About this time last year NSTA and many of our teachers joined millions in the streets of Washington, DC and in cities nationwide for the March for Science 2017.

This year, March for Science (MfS) 2018 is scheduled for April 14 (find out more here). We encourage you to join one of the more than 200 scheduled satellite events nationwide and use your voice for change.

Why march again?

The goal of the March for Science is to champion robustly funded and publicly communicated science as a pillar of human freedom and prosperity. 

This last year we have seen more threats to science at all levels of our government. The Administration has not named a science adviser and challenges to the science behind global warming continue to mount. The EPA has dismissed science advisors and replaced them with industry representatives. National Park Service Advisory Panel members have resigned because the Secretary refused to meet with them. Scientific content on federal websites has been altered.  Perhaps most significantly, as reported in the NY Times, “Since World War II, no American president has shown greater disdain for science – or more lack of awareness of its likely costs.”

In his FY2019 budget President Trump –for the second year in a row—proposes to eliminate key education and research programs across the federal agencies.

Fortunately, Congress largely ignored the Administration’s proposed cuts in these areas when it passed the FY2018 budget a few weeks ago.

Congress boosted most science programs in the FY2018 budget.  The National Science Foundation is receiving a 4 percent increase, while the Department of Energy Office of Science budget will increase by $869 million or 16 percent, and the National Institutes of Health is receiving a $3 billion or 9 percent boost.  Read more here.

Despite Administration efforts to undermine public education, programs authorized by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) also did very well in the FY2018 budget. Title II grants used by states and districts for teacher professional development and other activities received level funding at just over $2 billion.

The Title IV-A Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grant program will see a $700 million increase for FY 2018 (total funding level is $1.1 billion). This funding will allow districts to create programs that address school safety and mental health services, provide well balanced education programs, including STEM education programs, and incorporate more education technology and professional learning.

The ESSA Title II-B 21st Century Community Learning Centers grant program, which funds science and STEM programs in many afterschool and extended learning environments, will receive just over $1.2 billion in FY 2018. (More here on the education budget.)

Interestingly, this last year we’ve also seen an “amazingly large” number of scientists running for public office in 2018.

Shaughnessy Naughton, the founder of 314 Action, a political action committee which launched in 2014 to help scientists run for office, told Huff Post that the number of science candidates is “really astonishing” and that her group has “never seen anything like this.”  As of the end of January, more than 60 researchers and technologists were running for federal office and at least 200 candidates with previous careers in STEM have announced bids for approximately 7,000 state legislature seats.   

Two hundred candidates with STEM backgrounds are running for school boards.

So on April 14, let’s stand and demand that our leaders use science to inform their work and that we want their decisions to be data-driven and evidence-based.

Let’s march for our students. Let decision makers know they need to make strategic investments in K-12 STEM education instead of eliminating key funding sources.

Nothing less than the future of the American dream depends on preparing students to enter society with the knowledge and technical skills and tools that are critical to the workforce, our national security, and our science and technology driven society.

This is why we should and will march again. See you on April 14. 

Dr. David L. Evans is the Executive Director of the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA). Reach him via e-mail at devans@nsta.org or via Twitter @devans_NSTA. 

The mission of NSTA is to promote excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all.

Follow NSTA

The Robert E. Yager Exemplary Teaching Award recognizes six full-time K–12 teachers of science who successfully use innovation and excellence in their classroom.

District II

None awarded

District IV

James Brown
Science Teacher
Sand Creek Middle School
Albany, NY

James Brown believes when students are taught in an interdisciplinary manner through a lens of how and why, science suddenly comes to life. Instilling in students that science is key to understanding the world around us provides the student with a framework for their learning. Kelly Grindstaff, Project Manager, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, says, “In my over two decades in education as a teacher, teacher educator, and professional development professional, I can think of no one more deserving than Jim for an award recognizing Exemplary Teaching. … [H]is leadership in growing STEM education has been unparalleled in my experience.” Brown makes learning real for students by integrating curriculum through daily activities and by showing students that science is all around. Rather than giving answers, he gets them excited about finding their own. Brown’s lessons often incorporate specific skills, which give students tools to be successful, and contests, which motivate kids beyond a grade and provide an authentic audience. Joseph A. Farron, Jr., Environmental Engineer, states, “Mr. Brown is a tremendous educator who uniquely fosters an understanding of science to help his students become involved in the world they live in. Our organization has been impressed by programs he has helped establish, and our only real question about Mr. Brown and his educational initiatives is, what will he do next?”

