By Juliana Texley
Posted on 2015-03-11
Last fall, for the first time in our nation’s history, the majority of public school students were minorities. According to the Pew Research Center, of about 50 million students, approximately 49.7 percent were white (down from 65 percent in 1997). Many of these students (over 4 million) were English language (ELL) learners. Almost 70 percent of the children of immigrants spoke a language other than English in the home. Also for the first time in 2014, the majority of public school students was eligible for free and reduced lunch. The strongest correlation to achievement is a student’s economic level (ASCD). It’s clear that achievement gaps are growing, and the resources of districts—especially in rural areas—are stretched to the limit.
On Friday, March 6, NSTA participated in a special panel on bilingual education at the annual conference of the National Association of Bilingual Educators. Why were we there? First and foremost, we believe in our mission statement… “promoting excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all.” We also believe NSTA has the necessary tools and resources to help in the nationwide effort to narrow the achievement gap.
Since the curriculum development glory days of the 1960s, educators have developed tools for supporting students who show early promise for college and career science. The equally effective projects that have brought underrepresented groups to success in both science and citizenship have received less attention. A Citizen Science effort in south Texas, an effort to embed literacy into science in Cleveland, a preschool in Omaha—in today’s challenging educational environment, programs like these represent shining guideposts to a better and more equitable future.
What works to accelerate language learning? Data from many great initiatives in diverse communities show that integrated STEM programs at the earliest levels can foster both better science and language learning. But to prove that to skeptical school systems and communities, we must first dig into the commonalities of program successes in diverse communities with varying needs.
Research from The Center for Research on Education, Diversity and Excellence at Berkeley (CREDE) emphasizes that “Making Meaning” is one of the most important principles of a program that helps students learn language and mathematics at the same time they accomplish in science and social studies in an integrated way:
“‘Understanding means connecting new learning to previous knowledge. Assisting students to make these connections strengthens newly acquired knowledge and increases student engagement with learning activities…Effective education teaches how school abstractions are drawn from and applied to the everyday world. Collaboration with parents and communities can reveal appropriate patterns of participation, conversation, knowledge, and interests that will make literacy, numeracy, and science meaningful to all students.”
While the CREDE standards don’t specify STEM as the linchpin of an effective effort, they describe the components of a program rich in the practices of science. NSTA has identified many programs, such as Citizen Science or other locally-relevant STEM activities that show far greater-than-average potential for narrowing the achievement gap. In these programs language learning becomes the means rather than the end; motivation and social contacts enhance the curriculum and empower students.
At NABE, NSTA Multicultural Division Director Jerry Valadez and I participated in a panel on “what works.” Jerry talked about recruiting more diverse teachers and mentors. My presentation included snapshots of programs in which students learn their language faster through STEM, and I discussed the structural and cultural barriers that prevent this from becoming the norm in many systems.
At the same NABE conference NYU Professor Okhee Lee (a featured speaker at the NSTA National Conference on Science Education this March) presented information on the effectiveness of Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) practices in empowering students to achieve in not just science but all areas. In her book Diversity and Equity in Science Education (with Cory A. Buxton, Columbia University, 2010) Lee summarizes research that indicates: “An emerging body of research on instructional intervention indicates the benefit to ELL students of engaging in inquiry-based science…(a few studies) have shown…promise for increasing outcomes in both science and literacy.” (p. 74). This book provides a great deal of data to support the assertions of the authors.
So with a small but growing body of research forming the wind at our backs, NSTA has joined the nation’s bilingual educators to encourage integrated, three-dimensional learning (NGSS) that provides a rich environment for empowering all learners. With the support of National Geographic we will be hosting a number of multicultural events and a share-a-thon in Chicago, and we won’t stop there. Next month NSTA is convening a “National Conversation on Equity through STEM” with 10 other educational associations, where we hope to identify programs, research, and models that are accessible to districts everywhere. Stay tuned!
Dr. Juliana Texley is the president of the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA). She began serving her one-year term on June 1, 2014. Texley is currently an instructor at Lesley University, Palm Beach State College, and Central Michigan University. Most recently, Texley worked with a number of stakeholder groups to review the Next Generation Science Standards and developed curriculum for JASON/National Geographic.
The mission of NSTA is to promote excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all.
