When students miss a lab activity, what are some meaningful ways they can make up the work? — R., Oregon

Most students don’t want to miss lab investigations, but when they do, it can affect their learning in the rest of the unit. Finding time for make-up work outside of class can be difficult in a busy schedule or for bus riders.

It’s also hard to keep equipment and supplies set up for an extended time, especially if you teach more than one subject or share the lab or equipment with other teachers.

Here are some suggestions:

• For each investigation, create an alternate assignment on the topic, such as a report or project addressing the same learning goals. (However, this would require you plan two separate activities and create rubrics and due dates for the alternate.)
• Provide a link to a virtual lab, video, or simulation on the topic. (Other students may appreciate the opportunity for the additional experience.)
• Give the student a copy of the question and have a member of the absentee’s lab team explain the investigation and share the data. The absentee would be responsible for completing the assigned report on the activity, using the data and observations to respond to the original question. Model and practice this with the students so they know what to expect if they miss a lab.
• Ask one group to take photos or a video of the activity as they do it. Post this on the class website so the absent students can follow along with the procedure, record the data, and complete the summary/report. This may sound like a lot of work, but you only need one presentation per activity. This may require some practice by the student-videographers.

Photo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/mysight/5044057510/lightbox/

The word assessment can prompt feelings of dread, mistrust, or outright hate in many teachers. That’s distressing, as quality instruction includes quality assessment. Unfortunately, we have allowed assessment to become the “tail that wags the dog.” The development of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) was a tremendous step forward in attempting to change that and recover students’ excitement and curiosity about science.

I view assessment from two perspectives. First, as leader in developing the NGSS, I know the intent of the Framework for K–12 Science Education and the lead states. Second, as Commissioner of Education for Kentucky, I am responsible for creating an environment that ensures students are receiving a quality education. While these positions give me two different lenses for viewing education, I believe that together they offer a specific way to approach three- dimensional assessment.

First, let’s consider the intent of the standards. I believe that traditional science testing has removed the creativity and joy from science teaching, resulting in students who fail to experience the joy of learning science and don’t develop the ability to think critically about the world around them. When we crafted the NGSS, we had a clear understanding that the standards would “break” many of the current psychometric models, including the notions that one standard equals one multiple-choice item and that we can only test content. If we approach state assessment from the standpoint intended by the states and the writers, then we must have the courage to seek a new way to approach state assessment. 

So what was the standards’ intent beyond changing how we think about assessment? I think it’s important to note that the standards were not intended to focus on  state assessment exclusively; they were, in fact, meant to refocus instruction. Throughout the implementation process, our most important message to states was not to proceed to assessment too quickly; instruction must come first. (Please note I have a reason for referring specifically to states, which I’ll explain shortly.)

This sequence was intentional and meant to emphasize that instruction was the critical first step, and state assessment would follow. I contend it’s time for us to realize that as educators, we must consider the business of instruction first. If we do our jobs, state assessment will take care of itself. The best test prep is good instruction, but if we focus solely on the facts of science as we have done for years, test prep will remain static. I understand that much of science assessment drives how we manage instruction. This is why states must take the development of new assessments seriously and consider the intent of the standards as they do so. 

A final point is the integration of quality instruction and quality assessment. I stated earlier that state assessment follows instruction. This is true because quality instruction also requires quality assessment at all levels. In other words, as the National Research Council has noted in its consensus study on Developing Assessments for the Next Generation Science Standards, a system of assessments must be employed to properly align instruction with assessment. Indeed, students should actually learn from these assessments, as well as receive feedback on their own progress.

We have done this in Kentucky, and in the past year, I have witnessed extraordinary instruction, especially at the K–8 level. Our system of assessments consists of classroom-embedded assessments, tasks, and a state assessment. We strive to make clear that local assessments are just as important. They are not part of accountability, but they help determine whether practice changes. The feedback we have received from students shows they learned from the tasks, as did the teachers. 