View James Brown’s PowerPoint presentation

District VIII

Brian McDowell
Science Teacher
Mason County Schools
Maysville, KY

Brian McDowell uses authentic experiences to cultivate middle school students’ problem-solving, self-directed, and collaboration skills. McDowell created “A Place for Inquiry” nature trail just outside the school, installing a dinosaur trackway where students are asked to collect evidence and create a claim of what occurred based on the evidence. Simple questions such as “How many dinosaurs were here or were the dinosaurs running or walking?” are used to initiate dynamic discussions and debate. Brown has also created a bone assemblage, stratigraphy column, bird blind, rock cycle model, and flagpole shadow study for students to use their scientific practices. David E. Russell, Department of Zoology, Miami University, says, “There are so few opportunities for our students to actually conduct research, understand the nature of science, and feel as if they are part of this dynamic world, that the bird blind project is fantastic for the long-term (and short-term) development of our next generation of scientists and environmentally informed voting public.”

View Brian McDowell’s PowerPoint presentation

District X

Kristen Poindexter
Science Teacher
Spring Mill Elementary School
Indianapolis, IN

Kristen Poindexter strives every day to help her students become excited about the world around them, constantly checking in with them during labs and experiments to make sure they are highly engaged and are making connections to themselves and the world around them. She creates an environment where asking questions and taking chances is encouraged and expected. Poindexter also sets up making-meaning conferences where students can share their experiences, data, claims, and evidence. Students learn to listen to each other and help validate their peers’ thinking with supportive evidence of their own. Through this process, her students see their peers as more than classmates, becoming a tightly bonded classroom where everyone supports one another. Poindexter often receives compliments from other teachers in the school: They are able to pick out her current and former students because of the way they craft their questions and go about finding answers to their questions and wonderings. Allyson Smith, Director of Curriculum, MSD of Washington Township, says, “One of the many characteristics I admire about Ms. Poindexter is her reflective nature. She is constantly reflecting on her practices and refining her craft. She exemplifies the term lifelong learner. Her love for science is contagious and all of her students and colleagues are excited to learn from her and with her.”

View Kristin Poindexter’s PowerPoint presentation

District XIV

Deepa Iyer
Science Teacher
Knox Gifted Academy
Chandler, AZ

Deepa Iyer encourages students to think deeply about the material, learn through experimentation, engage with the design thinking process, and collaborate. She sees her role as helping students collaboratively build models of concepts through experimentation and analysis. In Iyer’s classroom, students sit in groups of three and engage in various discussions related to the content, tasked with discussing something unique. Beyond pure scientific experimentation, Iyer also encourages students to use the design thinking and engineering process as way to interact with content and make learning relevant, engineering solutions to problems like scarcity of potable water, smart watering systems to prevent wastage of water, or developing solar panels that mimic the movement of sunflowers to maximize the production of renewable solar energy. She uses these learning experiences to create a community learning experience. She uses students’ varying levels of skills to the class’s advantage by creating a system of peer support: a message board made from sticky notes where students can ask and receive help on their projects. Through this, students learn the art of collaboration and enhance their learning through teaching. Lynn Weed, Principal, Knox Gifted Academy, says, “Deepa possesses the characteristics, expertise, and work ethic of a highly effective teacher. I would personally choose to take [her] into the trenches with me on any endeavor! Her practices and procedures are beyond reproach.”

