By Mary Bigelow
Posted on 2010-08-28
As the summer months disappear, I’m finally getting caught up on my reading, thanks to some time at the beach—although I did not see many others reading educational journals there!
As a member of ISTE, the International Society for Technology in Education, I have a subscription to the journal Learning and Leading with Technology. As always, the summer issues were full of information and insights on a variety of topics. Some of the articles are available to nonmembers, too, and might be of interest to science teachers.
In the June/July 2010 issue, take a look at Join the Flock (Using Twitter), Buyer’s Guide: Touch Tablets, and Point/Counterpoint: Are Interactive Whiteboards Worth the Investment?
In the August 2010 issue check out Scientific Inquiry, Technology, and Nature; Every Day Is National Lab Day; Buyer’s Guide: Robot Kits; and Point/Counterpoint: Is Technology Killing Creative Thinking?
You don’t have to be a member to subscribe to ISTE Connects as an RSS feed and to follow ISTE on social media such as Facebook and Twitter for up-to-date information, just as you follow NSTA (don’t you??).
Other professional organizations have resources, too. In my department, we were members of NSTA, but then each of us joined another organization and shared the journals and other resources.
By Mary Bigelow
Posted on 2010-08-25
This summer, I attended the Space Academy for Educators at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama. I am a K–5 reading specialist, and I also am the Science Power Hour instructor in our afterschool program. Obviously, we will be learning lots and lots about space this year! What concepts should I expect my elementary students to master? I want them to be excited about space and its exploration.
—Ann, Sheboygan, Wisconsin
Congratulations! Attending the academy must have been the experience of a lifetime—meeting space scientists, participating in simulations and hands-on activities, working with teachers from around the country, and acquiring new content knowledge and materials to share with your students. You are certainly a valuable resource for your students and your school.
I’m not sure what you mean by “mastering” concepts. If you look at your district’s curriculum and your state’s elementary science standards, you should find concepts and skills related to space science appropriate for younger students. But I think your real contribution goes beyond helping students learn specific content.
In your role as an elementary reading specialist, you can use your influence to get more nonfiction materials into students’ hands and minds. You can suggest space-related books (on topics such as astronomy, space exploration, rockets, or astronauts) for teacher read-alouds and student independent reading. You can also incorporate nonfiction books related to space science into your reading instruction. Check out NSTA Recommends for titles and reviews of space-related books at various reading levels.
In addition to books, there are many online resources. With NSTA’s SciLinks, use keywords such as space exploration, space shuttle, planets, astronomy, atmosphere, or flight to examine lists of vetted websites appropriate for K–4 or 5–8 students. You can create a list of favorites to share with students, parents, other teachers, or the librarian. You’re probably already familiar with NASA for Students as a starting place for many activities. I would also suggest Windows to the Universe, which includes a Spanish version.
Your afterschool program could be the place to extend and enhance what the students do in their science classes. Using space exploration as a theme for part of the year, you can implement the activities you learned at the Space Academy and go deeper into topics like astronomy (the moon, planets, stars), rocketry, astronauts, and even topics related to engineering such as problem solving and robotics. You could set up a teleconference (using Skype, for example) with a NASA scientist or another academy participant and his or her class.
Many elementary schools have “family nights” to involve parents and students. You could use space exploration as a theme here, too. It’s quite possible that many of your students (and their parents) have never looked at the night sky through a telescope. I’m sure there are amateur astronomers in your community who would be happy to assist you setting up an event.
Consider doing a presentation at the Wisconsin Society of Science Teachers conference in March 2011. (The call for presenters is open until December 2010 . Or perhaps you could do some professional development workshops for teachers on space concepts with hands-on activities.
Books, websites, and videos are wonderful, but it’s more exciting to meet someone who has had personal experiences. Share your stories, pictures, journals and other artifacts whenever possible. You can be a wonderful role model for your students (and other teachers) in terms of being a lifelong learner and being open to new adventures. They may even ask for your autograph and a picture, especially if you’re wearing your flight suit!
