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Enhanced E-books Student Editions, Part 2: What Teachers Have to Say About Them
By Carole Hayward
Posted on 2017-03-29
NSTA recently launched e-Books+ Student Editions. In Part 1, we provided information on what the student editions include and the full range of topics available. In this post, we’ll share what teachers have to say about the new student editions and how they can help you in your school and classroom.
Adding to Your Curriculum
If you are looking for something that is more than just a digital textbook, consider these student editions as a visual and intellectual experience for your students.
“I implemented this e-book in my classroom, for the first time, this year. My students honestly love it. This book covers all of the content standards with life biology, your units are right there ready to go. The students are engaged and actually want to read! It has had a tremendous impact on test scores, and retention. My students are still able to recall what they learned, they recall images and video clips. It is a kinesthetic learning experience. I was so impressed with the first one that I purchased a second about cells, which is equally stunning. I can’t wait to get the complete set and neither can my students!”
Alicia H.
Engaging Resource for Your Students
These are great to use in a station environment. The outstanding graphics as well as the interactive modules and videos add an additional depth that really captures your students’ attention.
“The students love them and are extremely motivated to complete assignments using the e-book.”
Jennifer M.
Helping Your Struggling Students
If you have students who are struggling with a particular topic or who have missed a lot of class time, these student editions can be a great resource.
“I am so happy I decided to purchase this e-book…it has turned out to be a great help for those that were struggling and allowing them to dig deeper into the subject matter and work independently.”
Sara G.
Contact and Ordering Information
All purchases of eBooks+ Student Editions must be completed through NSTA’s Customer Service Department. Order by phone (1-800-277-5300) between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET) or fax (1-703-243-7177). Or email us at orders@nsta.org. Download an eBooks+ Student Edition order form.
Pricing information is available per e-book/student/year. For any other questions regarding NSTA’s eBooks+ Student Editions, please contact ebooks@nsta.org.
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NSTA recently launched e-Books+ Student Editions. In Part 1, we provided information on what the student editions include and the full range of topics available. In this post, we’ll share what teachers have to say about the new student editions and how they can help you in your school and classroom.
Teaching as an art form
By Mary Bigelow
Posted on 2017-03-28
I’m preparing to be a chemistry teacher. In addition to chemistry and teacher prep classes, what else should I study to become an effective teacher? More math or physics? —T., Colorado
While math and physics are important (especially if you’re pursuing other certifications), you also could become familiar with another language and the special education requirements in your state. You could pursue a personal interest in history and geography, literature, or the arts to better connect science with other subjects.
As a teacher, you’ll be “on stage” every day. Many teacher prep classes don’t address how to communicate with students and share your enthusiasm and passion for chemistry. That’s where acting experience or a class may help. This doesn’t mean putting on a contrived show but rather using your voice and body language effectively.
After several teachers in my school were recruited into a community theatre group, our confidence and communications in the classroom improved in several areas:
- Enunciating clearly and reaching every corner of the room without shouting and straining your voice
- Incorporating humor and timing
- Improvising based on student interests and questions
- Dealing with distractions
- Showing interest in a student’s question or idea, even if we’d heard it several times before
- Being mindful of your position in the classroom and moving around
- Using strategies such as props and wait-time
- Choosing a well-aimed glare or a quiet whisper to stop some misbehaviors
Who knows what topics you could change from dull to interesting for students?
Online Resources:
- It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it
- Why Teachers Should Be Trained Like Actors
- Using Acting Skills in the Classroom
Photo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/spcummings/361167519/
I’m preparing to be a chemistry teacher. In addition to chemistry and teacher prep classes, what else should I study to become an effective teacher? More math or physics? —T., Colorado
New NAP Publication Helps Teachers Assess 3-Dimensional Learning in the Classroom
By Cindy Workosky
Posted on 2017-03-28
Seeing Students Learn Science
It is a truly exciting time in science education. Science educators across the country are adapting to a new vision of how students learn science guided by the Framework for K–12 Science Education. As a result, science instruction is changing to better tap into students’ natural curiosity and deepen their understanding of the world around them. As instruction is changing, assessments need to change as well. Many science educators recognize that traditional assessments are not appropriate for capturing three-dimensional science learning. But, they may not know what assessments of three-dimensional learning should look like nor how they can be used effectively in science classrooms.