View Deepa Iyer’s PowerPoint presentation

District XVI

Jose Rivas
Science Teacher
Lennox Math, Science and Technology Academy
Inglewood, CA

While working as an engineer, Jose Rivas mentored students at Lennox Middle School. The students were engaged and excited, so Rivas wanted to bring resources and opportunities to students. Rivas won a seat on the Lennox Board of Education and created a high school that focused on science and engineering. Rivas left the engineering world, began his journey as an educator, and expanded Lennox Math, Science and Technology Academy’s engineering program into an engineering career pathway program. Rivas challenges students’ misconceptions with thought-provoking activities that encourage curiosity and dialogue. He inspires students to reach beyond what they think they are capable of. Rivas has supported teachers at all levels: at Lennox Academy as STEAM department chair and instructional coach, through his collaboration with Loyola Marymount University, and Teach for America, among other positions. At the state level he served on the Committee on Accreditation and at the national level with the National Academies of Science Teacher Advisory Council. Timothy J. Allen, Executive Director, Carlston Family Foundation, says, “Throughout his career … Mr. Rivas has consistently demonstrated a professional demeanor, an inquisitive and curious mind, a joy for ongoing learning, the skill to be a highly motivational and life changing science teacher, as well as an exceptional leader and trainer of colleagues and prospective teachers. There is not a more qualified or exemplary science teacher. Mr. Rivas is the premier example of a teacher who exemplifies ‘excellence and innovation’ in the promotion and teaching of science.”

View Jose Rivas’s PowerPoint presentation

I feel recharged and activated after attending a conference and taking a few weeks to reflect and prepare to put the new understandings into practice. Whether or not you attended the 2018 NSTA national conference you can access files uploaded by presenters. Two sources provide information about the 2018 NSTA national conference sessions and presenters: the online NSTA website conference events schedule where you may have added sessions to your personal scheduler, and the NSTA app.  Note: the NSTA personal scheduler and app do not sync, so changes made in one tool do not automatically transfer to the other.

The events schedule is the place to find posted resources from the sessions and evaluate the sessions you attended. The app is the place to find contact information about presenters, upload your photographs, and rate the session. Please do the evaluating and rating to help the conference team know which sessions were most helpful.

There were many sessions and special event I wish I had time to attend—did you get to everything on your wish list? Here is my recap of some of the sessions I attended. Click on the photos to see a larger view. 

Geology Rocks—Go beyond rock collecting and add geological investigations to your class! Activities aimed at preschool to grade 2, but can be adapted for all elementary classes. Resources provided.

Presenter(s): Anne Lowry (Aleph Academy: Reno, NV).

It is a knowledgeable presenter who uses her 60 minutes of session time to engage participants without using slides. Anne Lowry who teaches preschool is knowledgeable and she shared what she knows about geology and young children with us. Lowry confirmed that earth science is the heart of everything we humans do, influencing what we eat and manufacture, and a factor in our travel and constructions. Tables for three rows of seating had “provocations” to engage us in learning about landforms, become familiar with rocks and soil. This collection of materials could be used for a family science event. 

Tips for consideration: 

• For safety she uses crumbled bits of tissue paper instead of sand to represent windblown soil and plants.
• Reflect with children on their observations. Get them to explain and discuss why by asking, “What is your theory on _______?”
• Invite someone from your state Bureau of Mines, or a jeweler to come talk and share resources.
• Children who start a rock collection often focus first on colors, shapes, and counting. Some activities can involve using spatial thinking.

Look up this session and download the handout!

Engineering for the Gingerbread Baby—Let’s help our youngest learners be engineers! Come engage in designing a structure based upon the story Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett. Leave the session with lessons straight from kindergarten classrooms where engineering is seamlessly integrated throughout content areas.

Presenter(s): Valerie Patel (William B. Gibbs, Jr. Elementary School: Germantown, MD), Erin Del Balzo (William B. Gibbs, Jr. Elementary School: Germantown, MD), Karen Anderson (William B. Gibbs, Jr. Elementary School: Germantown, MD)

Kindergarten teachers Valerie Patel, Erin Del Balzo, and Karen Anderson said that what their students came up with in this engineering experience was amazing—not the structures they designed and built but their learning. In their presentation about the gingerbread design and construction project they used the definitions of engineering from A Framework for K-12 Science Education (NRC 2012, p. 11-12): “We use the term “engineering” in a very broad sense to mean any engagement in a systematic practice of design to achieve solutions to particular human problems. Likewise, we broadly use the term “technology” to include all types of human-made systems and processes—not in the limited sense often used in schools that equates technology with modern computational and communications devices. Technologies result when engineers apply their understanding of the natural world and of human behavior to design ways to satisfy human needs and wants.” These kindergarten teachers took their children deeply into an engineering design process by providing time over a week to work, setting constraints, involving measurement, including choices, assigning jobs for each team member, and making reflection and improving a design part of the process.

