By Carole Hayward
Posted on 2018-03-05
Curiosity, joy, and wonder. Our youngest students possess an over-abundance of these qualities, and when their teachers successfully tap into them, they help nurture a lifelong love of science.
But finding resources to help make science education relatable and engaging for three- to seven-year-olds can be challenging. That’s why educators will enthusiastically welcome William Straits’ wonderful new book A Head Start on Life Science: Encouraging a Sense of Wonder, which offers 24 inquiry-based lessons that encourage children to make scientific discoveries on their own. We dare you to resist the urge to explore a book whose cover features three wide-eyed, smiling youngsters enthusiastically observing the natural world around them.
Straits directs the National Center for Science in Early Childhood where he works with teachers who “lovingly and tirelessly” dedicate their careers to helping children expand their joyful “sense of wonder” about the natural world. In writing this book, he collaborated with an extensive list of science and early childhood educators. Photos that capture some of the engaging lessons in action were taken at the Harry and Grace Steele Children’s Center at Orange Coast College and are featured throughout the book.
“We believe that a sense of wonder is part of all children’s experience and that children are intrinsically motivated to explore the natural world,” Strait says. “Therefore, it is important that all children have access to culturally relevant science experiences that are of value in learners’ everyday worlds. Our goal is not for children to acquire ‘facts,’ but to be active explorers, reveling in the process of discovering more about the natural world around them.”
Each lesson is aligned with high-quality early childhood science education and inspired by the learning cycle’s three-part teaching that first orients children toward the topic to be investigated, then gives them a chance to explore and develop an understanding of the concept; and finally offers students a situation where they can apply their new understandings.
This book is a follow up to NSTA’s popular A Head Start on Science and allows teachers to generate a greater interest among their students in life science by: offering a diverse range of inquiry-based and engaging lessons on animals, plants, and nature walks; connecting to a range of other subjects such as reading, art, writing, dramatic play, and math; and extending learning beyond the classroom with activities—written in both English and Spanish—so that children can continue to explore life sciences with their families via activities that are related to their everyday lives.
Read the free sample chapter, “Science for Young Children”, to understand the components of a high quality ECSE and what constitutes developmentally appropriate science; get a lesson overview, learn how to plan for a lesson, and more.
This book is also available as an e-book.
Don’t miss out on this opportunity to make science accessible to your youngest students. There are jumping crickets, earthworms, and snails to observe; plants to smell, compare, and measure; weeds to investigate and map where they grow, outdoor scavenger hunts to plan, and so much more.
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Curiosity, joy, and wonder. Our youngest students possess an over-abundance of these qualities, and when their teachers successfully tap into them, they help nurture a lifelong love of science.
By Lynn Petrinjak
Posted on 2018-03-03
Coryn Cange, a member of the NSTA Student Chapter at Stony Brook University, guides high school students as they study water filtration in a chemistry teaching lab. Photo courtesy of Judy Nimmo
Whether they’re helping to judge a regional science fair; conducting family science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) nights; or learning about professional norms from an inservice teacher, members of NSTA Student Chapters are laying the foundations for their professional lives.
At Stony Brook University, New York, all science teacher preparation students are strongly encouraged to join NSTA and the Science Teachers Association of New York State. “This is the beginning of their professional preparation; we encourage them to become part of the larger science teacher community. We try to set [our students] off on a path that will shape their professional careers” by encouraging membership in professional organizations, explains Linda Padwa, associate director of Stony Brook’s Science Teacher Preparation Program. The students, typically either seniors or graduate students, interact with inservice teachers and secondary school students through volunteer work with the Science Olympiad and regional science fairs. They also work as assistants in the university’s Institute for STEM Education after-school program and teaching labs taught by faculty members.
“These are genuine interactions with students. [Stony Brook preservice teachers] demonstrate how to use equipment and guide [the grades 7–12] students through the lab protocols. Our students who participate in teaching labs are really ready for student teaching: They’re comfortable; they’re ready to go when they get into the classroom,” Padwa asserts. “When our students participate, they meet inservice teachers…they frequently make connections that lead to placements for student teaching and even future employment.”
She likes to remind her students of the importance of creating a professional network, telling them, “You never know where it can lead. There are no guarantees, but if you’re out there, you stand a chance.”
The NSTA Student Chapter at Central Michigan University (CMU), formed in 2002, was the seventh in the country, according to Jim McDonald, professor of science education and the chapter’s faculty advisor. The group currently runs three programs to bring more science to local schools: Family Science Nights, STEM Involvement Nights, and Science Hours.