Assessment should not be something the state does; it should be part of a system that values teachers and their instruction, provides quality feedback to both teachers and students, and engages students in phenomena and engineering that allow them to appreciate the scientific process. I am committed to these ideas, and we will emphasize them in Kentucky, in all areas. I am also collaborating with other chief state school officers and their staff to improve science education for all students, and I am excited about our future. If we are to succeed in providing the best science education in the world, we must remember three necessary ingredients: quality instruction, quality assessment at all levels, and teachers who have the courage to instruct and assess differently.

Stephen L. Pruitt

Stephen L. Pruitt is the Commissioner of Education for the state of Kentucky. He started his education career as a high school chemistry teacher in Georgia, and later held several positions at the Georgia Department of Education. Before coming to Kentucky, Commissioner Pruitt served as senior vice president for Achieve, Inc., a nonpartisan education reform organization in Washington, D.C., where he coordinated the development of the Next Generation Science Standards. He holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from North Georgia College and State University, a master’s degree in science education from the University of West Georgia, and a Doctorate of Philosophy in chemistry education from Auburn University.

This article was featured in the September issue of Next Gen Navigator, a monthly e-newsletter from NSTA delivering information, insights, resources, and professional learning opportunities for science educators by science educators on the Next Generation Science Standards and three-dimensional instruction. Click here to sign up to receive the Navigator every month.

Visit NSTA’s NGSS@NSTA Hub for hundreds of vetted classroom resources, professional learning opportunities, publications, ebooks and more; connect with your teacher colleagues on the NGSS listservs (members can sign up here); and join us for discussions around NGSS at an upcoming conference.

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

Future NSTA Conferences

2017 Fall Conferences

• Baltimore: Oct. 5–7, 2017
• Milwaukee: Nov. 9–11, 2017
• New Orleans: Nov. 30–Dec. 2, 2017

National Conference

• Atlanta: March 15–18, 2018

Follow NSTA

One thing is clear about our multi-dimensional standards: They require a complex and thoughtful approach to assessment. No single, conventional, summative test can be expected to provide reliable data sufficient enough to satisfy the demands of all possible audiences. To say a student truly understands all dimensions of a multi-year set of Performance Expectations (PEs) would require days of intensive assessment or a technological solution that currently exists only in science fiction. So how do we improve our ability to ascertain what students know and can do, given the limitations of the traditional summative assessment model?

The obvious answer is that we should go beyond the traditional summative assessment model. We’re not required to base our understanding of student achievement solely on a single assessment given at the end of the school year (or multiple years when grade-band testing.) To more accurately assess multi-dimensional standards, we need to employ an approach that allows us to measure student performance at different times and in different ways. Most importantly, we need to emphasize formative assessment over summative assessment, which will enable teachers to make course corrections well before the summative assessment. This requires a new way of thinking about assessment in science: a systems approach.

In the 2016–17 school year, Kentucky field-tested this new approach. In addition to new summative assessments at elementary, middle, and high school levels, we implemented formative assessments at every grade level. Called Through Course Tasks (TCTs), these assessments differed greatly from the traditional science assessment approach. They combined summative assessment for accountability with daily formative classroom assessment to create a system of science assessments.

Three Components of a Science Assessment System

Classroom-Embedded Assessments (CEAs)

Vital to any good assessment system is teachers’ daily assessment at the individual classroom level. Teachers engage students in formative assessment on a minute-by-minute basis to determine the corrections necessary to maximize each student’s learning progress. As teachers become more familiar with multi-dimensional assessment, their CEAs will become more precise in revealing deficiencies in students’ understanding of the Science and Engineering Practices (SEP) and Crosscutting Concepts (CCC), and teachers’ traditional “content” assessments may benefit as well. While the information gathered does not contribute to a student, teacher, or school score on any accountability measure, it is crucial in directing student learning.