Tips for consideration:

• Invite 5th graders to assist by asking questions to promote thinking—not to help with the building.
• Have children reflect on their structure before piling on the decorations. 
• Through reflection on failures children feel successful.
• Ask, “What didn’t work?” and have children draw a plan of what they would try next.
• Use related children’s literature in discussions about alternative solutions to problems.

For more specifics, look up this session and download the slides and handout!

ASTC-Sponsored Session: STEM Starts Early “Get a Taste of PASTE”—Learn to create concrete STEM interactions with simple supplies to elevate the understanding of your students. Don’t just use the teachable moments but create them.

Presenter(s): Rachel Cahill (Lancaster Science Factory: Lancaster, PA)

Rachel Cahill, a STEM Educator at the Lancaster Science Factory in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, charmed us with her skill at communicating how to create teachable moments and her confidence in the abilities of young children to engage in science explorations and explain what they learned. 

Tips for consideration:

• Hot glue the clear tubing (aquarium supplies) to the syringes and be sure the amount of liquid doesn’t exceed the volume of the smallest syringe. 
• Start with plastic dishes to build children’s confidence and move on to china and glassware when they have grasped how to pull the tablecloth.
• Build children’s understanding of charts and graphs by having them build one putting egg bottoms and egg tops together following the color on the chart.

How would you use these activities within an investigation?

Leveraging Partnerships to Support Urban STEM Education—Implementing successful STEM Education in an urban elementary school can be a daunting task. They are many barriers including funding, perceptions of who “can and should do STEM” and expertise. Learn how to use partnerships to overcome these barriers.

Presenter(s): Melanie Johnson (M. Agnes Jones Elementary School: Atlanta, GA), Margul Woolfolk (M. Agnes Jones Elementary School: Atlanta, GA)

Melanie Johnson and Margul Woolfolk of M. Agnes Jones Elementary School, Atlanta, GA tell how they lead their school to become the first state of Georgia STEM certified school.

It was moving to hear this administrative partnership talk about leading their school’s journey to become the first state of Georgia STEM certified school. The school’s mantra is “Powered by STEAM…Led by Students.” Through partnerships with parents, local congregations,  Georgia-Pacific, the Truly Living Well Center for Natural Urban Agriculture, Georgia State University, HATponics, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Park Trust, the students have participated in quarterly engineering design challenges, learned various methods to grow food, and taken field trips to state parks. Read more about their journey in their newsletter.

Elementary Extravaganza—This Extravaganza is not to be missed! Join elementary groups of professionals for an exceptional opportunity. Gather resources for use in your classroom immediately. Engaging hands-on activities, strategies to excite and encourage your students, a preview of the best trade books available, information about award opportunities, contacts with elementary science organizations, sharing with colleagues, door prizes, and much more will be available to participants.

Because I was presenting as part of the Elementary Extravaganza I did not circulate to the many tables so I missed  much! Many presenters posted resources on the NSTA 2018 Atlanta National Conference session schedule for your use. I presented about the March 2017 Early Years column on Exploring Biodiversity through a plant scavenger hunt, using photos of plants in the school yard or a nearby area. Look up this session and download the many handouts.

AMSE-Sponsored Session: Unpacking Race in a Science Classroom–How does racial identity correspond to or counter that of the content narrative that is commonly shared in our classrooms? What are the implications?

Presenter(s): Deb Morrison (University of Washington: Seattle, WA), Jason Foster (Niles West High School: Skokie, IL), Michael Nocella (Niles West High School: Skokie, IL)

Questions “How does racial identity correspond to or counter that of the content narrative that is commonly shared in our classrooms?” and “What are the implications?” were raised at the AMSE-Sponsored Session: Unpacking Race in a Science Classroom. Thank you to the presenters for sharing their vision and talking about what we need to do to work across the divisions of race. Some notes I jotted down: “Every little strand in the fabric of our country is part of building the strength, excellence and beauty of our nation.”

Tips for consideration:

• Audio record children saying their own names to learn the correct pronunciation.
• Create an “affinity group” with other teachers in your program to discuss you ideas on critical race theory and social justice and have a core understanding of your reason to gather. 
• The website they list on the conference session scheduler is a Google doc full of ways to connect, learn, share resources on race that you know about, and find others for use in your classroom. 

