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STEM Certificate: The View from AAPT
For the last several months, the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) has been a partner with NSTA and other professional organizations discussing the implications of a STEM certificate. There are many challenges in this venture–not ...
By Korei Martin
Blog Post
We are incorporating more writing opportunities in our middle school and high school science classes, both “formal” and ”informal” writings. How can one teacher grade more than 180 pieces of writing in a timely fashion with feedback that all...
By Gabe Kraljevic
Blog Post
Spiders and ants and bees, oh wow!
Are you seeing a lot of spiders this last week in October?...
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
Digging Deeper: Peeling Back the Practices: What Did High School Students Think?
One of the big shifts in the NGSS is the integration of Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCIs) with Crosscutting Concepts (CCCs) and Science and Engineering Practices (SEPs). In other words, content is not taught in isolation: The teacher consciously include...
By Cindy Workosky
Blog Post
Engineering: From Trial-and-Error to NGSS-Aligned
Four years ago, when the other seventh-grade science teacher and I started redesigning our curriculum for the NGSS, we knew we would have to include engineering. At that time, my understanding of engineering was pretty limited. I knew that engineers ...
By Cindy Workosky
Blog Post
As our first-grade class was returning to our classroom after recess, a learner directed our attention to our school’s newest retaining wall. He asked, “Why is the wall always falling apart on that side?”...
By Cindy Workosky
Blog Post
The Engineering Design Process: A Middle School Approach
To support the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) Middle School Engineering Design, we have three goals for our students: to define problems accurately, design the best solution using a rigorous process, and evaluate and improve their designs b...
By Cindy Workosky
Blog Post
I hope that everyone has learned who the most important adults in the school are: the support staff! Custodians, administrative assistants, teachers’ assistants (TAs)— these people are invaluable and can make your life much easier. Many of these ...
By Gabe Kraljevic
Blog Post
UL Xplorlabs: Fire Forensics – Claims and Evidence
Introduction ...
By Edwin P. Christmann
Blog Post
Ideas and inspiration from NSTA’s October 2017 K-12 journals
Having just completed an online course on climate change, I was interested in the Commentary: Why the Scientific Consensus on Climate Change Matters for Science Education, from The Science Teacher, and the important role science teachers play in help...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Student Talk: The Use of Dialogue and Discussion
This summer a group of Oregon teachers prepared to launch the Oregon Science Project, which focuses on professional development for rural teachers around NGSS. During our 3-day facilitator’s training we focused on dialogue not discussion. As a gr...
By Korei Martin
Blog Post
I’m a new teacher and I can’t believe how ragged I feel—I seem to be just barely ahead of the class. I have lessons that are not going to plan and I feel like I’m just running around non-stop. Please help! —W., Virginia...
By Gabe Kraljevic
Blog Post
Preparing for Medical Emergencies
Science teachers need to know the necessary actions to take in the event of a medical emergency. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and American National Standards Institute (ANSI) provide insight on this issue by means of workp...
By Kenneth Roy
Blog Post
Ed News: Educators Gain Valuable Tech Experience Through Industry Certifications
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By Kate Falk
Blog Post
Creating a STEM Culture for Teaching and Learning
Creating a STEM Culture for Teaching and Learning by Jeff Weld offers insight for educators, policy makers, and business leaders about why STEM education matters and where it’s headed next. This new NSTA Press book includes case studies and real li...
By Carole Hayward
Blog Post
Figuring out what seeds need to sprout
Do seeds need soil to sprout? Many people would say yes. Preschool children may know, or at least are able to recite, that plants need “dirt,” water, and sunshine to grow....
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
Science Teaching Stories: 140 Characters at a Time
In the world of Twitter we use 140 characters to tell wonderful and informative stories. And, in the world of NSTA, stories about excellence and innovations in science teaching are abounding. When joining the two worlds we make #NSTAchat�...
By Korei Martin
Blog Post
Students prepare to launch a high-altitude balloon with science payload....
