JoinAll Blog Posts
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My middle school students are creating organism presentations. How much scaffolding should I give them? — P., New York...
By Gabe Kraljevic
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What did you learn today, teacher?
I’m teaching a science methods class. I’d like to know: What was the most important thing you learned in your undergrad science methods classes? What do you wish you had known about science teaching that you didn’t learn in undergrad? ...
By Gabe Kraljevic
Blog Post
Resources from previous NSTA conferences
Have you revisited the sessions from previous NSTA conference to check out the resources posted by presenters? Begin with the 2017 Elementary Extravaganza that has 27 resources listed, both documents and webpages. It was held on Friday, March 31 at t...
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
STEMcoding project releases "Physics of Video Games" Hour of Code activity
Until recently, the world’s most popular K12 computer science website, hourofcode.com, did not have any physics-focused coding activities. This was the case until Professor Chris Orban of Ohio State University initiated an effort to develop co...
By Edwin P. Christmann
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Build the Science Department: Stories of Success
How can your science department become a site for developing teachers’ professional learning?...
By Carole Hayward
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Quick Lab and Activity Assessments
I would like to include a rubric when students are completing various labs and activities in science. Could you share any examples? – A., Iowa I have found that checklists, in particular, are good assessment tools during a lab. The objective...
By Gabe Kraljevic
Blog Post
Discovery bottles: Learning moments for children and adults
“Discovery bottles” are one way to allow children to use small objects without putting them in their mouths. These bottles for open-ended exploration can be constructed to relate to many different science concepts and topics. Other bottles are ma...
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
A Learning Trajectory for Sensemaking in Science
The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) offer teachers the opportunity to consider teaching science in a new way. We help students engage with, wonder about, and make sense of natural phenomena, which closely resembles how scientists perceive th...
By Cindy Workosky
Blog Post
Asking Questions and Defining Problems by Making Cultural Connections
My goal for students in my eighth-grade middle school science class is to enter high school with the absolute certain knowledge that they can “do” science. They know that when presented with the inevitable problems and questions of everyday life,...
By Susan Cohen
Blog Post
Science for All Students: A Teacher’s Perspective
Like many classrooms around the country, my diverse fourth-grade classroom consisted of regular education students, special education students, English learners, gifted students, students receiving free and reduced-cost lunches, and students from dif...
By Rita Januszyk
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By Kate Falk
Blog Post
7 Safety Guidelines for Guest Presentations
Although guest presenters can offer real-life science experiences to students, they may not be familiar with the safety practices that need to be in place to create safer learning experiences. In October 2012, for instance, two fourth graders were ru...
By Kenneth Roy
Blog Post
This is my first year of teaching physics and I can’t think of generic substitute plans for this class. Can you suggest some generic/emergency plans that could help me? – E., Michigan...
By Gabe Kraljevic