Sing for the Planet–The path to the mind goes through the heart. Begin with 14 songs from Pete Seeger, with his Grammy-winning Fourth Graders. Look at easy lessons to support the songs. Then enjoy research on positive approaches to environmental ed.

Presenter(s): Juliana Texley (Central Michigan University: Mount Pleasant, MI)

Juliana Texley, former NSTA President and teacher made the connection between the arts and STEM: “When music is used as a vehicle for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) or social studies learning, we nurture deeper and more lasting understanding.” See and download her presentation on the online conference session schedule.

A River Story: Expanding Science Access to Urban Second Graders and Their Teachers–Find out how community partners worked with an urban district to enhance training opportunities for grade 2 teachers and support three-dimensional science learning for their ALL their students.

Presenter(s): Sarah Sterling-Laldee (Paterson Public Schools: Paterson, NJ), Nakeia Wimberly (Paterson School No. 2: Paterson, NJ), Elizabeth Nunez (Paterson Public Schools: Paterson, NJ), Norma Menchon (Paterson School No. 2: Paterson, NJ)

It often happens that an unrelated group of conference participants follow roughly the same schedule and end up in several of the same sessions. It was fun to find out that someone I had talked with in a previous session was presenting in this one! 

Through partnering with a local foundation and the state Audubon Society this group of educators were able to provide training opportunities to increase teacher and student engagement with each other and with discourse. Teachers became more open to new instructional practices. There were 28 second grade teachers in the first year cohort and 28 first grade teachers in the second year cohort. In the second year the 2nd grade teachers returned as mentors for the new cohort. Teachers met twice a month, took field trips, and held family science events.

Tips for consideration:

• Teachers were required to apply as a school team so they had support in their building.
• They have an initial meet-and-greet, and an ending celebration with both cohorts.
• They held a reception with administrators at the school and district levels.

STEM and the Urban Elementary Classroom–An urban elementary school STEM teacher discusses using three-dimensional STEM instruction as a vehicle for building critical thinking skills and positive impact on student learning.

Presenter(s): Natalie Rachel (Fulton County Schools: Atlanta, GA)

STEM teacher Natalie Rachel of Fulton County Schools, Atlanta, GA talks about how she engages the school’s K-5 students in science through an inquiry-based NGSS strategy.

Every week, for 45 minutes for each class, STEM teacher Natalie Rachel engages the school’s K-5 students in science through an inquiry-based NGSS strategy. Their work may take place over several weeks. She plans and works together with the classroom teachers to create a professional learning community so the instruction can be extended in the regular classroom. Look up this session to see the slides to learn more about how literature, gardening, technology, and after school programs are incorporated in her work. 

The Early Childhood Science Interest Forum (ECSIF) of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) held an informal meeting to share resources, get to know other early childhood educators, make plans to support ECE sessions at NSTA conferences, and present the Golden Hand Lens Award to Linda Froschauer. 

Learn more about the ECSIF on the NAEYC Hello site and on Facebook.  

Science and Language: Natural Partners–Science is a natural vehicle for supporting language development for all children. A brief hands-on exploration and video will be used to promote discussion about approaches and strategies that support language development while keeping the focus on children’s science experiences, observations, and ideas.

Presenter(s): Cindy Hoisington (Education Development Center, Inc.: Waltham, MA)

In previous years sessions by Cindy Hoisington have been worthwhile, because she has extensive experience in early childhood education and really digs into the ideas. But another session was also important to me so I am grateful that Cindy posted her slides. See and download her presentation on the online conference session schedule. 

Tips for consideration:

She prompts us to remember to…

• Focus your questions on children’s experiences, observations, and ideas
• Provide all children with opportunities to contribute.
• Encourage children to talk to one another.
• Use exploration materials, photos, children’s representations, and books as props
• Wrap-up before children lose interest.

Starting STEM at an Early Age–STEM starts at an early age. Join us on how to engage early learners in an NGSS early childhood curriculum.

Presenter(s): Kendra McKoy (Liberty Science Center: Jersey City, NJ)

Kendra McKoy  shares children’s literature and activities to consider using as part of ongoing science and engineering design inquiries.

