12 Science Education (NRC, 2012) presents a vision for how we should teach science that is grounded in empirical evidence and what we know about how students learn. The Framework fo...
By Kate Falk
Blog Post
I am sick of using cookbook labs in my chemistry class and want my students to conduct more inquiry labs. However, my principal thinks that this might be a recipe for disaster. What do other chemistry teachers do to incorporate more inquiry into thei...
By Gabe Kraljevic
Blog Post
Missouri Science Teachers: NSTA Is Coming to You This April
If you’re a Missouri science teacher, you’ve probably been to the Missouri Botanical Garden, most likely as a chaperone. But when you join NSTA for our 2019 National Conference in St. Louis this April, you’ll get a completely different experien...
By Carole Hayward
Blog Post
Dreaming of spring and preparing to garden with young children
Before the weather really warms up in your area, take children for a nature walk and together document through drawing or p...
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
E-book Invites Young Readers to Discover How a Fish Fossil Exists in an Egyptian Desert
After devoting 25 years to the teaching profession, Mary Hanson was seeking “out of the box professional development opportunities.”...
By Carole Hayward
Blog Post
Engaging Young Learners in the Practices of Science – Starting with Questions about Earthworms
Photo by Allie LaRue...
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
Supporting Classroom Implementation of Investigations and Design for All Students
Previous blogs on this series have focused on describing the Science and Engineering for Grades 6-12: Investigation and Design at the Center report’s conclusions and recommendations on the importance and role of investigation and engineering design...
By Kate Falk
Blog Post
Engaging in Authentic Research
High school students participating in Rutgers University’s Waksman Student Scholars Program spend a year conducting research projects in molecular biology and bioinformatics–the computational analysis of biological data̵...
By Debra Shapiro
Blog Post
Why We Shouldn’t Keep "Bugs" in a Drawer
Guest blogger Monica Dolan is the STEM Curriculum Coordinator at The Children’s Center at CalTech where she works as a liaison between the administration and the teaching staff to ensure curriculum plans are consistent with the center’s conceptu...
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
Preventing Science Laboratory Fires
Most science and STEM laboratories contain chemicals and electrical wiring that could cause smoke or fires. For this reason, the National Fire Protection Association’s NFPA 45 (section 6.3) standard, in accordance with NFPA 10, requires portable fi...
By Kenneth Roy
Blog Post
Engineering in early childhood continues
Engineering was celebrated last week but it continues to happen spontaneously, and with teachers’ support, in early childhood settings. Engineering happens when young children try to solve a problem by designing and testing a solution....
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
Using Social Media and Technology to Encourage Students’ Evidence-Based Discussions
Teachers often aspire to help their students become more involved in a community of practice. In my classroom, members of the community are my students, as well as students in other classrooms and professional scientists. In this blog post, I will sh...
By Cindy Workosky
Blog Post
How Teachers Can Use Technology to Support 3-D Teaching and Learning
Three-dimensional (3-D) teaching and learning integrates the use of science practices, crosscutting concepts, and core science ideas to help students make sense of the world. From a teaching perspective, learning progressions promote the use of scien...
By Cindy Workosky
Blog Post
Using Collaborative Educational Technology Tools in Science
Science literacy is critical for our students. We need them to understand why it is important for them to do activities, such as composting. In fifth grade, one of the goals for students is to obtain information about, evaluate, and communicate how i...
By Cindy Workosky
Blog Post
How do I motivate students who don’t want to do anything at all? — B., Utah If you ever solve this, you’ll be up for a Nobel Prize!...
By Gabe Kraljevic
Blog Post
Pasco's Wireless Light Sensor Revisited using SPARKvue…
Introduction: ...
By Edwin P. Christmann
Blog Post
Supporting Science through Interdisciplinary Instruction
The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) have totally transformed my students’ learning experiences in STEM. However, like most teachers, my biggest challenge has been finding the additional time that students need to observe, question, investi...
By Korei Martin
Blog Post
Gain Valuable STEM Teaching Strategies and Resources at the Elementary STEM Showcase
...
By Carole Hayward
Blog Post
Back in 1986, David Vernier wrote a book titled “How to Build a Better Mousetrap: And 13 other science projects using the Apple II.” The premise of the book was to use software, hardware, and materials to construct what David called “Laboratory...
By Martin Horejsi
Blog Post
I hope 20 years from now I can still get excited about being a part of kids’ lives. I am looking for suggestions on how to enjoy teaching for a long time. — J., Missouri...
By Gabe Kraljevic
Blog Post
Ideas and inspiration from NSTA’s February 2019 K-12 journals
In addition to an overview/review of the 5E model and the STEM disciplines, the Guest Editorial: Using the BSCS 5E Instructional Model to Introduce STEM Disciplines (in Science & Children)has a framework and suggestions for integrating the Model ...
By Mary Bigelow