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I’m going to have a student teacher in my biology classes next semester. I’ve never done this before, and I’d like to provide her with feedback on effective science teaching practices. Do you have any suggestions for resources on th...
By MsMentorAdmin
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/ cambodia4kidsorg // CC BY 2.0...
By Debra Shapiro
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What does SciGirls, Bonsais, wind turbines, pasta bridges have in common? They all are aspects of the science rich community of Minneapolis, MN. The first Science Matters community event was held on Saturday morning for elementary science teachers an...
By admin
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Urban science educators share strategies
October 30—It is Friday but I must tell you about the Urban Science Education Leaders (USEL) event. It was very exciting! Why? The participants were so engaging and really were looking for information and answers and just wanted to learn an...
By admin
Blog Post
Seeing might be believing, but sometimes it’s what can’t be seen that’s most interesting. Since the 1930s, researchers have theorized that dark matter—which can’t be perceived by our eyes—is responsible for anomalies in the rotation of ga...
By Lynn Petrinjak
Blog Post
What’s happening in the early childhood world of Pumpkin Science? Have you planted and harvested pumpkins? Have you weighed, floated, cut-open, counted seeds, printed, or rolled pumpkins?...
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
Great science in urban middle schools
If you’re an administrator in an urban middle school, come to the NSTA Conference in Minneapolis. You can spend a day with a group of dedicated urban science educators—the Urban Science Education Leaders (USEL)—who are working to change the way...
By Debra Shapiro
Blog Post
SciLinks and cooperative learning
Earlier this month, I was asked to search for and upload resources on cooperative learning for SciLinks (use the keyword “community collaborations”). There were many good sites, although some were published in the 1990s (interesting but ...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Are children getting enough direct experience with natural materials?
There has been an interesting discussion going on among the middle and high school science teachers on the NSTA General Science email list about the lack of direct experience in their students’ background. Some have suggested that early childho...
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
The average wind speed in Minneapolis is 10 miles per hour (mph), equal to the Windy City of Chicago, according to worldfactsandfigures.com. While that makes Minneapolis a less-than-ideal location for a wind turbine, it is still good setting for a wi...
By Lynn Petrinjak
Blog Post
Richard Louv on returning nature to the classroom
By now many of you surely have heard of Richard Louv and his book Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder. ...
By Debra Shapiro
Blog Post
The editor makes a good point – helping students connect science to real issues can help to dispel the “why are we doing this” question....
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
One of the organizing strands for the NSTA Conference in Phoenix is “Rigor Without Mortis: Challenging and Accessible Content.” Challenging AND accessible? Genetics fits that bill. The science is in our cells, so it’s certainly accessible, and ...
By Debra Shapiro
Blog Post
Asking questions and solving problems
In the article CSI for Trees there a quote that sums up the theme of this issue: “An ordinary activity can be transformed into a lesson that includes nature of science themes simply by adding a few key statements and questions throughout a les...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Some of my colleagues in the science department and I would like to start a book group, but we’re not sure how to get started. What books should we read? How often should we meet? Any other suggestions? —Allison, Lexington, Kentucky How many time...
By MsMentorAdmin