Through Course Tasks (TCT)

TCTs are multi-dimensional tasks to help teachers learn more about their students. Specifically, the TCTs are designed to elicit evidence of student understanding of the SEP and CCC. While TCTs share some characteristics with other components of the system, they are unique because they

• are a collection of common tasks available to all K–12 teachers of science ;
• are created by teachers and shared statewide through an electronic portal;
• are accompanied by a guide explaining the task and how to facilitate it with students;
• are three-dimensional tasks, but designed to elicit evidence of student understanding of primarily SEP and CCC because they are untethered from the content of any particular Performance Expectation;
• allow students to use the SEP and CCC as tools to make sense of a phenomenon or solve a problem;
• are designed to be administered as part of a process, not just assigned to students and scored (Teachers are expected to work collaboratively to plan task administration and analyze student work to determine instructional implications.);
• aren’t part of accountability; students aren’t “scored” and their individual results aren’t reported to the state (The TCT is a formative assessment designed to provide teachers with useful instructional information and to calibrate expectations for student performance in 3-D sensemaking.); and
• are implemented by teachers two or three times per year.

State Summative Assessment (SSA)

The State Summative Assessment (SSA) piloted in spring 2017 was comprised of clusters of items requiring students to use all three dimensions to make sense of a phenomenon or solve an engineering design problem. Each cluster assessed two or three PEs and used a storyline approach to present the phenomenon or problem. The cluster established a scenario or situation in which students were asked to apply their understanding of all three dimensions. Individual items were written to work together coherently so students progressed through the questions in a logical way.

Kentucky teachers were asked to write the clusters so that every item (whether multiple-choice or extended-response) was at least two-dimensional, and that the cluster as a whole was three-dimensional. Teachers who created the clusters said constructing multi-dimensional multiple-choice items was very challenging, as was identifying a rich phenomenon to anchor the cluster.

Working as a System

A collection of parts working independently of one another isn’t a system; it’s simply a collection of parts. The central idea of Kentucky’s science assessment system is that each component has a unique role in achieving the same end: providing useful information about different aspects of student learning in science. Often teachers are advised to create practice tests and to emulate summative practice at the classroom level. Unfortunately, this elicits only one kind of information, and in the case of summative assessment, only after all the opportunities for learning have ended. We hope that by providing access to quality formative assessment and freeing it from the pressures of accountability, teachers will have multiple and timely ways to learn what their students need.

Sean Elkins

Sean Elkins is a science instructional specialist for the Kentucky Department of Education. He currently works with teachers to develop formative and summative assessments as part of Kentucky’s Science Assessment System. Elkins coordinated Kentucky’s efforts as one of the 26 states that helped create the Next Generation Science Standards. During his 29 years in public education, he has worked with students ranging from first-day kindergartners to graduating seniors. He holds certifications in Earth science, chemistry, and physics.

This article was featured in the September issue of Next Gen Navigator, a monthly e-newsletter from NSTA delivering information, insights, resources, and professional learning opportunities for science educators by science educators on the Next Generation Science Standards and three-dimensional instruction. Click here to sign up to receive the Navigator every month.

Visit NSTA’s NGSS@NSTA Hub for hundreds of vetted classroom resources, professional learning opportunities, publications, ebooks and more; connect with your teacher colleagues on the NGSS listservs (members can sign up here); and join us for discussions around NGSS at an upcoming conference.

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

Future NSTA Conferences

2017 Fall Conferences

• Baltimore: Oct. 5–7, 2017
• Milwaukee: Nov. 9–11, 2017
• New Orleans: Nov. 30–Dec. 2, 2017

National Conference

• Atlanta: March 15–18, 2018

Follow NSTA

How do you envision science education in your classroom? Your school? Your district? In hectic life of a modern educator, it is easy to become overwhelmed by the initiatives, expectations, and pressures of our profession. As a first-year high school administrator, I admit I experienced a point last year when I was simply surviving—not managing adequately, but just barely managing.

Fortunately, I was assigned a leadership coach who recognized the signs of an impending collapse. He advised me to re-center myself by focusing on the one thing that would make the biggest difference in my school and ensuring that one thing was done well and consistently. He told me if I could devote time each day to that one thing—regardless of whatever else I might face—I would know I had made a difference.

The kicker is that this “one thing” had to include something tangible, some evidence to show I was working toward my “one thing.” The one thing I chose was instruction. I want the students in my school to have the highest degree of quality instruction, consistently delivered to them. For this to happen, I had to leave my office and visit classrooms and converse with teachers about instruction. The observations I made, the feedback I gave, and the discussions I had regarding what quality instruction is, what it looks like in a particular grade level and subject, and how we could make it happen consistently, provided clear evidence that I was focusing on my “one thing.”  