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By Lauren Jonas, NSTA Assistant Executive Director
Posted on 2015-03-11
Do STEM courses broaden access to science? Do you know how to use energy as a unifying theme that connects sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics? The March K–College journals from the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) have the answers you need. Written by science teachers for science teachers, these peer-reviewed journals are targeted to your teaching level and are packed with lesson plans, expert advice, and ideas for using whatever time/space you have available. Browse the March issues; they are online (see below), in members’ mailboxes, and ready to inspire teachers!
Every science discipline provides excellent opportunities to connect with the crosscutting concept of Structure and Function. This issue of S&C offers ideas for introducing and developing this crosscutting concept in your classroom.
Featured articles (please note, only those marked “free” are available to nonmembers without a fee):
Engineering inspired by nature is just one approach you can use to incorporate the NGSS crosscutting concept of Structure and Function into your science curriculum. In this issue, we present several strategies for embedding crosscutting concepts and demonstrating to students how different science subjects are interconnected.
Featured articles (please note, only those marked “free” are available to nonmembers without a fee):
The concept of energy is central to all the sciences. A clear understanding of energy is essential for life science students, especially in topics like photosynthesis, cellular respiration, ecosystems, and cellular transport. Energy transformations also are fundamental to understanding basic processes in chemistry and physics, from rusting cars and exploding dynamite to electric motors and wind turbines. In Earth and space sciences, energy drives climate, tectonic plate movements, volcanoes, earthquakes, and ocean currents. Perhaps more than any other single topic, energy provides a unifying theme that connects the sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics in an authentic way.
Featured articles (please note, only those marked “free” are available to nonmembers without a fee):
Although there are many opportunities for undergraduates to participate in authentic research projects, little is known about the efficacy of such programs in achieving desired student learning outcomes. See Authentic Science Research Opportunities for a study that uses qualitative and quantitative data, surveys, and interviews to examine this issue. Do you use case studies in your teaching? If so, you may have wondered how to make those case studies part of your tests. Clyde F. Herreid provides some answers to this question in the Case Study column. And read about two cohort programs at a small liberal arts college designed to support the development of students from groups underrepresented in STEM fields in terms of their drive to succeed, their sense of belonging at college, and their learning in STEM courses in Broadening Access to Science.
Featured articles (please note, only those marked “free” are available to nonmembers without a fee):
Get these journals in your mailbox as well as your inbox—become an NSTA member!
The mission of NSTA is to promote excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all.
Follow NSTA
Do STEM courses broaden access to science? Do you know how to use energy as a unifying theme that connects sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics? The March K–College journals from the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) have the answers you need. Written by science teachers for science teachers, these peer-reviewed journals are targeted to your teaching level and are packed with lesson plans, expert advice, and ideas for using whatever time/space you have available.
By Peggy Ashbrook
Posted on 2015-03-10
If I could only attend one session at the NSTA national conference in Chicago this week, it would be the Elementary Extravaganza! I had so much fun presenting last year but missed walking around to glean ideas and freebies from the other presenters. This year it will be held on Friday, March 13 8:00 AM – 10:00 AM, in the McCormick Place, Skyline W375c Room.
Here’s why this Extravaganza is not to be missed! Join preschool and elementary groups of professionals for an exceptional opportunity. The room is filled with presenters at their own tables sharing ideas and resources for use in your classroom immediately. Engaging hands-on activities such as Ramps and Pathways physical science and engineering, strategies to excite and encourage your students, a preview of the best trade books available, information about award opportunities, contacts with elementary science organizations and the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) for teachers of children ages 0-8 years old, sharing with colleagues, door prizes, and much more will be available to participants.
Walk away with a head full of ideas and arms filled with materials.
Organizations participating in the Elementary Extravaganza include:
Sponsored by Carolina Biological Supply; Educational Innovations, Inc.; FOSS and Delta Education; TCI; and University of Nebraska–Lincoln Center for Science, Mathematics & Computer Education.
If I could only attend one session at the NSTA national conference in Chicago this week, it would be the Elementary Extravaganza! I had so much fun presenting last year but missed walking around to glean ideas and freebies from the other presenters. This year it will be held on Friday, March 13 8:00 AM – 10:00 AM, in the McCormick Place, Skyline W375c Room.