By Carole Hayward
Posted on 2017-03-22
NSTA recently launched e-Books+ Student Editions. In addition to the impressive array of topics, the student editions come with the tools that allow teachers to manage their students’ learning in useful ways.
Created for students in grades 6-12, these interactive e-books include animations, videos, simulations, embedded assessment, slide shows, and high-resolution images. These interactive e-books are between 100 pages and 200 pages long and are intended to supplement your classroom curriculum. Note that English language arts e-books focused on STEM concepts for students in grades K-5 are in development and will be available in the not too distant future.
The topics currently available are for middle and high school students. The student editions are housed on a Child Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) compliant site. Students go to the NSTA Reader or use the NSTA Reader app. They log in using the username and password that was assigned to them by their teachers.
This new video highlights many of the features of the student editions.
In the NSTA Reader, using the student editions, teachers can:
NSTA has created step-by-step instructions for teachers to use the NSTA Reader.
These tools are not available with the professional learning editions. The student editions currently are licensed for a period of one year with multiyear options coming soon.
In the student editions, students can take advantage of these features:
Additionally, administrators can:
NSTA provides step-by-step instructions for administrators to use the NSTA Reader.
The student editions support the disciplinary core ideas of the Next Generation Science Standards. The table below features all 23 topics currently available. Visit the Enhanced E-books Student Edition page and scroll through to learn more about each topic.
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Visit the Science Store or Booth 534, and try out the Enhanced e-Books for yourself.
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 addition to the impressive array of topics, the student editions come with the tools that allow teachers to manage their students’ learning in useful ways.
By sstuckey
Posted on 2017-03-22
Fire protection engineers help protect people from fire and explosion hazards by ensuring that buildings have adequate exits, that flammable substances are controlled, and that everyone operating near such hazards takes necessary precautions. Nancy Pearce is a fire protection engineer for the National Fire Prevention Association (NFPA).
Work overview.
Many fire engineers work behind the scenes to help design equipment or buildings to prevent or withstand fires. Others figure out what building materials are required and how to configure exits or hallways to allow quick escape in case of a fire. Some fire protection engineers conduct investigations after fires or do research on materials that may provide better fire resistance.
My focus is on codes that protect industrial workers from fire and
Fire Protection Engineer Nancy Pearce
explosion hazards. I help experts in the field write and revise fire-protection codes and standards adopted by many government agencies. Revisions occur as new information becomes available. After explosions in Texas killed firefighters a few years ago, for example, I worked with experts to rewrite the ammonium nitrate code that spells out how to properly use that chemical and respond to such fires.
People who have questions about the codes call me to interpret them. For example, someone applying for a July 4 fireworks display permit may want to know at what angle to set up the fireworks and how far away spectators must be from particular types.
Nancy Pearce visits a barge on the Charles River to review how mortars are set up before an Independence Day fireworks show in Boston.
©2016 National Fire Protection Association and Nancy Pearce
My job involves much reading and research as well as traveling to conduct training sessions on how to apply the codes and to visit facilities that may be performing a new process. My math training helps me do the necessary calculations for the codes, and my science background helps me understand the reasons behind the code requirements, such as why a chemical has a particular fire property and which materials should not be stored together for safety reasons.
My career has been rewarding and exciting. Yet it’s frustrating when fatalities occur because people didn’t follow the fire codes. The NFPA often gets involved when there is a major fire. Recently, the association deployed three people to support investigators of a deadly fire in Oakland, California, involving a warehouse being used as a dwelling. Sadly, fatalities are often a matter of noncompliance with fire codes.
Career highlights.
It’s very dangerous for workers to enter tanks, manholes, and so on. I had the opportunity to create a committee of top experts and work with them to develop a standard for confined-space entry that should improve safety.
Career path.
After graduating from college, I worked in a lab but decided I’m better suited to a people-oriented job. So I eventually took a job as an industrial hygienist for the State of Massachusetts. In that role, I worked on a number of programs, starting with one focusing on getting asbestos out of schools. I also visited different workplaces to help protect workers from dangers, ranging from blood-borne pathogens to high-noise levels to amputations. The job involved a lot of science and math to carry out tasks such as collecting air samples and calculating exposure levels. I did that for almost 28 years.
Five years ago, I began working as a fire protection engineer for the NFPA.
Knowledge, skills and training needed.
You need a math, science, and engineering background, but you can enter this type of career from multiple disciplines—for example, from chemical, mechanical, or civil engineering—and then get plenty of on-the-job training. Several universities offer specific degrees in fire protection engineering and industrial hygiene.
Advice for students.
Look at online videos and talk to people who are working in these fields. An association or college can help you find someone to talk to in your area. Becoming a volunteer or professional firefighter is another way to find out about the field.
Bonus Points
Pearce’s education:
BS in chemistry (with community health concentration) and MS in civil engineering and environmental policy from Tufts University
On the web:
www.nfpa.org
Related occupations:
Industrial hygienist, chemical engineer, mechanical engineer
Editor’s Note
This article was originally published in the March 2017 issue of The 
Science Teacher journal from the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA).