“The students organize three family science nights a semester,” explains McDonald, who also serves as the president of the Council for Elementary Science International. The events feature six or seven activities for parents and children to do together and often include handouts if they want to continue at home. The STEM Involvement Nights are a “mix of math, science, and technology…You could call it a maker lab if you want to put that label on it.”
Only 10–15 families attend the STEM events due to the program’s more hands-on, intensive nature. CMU students give attendees a problem and a selection of recycled materials to work with as each family collaborates on a solution. “We may target different grade levels every year,” he adds. “This is not for gifted kids; it’s for kids who maybe need a shot in the arm as far as science, math, and engineering go.”
Local teachers invite CMU students to their classrooms to teach a lesson for the Science Hour programs. “Our students prepare and teach the whole lesson, and confer with the teacher to address the standards the teacher wants to address,” McDonald says. “It goes over well and is a great opportunity for our students to get some hands-on experience.”
In addition to their work with the local community, CMU students receive support from the university to attend and present at one NSTA conference a year. “The rationale is for them to present professionally and get some professional development. I want them to give back to the science education community. I want them to network with other science teachers. They’ve gotten really good feedback on their lessons, strategies, and ideas for their family science activities [when they present at conferences],” he contends.
Usha Rajdev, professor of math and science and the NSTA and International Association for STEM Leaders (IASL) Student Chapter Faculty Adviser at Marymount University (MU) in Arlington, Virginia, says she was concerned about “exhausting” her students if they were expected to conduct too many activities, so the NSTA and IASL student chapters work with students in the Masters in Education and Curriculum Instruction (EDCI) STEM Leaders group on four events during the academic year.
The EDCI plans the events each year, which a “core group” of NSTA and IASL student members then conduct. This year, as many as 40 students from Washington-Lee High School in Arlington assisted the MU students during individual events at area schools. Each event features multiple activities spanning life, Earth, and physical science. She describes the events as based on science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics, but “with the emphasis in engineering and design.
“There’s some core math and technology, some show-and-tell. Sometimes parents join in. We have leaflets for them to take home and replicate,” explains Rajdev. “I’m partial to taking students to schools where the need is higher and the principal wants parental involvement.” The schools typically include a Catholic school, a school where a current student or alum is teaching, and Fort Belvoir Elementary School on the Fort Belvoir Army base.
The “finale” event is held in the MU campus gym. “It’s very similar [to the other events], except much larger. We’re not only serving the Arlington community, [we’re] also serving children of our faculty,” says Rajdev. “We have rockets; we have a professor from the arts and sciences department with a 3-D printer, a planetarium. This year, we have several community outreach programs participating, including NASA, the Arlington police department, and a nature center.” She estimates the four events reach about 1,000 children annually.
“We go to the same school for two years. The goal is the school will know how to do events and will do their own,” she declares. “We’re not only doing community service, but [also] spreading the wealth [of knowledge] we have.” The MU students “spend a lot of time over the year planning, researching, and conducting the events… This would be nothing without the students,” she maintains. The students receive certificates recognizing their community service, and the experience also helps make them more marketable in their careers, according to Rajdev.
Inservice teachers, including Catherine Sadowski (right) and Andrew Barnes (second from right), attend NSTA Student Chapter meetings at the University of Missouri, offering advice on topics such as interview clothing and professional development after graduation as part of the chapter’s effort to create a professional community. Photo courtesy of Melissa Grindstaff
When she started advising the University of Missouri (Mizzou) NSTA Student Chapter in 2016, Patricia Friedrichsen wondered—due to the chapter’s size and fluid membership —if it was possible for students to attend a chapter meeting and not interact with other members. “I started thinking about how to connect them…make them feel someone recognized they were at the meeting.”
Her solution was to invite inservice teachers to attend meetings and act as mentors to the students. “I reached out to people at different levels. It was natural to reach out to past officers… it’s a way to keep alumni connected to the club. We wanted to mentor at all levels: elementary, middle, and high school,” Friedrichsen says. During the Fall 2017 semester meetings, the mentors arrived early to discuss the meeting’s focus, and students would sit with mentors teaching their grade level or content area at each meeting. The mentoring groups created smaller communities within the chapter.