For more information:
This summer, I attended the Space Academy for Educators at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama. I am a K–5 reading specialist, and I also am the Science Power Hour instructor in our afterschool program. Obviously, we will be learning lots and lots about space this year! What concepts should I expect my elementary students to master? I want them to be excited about space and its exploration.
By Mary Bigelow
Posted on 2010-08-22
In addition to the new students you’ll soon welcome, you may also be meeting new colleagues on your faculty. Here are two resources from NSTA to share:
There’s been a lot of excitement about a new column in The Science Teacher. The New Teacher’s Toolbox is designed for beginning teachers, with tips and advice from teachers who are willing to share their experiences. The column debuts in the September issue, but you can click here for a sneak peek at Michael Romano’s suggestions on Conquering the “So What Now” Moment. These one-page articles could be used as discussion starters at faculty meetings or shared with new teachers. Whether you’re brand-new to the profession or starting at a new building or grade level, I’m sure you’ll find some good suggestions. Even we old-timers can learn something new, too!
If you’re working with a new principal this year (or would like to keep your current principal up to date in science), NSTA’s Scientific Principals is a monthly e-mail newsletter designed for elementary school principals. Based on unit themes typically found in elementary science curricula (e.g., scientific inquiry, weather, sound, health, earth resources), each issue of Scientific Principals has a list of ideas, resources, and practical applications. Click here to view past issues or to sign up to receive future issues. You can suggest that your principal sign up, or you can sign up yourself and then forward the newsletter to your principal or curriculum director – the advantage is that you get to read it, too, and some of the information and resources are appropriate for the upper grades, too. The August edition features Dinosaurs.
Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mulad/3529450101/
In addition to the new students you’ll soon welcome, you may also be meeting new colleagues on your faculty. Here are two resources from NSTA to share:
By Mary Bigelow
Posted on 2010-08-18
One of the advantages of being an NSTA member is getting a hard copy of the journal appropriate to your teaching assignment (Science and Children, Science Scope, or The Science Teacher for those in K–12). Even if you don’t get a hard copy, as a member you have online access to the others, including the searchable archives. You can read the articles online or download them as PDF files to read later.
One of the advantages of being an NSTA member is getting a hard copy of the journal appropriate to your teaching assignment (Science and Children, Science Scope, or The Science Teacher for those in K–12).
By Peggy Ashbrook
Posted on 2010-08-16
Are you hearing that question too often from people who wonder how you are going to make the adjustment back to school now that we are into August? I used to say, “No, I’m not nearly ready” but have decided to follow a more positive model and say, “I’m getting there”. (I’m inspired by wording used by the Early Sprouts Garden Project science-gardening-nutrition-cooking curriculum developers, Dr. Karrie Kalich and colleagues. They have children taste the vegetables they grow and tell if they “like it a lot”, “like it a little”, or “didn’t like it yet.”)
Before the schools open up to teachers, I went to a “spa” for my brain, doing professional development through a training at the University of Northern Iowa. The UNI Regents’ Center for Early Developmental Education offers workshops designed for teachers of 3-year-olds to second grade through their Center for Early Education in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (CEESTEM).
One of the sessions was on “Ramps and Pathways” which Betty Zan and Rosemary Geiken wrote about in NAEYC’s journal, Young Children. The discussion among the participants was vibrant and informative, making me realize anew how important it is to have planning time with other teachers. Naptime meeting are not enough—we need to meet to do science inquiry ourselves so we will be prepared to support our students’ learning with questions that move them along in their thinking rather than get them to parrot the correct answer.
While visiting relatives and talking with a neighbor I learned how useful video conferencing is for keeping young children in touch with their families. A niece talks nightly at bedtime with her son who is staying with the grandparents while she is completing her preservice training and the neighbor talks weekly with her granddaughter, reading books to her while the child eats breakfast and shows how she can get her shoes on.
Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears posted an online primer for understanding climate–Climate Literacy in the Elementary Classroom by Susan M. Buhr and Mark S. McCaffrey with strategies for becoming climate-literate. They present a guiding principle—Humans can take actions to reduce climate change and its impacts—and seven Essential Principles beginning with, “The Sun is the primary source of energy for Earth’s climate system.” The positive wording teaches what we–teachers and our young students–can do.
What has been your best formal or informal learning experience this summer?
Peggy
Are you hearing that question too often from people who wonder how you are going to make the adjustment back to school now that we are into August? I used to say, “No, I’m not nearly ready” but have decided to follow a more positive model and say, “I’m getting there”. (I’m inspired by wording used by the Early Sprouts Garden Project science-gardening-nutrition-cooking curriculum developers, Dr. Karrie Kalich and colleagues.
By Mary Bigelow
Posted on 2010-08-14
I am trying to decide how to arrange my classroom with 22–27 chemistry students per class. Last year, my desks were arranged in the traditional manner: rows with an aisle. This year I’m thinking of setting the desks up in pods of four or in pairs. Do you have any advice on desk arrangements?
—Melanie, Huntley, Illinois
We’ve all seen pictures of (or even experienced) classrooms where individual student desks were bolted to the floor in straight, orderly rows. This is certainly the exception rather than the rule today. But there are several factors to consider as you explore different seating arrangements.
Safety is a priority. If you’re in a typical chemistry lab, you probably have an area with lab tables and a “classroom” section with individual desks or small tables. This area is probably not as large as a regular classroom, so your placement options are more limited. Whatever arrangement(s) you use, be sure students can enter and exit the classroom efficiently and backpacks, electrical cords, and other materials can be kept out of the walkways.
Logistically, determine the focal points of the classroom (e.g., whiteboard or projection screen, demonstration table) and be sure that your arrangement allows students to see presentations. Put materials such as handouts, staplers, calculators, or pencils where students can easily access them. If space is tight, count the number of students in your largest class assigned to the room, add one or two to allow for move-ins, and ask if extra desks can be stored elsewhere.
Review student individual education plans to determine any special seating requirements. Make sure seating arrangements can accommodate the visual, auditory, and physical needs of your students as well as any assistive technologies or devices they use. (One year my seating arrangements included space for a student’s service dog.)
No single seating arrangement is “best”—each has advantages and disadvantages, depending on the learning activities. If you use a mixture of instructional strategies in your class, you’ll want to consider using a variety of seating arrangements.
Traditional rows of desks or tables facing the focal point are often used for teacher-centered activities (lecturing, giving directions, or presenting on the whiteboard) or for independent activities (tests, silent reading). Many teachers use this arrangement as the “default.” However, there are “dead zones” in the corners and the back of the room with this arrangement; students in the front center also are more likely to get your attention. While this arrangement minimizes distractions, it also limits student-to-student discussions since students are looking at the backs of other students.
With a U-shaped arrangement, students can see each other, which fosters student-to-student discussions within a large group. This is also useful for teacher-centered presentations, as you can maintain eye contact with all students. As students work, you can zip across the inner space to provide assistance where needed. For large group discussions, you can close the U into a circle and sit with the students, sending the message that you are part of the discussion. However, this takes up a lot of space, and some students may be easily distracted during independent work.
If you do a lot of collaborative activities, consider pushing desks together. Pairs of desks are good for turn-and-talk activities, and groups of three to four are appropriate for cooperative learning. You can also use the lab tables for small group work, unless equipment and materials are set up for another class. In pairs or groups, be sure students can still see a screen or focal point for instructions or debriefing. This arrangement could be distracting during independent work.
Here are two examples of classrooms I’ve visited where teachers had routines in place to align the seating arrangements with the learning activities:
Some teachers may worry that changing the seating arrangements, particularly during a class period, is confusing and time-consuming and that students prefer a consistent arrangement. In the classrooms described above, the seamless transition between activities doesn’t happen overnight. The teacher needs to communicate the reason for the change and the norms for appropriate behaviors.
