By Peggy Ashbrook
Posted on 2010-04-05
By Amy America
Posted on 2010-04-02
Spring is rapidly approaching, as indicated by the recent “springing forward” of our clocks. The arrival of Spring not only means longer days but also warmer weather, beautiful blooms, and…restless students. Luckily for teachers, you can exhaust your students’ boundless energy by taking their science lessons outside. NSTA Press’s new book, Inside-Out: Environmental Science in the Classroom and the Field, Grades 3–8, aims to engage teachers in activities that incorporate the scientific disciplines found in environmental observation. The authors’ main goal is to enhance understanding of basic environmental science concepts and to instill confidence in teachers’ abilities to engage students in the process of science learning. Each chapter heavily focuses on content knowledge and then applies this to activities that promote student inquiry. Examples of chapter topics include the study of soil, water, energy and biodiversity. In the introduction, former elementary school principal Debbie Freels recalls how “students yearned for the opportunity to be outdoors during the school day. By providing instruction through project-based teaching and learning, teachers were able to integrate cross-curricular objectives in science-oriented projects.” This time of year is a time of renewal and there is no better way to refresh your science lessons then by utilizing the beautiful outdoors and the activities found in Inside-Out: Environmental Science in the Classroom and the Field, Grades 3–8!
—Amy America
By Mary Bigelow
Posted on 2010-03-31
Our school recently received grant funds to upgrade the technology in our science labs next year, and the funding organization requires an annual report. This is a new endeavor for us. Do you have some suggestions on what to include in the report?
—Patricia, Philadelphia, PA
Congratulation on your grant! It’s a lot of effort (and stress) to apply for funds, but in many respects your work has only begun. When you receive funds from government agencies or private foundations, the funders want to know how their money was used to accomplish the purpose of the project. However, the evaluation and reporting component is often an afterthought when schools receive grants. If you wait until the project ends, you might overlook some critical data documenting the success of your efforts. You’re very wise to think about evaluation before implementation.
Revisit your proposal to determine how your school described the project evaluation beyond documentation of expenditures. Find out if the funding agency has a template or rubric for the required report or if the website has example reports you could use as a model. Depending on the scope of the project, you could enlist assistance from your district office or contract with an external evaluator to design an evaluation plan and determine the scope of data to be collected.
Whether you’re evaluating a grant-funded project, a new curriculum effort, or a professional development program, most evaluation plans address several basic questions:
What progress are you making in implementing your project? This is the “what happened” part of your evaluation. Create a project calendar or timeline to document when key events happened and who the participants were. Be sure the events are related to the goals and objectives of the project.
To what level are you achieving the expected results or outcomes? This is the “so what” part and is often overlooked. Describe observable effects on teaching and learning and to what extent the goals and objectives of the project are being met.
Collecting, organizing, and analyzing data from many sources provides the basis for documenting the implementation and impact of your project. You need to decide what kind of data should be collected, when it should be collected, how it should be organized, and who will be responsible for the data. Unless your project is a formal research study, you probably will not need more than a basic knowledge of statistics.
Having an evaluation plan ahead of time and collecting data as you move forward will help keep the project focused on the intended outcomes. But if something is not working as planned, be sure to document the unanticipated events (e.g., a key teacher leaving partway through the project or a delay in installing equipment).
In addition to meeting the requirements of the funding agency, well-organized data could be the basis of a needs assessment for future funding. There are many opportunities to share what you learned from the project through NSTA journals, NSTA Reports, and presenting at the national and area conferences. We’ll look forward to hearing more about your project!
Resource:
User-Friendly Handbook for Project Evaluation (National Science Foundation)
Photo: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2796/4333770330_61e3640dc1.jpg
Our school recently received grant funds to upgrade the technology in our science labs next year, and the funding organization requires an annual report. This is a new endeavor for us. Do you have some suggestions on what to include in the report?
—Patricia, Philadelphia, PA
By Howard Wahlberg
Posted on 2010-03-30
One of Chapter Leaders called me this morning to ask about the NSTA Communities. I wanted to share the highlights of our conversation with the CAG Blog.
To join this forum of science educators, visit www.nsta.org/communities. You will be asked to log in to the website and create a short profile. It only takes a couple of minutes. Once you have created your profile, you will be matched with other like-minded professionals and you can join the groups you want or create a new one!
Please keep the great ideas coming. Post a comment below or e-mail me at aodonnell@nsta.org and share with your fellow leaders. Remember, the success of this blog is dependent on your participation!
One of Chapter Leaders called me this morning to ask about the NSTA Communities. I wanted to share the highlights of our conversation with the CAG Blog.