On March 30 at the NSTA National Conference in Los Angeles, I will introduce science educators to a new book from the Board on Science Education at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Seeing Students Learn Science: Integrating Assessment and Instruction in the Classroom. The book draws on research-based recommendations for assessment to explore how classroom teachers can use assessments as part of instruction to advance students’ three-dimensional learning.
Traditional science assessments do not allow teachers to fully understand students’ mastery of science and engineering practices, nor do they provide insight into students’ learning trajectories. In contrast, effective classroom assessments in science can help teachers collect information about students’ understanding of core ideas and crosscutting concepts as well as students’ ability to engage in the scientific and engineering practices. Good assessments of 3–D science learning can help teachers make decisions about next steps for learning and identify the supports that individual students or groups of students may need. They can also help students take control of their own learning by helping them see what they have mastered and where they may need more practice. A major goal is for assessment to become an integral part of science teaching practice, rather than an interruption.
The book is organized around key questions related to classroom assessment.
- What’s really different? — Describes how ideas about science learning and instruction have changed and why different kinds of assessments are needed
- What does this kind of assessment look like? — Discusses specific examples to see how classroom assessment of 3-dimensional learning can work in practice.
- What can I learn from my students’ work? — Provides a look at the sorts of information that can be obtained from different types of assessment and how they can provide windows into students’ thinking.
- How can I build new kinds of assessments into the flow of my instruction? — Suggests ways to adapt assessments teachers already use so that they are consistent with three-dimensional learning and instruction.
- How can I work with others in my school, district, and state? — Discusses how classroom assessment related to broader assessment systems that include large-scale assessments used for monitoring purposes.
The new book is designed to help teachers create and implement classroom assessments that capture three-dimensional learning. It helps teachers think about how to embed assessments within engaging classroom tasks and how to interpret and use novel kinds of assessment information. It also offers ideas and questions teachers can use to reflect on what they can adapt right away and what they may need to work on developing over time. My talk will highlight some of the key ideas from the book, illustrated with examples, and explore how the book can be used to help teachers’ reflect on and improve their classroom instruction. I would love to see you there! If you will not be at the conference, read the book online here.
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Editor’s Note: Featured speaker session will take place on Thursday, March 30 from 12:30-1:30 pm at the Los Angeles Convention Center, Petree Hall C.
Heidi Schweingruber
Heidi Schweingruber is the director of the Board on Science Education at the National Research Council (NRC). She co-directed the study that resulted in the report A Framework for K-12 Science Education (2011). She served as study director for a review of NASA’s pre-college education programs completed in 2008 and co-directed the study that produced the 2007 report Taking Science to School: Learning and Teaching Science in Grades K-8. Prior to joining the NRC, Heidi worked as a senior research associate at the Institute of Education Sciences in the U.S. Department of Education. Heidi holds a Ph.D. in psychology and anthropology, and a certificate in culture and cognition from the University of Michigan.
The mission of NSTA is to promote excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all.
Future NSTA Conferences
2017 National Conference
STEM Forum & Expo
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Seeing Students Learn Science
The @STEMninjaneer Guide to #NSTA17 Los Angeles
By Guest Blogger
Posted on 2017-03-27
This week I’m headed to the NSTA National Conference on Science Education in LA, where I’ll be blogging and tweeting about all things engineering and STEM! As an engineering educator, I am keenly interested in helping to prepare our future workforce and citizenry through meaningful, robust, and integrated instruction that includes engineering. In my career, I have worked as an engineer at IBM, owned a science/engineering education business, directed National Science Foundation grants focused on high-quality STEM instruction, taught first-year engineering, worked intensively with schools (especially high poverty; high needs and also gifted) to use engineering as a way to change the culture, and done research and lots of practice with the Engineering is Elementary team from the Museum of Science Boston.
As a consultant, my goal for the schools I work with are simple: That students will go on to the next level as (1) confident learners who can work productively with other people (2) problem solvers who can use data and evidence to make decisions and (3) people who can fail, and then recover from it, because that’s what humans do.