This Liberty Science Center session shared many activities to consider using as part of ongoing science and engineering design inquiries. Kendra emphasized the effectiveness of introducing vocabulary, such as, “transparent,” “translucent,” and “opaque,” after children have first-hand experiences when they need the words to describe their

Participants in the Liberty Science Center session exploring how light travels through different materials.

observations. Starting with a drawing of their design and saying what materials they need helps children be creative. Kendra also emphasized the importance of including time for children to re-design their boats or other work, and test their new designs. In one of the activities we built model sailboats and tested them on “a solid” (a table representing land) but at the center children also test their boats on “a liquid,” a tub of water. 

Supporting Early STEM Inquiry Through Learning Partnerships–Supported by 100kin10—the District of Columbia Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE), DC Public Schools (DCPS), and the National Air and Space Museum (NASM) have partnered to improve active STEM learning in the early grades by providing rich professional development for teachers and connecting young learners to STEM in their community. We will share the program’s progress and will lead participants through a hands-on inquiry STEM experience focused on preK learners.

Presenter(s): Lauren Allen (D.C. Office of the State Superintendent of Education: Washington, DC), Sarah Massie (Plummer Elementary School: Washington, DC)

Another session that shows how having strong administrative support of teachers builds good outcomes for children. The admin-ECE pair, Lauren Allen and Sarah Massie, told us how a partnership among institutions brought professional development to early childhood teachers of 3 and 4 year olds. [Full disclosure, as a contractor I provide some of the professional development.] And then we got to try out some of the open explorations! Supported by 100kin10—the District of Columbia Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE), DC Public Schools (DCPS), and the National Air and Space Museum (NASM) involve classroom teachers in a program that has continued from its beginnings as the NASM’s “Science in PreK” program. Opportunities for teacher growth as STEM educators include writing for the NSTA Early Years blog, presenting about the specific science and engineering inquiries that take place in their classrooms, and supporting family science events at the NASM. See resources from this partnership at: https://padlet.com/semassie0/hrq548wcfnvq 

NSTA Press® Session: Bringing the S-T-E-M Together in Early Childhood Using Science and Engineering Practices–Increase your understanding of science and engineering practices while seeing how young children use them in STEM explorations. Discuss examples and NSTA’s early childhood position statement.

Presenter(s): Peggy Ashbrook (Author/NSTA Early Years Columnist: Alexandria, VA)

Identifying the NGSS science and engineering practices being used by children as they engage in explorations helps educators who are new to the 3-dimensional teaching and learning with a way to begin implementing this structure, although much of early childhood education has always been multi-dimensional. Reading A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas,  especially pages 29-34, “Chapter 2 Guiding Assumptions and Organization of the Framework,” is a good introduction. In this session I briefly talked about the foundational research for the Next Generation Science Standards and showed an example of how all the science and engineering practices are used by children during a science inquiry about earthworms. Then participants looked at additional photos of children at work and discussed which of the practices they could identify in use. I appreciate the contributions to the discussion of how to move from single unrelated activities to full inquiry using the practices integrating science, engineering, and math, and using technology. Look up this session to see the slides.

The Benefits of Applying Spatial Learning within a STEM Classroom–Spatial ability is an important aspect of STEM education. Join in to engage in different spatial activities to promote awareness of spatial learning in the classroom.

Presenter(s): Steve Pauls (Fresno Pacific University: Fresno, CA)

Presenter Steve Pauls said he tries to be the bridge between research and the classroom. In a wide ranging discussion he noted the correlation between use of early spatial language and math ability related to parents’ spatial language and interactions,  reported on research by Dr. Nora Newcombe, Dr. Jean Piaget, Dr. Susan Levine, and and Dr. Jonathan Wai, and recommended books including Spatial Reasoning in the Early Years by Brent Davis and the Spatial Reasoning Study Group. 

Tips for consideration—Steve noted that: 

• Spatial ability develops at an early age.
• Spatial ability is not fixed, it is malleable.
• Children and adults do learn spatial thinking (see work by Sorby, Metz, and Ribe). 
• A little bit of spatial training can have a long lasting, durable effect.
• Spatial learning is transferable to other areas, including STEM.

