JoinAll Blog Posts
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Art and motion: moving toward STEM
Camp is not school. Like school, camp is play and camp is a learning environment, but the time together may not be long enough to build a community that effectively investigates together. In a half-day, five-day camp program with 15 minutes for snack...
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
I’m not sure what to do on the first day of my new middle school assignment (I started student teaching in the spring, so I never had the experience of a “first day”). Any suggestions? —C., Minnesota...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
NSTA’s fall area conferences on science education are right around the corner:...
By Lauren Jonas, NSTA Assistant Executive Director
Blog Post
Even if your location is not in the path of the total solar eclipse, viewing a partial one is an amazing event. If you’re looking for safety tips, a refresher on the science of eclipses, classroom activities on the topic, or professional develo...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Focus on STEM at NSTA's Baltimore Area Conference, October 5-7, 2017
Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) take center stage at NSTA’s 2017 Area Conference on Science Education, in Baltimore, MD, October 5-7....
By Lauren Jonas, NSTA Assistant Executive Director
Blog Post
Students’ Self-Assessment and Reflection
Do you have ideas on how to help my middle school students become more thoughtful, independent learners? —J., Michigan In my experience, self-assessment and reflective activities gave students ownership in their learning....
By Mary Bigelow
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Secretary DeVos and Ivanka Trump Team Up for STEM Ed
On Tuesday, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and Adviser to the President Ivanka Trump teamed up for a STEM-related reading event at the National Museum of American History and later worked on some STEM-focused projects with the students. Read more he...
By Jodi Peterson
Blog Post
Total Solar Eclipse on Monday, August 21, 2017!
If you haven’t heard about what is known as the Great American Eclipse by now, it is not too late. This August 21, 2017 natural phenomena promises to be well worth “attending” or stepping outdoors for at least a few minutes approaching the mome...
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
How NGSS and CCSS for ELA/Literacy Address Argument
In the summer of 2015, I observed an elementary science teacher from an NGSS-adopted state who made a presentation to her cohort of close to 100 K–12 science teacher leaders and administrators from schools, districts, and the state. After presentin...
By Cindy Workosky
Blog Post
Using Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning (CER) Strategy to Improve Student Learning
This past school year, I used claim, evidence, reasoning (CER) statements to show three-dimensional learning in my classroom. Several tools are available for doing this, but the one my students like is the CER Graphic Organizer and Transition Words L...
By Cindy Workosky
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You Teach What? I’m So Sorry! Building a Better Body and Building Better Argumentation
I am always amazed at the looks on people’s faces when I tell them I teach middle school. They seem to pity me for having a position I chose and love! They inform me that middle school “tween-agers” are argumentative, stubborn, and at times, ad...
By Cindy Workosky
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NGSS Curriculum Integration—Off on a Tangent!
The creation of a school garden inspired this fourth-grade unit. All students in the school were responsible for planning the garden, as well as for planting, weeding, and harvesting our crops of tomatoes, pumpkins, and carrots. The harvest was...
By Cindy Workosky
Blog Post
My first year of teaching biology was challenging, but I made it! Do you have any suggestions for what I should do to improve for next year? —C, Virginia Congratulations for completing your first year! A good way to prepare for next year is to re...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
New NSTA Book Shines Light on Solar Eclipses
A solar eclipse is coming on Monday, August 21, 2017! What a rare and exciting treat for your students who will get to experience this magical phenomenon. Of course after this amazing event, they will have plenty of questions....
By Carole Hayward
Blog Post
Ed News: The Role Of Science In Boosting Outcomes For English Learners
This week in education news, students attending high-poverty schools have fewer opportunities than students attending low-poverty schools; K-12 school spending got caught up in budget standoffs this year; the number of girls taking AP computer-scien...
By Kate Falk
Blog Post
Math is integral to early childhood STEM learning
July has brought my happy place (where the worlds of early childhood educat...