Kara Schulte, a ninth-grade physics teacher at Simonsen Ninth Grade Center in Jefferson City, Missouri, was excited about mentoring Mizzou students. “I graduated in Spring 2017 from Mizzou. The people I met in college were such a huge part of who I became [as a teacher] that I wanted to help students transition from being pure students to being a teacher,” she explains. “As a mentor, I’ve attended all chapter meetings. They talk to me about their content exams…interview questions, what to wear on an interview, what principals will ask… We basically go over things so they’re not blindsided when they go through them on their own as actual teacher…I can give very tailored advice to people who are going to be teaching the same thing I teach.”
“I’ve seen vertical mentoring with the classroom teachers mentoring undergrads. There’s also horizontal mentoring [when students discuss classes to take and assignments with peers] going on,” Friedrichsen states. “Students move through the program in cohorts. They get to know their cohort, but don’t have many other opportunities to get to know other cohorts, other years. It’s very intentional how we’re building community at the beginning of the meeting.”
She notes it was important to her to foster connections between her students and teachers in the classroom in informal settings. “To me, it’s all about connections…helping students network, get to know people outside their immediate circle.”
Another way she encourages students to expand their circle is by presenting at the Science Teachers of Missouri (STOM) conference. The Mizzou students shared apps “that highlight particular Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) standards. They presented different tech tools to help with the implementation of NGSS.”
Friedrichsen reports that the presentation caught the attention of the STOM board, and STOM recently appointed a Mizzou student to serve as a director at- large as the group explores ways to draw more preservice teachers to the conference.
This article originally appeared in the March 2018 issue of NSTA Reports, the member newspaper of the National Science Teachers Association. Each month, NSTA members receive NSTA Reports, featuring news on science education, the association, and more. Not a member? Learn how NSTA can help you become the best science teacher you can be.
The mission of NSTA is to promote excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all.
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Coryn Cange, a member of the NSTA Student Chapter at Stony Brook University, guides high school students as they study water filtration in a chemistry teaching lab. Photo courtesy of Judy Nimmo
By Kate Falk
Posted on 2018-03-02
This week in education news, Florida lawmakers are considering giving the public more power to influence what educators teach students; new report finds that states must provide more information than what’s required to give administrators and parents a clearer view of how schools are performing; homework is beneficial, but only to a degree; DeVos wants to direct federal funds to school choice, STEM, career preparation; In # ArmMeWith movement, teachers ask to be armed but not with guns; not enough states are using data to determine if their supply of teachers is meeting the demand of school districts; and a new study finds text messages tailored to students’ needs boost retention.
Florida Residents Could Soon Get The Power To Alter Science Classes
Policymakers in the United States are pushing to give the public more power to influence what educators teach students. Last week, Florida’s legislature started considering two related bills that, if enacted, would let residents recommend which instructional materials teachers in their school district use in their classrooms. The bills build on a law enacted in June 2017, which enables any Florida resident to challenge the textbooks and other educational tools used in their district as being biased or inaccurate. Read the article featured in Nature.
Using Science To Bring Literature To Life
Too often when we consider how to connect science and literacy, we think about using literature to support science. Maybe it’s reading a fictional book with a science theme, or exploring a biography of a famous scientist. But we could instead turn that around and use science experiments as a way of bringing literature to life. Read the article featured in edutopia.
43 States Include More Than K12 Test Scores On Report Cards, But Work Remains
States must provide more information than what’s required on federally mandated school report cards to give administrators and parents a clearer view of the education culture, according to a recent report from the nonprofit policy organization Data Quality Campaign. Since No Child Left Behind, states have had to create report cards detailing the academic performance of students in each school. Some 43 states have now added measures that go beyond test scores—such as chronic absences, discipline rates and course offerings—to offer a wider view of how a school is performing and what programs are available to students. Read the article featured in District Administration.
What’s The Right Amount Of Homework?
Many teachers and parents believe that homework helps students build study skills and review concepts learned in class. Others see homework as disruptive and unnecessary, leading to burnout and turning kids off to school. Decades of research show that the issue is more nuanced and complex than most people think: Homework is beneficial, but only to a degree. Students in high school gain the most, while younger kids benefit much less. Read the article featured in edutopia.
How Can Educators Make The STEM Pipeline More Accessible?
In an audio conversation, Education Dive spoke with two experts from the Society for Science & the Public about key areas in STEM education and ways education leaders can broaden the pipeline. The experts are Maya Ajmera, the CEO of Society for Science & the Public and publisher of Science News, and Caitlin Sullivan, the organization’s director of outreach and equity. Listen to the conversation featured on educationdive.com.
Betsy DeVos Wants To Direct Federal Funds To School Choice, STEM, Workforce Readiness
U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos will give applicants for federal grants a leg-up if they are planning to embrace things like school choice, STEM, literacy, school climate, effective instruction, career preparation, and serving military-connected children and students in special education. Read the article featured in Education Week.