I want teachers in my building to have this same singular focus. The “one thing” I want them to concentrate on is teaching well every day. I want them to devote time and energy to designing challenging, engaging lessons that push their students to grow in their knowledge and understanding. I want them to start each day by reflecting on what their vision for education looks like in their classroom, and if they teach science, I want them to consider the vision set forth by the Framework for K–12 Science Education, and make that vision a reality.

While I would love to stand and say this to my faculty, I know my words would be received with skepticism at best. The truth is that we live and work in a state that still requires high-stakes assessments. The scores of those assessments are used to evaluate teachers, administrators, and schools. Those assessments aren’t perfect; everyone agrees they don’t provide a full picture of a student’s growth over a year; and they aren’t going away. So I can’t tell my teachers they don’t matter, because they do. What I can say is that how we define assessment in our school can change, and that the traditional summative end-of-year assessment isn’t the “one thing” on which we should solely focus. 

This summer, I studied the recently published National Academies Press report, Seeing Students Learn Science: Integrating Instruction and Assessment. One key idea that really resonated with me is that assessment should be an integrated part of classroom instruction and not an interruption or sole event. This shift in perspective has helped me better reframe this discussion on instruction and assessment and what they should look like at my school. To accomplish this, I have restructured key ideas presented in the book to create questions that teachers can ask themselves and that I can ask during our conversations about teaching and learning.  (see slide)

I would like to report that this second year has begun flawlessly and that we are consistently having rich discussions about integrating assessment into instruction. The truth is, after just more than a month into the school year, we are still taking baby steps. My teachers are still trying to grasp how to change their instruction and assessment practices, and I am still learning how to be an administrator. What we do have is a focus, a “one thing” that we believe matters most, and a belief that the little changes we make each day to accomplish that one thing will eventually result in an experience that matches the vision we have for our classrooms, our school, and our district. 

Zoe Evans

Zoe Evans is principal of Bowdon High School in Bowdon, Georgia. Before becoming an administrator in 2012, she taught middle level science for 19 years in Florida and Georgia. Evans is a National Board Certified–teacher in Early Adolescent Science and a Georgia Master Teacher. She is the 2005 Georgia recipient of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. 

Evans served on the writing team for the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and has collaborated on many projects, including the NGSS EQuIP Professional Learning Facilitator’s Guide, NGSS Example Bundles, and NGSS Evidence Statements. She also is an EQuIP Rubric trainer, NGSS@NSTA Curator, and NSTA’s District V Director. Evans earned a bachelor’s degree in middle grades education, a master’s degree in middle grades science, and a specialist’s degree in middle grade science from the University of West Georgia. 

This article was featured in the September issue of Next Gen Navigator, a monthly e-newsletter from NSTA delivering information, insights, resources, and professional learning opportunities for science educators by science educators on the Next Generation Science Standards and three-dimensional instruction. Click here to sign up to receive the Navigator every month.

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

Visit NSTA’s NGSS@NSTA Hub for hundreds of vetted classroom resources, professional learning opportunities, publications, ebooks and more; connect with your teacher colleagues on the NGSS listservs (members can sign up here); and join us for discussions around NGSS at an upcoming conference.

Future NSTA Conferences

2017 Fall Conferences

• Baltimore: Oct. 5–7, 2017
• Milwaukee: Nov. 9–11, 2017
• New Orleans: Nov. 30–Dec. 2, 2017

National Conference

• Atlanta: March 15–18, 2018

Follow NSTA

Commentary: Reasoning Versus Post-Truth in The Science Teacher is an important read in a time when dependence on unverified information from social media seems to be more prevalent than using trusted sources that value reasoning.

Science Scope – STEM Integration

From the Editor’s Desk: STEM Integration: A Tall Order: “The shift from teaching math and science in silos to intertwining them with technology and engineering makes education more relevant to students’ lives through exposure to authentic problems.”

