Call for Papers

We all know how important it is to get students outside. Outdoor learning spaces may include schoolyards, local parks, beaches, forests, or community gardens. Outdoor learning fosters curiosity, engagement, and a connection with place through immersive discovery. When students learn science with the outdoors, they can develop deeper, more authentic connections to the natural world, apply inquiry skills in real-world and perhaps place-based contexts, and create science in action.

Place-based education enhances these experiences by grounding learning in local environments, cultures, and communities, making science more relevant and meaningful to students’ lives. Whether investigating local ecosystems, studying weather patterns, or exploring human impacts on the environment, outdoor science learning encourages students to see themselves as scientists in their own communities through multiple knowledge systems.

This new column, Taking Science Outside, invites educators to share innovative outdoor and place-based learning experiences that inspire young scientists. Whether it’s a structured lesson, a student-led investigation, or an everyday routine that incorporates wonder and awe outdoors, we want to hear how you use science beyond the classroom!

Article suggestions include but are not limited to:

• Share outdoor science activities that encourage observation, questioning, and critical thinking through hands-on inquiry.
• Provide strategies for engaging with and learning from local environments—schoolyards, forests, beaches, gardens, or community spaces—as living contexts for science learning.
• Describe how place-based education deepens students’ transdisciplinary learning by understanding science concepts, environmental literacy, community histories, sustainability, and just futures.
• Explain how teachers wrestle with key challenges and make outdoor learning equitable for all students.

Educational leadership encompasses various roles and opportunities, from classroom experts to national policy decision-makers. In collaboration with the National Science Education Leadership Association (NSELA), Science and Children will explore aspects of developing and supporting science educator leadership within the classroom, school, district, and beyond. This column will highlight innovative, best-practice ideas in K–5 science and engineering teaching and learning that reflect the vision of A Framework for K–12 Science Education (NRC 2012) to enhance teaching and learning in preschool and elementary science classrooms. Length: 2000 words.

Article suggestions for this column include, but are not limited to, the following:

Share examples of science education leadership opportunities, enhancing the professional competence and leadership status of elementary science education.

• Provide pathways that promote equitable opportunities and cultural awareness in science and STEM teaching and learning, including the involvement of families and the community.
• Share ideas for universities and/or informal science institution partnerships in which efficient and effective leadership opportunities for elementary science are practiced.
• Illustrate how shifts in science teaching and learning can be sustained and supported through transformative professional development and leadership roles for elementary educators.
• Share practical strategies, tools, and resources elementary science leaders can use to build the confidence and capacity of elementary teachers to teach science effectively.

Please contact column editor Kathy Renfrew at krsciencelady@gmail.com for more information and submissions.

With the goal of "enhancing the repertoire of preservice and inservice teachers," this column provides information for undergraduate instructors, those responsible for professional development programs, and classroom teachers seeking guidance in developing their instructional skills. A Framework for K–12 Science Education acknowledges that science certification requirements are fairly weak for elementary teachers. With the significant changes recently adopted by many school systems, inservice elementary teachers may now find themselves with additional demands. We are seeking manuscripts that focus on the needs of elementary science teachers and those entering the profession by providing deep understanding of the elements of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS); research-based teaching and learning strategies to help reach all students; and a solid knowledge base in STEM core ideas. As stated in the Framework, teachers also require, "… experiences that help them understand how students think, what they are capable of doing, and what they might reasonably be expected to do under supportive instructional conditions" (p. 257). Articles should be strengthened by providing an application of ideas to an actual classroom experience. Length: 2000 words

Let’s start with the phenomena. We’ve heard a great deal about the use of phenomena recently as an essential part of implementing NGSS. What are phenomena, and how are they used in science and engineering classrooms? Where do phenomena fit within an instructional sequence or lesson?

According to NGSS, phenomena are observable events in our world where we can use science and engineering knowledge to explain, predict, or solve. Phenomena are considered the context for the work of both scientists and engineers.

For this column, we are looking for classroom-tested lessons that highlight the use of phenomena to pique student interest in developing explanations or solutions and create authentic opportunities for student learning. Whether it’s an anchor, investigative, or everyday phenomenon, tell us how you’ve used well-placed phenomena to deepen and enrich learning experiences for students. Explain how the introduction of this phenomenon helped the students engage in three-dimensional learning. Provide evidence for deep learning and student engagement when you start with phenomena. Length: 2000 words

Science learning in the early years has gained renewed importance in recent years, with research pointing to young children's capacity to develop conceptual abilities. A natural outgrowth is attention to science as a topic of study in preK, Head Start, and child care programs. Practitioners, often with little background in science, are wondering what young children can learn about science and how best to teach them. To help answer these questions, Science & Children has launched this column that provides reviews of some of the best resources designed specifically for teaching science to young children. Reviewers select resources that present relevant and appropriate science content and describe inquiry-based approaches to engaging young children in the practices of science and engineering, as described in the Next Generation Science Standards. For specific resource review criteria, more information concerning providing a review for publication consideration, or to suggest a review be provided for a specific resource, contact column editor Kelly Russell at krussell@bsc.edu.

“I have no time to teach science” is the resounding cry from many teachers. The frequently heard response is, “try cross-curricular integration.” With some planning, science can be integrated with current language arts and mathematics curricula to provide meaningful learning experiences that will address all subject areas and free up classroom time. 

But what does cross-curricular integration look like, and how are units and lessons developed so that they are effectively and meaningfully cross-curricular? Where can curricula integration points be found? 

For this column, we would like to explore purposeful examples of cross-curricular integration.  Share how cross-curricular integration enhances the learning opportunities for all students.  Provide authentic examples for integrating subject areas such as language arts, mathematics, social studies, and technology with science to deepen the learning experiences. Length: 2000 words

This column provides ideas and techniques to enhance science teaching. This is S&C’s “think piece” and connects science teaching with research on teaching and learning. This is done by sharing an account of a method or strategy used in the classroom and explaining how its use is supported by research. While the presentation of the method or strategy is often content-based, the method or strategy should be applicable to other settings and other content. Length 2000 words

We are seeking column submissions that present classroom-tested, novel, and engaging lessons for preK–5 students. They should include all of the components necessary for an engineering investigation to be completed and assessed, from design to implementation. Be sure to bring the voices of students and the teacher to the manuscript. In other words, focus on application of instruction that provides a peek into the classroom. We are also interested in submissions that provide background information for the teacher that will support the teacher’s ability to construct his or her own engineering lessons. This might include suggestions as to where more information can be found concerning high-quality lessons, strategies for structuring lessons, resources that support teaching and learning, and strategies for use in evaluating lessons and materials. Length: 2000 words.