Primary Grade Engineers: Integrating STEM and Literacy in K–2 Classrooms–Learn about methods, activities, and resources to engage primary grade students in engineering while meaningfully integrating reading, vocabulary, writing, and digital literacy.

Presenter(s): Patricia Bricker (Western Carolina University: Cullowhee, NC), Melissa Faetz (Western Carolina University: Cullowhee, NC), Delaney Smith (Hayesville Elementary School: Hayesville, NC), Kimberly Sanders (South Macon Elementary School: Franklin, NC)

I wasn’t able to attend this session but the presenters posted extensive resources on the conference session schedule site (thank you!), including engineering design challenges posed by the teachers and one related to a real-life problem at their school.  Look up this session to access the resources.

In the conference Exhibit Hall I picked up a cloud chart from NOAA, a bird feeder and other free materials from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology , took a photo in the suit I wore on my last mission in space, and restocked my pen supply (and chocolates) from the many vendors. Did you add a pin to the map at the NSTA Booth to show where you teach science? 

Get ready for the 2019 national conference in St. Louis, April 11-14 by submitting your proposal by April 16th of this year!

This week in education news, GAO finds federal STEM education programs lack coordination; Juneau School District considers teaching climate change; teaching kids not to be afraid of math might help them achieve; virtual dissection provides high school students with as real an experience with the body and its workings as they can get; new report finds thousands of teachers forced to pay back their federal grants; Alaska program fosters thousands of students in STEM education;  and a new study finds elementary students matched with the same teacher two years in a row show improvement in test scores.

Mailing To Teachers Highlight A Political Fight Over Climate Change In The Classroom

Last spring, science teachers across the nation began receiving unsolicited packages containing classroom materials from a libertarian group that rejects the scientific consensus on climate change. This spring, some of the same teachers are opening packages containing very different materials: A book written by a Cornell University affiliate called “The Teacher-Friendly Guide to Climate Change,” which embraces the prevailing science, explains the phenomenon in detail and includes recommendations for how to teach the subject to children. Read the article featured on PBS Frontline.

Federal STEM Education Programs Lack Coordination, Watchdog Finds

Education in the STEM fields continues to be a priority for federal legislators, agencies, and even President Donald Trump. But according to a report released Friday, the group charged with coordinating the myriad federal STEM programs shirked several key duties, making it harder to assess the fruits of that investment. Read the article featured in Education Week.

Juneau School Officials Consider Teaching Climate Change

Juneau school officials are considering adopting national science education standards that include teaching middle and high school students about climate change. The Juneau School District is borrowing some core ideas from the Next Generation Science Standards, which include providing students with an understanding of the relationship between human activity and climate change, Alaska’s Energy Desk reported. Read the article by the Associated Press.

Teaching Kids Not To Be Scared Of Math Might Help Them Achieve

American students are bombing math. In 2015, a mere 25 percent of high school seniors were proficient in the subject, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, which produces the most reliable data on academic competency. Efforts to improve these numbers have abounded. Dozens of states have incorporated more rigorous standards through the implementation of the Common Core. Many schools have tweaked math classes to include more visualization and lessons that relate more to real life. Read the article featured in The Hechinger Report.

Digital Dissection May Be Heading To An Anatomy Class Near You

Cadaver dissection is the traditional way that medical students have learned about the human body’s parts and functions. But the practice is expensive and study cadavers aren’t easy to come by. The virtual dissection table has solved these problems for universities and now it’s a way for high schools to provide aspiring doctors with as real an experience with the body and its workings as they can get. Read the article featured in Education Week.

Thousands of Teachers Forced To Pay Back Their Federal TEACH Grants, Report Finds

More than 60 percent of teachers who received a grant from the U.S. Department of Education prior to July 2014 were forced to repay the money as an unsubsidized loan, a government report says—even though many of those teachers were still meeting the program’s teaching requirements. Read the article featured in Education Week.

With Drones, Students Tackle Complex Topics

Projects like these are heightening drone awareness among K–12 educators across the country. The latest Horizon Report for K–12 lists drones among a handful of consumer technologies that weren’t originally designed for education but “may serve well as learning aids and be quite adaptable for use in schools.” But drone adoption faces pushback. Teachers may resist adding one more initiative to an already-full day. Administrators and budget managers may view drones in the classroom as not worthy of investment when funds are limited. Read the article featured in Ed Tech.