Articles in this issue that describe lessons include a helpful sidebar (“At a Glance”) documenting the big idea, essential pre-knowledge, time, and cost. The lessons also include connections with the NGSS.

• Designing a Sustainable Neighborhood: An Interdisciplinary Project-Based Energy and Engineering Unit in the Seventh-Grade Classroom describes student collaborations in designing energy-efficient buildings. The article has examples of student work.
• Teaching Thermal Energy Concepts in a Middle School Mathematics-Infused Science Curriculum includes a 5E lesson that goes beyond traditional lab lessons by infusing math skills related to the investigation.
• Students often explore motion using toy cars and ramps. Exploring the Engineering Design Process Through Computer-Aided Design and 3-D Printing show how students can go further, designing and constructing their own cars. The 5E lesson includes a rubric.
• What happens in the schoolyard after the dismissal bell? Students investigate and submit their findings in What’s in Your School Yard? Using Citizen Science Wildlife Cameras to Conduct Authentic Scientific Investigations
• Teacher’s Toolkit: STEM Career Bingo raises students’ awareness of how STEM careers are interconnected.
• Integrating Technology: Enhancing a Scientific Inquiry Lesson Through Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning describes how students apply engineering design processes to solve a problem. The article also shows how the lesson was modified after initial implementation.
• Citizen Science: Navigate Classroom Citizen Science Throughout the School Year with Journey North incorporates technology into a study of monarch migration.
• Colleagues share their ideas and strategies in this month’s Listserv Roundup: Add More STEAM to Your Classes.

These monthly columns continue to provide background knowledge and classroom ideas:

• Scope on the Skies: Cassini’s Grand Finale
• Disequilibrium: Colorful Covalent Bonds
• Science for All: Breaking the Cycle: Thoughts About Building Grit in the Classroom
• Teacher to Teacher: Written Assessment in Three Dimensions

For more on the content that provides a context for projects and strategies described in this issue, see the SciLinks topics Biodiversity, Careers in Science, Conductors/Insulators, Covalent and Ionic Bonds, Energy Transformations, Forces and Motion, Insects, Kinetic/Potential Energy, Law of Conservation of Energy, Migration, Renewable Sources of Energy, Satellite Technology, Sound. Sustainable Development, Winds

Read more from The Science Teacher and Science & Children:

The Science Teacher – Using Evidence-Based Reasoning

Editor’s Corner: Evidence-Based Reasoning: “Cable news and social media now allow us to view only the information and views that confirm our own biases, often accepted without evidence and with great confidence….Teachers—especially science teachers—are in a unique position to reaffirm the priority of facts and evidence-based reasoning.”

The lessons described in the articles include connections with the NGSS.

• Idea Bank: Setting the Stage: Your First Week of Science Class illustrates that it’s never to early in the school year to involve students in investigations (this one is about reaction times).
• The Case of Dinosaur Metabolism includes a lesson in which students research thermoregulation in dinosaurs and use a claim-evidence-reasoning process to guide their thinking. A rubric for C-E-R is included, along with examples of student work.
• The lesson described in Reasoning From Models integrates probes, physical models, simulations, and mathematical models to help students understand their learning about electric circuits.
• Modeling Periodic Patterns has ideas for repurposing an investigation of chemical reactions to include evidence-based reasoning.
• Rather than a once-and-done cookbook lab, Learning Iteratively shows how a series of activities can build on each other as students develop and refine models and reflect on their explanations.

These monthly columns continue to provide background knowledge and classroom ideas:

• Science 2.0: Enhancing Google Sheets for the Classroom
• Focus on Physics: Eight Tips for New (and not so new) Teachers
• The Green Room: Exploring Our Public Lands
• Health Wise: Be Prepared for Opioid Overdoses
• Career of the Month: Epidemiologist
• Right to the Source: A Nose for Poison Gas Saved Lives

For more on the content that provides a context for projects and strategies described in this issue, see the SciLinks topics Chemical Reactions, Circulatory System, Dinosaurs, Drugs and Drug Abuse, Electric Circuits, Electric Current, Halogens, Homeostasis, Mapping, Metabolism, Metals and Nonmetals, National Parks, Paleontology, Periodic Table, Respiratory System

Science & Children – Preservice and Inservice Experiences: Enhancing Science Teachers’ Repertoires

Editor’s Note: Learning and Teaching (and Vice Versa): “This issue includes a variety of professional development strategies used in preservice and inservice settings. Not only do they provide ways to enrich your classroom science teaching, they also provide ideas concerning how you might go about sharing your expertise with colleagues and beyond.”