Get Involved With NSTA!
Join NSTA today and receive The Science Teacher,
the peer-reviewed journal just for high school teachers; to write for the journal, see our Author Guidelines, Call for Papers, and annotated sample manuscript; connect on the high school level science teaching list (members can sign up on the list server); or consider joining your peers at future NSTA conferences.
Fire protection engineers help protect people from fire and explosion hazards by ensuring that buildings have adequate exits, that flammable substances are controlled, and that everyone operating near such hazards takes necessary precautions. Nancy Pearce is a fire protection engineer for the National Fire Prevention Association (NFPA).
Work overview.
By Cindy Workosky
Posted on 2017-03-21
NSTA is all about supporting teachers in understanding and implementing three-dimensional instruction in their classrooms. The first edition of the Next Gen Navigator, a new monthly e-newsletter from the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) out this week will help us do just that. It is an ideal name as we think about how we will navigate the many paths we might take while striving to implement new teaching approaches established in the Framework for K-12 Science Education (Framework) and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) in PreK-16 classrooms. When you navigate you are determining the route, but we all know the first route chosen is not always the smoothest or least bumpy. This is also true when thinking about implementing new standards. We may not all travel the same road, but we are all trying to reach the same destination. This wonderful name was chosen for us by one of our members, Jean Flanagan, and this was purposeful because this resource is meant to be a support for the field.
This e-newsletter will give you insights on the many ways your colleagues are thinking, learning, exploring, and experimenting with three-dimensional learning and the many facets of the NGSS. It will connect you to our expanding number of resources—such as the NGSS@NSTA Hub, journals, web seminars, virtual conferences, and other professional learning opportunities—as well as those outside NSTA. It is also a place for teachers to share successes and challenges, build a greater understanding, and read the latest news around standards.
This first issue focuses on teachers and their journey to understand and implement the NGSS. One thing we all need to do as we move forward in our learning around new teaching approaches is to give ourselves permission to make mistakes on our journey and use what we learned from those mistakes to move forward. We will consider how having a growth mindset provides us with the space to make those mistakes.
We are very excited to share this inaugural issue with you and invite you to be a part of it. We want to hear what you are doing in the classroom with your students, as well as lessons that worked, or didn’t work, on your journey. Reach us at nextgennavigator@nsta.org.
Above all, we want this newsletter to guide you whatever route you have chosen to navigate NGSS.
If the first edition of Next Gen Navigator found its way to your inbox, great! If not and you want to receive this monthly e-newsletter, sign up here.
Kathy Renfrew
The mission of NSTA is to promote excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all.
Future NSTA Conferences
STEM Forum & Expo
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NSTA is all about supporting teachers in understanding and implementing three-dimensional instruction in their classrooms. The first edition of the Next Gen Navigator, a new monthly e-newsletter from the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) out this week will help us do just that.
By Cindy Workosky
Posted on 2017-03-21
Every teacher of science in a school in which NGSS is being implemented is engaged in a transition to standards that are very different from what they are familiar with. This can spark many emotions, including excitement, fear, inspiration, fear, and more excitement. It is a journey in which things are going well, and then you might stumble and fall. Then we must pick ourselves up and start moving again. I know because I am still a NGSS learner myself, and I talk to teachers about this regularly.
When the standards were first released, for example, I worked with a colleague and constructed an integrated instructional sequence for transfer of energy. I was pretty proud of myself. And this lasted until I piloted it with real learners. It had many flaws, but it wasn’t bad for a first try. Now I would do it very differently. After continued learning, I am now in the process of recreating the same transfer of energy instructional sequence. I am bundling the standards differently, using different pieces of texts.
Whether it’s figuring out what lessons to adapt or discard, how to work with colleagues, or how to engage students in phenomena, your colleagues are on the same journey. Read these insights from three educators about their journey to understand and implement the NGSS. They previously appeared in the NSTA member journals.
by Mike Mangiaracina, a K–5 science specialist in Washington, D.C. (published in Science & Children)
My Journey to Understand and Implement the NGSS: One Educator Shares the Story of How She Engaged and Ultimately Embraced the Next Generation Science Standards
by Karen Mesmer, a recently retired middle school science teacher and science coach in Baraboo, Wisconsin.
Climbing the NGSS Mountain: Persistence and a Sense of Purpose Can Propel You to the Top
by Tricia Shelton, a high school science teacher in Florence, Kentucky.
Kathy Renfrew
The mission of NSTA is to promote excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all.
Future NSTA Conferences
STEM Forum & Expo
Follow NSTA
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|
|
|
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|
Every teacher of science in a school in which NGSS is being implemented is engaged in a transition to standards that are very different from what they are familiar with. This can spark many emotions, including excitement, fear, inspiration, fear, and more excitement. It is a journey in which things are going well, and then you might stumble and fall. Then we must pick ourselves up and start moving again. I know because I am still a NGSS learner myself, and I talk to teachers about this regularly.
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