Native Alaskans In STEM Program Work To Make Lives Better

With its grand, rural expanse and rugged terrain, Alaska has challenges made for experts in STEM. Remote areas lack basic clean water facilities, with dozens of communities still reliant on the “honey bucket” for waste, forcing residents to gather at “washeterias” to do laundry or bathe. The state is hard hit by climate change, with melting glaciers and rising sea levels threatening coastal communities. But finding people with the STEM backgrounds to address those issues is a daunting challenge of its own. Alaska has one of the lowest high school graduation rates in the country. Kids from communities where fishing is the family business might feel they don’t need higher education, and have few college-educated elders to act as models. Merely traveling to a university city inside the state is cumbersome, requiring two flights for many far-flung Alaskans. Read the article featured in U.S. News & World Report.

Looping’ With Students Boosts Learning, Especially for Kids Of Color, Study Says

Elementary students matched with the same teacher two years in a row show improvement in test scores, according to a new study. Read the article featured in Education Week.

Stay tuned for next week’s top education news stories.

The Communication, Legislative & Public Affairs (CLPA) team strives to keep NSTA members, teachers, science education leaders, and the general public informed about NSTA programs, products, and services and key science education issues and legislation. In the association’s role as the national voice for science education, its CLPA team actively promotes NSTA’s positions on science education issues and communicates key NSTA messages to essential audiences.

The mission of NSTA is to promote excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all.

Follow NSTA

It gets easier.

Even after two summers of writing NGSS-aligned curriculum units with the Michigan Science Teaching and Assessment Reform (MiSTAR) project, I found my first pilot experience teaching a MiSTAR NGSS-aligned unit last year to be exhausting. The unit was three-dimensional, 21st century challenge-based, student-driven, and full of phenomena and productive talk. It had street cred: written by teachers partnered with engineers and research scientists. It was real-life, current, local, and engaging. My kids were thriving, and I was excited. It was science teaching like you’ve always known it’s meant to be. And it was exhausting. Like first-year-teacher exhausting. How could I keep up this pace?

But after running through a couple of pilots back to back last year, I launched two different MiSTAR units simultaneously this past October: one in my sixth grade classes, and one in my eighth grade honors class. Two, at one time! And here it is, December. We’re wrapping up. And I haven’t just survived, but I’ve found that I can really see myself doing this long term, on a big scale. In fact, I can’t see myself ever going back. Indeed, it gets easier.

Teaching MiSTAR NGSS-aligned units the first time is very difficult. The content might be new – and now it includes engineering concepts. The modified 5E structure of the lessons might be new as well. Certainly using phenomena and storylines is new. And then there are driving question bubble maps, and unit summary tables, and a Gotta Have Checklist and embedded assessments and 3D summative assessments . . . and you feel like your head might explode … everything is 100 percent new, 100 percent of the time. It is exhausting. And then it gets easier.

In the last few weeks, it’s occurred to me that I’m not so exhausted. That it’s really working. My kids are learning. I’m seeing their growth in the embedded assessments, which are written in different contexts and seemed far too difficult, even unfair, at first. Even my at-risk kids, who underperform in other classes, are learning and growing. My kids can do this.

And my kids are engaged. They say things like, “Is it already time to go? This class went by fast!” And for me, time is flying too. But I’m not nearly as frazzled. I don’t forget major parts of the lesson any more, because I’ve internalized the pattern. I’ve learned to play up the phenomena to generate the lesson questions. Most of the time, I remember not to immediately affirm, but instead asking those probing questions as we uncover and share evidence. I’m learning to remind kids of the relationships between what we’re learning, and the 21st century problem we’re trying to solve—not just occasionally, but throughout the lessons.

I’m not a master yet, but I’m improving. After two or three times through, I have a good handle on systems models, and criteria and constraints, and claim, evidence, reasoning is making more sense. I’m finally understanding the value of driving question bubble maps and selling kids on the idea that they’re determining their own learning. About half of what I need to do every day is now automatic and intuitive. My kids are learning. And they like it.

It gets easier.

Hang in there, and NGSS will remind you of why you wanted to be a teacher in the first place. I promise.