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Featured speaker Larry Lowery’s lively presentation at the San Francisco NSTA conference highlighted research findings about how children learn to inspire teachers to incorporate new practices in their classrooms....
By Claire Reinburg
Blog Post
Scorpions, free materials, and more
One thing about attending a NSTA conference, you get to try local cuisine, as well as an occasional unusual treat. I just spoke to this teacher from Pittsburgh who told me he sampled a scorpion in the exhibit hall. The chef didn’t recommend any...
By Lynn Petrinjak
Blog Post
It's not just teachers…part 2
In addition to science educators, you also run into some interesting characters… Some attendees have more than two legs...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
NSTA—it's not just teachers!
The name may be National Science Teachers Association, but our members—and conference presenters—are involved at all levels of education. Improving STEM Teaching and Education: A Superintendent’s Symposium featured four Bay-area sup...
By Lynn Petrinjak
Blog Post
A sloth is just one of the unexpected sights in the NSTA exhibit hall!...
By Lynn Petrinjak
Blog Post
I had an email from a former colleague who said that the conference must be a science teacher’s paradise. She’s right. Where else can you...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
More of what attendees are saying
I have talked to conference attendees and presenters who have come to San Francisco from all over the country. California, Hawaii, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and everywhere in between. Some are here for their first conference, others are attending ...
By Lynn Petrinjak
Blog Post
It’s not quite 7 a.m. here in San Francisco, but it looks like a number of people are getting an early start. When I arrived at the conference center a few minutes ago, I saw several people headed in, apparently on their way to some early sessi...
By Lynn Petrinjak
Blog Post
I went to a session this morning for conference first-timers, as a veteran conference-attender. NSTA staff and office holders welcomed the “newbies” and guided them through a discussion of the many options for sessions and events. Each ...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
A panel discussion on the Next Generation of Science Education Standards with NSTA executive director Francis Eberle; Helen Quinn, chair of the board on Science Education, The National Academies in Menlo Park, California; and Stephen Pruitt, vice pre...
By Lynn Petrinjak
Blog Post
Talking about science education
It’s been a busy morning at the national conference. Although the exhibit hall didn’t open until 10 a.m., many sessions started much earlier. I had to chance to talk to some attendees between sessions and it sounds like everyone is looking fo...
By Lynn Petrinjak
Blog Post
I just had the honor of being a guest at the NSELA breakfast—a star-studded event if I ever saw one in the science education community!...
By Lauren Jonas, NSTA Assistant Executive Director
Blog Post
I’m finding it hard to believe that it was 25 years ago that I attended my first NSTA conference—here in San Francisco. I remember going home with lots of new ideas to improve my teaching, a ton of materials (no charge for checked bags th...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Should science be taught in a Spanish immersion class?
You never know who you might meet in the airport. Another NSTA staffer and I were waiting for our flight at Dulles and discussing our plans to put our soon-to-be kindergartners in a Spanish immersion program. A woman in a nearby seat piped up that sh...
By Lauren Jonas, NSTA Assistant Executive Director
Blog Post
Here’s a question for you, to help me understand the way science activities and science inquiry are developed in early childhood classrooms....
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
Only one day to go until the national conference opens in San Francisco. On my way out I overheard some folks talking, apparently on their way to San Francisco for the conference. They were discussing what topics the conference needs more of, with ...
By Lynn Petrinjak
Blog Post
I know I should incorporate more writing into my science classes, but I have several concerns. What kinds of writing would be appropriate, other than lab reports? How do I find the time to evaluate student writing (I meet 150 students per day)? ̵...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Chemistry Now, week 7: cheeseburger chemistry, the bun
What makes the simple hamburger bun the perfect stage for a juicy hamburger? An airy lightness? The sweet earthy taste and smell of yeasty dough? A hint of shiny brown sugars carmelized onto the surface of the bread in the baking or toasting proces...
By admin
Blog Post
Recording observations and collecting data about birds
Birds are wild animals that children are quite likely to see and recognize. They live in the city and in the country and in between, all over the world....
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
20th century skills for the 22nd century and beyond!
“To know the road ahead, ask those coming back.” —Chinese Proverb...
By Martin Horejsi
Blog Post
With the conference being two weeks away, I’ll review some suggestions for first-timers. At this point, you should be registered, have arrangements for lodging and transportation, and have your lesson plans ready for the substitute....
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
I started my first full-time teaching position this semester—high school biology. According to the students, they did not do many labs last semester. I’m eager to do inquiry activities with my students, and obviously I want to do so safel...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Video analysis is a powerful tool to help physics students understand motion and other phenomena. For example, in this video by Dale Basler (physics teacher and co-host of Lab Out Loud), students can analyze the speed and position time graph of the ...
By Eric Brunsell
Blog Post
In my early childhood experiences in a small creek below our house where neighborhood children waded and built dams, I learned many science and engineering concepts — the pushing force of moving water, its erosion of the sandbank, annual floodi...
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
I’ve never felt inferior because I use a calculator, nor when I supplement my travel memory with a digital camera. Or even when I ignore the myriad of squiggly red lines underlining the words as I type this. My GPS guides me. My calendar beeps when...
By Martin Horejsi
Blog Post
Whenever we talk about preparing kids for the future, we usually include collaboration and teamwork as a valuable skill. Our students also need to realize that science is not conducted by individuals in isolation. Successful scientists and engineers...
By Eric Brunsell
Blog Post
Hey Watson! My dog is smarter than your phone.
It’s amazing how we put such faith into a computer where we risk national-make that global scrutiny as it preforms tasks autonomously that carry immense scientific and philosophical weight. Let’s listen in for a moment… [Watson] I’ll take...
By Martin Horejsi
Blog Post
“She’s afraid that if she leaves, she’ll become the life of the party.” —Groucho Marx...
By Eric Brunsell
Blog Post
Chemistry Now, weeks 5 & 6: hamburgers and chocolate
Pleasant surprise or horrible mutation? Cheeseburger cupcakes....
By admin
Blog Post
The other night, I could hear my daughter in her room talking; well more like explaining what sounded like schoolwork. Rather than opening the door, I assumed she was recording her voice on her iPod, something she had done for years. This was underst...
By Martin Horejsi
Blog Post
Participation "rubric"?
At our next department meeting we’re going to discuss the idea of using a rubric to evaluate students’ class participation. In many of my college classes, participation was a factor in the final grade. I’m wondering about using this mea...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
This winter has had more than “teachable moments”—it’s been a teachable season (at least on those days when school was in session). No matter what winter looks like in your neck of the woods, it’s an interesting time for sci...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Once again, a late evening was spent on earth science worksheets. This time, however, it was not memorizing terms that presented the challenge, but rather something that caused great consternation in science in general leading up to a discovery that ...
By Martin Horejsi
Blog Post
Chemistry Now, week 4: chemical bonds
What makes nutmeg and cloves smell like Christmas, while polyurethane-based adhesive smells like, well, glue?...
By admin
Blog Post
Join NSTA and find an early childhood science community
Dear Early Childhood Teacher (of science and everything else) and teacher educators: We invite you to join NSTA! The National Science Teachers Association has lowered new membership dues to $65 for a limited time only, until February 15th, 2011. So...
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
Using data to get the big picture
I’m a new teacher at a new school. I’m applying for a spot on the principal’s cabinet. One of the questions he’s asking is “What data should we review when we are planning and checking in on existing plans?” I can ...
By Mary Bigelow