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
Purchasing the Safest Lab Chemicals
Prior to the new school year, most science teachers select and order their lab chemicals. Before placing an order, however, teachers should consider the health risks associated with using hazardous chemicals in the classroom laboratory. Making the...
By Kenneth Roy
Blog Post
Ideas and inspiration from NSTA’s July 2017 K-12 journals
Get ready for the total eclipse visible in parts of the US:...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
House Marks up FY2018 Appropriations
The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS) marked up their FY2018 education budget on Thursday; despite a lower funding level overall from last year, lawmakers seek to cut the Dep...
By Jodi Peterson
Blog Post
STEM Summer Institute, a program in USD 383 Manhattan KS
For the past seven years, my district has held an enrichment opportunity for students in grades fifth through ninth grade called STEM Summer Institute. This unique program has been funded by a Department of Defense Education Activity Grant. Man...
By Korei Martin
Blog Post
I have assumed an administrative position in my high school. Although I’m sad to leave the classroom, I’m looking forward to this challenge. I have the credentials but not much experience, so I need insights on making the transition. —C...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Health Wise: Getting Their Names Right
By definition, one’s own name is the most personal of all words. When a teacher mispronounces a student’s name, the experience can be painful and even harmful to the student’s emotional and educational well-being....
By sstuckey
Blog Post
Scientist Stereotypes Eroding Among Students
Although a small majority of students still hold stereotypical views of scientists, many students have a growing awareness that anyone can be a scientist, according to science educators participating in an informal NSTA Reports poll. Fifty-five perce...
By Lynn Petrinjak
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Ed News: Science Teachers: DeVos’s Education Department Is Misinterpreting Federal Law
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By Kate Falk
Blog Post
I’m looking for ideas to integrate physical science and social studies at the middle school level. — E., New Jersey Inventions and inventors could be an interesting context to explore the connections between science, engineering, technology, hist...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
New NSTA Press Book Provides Engaging Problem-Based Learning Lessons
Problem-based learning (PBL) offers an excellent way to capture students’ imaginations, stimulate their curiosity, and engage them in deep learning. The new NSTA Press book Problem-Based Learning in the Earth and Space Science Classroom K-12 by Tim...
By Carole Hayward
Blog Post
Striving for a Zero-Waste School
At P.S. 333 Manhattan School for Children in New York City, science teacher Shakira Provasoli encourages students to place recyclable materials in the recycle bin....
By Debra Shapiro
Blog Post
"I planted that seed," gardening with young children
Pride in their work is evident when young children point to a bean plant in the garden row and say, “I planted that seed.” Being the planter makes children more interested in the care of the plants, more willing to avoid stepping on them and to ...
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
What do I do when a student asks a question related to the lesson and I don’t know the answer? I don’t have a strong background in science, and as a beginning teacher this makes me nervous. —C., Massachusetts Virtually every teacher has been in...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
I’m a recent graduate, looking for an elementary teaching position. I’ve heard I could be asked to teach a lesson as part of an interview. How should I prepare? —N., Ohio Sometimes the interview process does have a performance component...
By Mary Bigelow
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For students of any age who are interested in careers in science and engineering, The Science Teacher features a “Career of the Month” column. This two-page article includes interviews with professionals who use science in their work, a d...
By Mary Bigelow
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The ABCs of Science Communication
Science teachers are science communicators. We all know that. We strive to make difficult concepts easy to understand everyday. If one method of getting the message across doesn’t work, we find a different way to reach our students, our audience. W...
By Korei Martin
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Why Anchoring Phenomena Are Important in the NGSS Classroom
Who is Ivor Robson, and why is he associated with anchoring phenomena? If you are a longtime golf aficionado, you know that Ivor Robson had a special role at the British Open. Robson spent 41 years introducing each player on the first tee, and he nev...
By Cindy Workosky
Blog Post
When I began aligning my instruction to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), I got lost in the details. But when I realized that phenomena could be used to anchor linked disciplinary core ideas, I started to visualize the course as a whole a...
By Cindy Workosky