In #ArmMeWith Movement, Teachers Ask To Be Armed — But Not With Guns
Teachers have taken to social media in the midst of a gun control debate following the Parkland, Florida, school shooting to push for an increase in classroom resources — not the ability to carry guns in school. Earlier this week, President Donald Trump suggested that some teachers be armed, calling it a “great deterrent” to mass shootings on campus. Using the hashtag #ArmMeWith, teachers are proposing other resources they would rather be armed with, such as more funding, additional school counselors and smaller class sizes. Read the article featured on CNN.com.
States Should Use Data to Curb Teacher Shortages, Report Says
Are states doing enough to tackle teacher shortages? Not according to a new report released by the National Council on Teacher Quality, a Washington-based research and advocacy group that tracks teacher policies. Read the article featured in Education Week.
Workdays were originally created to allow teachers and support staff to prepare for classroom work directly related to students and centered around curriculum. They were a day for mentors to spend side by side with their new-teacher mentees, helping shape effective content and best practices in the classroom. As the workday approached, teachers would prepare by updating lesson plans, communicating with specialists, going through cumulative folders, making copies, and grading papers. Read the article featured in Education Week.
Study: Text ‘Nudges’ Boost Engagement For Community College STEM Students
A new report about a sample of more than 2,000 community college students pursuing degrees in STEM fields found that the students were 10% more likely to return the following semester if they received text message “nudges” to encourage persistence and enrollment. The nudges encourage students to adopt time-management and study skills and remind recipients of important deadlines for financial aid applications and class registration. Read the brief featured in Education DIVE.
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.
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Safety Blog
By Kenneth Roy
Posted on 2018-03-02
The “Science Activity Safety Checklist,” written by NSTA’s Science Safety Advisory Board, allows teachers to vet any new demonstration, activity, laboratory, or field investigation before using it in the classroom or laboratory. The checklist requires that the teacher has met the following safety requirements.
Safety training must be completed before any activity or demonstration.
After safety training, have students and a parent or guardian review and sign a safety acknowledgment form. For examples of elementary, middle, and high school safety acknowledgement forms, visit the NSTA Safety Portal.
Complete a Hazard analysis and review Safety Data Sheet (SDS). A hazard analysis is the first of three steps (hazard analysis, risk assessment, safety action) to determine the appropriate safety action. The SDS lists chemical hazards. Other sources for hazards include the NSTA listserv, NSTA Safety Blog, and NSTA Safety Portal.
Complete a risk assessment to determine what risks result from the hazards. If the hazard is a corrosive chemical such as an acid, for example, the risk is the acid’s potential to burn the skin or eyes.
Review and apply appropriate safety controls to address risks (elimination, substitution, engineering controls, standard operating safety procedures, class size, special needs students, and personal protective equipment). Based on the risk assessment, take the appropriate safety action. For example an acid would require students and teachers to wear indirectly vented chemical splash goggles, aprons, and nitrile gloves.
Share with students a list of PPE and other safety protocols documented in the procedure.
Prepare a general statement of safety precautions for the teacher and students. Before doing a hands-on activity or demo, teachers need to share with students a written document containing the required safety precautions of the activity or demo.
Review and document safety precautions for chemicals. Share salient safety precautions for hazardous chemicals found in SDS.
Review and document safety precautions for physical hazards (e.g., trip-fall hazards and projectiles). Review appropriate safety precautions for all determined physical hazards.
Review and document safety precautions for biological hazards (e.g., bloodborne pathogen exposure, toxic plants).
When using hand or power tools, make sure you review and document safety precautions prior to doing hands-on activities or demos.
The teacher performs lab, activity, or demonstration prior to its use with students. Performing new hands-on activities and demos prior to using it with students ensures all possible safety issues have been addressed.
Keep a plan in place to monitor student behavior in meeting safety expectations during the activity (e.g., making sure PPE stays on, keeping appropriately defined distance from apparatus). Enforce progressive discipline policies for students, including well-defined student behavior expectations, direct adult supervision, and specific discipline actions in steps. The first step, for instance, would involve a verbal warning, followed by the students’ removal from class and a zero for the lab activity if he or she repeats the same offense. The student may ultimately be permanently removed from the class if the behavior is not rectified.
In the end
Always make note of safety actions in your lesson plans and keep copies of the check list. Should there be a safety incident, this information will be helpful in providing proof that the science teacher took the appropriate actions. Accidents, of course, can still happen even when safety protocols are in place. Be vigilant during all activities and demonstrations.
