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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
Blog Post
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
Blog Post
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
Blog Post
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
Blog Post
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
Blog Post
My ‘Phenomenal’ Journey in Elementary
I am the type of educator who gets very excited about new strategies, new and innovative technology, and new activities for students. However, I was more nervous about than excited about to choosing phenomena for my science units. I felt tremendous p...
By Cindy Workosky
Blog Post
A Children’s Book that Explains Eclipses the Way You Would
Everyone across the country is getting ready to view the sky event of the decade – the All American total solar eclipse on August 21, 2017. ...
By Korei Martin
Blog Post
Welcome to guest blogger Emily Townsend! Emily has been teaching for a decade to students of all ages, kindergarten to adult. She has a love of language that was born through her first year teaching abroad in Shijiazhuang, China. She has recently d...
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
As a recent graduate, I’m preparing for interviews. Do you have any hints for successful interviews? —A., Minnesota I’ve been on interview committees, and when applicants have comparable credentials, little things can make an impression...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Science Teachers Needed to Support Libraries’ Solar Eclipse Events
Public libraries across the country are receiving 2 million eclipse viewing glasses and a booklet of information to help prepare the public to view the sky event of the decade – the All American total solar eclipse on August 21, 2017. (This distr...
By Korei Martin
Blog Post
A short story about one Massachusetts middle school deciding between a layered or integrated curriculum format...
By Korei Martin
Blog Post
I teach fourth grade, looping with them to fifth. I’m thinking of ways to keep my students and their families involved with science over the summer. I don’t have a lot of money to spend. —D., Florida...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Every Student Succeeds Act Looking for funding sources for STEM activities, resources and professional learning this fall? Take a look at this powerpoint on the Every Student Succeeds Act, the new federal education law, which includes key highligh...
By Jodi Peterson
Blog Post
Ed News: More Must Be Done To Strengthen Girls Interest In STEM Fields
This week in education news, more must be done to increase girls interest in the STEM fields; Florida needs a scientifically literate public; an English teacher’s video explains why teaching is so tiring; misconceptions about climate change common...
By Kate Falk
Blog Post
The Requirements of Emergency Showers and Eyewash Stations
Most science teachers know that emergency showers and eyewash stations are needed in the presence of potential biological, chemical, and physical hazards. But which ones should they choose, and how should they be installed, operated, and maintained? ...
By Kenneth Roy
Blog Post
New Book: Perspectives on Science Education
What is the purpose of science education? As science educators it’s important to take time to analyze and discuss the reasons why we teach science to children. How does science affect our daily lives, how can it inspire and motivate us, how can it ...
By Carole Hayward
Blog Post
Pollinator Week June 19-25, 2017
Unexpectedly a butterfly flew around a group of preschoolers, repeatedly landing on one and then another. We had been outside on a hot day last week and were sweating underneath our sun screen lotion. What did the butterfly taste as it touched its pr...
By Peggy Ashbrook