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Blog Post
Mentoring — A team effort
The most experienced science teacher is retiring this year at the middle school where I am principal. The other five teachers on the science faculty are early in their teaching careers. What are your thoughts on asking an experienced non-science teac...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Commentary: It's About Time to Teach Evolution Forthrightly
Fifty years ago, in 1967, the Tennessee legislature repealed the Butler Act, a 1925 law that made it a misdemeanor for a teacher in the state’s public schools to “teach any theory that denies the story of the Divine Creation of man as taught in ...
By sstuckey
Blog Post
Students Teaching Science to Younger Students
A Science Ambassador from North Forsyth High School in Cumming, Georgia, uses a tube with a marble inside it as a “roller coaster” to teach an elementary school student about gravity, force, and motion....
By Debra Shapiro
Blog Post
The Carson HookUpz 2.0: The Missing Link Between Camera and Eyepiece
Over the years I have held digital cameras and phones up to the eyepieces of telescopes, spotting scopes, binoculars, and most often microscopes to take pictures, capture video, and stream imagery to projectors and TVs. In all cases the idea was soun...
By Martin Horejsi
Blog Post
The Micro Phone Lens: A Tiny Solution to a Huge Problem
Other than computer code, the Micro Phone Lens just might be the lightest accessory you can add to your tablet or phone. Weighing in at a fraction of a gram, the tiny lens leverages the optical power of existing cameras on phones and tablets. And lik...
By Martin Horejsi
Blog Post
Committee Approves DeVos Nomination, Senate Vote Expected Next Week
On January 31, the Senate Health Education Labor and Pensions Committee voted to approve the nomination of Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education by a party-line vote of 12 to 11....
By Jodi Peterson
Blog Post
Let’s Help Every Student Succeed with STEM
NSTA, in collaboration with 100kin10 and other key STEM leaders, has developed a new campaign designed to ensure that STEM and science/STEM teachers are a focus of the new federal education law at the state and local levels....
By Kate Falk
Blog Post
Big Data, Small Devices: Investigating the Natural World Using Real-Time Data
Many students nowadays are dependent on electronic devices. In fact, it’s sometimes hard to separate them from their smartphones and tablets....
By Carole Hayward
Blog Post
Keeping Students Engaged Before a Break
I finished a unit in middle school science two days ahead of our winter holiday break. We went on to the next unit, but my students didn’t seem focused, and I think I’ll have to review or repeat the activities when we come back....
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Senate Confirmation Vote for DeVos Scheduled for Jan 31
Following a contentious confirmation hearing for Education Secretary nominee Betsy DeVos that evoked images of guns and grizzlies and showcased a lack of understanding of key education issues, the Senate HELP Committee postponed its planned confirmat...
By Jodi Peterson
Blog Post
Weather watching and phenology support using evidence to state a claim
Noticing changes in the growth and habit of plants is part of the science of phenology. We do this casually when we comment on the buds swelling on the maple tree (yay! not as many branches are dead as I feared) or the daffodil leaves sprouting above...
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
Career of the Month: Television Writer
“I aspire to translate complicated ideas in science into consumable stories,” says Katherine Lingenfelter, who writes for TV shows with science or science fiction themes, such as House and Westworld, respectively. “Television is a writer’s me...
By sstuckey
Blog Post
A Three-Step Method for Safer Labs
The lab can be an unsafe place. Under NSTA’s Duty of Care, however, the teacher is required to make labs safer (see Resources). One way of doing so is to follow the analysis, assessment, and action (AAA) method. The method requires teache...
By Kenneth Roy
Blog Post
What’s So Special about Disciplinary Core Ideas (Part 2)
DCIs provide explanations for a variety of phenomena ...
By Joe Krajcik
Blog Post
A love note to education conferences
In my suitcase I have a collapsible jug, tube, funnel, glitter, pebbles, foam hearts, sea shells, and empty plastic bottles—all part of the materials I need for a presentation at the 2017 ECSTEM conference (February 3-4), organized by The Children&...
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
I’m looking for ideas to incorporate writing into my general biology classes. I’ve tried term papers but many of my students struggled and it took a lot of class time. Any ideas for other relevant writing assignments? —V., Ohio...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Science 2.0: Help Students Become Innovative Designers
Our past three columns described how teachers can implement the first three Empowered Learner Standards established by the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). This month, we focus on classroom strategies to support the fourth ...