Submit questions regarding safety in K–12 to Ken Roy at safesci@sbcglobal.net or leave him a comment below. Follow Ken Roy on Twitter: @drroysafersci.
NSTA resources and safety issue papers
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The “Science Activity Safety Checklist,” written by NSTA’s Science Safety Advisory Board, allows teachers to vet any new demonstration, activity, laboratory, or field investigation before using it in the classroom or laboratory. The checklist requires that the teacher has met the following safety requirements.
Safety training must be completed before any activity or demonstration.
By Edwin P. Christmann
Posted on 2018-03-01
Introduction
The Go Direct Gas Pressure Sensor is used to monitor pressure changes during gas-law experiments. Subsequently, science teachers can use it for graphical analysis and integrate its use in both mathematics and science instruction. In addition, it comes with a free “Graphical Analysis™ 4 app,” which produces real-time graphs from experimental data and is very easy to use.
Once students have collected data, the software generates a variety of statistics that students can use for data analysis and include in their laboratory reports, e.g., central tendency, range, curve fits, etc. In addition the free “Graphical Analysis™ 4 app,” in combination with the supported hardware, makes it possible to use your mobile device for data collection with other Vernier sensors, e.g., temperature, motion, force, pH, etc.
What’s Included
• Go Direct Gas Pressure Sensor
• Two tapered valve connectors & No. 5 stopper
• One tapered valve inserted into No. 1 stopper
• One two way valve
• Two Luer-lock connected to either end of plastic tubing
• One 20 mL syringe
• Two tubing clamps
• Connecting USB cord
How it Works
The sensor has a flexible membrane that reacts when the pressure changes and is arranged to measure absolute pressure. One side of the membrane is vacuum-like and the other side is open to the atmosphere. Hence, a pressure change is detected and the sensor produces an output voltage that is transmitted to the “Graphical Analysis™ 4 app,” which results in a graphic. The following video shows how to set-up the device:
Video Link:
Key Features
1.Data Collection
• Collect data from multiple sensors simultaneously, either with a multiple-channel interface such as LabQuest Stream or by using multiple Go Direct sensors. Use Data Sharing to retrieve data from just about every Vernier sensor.
• Select time-based or event-based data collection, including events with entry.
• Adjust data-collection rate and duration as needed.
• Trigger time-based data collection on sensor values
• Calibrate sensors, although most of the time this is not needed.
• Enter data manually or using the clipboard.
• Change display units on many sensors.
2. Data Analysis
• Display one, two, or three graphs as needed.
• Set the graph scale.
• Select what is graphed on each axis, and select line or point style graphs.
• Calculate descriptive statistics your data.
• Fit lines and curves to some or all of your data.
• Define calculated columns based on sensor columns.
• View data in a table.
• Highlight and read values from a graph.
• Interpolate and extrapolate using graphed data.
3. Data Sharing
• Receive data shared from Lab Quest or a computer running Logger Pro.
4. Data Storage
• Store and retrieve previously shared data collection and analysis sessions.
Screenshot Examples:
Choose from standard curve fit equations to analyze experimental data. Example: Boyle’s Law
Collect data from multiple sensors simultaneously using two force sensors. Example: Newton’s third law.
Perform graph math exercises with a motion detector
Requirements for software download
• Windows
Computer running Windows 7 or Windows 10. Only Windows 10 computers with compatible Bluetooth® radios will support Bluetooth connections.
• Mac OS
Computer running Mac OS, USB and Bluetooth.
• Chromebook
Chromebook running Chrome OS 53 or newer. USB and Bluetooth.
• iOS Devices
iOS 9 or newer
iPad (4th generation or newer), iPad mini, iPad Air, and iPad Pro
iPhone (5th or newer)
iPod touch (5th generation or newer)
• Android Devices
Android 4.3 or newer
Tablets: Nexus 7, Nexus 10
Phones: Nexus 5, Samsung Galaxy series, Android devices running 4.1–4.2.2 can download Graphical Analysis v1.2 from Google Play.
The Android version of Graphical Analysis 4 will be available in the first quarter of 2018 with updated system requirements.
Summary
After reviewing the Go Direct® Gas Pressure Sensor, we found it to be a user-friendly device that is an excellent fit for scientific investigations and data collection in both middle-level and secondary classrooms. At $89.00, its cost is reasonable and coupled with the free data analysis software, it is a technology application that we think will enhance scientific inquiry in any science classroom. Undoubtedly, Vernier has a great reputation in the science education community and the Go Direct® Gas Pressure Sensor is another fine example of how Vernier’s excellent products are high quality and help make learning interesting and meaningful for science students!
