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Last weekend, I did volunteer work at a county park nature center. Many people were taking advantage of the beautiful weather: walking the trails, birdwatching, biking, running, and picnicking. When a family came in to the building to see the display...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Cell phones and cancer? A modern science debate
Do cell phones cause cancer? Those five words have been floating around for over a decade, but only recently has it caught the attention of mainstream cell phone users, some of whom out of fear have changed their usage habits....
By Martin Horejsi
Blog Post
“Though wholly fabricated from such common raw materials as coal, water and air, nylon can be fashioned into filaments as strong as steel, as fine as the spider’s web, yet more elastic than any of the common natural fibers and possessing ...
By admin
Blog Post
"Distractions" in the classroom
I’m having some classroom management problems in my middle school science classes. I think the classroom itself provides many distractions and contributes to the problem. My middle-school students sit at lab tables, facing each other. Their c...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
A wise professor once told us, “If the only tool you have is a hammer, pretty soon everything starts to look like a nail.” My takeaway from that class was that teachers need a variety of tools, from basic strategies to more specialized on...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Student blogs replace worksheets
Blogs provide a great way to extend the classroom beyond your 45 minute class period. They can be used in a variety of ways to spark discussion and student research. Chris Ludwig, a high school science teacher in Colorado, wrote this blog post to...
By Eric Brunsell
Blog Post
“I know what I mean but I can’t ‘splain it.” I used to hear that from my middle school students in physical science, especially on essay questions. Sometimes the concepts are indeed hard to ‘splain in words. Visuals and ...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Spring bird sightings bring reflection on conference sessions
If children bring a downed and abandoned nest to school, have them return it to the same location....
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
On being a "cooperating" teacher: The greatest lesson ever
In a previous blog on student teaching, Christina Atton reflected on her student teaching in science. Her cooperating teacher, Ms. Chevin Stone (from Donald E. Gavit MS/HS in Hammond, IN), shares her experiences as Christina’s cooperating teach...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Did you see this article from Education Week shared on NSTA’s Facebook page? Study: Interactive Tools Matter More Than Teaching Methods...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Activities that focus on food and cooking can help students see how relevant and fascinating science can be in everyday life. In a recent illustration of the enduring appeal of food’s scientific underpinnings, one of the most sought-after classro...
By Claire Reinburg
Blog Post
All you earlybirds out there are in for a treat this month if you look eastward just before dawn (and the weather is clear). Four planets will be engaged in a slow-motion dance, aligning themselves differently day by day in a tight segment of the s...
By NSTA Web Director
Blog Post
For the past few years, I’ve had a self-contained fifth-grade class, and my students and I enjoyed doing many hands-on science activities and investigations. Next year, I’ll be teaching science to all of the sixth-graders....
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
While reviewing some materials from a workshop, I came across a few online gems this week to add to the SciLinks keyword assessment. Even some of the experienced teachers in the workshop had to stop and think about the differences between analytic an...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Family science: ideas and resources for activities
Towards the end of the school year we often think of resources we can share with families to use over the summer....
By Peggy Ashbrook