Let us know how your new arrangements work!
Image: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2705/4168858547_e03f9d324c_t.jpg
I am trying to decide how to arrange my classroom with 22–27 chemistry students per class. Last year, my desks were arranged in the traditional manner: rows with an aisle. This year I’m thinking of setting the desks up in pods of four or in pairs. Do you have any advice on desk arrangements?
—Melanie, Huntley, Illinois
By Mary Bigelow
Posted on 2010-08-09
For many of you, the school year is starting soon. Summer certainly flies by quickly! But if you have a little prep time left and are looking for new materials to add to your curriculum, check out SciLinks, NSTA’s online database of vetted web pages.
You can access the websites in the database either by using the codes in a SciLinked textbook or NSTA publication or by searching for a keyword and grade level on the site.
Keep reading to find out how can you use SciLinks.
Recommending sites to students. As a teacher, you can provide logins for students to search for sites, or you could give them a printed list of suggestions. Perhaps you’ve used the “Favorite Websites” feature of SciLinks, in which you can create your own selection of websites to share with students. For interested or advanced students, you might go to the next grade level or you could go down a level for students who may struggle with the text.
You could suggest sites to supplement or update the textbook information. Share a login with the librarian so that he/she can remind students of this resource. If your students use the technology at a local public library, perhaps the staff there could be alerted as to how and why students would access this.
In group settings. Why just talk about science topics when there are many sites that lend themselves to illustrating the concepts? Building bridges, watching volcanoes erupt, seeing animals congregate around a water hole at night, or accessing photographs and video of various topics bring these topics to life. If you have a projection unit, using a simulation or video clip with the class or a small group of students could be an engaging experience for them – and the resources are free and ready when you are.
With the new Quiz Manager feature, you can create questions for a particular website in the SciLinks database and assign students to complete them. You can keep the questions just for your class, or you can choose to share the questions with other SciLinks-using teachers, creating a common item bank.
Teacher learning. One thing I’ve enjoyed over the years is using the SciLinks websites to keep current on topics such as the human genome or climate change. I especially like the earth science topics (I taught life and physical science, so I’m continuing to learn). If you’re unfamiliar with a topic, searching for sites geared to middle or high school students would be a quick and painless way to learn more about it.
For many of you, the school year is starting soon. Summer certainly flies by quickly! But if you have a little prep time left and are looking for new materials to add to your curriculum, check out SciLinks, NSTA’s online database of vetted web pages.
By Mary Bigelow
Posted on 2010-08-07
By Mary Bigelow
Posted on 2010-07-29
By Mary Bigelow
Posted on 2010-07-24
I subscribe to many blogs, listserves, and RSS feeds as a way to keep up with current events. This week, two articles caught my attention for their relation to science teaching.
The ISTE Connects blog had a discussion How do you teach creativity? in response to the recent Newsweek article The Creativity Crisis We often think of creativity in terms of the arts, but I had a great conversation with a colleague on what creativity would look like in science. I’m not sure we can “teach” creativity, but it would be an interesting discussion on how we can promote, encourage, model, guide, or recognize creativity in our science classrooms – new, different, or untraditional ways of problem solving, problem finding, inventing, communicating.
Risk-taking can be a component of creativity, but one area in which we shouldn’t take risks is in safety. Scientific American has a recent article Danger in School Labs. Although the article uses examples from college and university situations, the topic is one that should be on the agenda of every school this fall. NSTA has many resources to assist, including the Safety in the Science Classroom portal with links to many resources. Every school should have a copy of the relevant NSTA publication:
Use the keyword “safety” in SciLinks to find web-based resources such as MSDS documents, suggestions for lab safety guidelines, handouts for students, and other suggestions. Two topics to start with are Safety in the Science Classroom and Chemical Handling and Safety. And every month, check out the suggestions in the Science Scope column Scope on Safety.
I subscribe to many blogs, listserves, and RSS feeds as a way to keep up with current events. This week, two articles caught my attention for their relation to science teaching.