Cost: $89.00
Edwin P. Christmann is a professor and chairman of the secondary education department and graduate coordinator of the mathematics and science teaching program at Slippery Rock University in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania. Caitlin Baxter is a graduate student in the mathematics and science teaching program at Slippery Rock University in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania.
Introduction
The Go Direct Gas Pressure Sensor is used to monitor pressure changes during gas-law experiments. Subsequently, science teachers can use it for graphical analysis and integrate its use in both mathematics and science instruction. In addition, it comes with a free “Graphical Analysis™ 4 app,” which produces real-time graphs from experimental data and is very easy to use.
By Peggy Ashbrook
Posted on 2018-02-28
A colleague mentioned that he has a few recent issues of Science and Children to catch up on. Reading an issue of the journal doesn’t have to be front to back. Like preschoolers making a play plan, educators can make a reading plan so a journal can be useful instead of filling up a “to-do” list. As a peer-reviewed journal for teachers, we can count on Science and Children to publish articles sharing effective strategies and workable lesson plans aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards. One colleague likes to tear out the pages that interest her to file for future use as a way to reduce her storage needs. I hold on to the entire issues because it makes it easier to read at the breakfast table, I loan them to colleagues, and I return to the whole issue when I’m revisiting a topic.
The table of contents states the issue topic (for February, Heredity: Inheritance and variation of traits) and lists each article and Teacher Resource by page number and a brief description. Articles that relate to the issue’s focus are marked with a colored dot. If you are looking for articles about a particular grade level, labels for grades K-3, and grades 3-5, identify the content grade level. Teacher Resources include regularly appearing and occasional columns—the Early Years, the Early Childhood Resources Review, Formative Assessment Probes, Teaching Through Trade Books, The Poetry of Science, Science 101 and 102, Engineering Encounters, Teaching Teachers, Methods and Strategies, Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12, and NSTA Recommends. In every issue: the Editor’s Note. I always read this note because it sets me up with a perspective to ponder as I read the journal, or the parts of the journal I have time for.
Consider this quote from the January 2018 Editor’s Note: Removing Barriers, from Science and Children’s Field Editor, Linda Froschauer: “Science is for ALL. Not just students who are highly capable physically and mentally. Meeting the needs of the entire population is what we do. Remove as many barriers as possible, make learning accessible, and support students as they find their strengths to build on.”
I appreciate the way the NSTA journal editors, writers, and staff make Science and Children accessible and expand the learning through links to online content. Look for the sciLINKs icon in each issue for web links to accurate, age-appropriate content and pedagogy, the caution symbol, and the vintage film camera icon indicating video in the digital edition of the journal, and a “NSTA Connection” box at the end of some pieces indicating additional information available online.
Look for the “Call for Papers” in the print journal or online and consider sharing your teaching practice with others!
A colleague mentioned that he has a few recent issues of Science and Children to catch up on. Reading an issue of the journal doesn’t have to be front to back. Like preschoolers making a play plan, educators can make a reading plan so a journal can be useful instead of filling up a “to-do” list.
By Gabe Kraljevic
Posted on 2018-02-26
I was considering sending a general email to our staff after learning a few teachers are telling students that evolution is wrong. At the very least I would like for my colleagues to be benign and not detrimental. What are your thoughts?
– G., Ohio
I think it would be a bad idea to send out a general email. You have to work with your colleagues and airing this out publicly would not be good for relations. Remember, only a few are involved.
Do you know if those staff members who don’t believe in evolution are telling your students to answer questions differently than what you teach? That would be a problem. If they are just stating their opinions then consider if there are larger implications. Depending on your district’s policies, you may be required to talk to the colleagues involved face-to-face as the first step. I recommend that you should talk to them. Remember: You are not trying to change their minds, so don’t argue about evolution. Focus on their effect on your curriculum.
The nature of science focuses on explanations that adhere to evidence. Evolution is a major unifying concept in science. You will teach it and expect your students to understand it, regardless of whether they believe it or not.
You may want to read over NSTA’s position statement on teaching evolution: https://goo.gl/uADYyw
Hope this helps!
Photo credit: J. Cameron [Public domain]
I was considering sending a general email to our staff after learning a few teachers are telling students that evolution is wrong. At the very least I would like for my colleagues to be benign and not detrimental. What are your thoughts?
– G., Ohio
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