By sstuckey
Blog Post
Ideas and inspiration from NSTA’s K-12 journals–January 2017
Science Scope – Systems Thinking...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
What Are the National Academies and How Can You Use Them to Transform Your Teaching?
During Recognition Week for the 2006 Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching, awardees gathered in a Washington, DC, hotel for a federal agencies breakfast. While all 10 agencies present that morning provided award...
By Guest Blogger
Blog Post
Here's Why Space Nerds Need to Be at #NSTA17 LA
We didn’t invent the term space nerds; we just invited the two most interesting people on the planet who are proud to own it to speak at NSTA’s 2017 National Conference in Los Angeles: March 30–April 2....
By Lauren Jonas, NSTA Assistant Executive Director
Blog Post
I am a new elementary librarian, and I want to prioritize science nonfiction. I’m looking for suggestions to help teachers who often do not have time to collect books from the library. I also need ideas for books to purchase. — J., New York...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Health Wise: Why Teens Need the HPV Vaccine
About 79 million Americans have human papillomavirus (HPV), the nation’s top sexually transmitted disease. “Nearly all sexually active men and women get it at some point in their lives,” according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Pr...
By sstuckey
Blog Post
P-47 and the Double Wasp Engine
In “P-47 and the Double Wasp Engine,” fighter pilot Benjamin Cassiday emphatically states, “It was an aircraft that could get you home.” While adrenaline filled the veins of these courageous WWII pilots, likely there was no greater rush than ...
By Judy Elgin Jensen
Blog Post
One of the most familiar WWII airplanes carries the trademark of the Flying Tigers—a long nose painted with a menacing shark mouth....
By Judy Elgin Jensen
Blog Post
Children use technology to send messages
Children like to share their work and tell their families what they do at school or at other times when they are not together. While babysitting for a friend, I appreciated her 2-year-old child’s excitement when she discovered that a toy firetr...
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
My ninth grade students enjoy doing labs. But afterward, most do not participate in the debriefing. How can I improve this? —A., Washington You could try an alternative to teacher-led discussions. Here’s one that worked with my students....
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Embark on Your STEM Odyssey in LA at #NSTA17
Editor’s Note: This blog originally listed the wrong featured speaker for this strand. ...
By Lauren Jonas, NSTA Assistant Executive Director
Blog Post
Engaging Students in the STEM Lab
In the STEM Lab at Englewood Middle School in Englewood, Colorado, eighth graders...
By Debra Shapiro
Blog Post
I sponsor an after-school science club for upper elementary students. They’d like to expand the recycling program at the school. I’m looking for suggestions on what they can do. – C., Pennsylvania...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Citizen science + Photos of signs in public spaces = literacy and spatial awareness
If you and the children need to be active to stay warm outdoors in cold temperatures, consider walking fast on a walking field trip to locate and document signs around your community....
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
Recently, I did a hands-on workshop for other teachers on science apps and probes. I thought it went really well, and no one had any questions at the end of the session. But now, I’m getting lots of messages and phone calls for help. My colleag...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Argument-Driven Inquiry in Physical Science
Interested in teaching your students how to make and support their science explanations in the classroom? We’ve got just the thing. The newest books in the Argument-Driven Inquiry Series from NSTA Press is here....
By Carole Hayward
Blog Post
What did you do before the navigation apps on your smartphone? Just a few (OK, several) years ago we were all using paper road maps, or finding our way using local landmarks. But think about the lack of landmarks for a WWII fighter pilot navigating o...
By Judy Elgin Jensen
Blog Post
Focus on Physics: How E = mc2 Helps Us Understand Nuclear Fission and Fusion
Nuclear physics has an undeserved reputation for being tough for students. This article may reduce this “toughness” by showing how Einstein’s familiar equation E = mc2 relates to the reductions in mass and enormous releases of energy that o...
By sstuckey
Blog Post
P-47 and the Turbo Supercharger
You have to wonder about the engineering design advantages of a P-47 Thunderbolt airplane when WWII pilot Archie Maltbie recalls, “I flew the P-47 Thunderbolt in the 365th (Hellhawk) Fighter Group . . . and I know without doubt that I owe my life t...
By Judy Elgin Jensen
Blog Post
Health Wise: Keeping Track of Sugar
Students should consume no more than 25 g (6 tsp.) of added sugar per day, recommends the American Heart Association (AHA 2016)....
By sstuckey
Blog Post
Ideas and inspiration from NSTA’s December K-12 journals
Elementary and middle school teachers have a real gold mine this month – both journals have the theme of Energy....
By Mary Bigelow