By Gabe Kraljevic
Blog Post
Building race cars made of food and powered by potential energy stored in a rubber band is one of the hands-on, inquiry-based activities in the Roads, Rails, and Race Cars after-school program, held in schools around Nebraska. Photo credit: Mid-Ameri...
By Debra Shapiro
Blog Post
Photo Credit By dotmatchbox at flickr I’m starting to plan some formal assessments but, because it’s my first time, I’m not exactly sure if I’m creating a test correctly. Do you have any advice? —L., Nebraska...
By Gabe Kraljevic
Blog Post
Wow, do I have big shoes to fill! Mary Bigelow is stepping down as NSTA’s original Ms. Mentor after years of advising teachers across the globe. She has demonstrated a noteworthy commitment to helping the science teaching community with thoughtful,...
By Gabe Kraljevic
Blog Post
Challenging Our Brightest Thinkers
Although I encourage all of my students to consider a career in the sciences, I know it is probable that only the most persistent, passionate, and brightest will chose such a career path. I’ve been fortunate to teach many such students. This past M...
By Korei Martin
Blog Post
I did not have a formal mentor when I was a new teacher. As I struggled, several colleagues and an administrator must have seen some potential and offered me advice and support. I was glad to return the favor during my career as a classroom teacher a...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
President Trump Calls for $200 Million Boost for STEM Education
Last week President Trump issued a presidential memorandum calling for a $200 million boost to STEM education and computer science in K–12 schools. The memorandum, signed during an Oval Office ceremony attended by Ivanka Trump and U.S. Ed...
By Korei Martin
Blog Post
Intersection and integration of play and science learning
I was at a conference proudly wearing my tee shirt that says “Play” when I was given a chance to reflect on what I meant by an esteemed colleague and mentor who asked, “Ah yes, but what kind of play?” My reflection continues as I continue to ...
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
Toward High School Biology: A New Curriculum for Your Middle School Students
Would you like to challenge your middle school students to explain a range of phenomena—from how nylon thread can form from two clear, colorless liquids to how a snake that eats only eggs can make body structures that don’t look anything like an ...
By Carole Hayward
Blog Post
I am K-6 science specialist in Australia. I am keen to make contact with others in this unique employment situation. I’m interested in issues such as timetabling (scheduling), support from the school, and any issues with the teachers’ union. – ...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Documenting science investigations in preschool: Solar eclipse and butterfly metamorphosis
Thank you to the director, Sandra Redmore, and the teachers of Clarendon Child Care Center, Andria Shelton, Barbara Foster, and Sarah Abu-El-Hawa, for sharing their teaching practices and science explorations!...
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
When students miss a lab activity, what are some meaningful ways they can make up the work? — R., Oregon Most students don’t want to miss lab investigations, but when they do, it can affect their learning in the rest of the unit. Finding time...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Seeking a New Way to Assess Science at All Levels
The word assessment can prompt feelings of dread, mistrust, or outright hate in many teachers. That’s distressing, as quality instruction includes quality assessment. Unfortunately, we have allowed assessment to become the “tail that wags the dog...
By Cindy Workosky
Blog Post
Kentucky’s Systems Approach to Assessing Three-Dimensional Standards
One thing is clear about our multi-dimensional standards: They require a complex and thoughtful approach to assessment. No single, conventional, summative test can be expected to provide reliable data sufficient enough to satisfy the demands of all p...
By Cindy Workosky
Blog Post
Focusing on Instruction to Improve My School
How do you envision science education in your classroom? Your school? Your district? In hectic life of a modern educator, it is easy to become overwhelmed by the initiatives, expectations, and pressures of our profession. As a first-year high sc...
By Cindy Workosky
Blog Post
Ideas and inspiration from NSTA’s September 2017 K-12 journals
Commentary: Reasoning Versus Post-Truth in The Science Teacher is an important read in a time when dependence on unverified information from social media seems to be more prevalent than using trusted sources that value reasoning....
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Ed News: Critics Say Proposed NM Science Standards Omit Evolution, Climate Change
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By Kate Falk