By Mary Bigelow
Posted on 2010-03-28
As an NSTA member, did you know that you have electronic access to each of the journals, in addition to the print copy you receive? In the monthly SciLinks blog for each issue (and on the NSTA home page, there are links to browse the table of contents of the three K–12 journals. (And you can also access the quarterly Journal of College Science Teaching.)
In addition to the themed articles, NSTA journals have regular features that appear in each issue. Each journal has different features, but they are valuable resources for any grade level. Keep reading to see what monthly features are available online from the March issues:
Science and Children The Every Day Science Calendar, subtitled “Facts and challenges for the science explorer,” highlights facts, historic events in science, or suggestions for reading, or interesting questions. It’s a nice addition to the bulletin board or for bell-ringer ideas. In Teaching Through Trade Books, Christine Royce highlights books related to the month’s theme and provides lesson suggestions for investigations. This month, for example, the theme relates to STEM, and the trade books are about inventors and inventions. The two activities help students to develop their skills in design and problem solving.
Science Scope In his Scope on Safety column, Key Roy discusses issues that are timely and informative, regardless of what grade level you teach. For example, this month the topic is “Battery safety basics.” Scope on the Skies takes a monthly look at topics in astronomy. This month’s column discusses the language of mathematics and how to take advantage of opportunities to integrate the subjects. The topics would also be appropriate for high school classes. Speaking of astronomy, look at the article Exploring Galileo’s Telescope in which students looked at the work of Galileo from a historical perspective and built simple telescopes.
The Science Teacher Even though this journal is targeted to high school teachers, the monthly features are appropriate to all grade levels. In this month’s The Prepared Practitioner, Alan Colburn summarizes information on the concept of “Universal Design.” Discussing his one-pagers could be the focus of a department meeting. Ken Roy provides additional best practices and safety suggestions in Safer Science. I know teachers who keep copies of both of his columns in a folder on their computers! Science 2.0 is a recently added feature that looks at new web tools to support learning in science. (this month features probeware and digital sensors). Career of the Month by Megan Sullivan (which is based on interviews with science-using professionals) and Health Wise (a new questions every month) by Meg Streker are meant to be shared with your students, whether you cut them out of your print journal or access an online version.
It’s hard to find time to keep up with everything, but these features are worth a look!
As an NSTA member, did you know that you have electronic access to each of the journals, in addition to the print copy you receive? In the monthly SciLinks blog for each issue (and on the NSTA home page, there are links to browse the table of contents of the three K–12 journals.
By Howard Wahlberg
Posted on 2010-03-26
As the dust settles from NSTA’s Annual Conference, my thoughts return to a conversation I had with a new NSTA member during the conference. I was grateful to have the opportunity to say “thanks!” for being a member of NSTA and “thanks” for coming to the conference!
I want to thank all of you too. Thank you for your continued membership. Thank you for attending the conference. Thanks for your great ideas and input. And thank you for the time that you devote to promoting excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all.
Please keep the great ideas coming. Post a comment below or e-mail me at aodonnell@nsta.org and share with your fellow leaders. Remember, the success of this blog is dependent on your participation!
As the dust settles from NSTA’s Annual Conference, my thoughts return to a conversation I had with a new NSTA member during the conference. I was grateful to have the opportunity to say “thanks!” for being a member of NSTA and “thanks” for coming to the conference!
I want to thank all of you too. Thank you for your continued membership. Thank you for attending the conference. Thanks for your great ideas and input. And thank you for the time that you devote to promoting excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all.
By Mary Bigelow
Posted on 2010-03-25
By Claire Reinburg
Posted on 2010-03-25
Thermodynamics and atomic bonding and quantum mechanics, oh my! Bill Robertson tackles these, and other chemistry themes, in More Chemistry Basics, the ninth book in the bestselling Stop Faking It! series. In this follow up to Chemistry Basics, Robertson employs his engaging writing style and unique brand of humor to make tough chemistry concepts more palatable and, fortunately for you, easier to teach. In his preface, Robertson maintains that, “it is empowering to know more than you will ever need to teach the students. It gives you a comfort level and just might affect how you address certain topics. Teaching is more fun when you are secure in the depth of your understanding.” Bill’s refreshing outlook on science teaching, coupled with illustrator Brian Diskin’s clever visuals, makes for an enjoyable read—even for those of you most wary of chemistry!
—Amy America
Thermodynamics and atomic bonding and quantum mechanics, oh my! Bill Robertson tackles these, and other chemistry themes, in More Chemistry Basics, the ninth book in the bestselling Stop Faking It! series.