Engineering brings to the STEM table a myriad of things, not the least of which is a set of habits of mind that help develop good citizens. As reported in a 2009 National Academies of Engineering publication, the habits of mind of engineers are (1) communication (2) collaboration (3) creativity (4) optimism (5) ethical considerations and (6) systems thinking. Of course, many professions across the academic spectrum certainly develop and utilize similar skills sets. But let me tell you about them from the engineering point of view:
- Communication: Clearly, the ability to communicate effectively will serve anyone well. In engineering, being able to speak, write and read about your ideas and solutions could make the difference between maybe changing the world or just having a good idea! I tell my engineering students—even the kindergarteners!—that you could have the best idea in the world but if you can’t share it effectively, it’s just that—an idea.
- Collaboration: Engineers never work in isolation, despite some old misconceptions and stereotypes. As an engineering manager/mechanical engineer, I specialize not only in the process skills of engineering projects but also in the “moving parts” realm from the mechanical engineering end. When I worked for IBM, I traveled internationally to purchase a part built to our specifications. However, my mechanical part is of no good if I didn’t also collaborate with electrical engineering, computer science and manufacturing engineering colleagues—since my part went in their system. When I talk to students, I challenge them to think of one profession where someone works completely alone. Collaborating effectively is a life skill, one that needs to be taught early and often. Engineering is natural for this.
- Creativity: It is said that engineers “create what has never been.” Indeed, while many engineers improve upon existing technologies (meaning ANYTHING designed by humans, even if it doesn’t use a plug!), engineering is primarily about innovation. Innovation relies on creativity—new ideas, new uses for old things and solving unfamiliar problems.
- Optimism: This is an interesting word to associate with the public perception of engineering provided only by “Dilbert” for generations! In my world, optimism has huge and important meaning. For an engineer, it translates into persistence. The persistence to keep trying even after many “failures”; the persistence to try something completely new and often the persistence to be the lone voice in support of taking a chance. Optimism is a cornerstone of engineering.
- Ethical Considerations: Especially with young children, ethical behavior is often left to the adults in any one child’s life. In only a few professions are ethics considered critical, and even then skepticism often abounds. In engineering, ethics are a required part of our training. For some of our disciplines, particularly those in the broader fields of civil, electrical and mechanical design, it is a requirement that one become licensed as an expert. This involves an 8-hour exam the last semester of college, four years under the direct supervision of a professional engineer, and then sitting for another comprehensive exam. All graduating engineers, regardless of discipline, are invited to take part in the Order of the Engineer professional commitment ceremony, pledging to use the skills they have developed, included training in ethics, for the benefit of society and the people they serve. At that ceremony, we are given a simple band to wear on the small finger of our writing hand, as a reminder of our professional pledge every time we sign our names. Teaching and talking about ethical behavior begins in kindergarten in my schools.
- Systems Thinking: Rather than a personal characteristic of the engineer herself, “systems thinking” is more of an overall perspective engineers are trained in. We are taught to draw boundaries around our problem, identify inputs and expected outputs and use all of this in our problem definition and solution. Teachers are also trained this way, with different terminology! At the simplest level, the classroom walls are the first boundary; the primary input the students (!), standards, etc and the primary output is achievement.
I am most excited about this opportunity to blog from NSTA because every single time I’m around people who are doing really great work and are excited enough to share it, it’s contagious! I love to learn, and I’ve never left an NSTA gathering without learning. I’m also really excited to have the opportunity to interact with those in the science community who are experts in engineering, those who are just learning, and those who have no idea but want to learn. Please look for me in sessions about engineering or follow this blog, and please use hashtags #NSTA17 and #STEMninjaneer on any reposts—thanks so much!
Author Liz Parry is a guest blogger for NSTA for the 2017 National Conference; follow Liz on Twitter @STEMninjaneer.
More About the 2017 National Conference on Science Education
Browse the program preview, or check out more sessions and other events with the LA Session Browser/Personal Scheduler. Follow all our conference tweets using #NSTA17, and if you tweet, please feel free to tag us @NSTA so we see it!
The mission of NSTA is to promote excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all.
Future NSTA Conferences
2017 STEM Forum & Expo
Kissimmee/Orlando, July 12–14
2017 Area Conferences
Baltimore, October 5–7
Milwaukee, November 9–11
New Orleans, Nov. 30–Dec. 2
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This week I’m headed to the NSTA National Conference on Science Education in LA, where I’ll be blogging and tweeting about all things engineering and STEM! As an engineering educator, I am keenly interested in helping to prepare our future workforce and citizenry through meaningful, robust, and integrated instruction that includes engineering.