The lessons described in the articles include connections with the NGSS.

• Teachers learn by observing another teacher in Professional Development in Real Time, reflecting on their own teaching, and trying new 5E lessons themselves.
• Creating STEM Kits for the Classroom describes a win-win project: Teachers design “kits” based on lessons they created. Who learned more—the designers or the students?
• Integrating Science Methods With Professional Development illustrates a “third space” methods course connecting pre-service teachers with students in a real school setting to try out their lessons.
• Instead of a set of demonstrations, try a family STEM night with the ideas in Scientists Overnight.
• The authors of Discussing Science in Professional Learning Communities share their experiences in the effective form of professional development. The article includes discussion protocols and group roles.
• Preservice early-childhood teachers help children discover What’s in Our Soil?
• Teaching Through Trade Books: The Tool and Eye includes 5E lessons that address animal adaptations.
• Engineering Encounters: Teaching Educators About Engineering describes a hands-on professional development session designed to introduce teachers to engineering at the elementary level.

These monthly columns continue to provide background knowledge and classroom ideas:

• The Poetry of Science: What Do Scientists Do?
• Science 101: Can Electromagnetic Waves Affect Emotions?
• The Early Years: Experiencing Inquiry
• Formative Assessment Probes: Uncovering Preservice Teachers’ Ideas About Magnetism and Formative Assessment

For more on the content that provides a context for projects and strategies described in this issue, see the SciLinks topics Adaptations of Animals, Decomposers, Electromagnetic Waves, Fluids and Pressure, Magnets, Rocket Technology, Roots, Seed Germination, Soil, Vibrations, Worms

As the old saying goes, sometimes less is more. And such is the case with the Carson SkeleScope. Whether used to teach optics, engineering or perhaps even astronomy, having a clear view of the internals of a telescope can be quite engaging. If you make that inspection explorable as well, students will no longer have to just imagine how the reflective magnification of light works. With the SkeleScope, students can construct and manipulate an inexpensive optical tube assembly with mirrors and an eyepiece that hides none of the components of a centuries-old telescope design that is one of the most popular today.

By producing a visible scope in the same vein as the “Visible Man” I played with as a kid, a new level of conceptual understand is possible. Until Marcel Jovine created his Visible Man and Visible Woman in the early 1960s, much of the under-skin workings of a human were relegated to drawings. I cannot help but wonder how many more doctors and nurses got their start “playing” with the plastic parts of this visible human toy.

As a company, Carson Optical was founded by Richard Cameron who actually left his job as a banker and started a business in his mother’s basement importing clever items and especially those with a scientific bend were imported from Japan. Many of the items involved optics from magnifiers to binoculars to telescopes. Today Carson Optical has 25 years of experience in the optical space and uses advanced CNC and 3D rapid prototyping to research and develop its own line of unique products. With over 100 patents, Carson Optical is a household name in science classrooms world wide. And Carson has appeared here in this blog before with their HookUpz 2.0.

Carson has made a name for itself as an innovator from the moment the first product shipped out of a Long Island, NY basement. So building a basic telescope that is arguably more exciting to look at than to look through should not be surprising.

The Carson SkeleScope is a 76mm aperture, 360mm focal length reflecting telescope that weighs less than a pound. The open-truss design common in reflecting telescopes is not uncommon, but rarely at this size. Usually open trusses are saved for when massive mirrors require it such as in observatory and Obsession telescopes that take the concept of a portable reflecting telescope as a “light bucket” to extremes.

Before exploring the telescope as a telescope, the SkeleScope optical machine had to be assembled. I solicited a pair of high school freshman for the task. They were given a box of SkeleScope parts and asked to make a time-lapse video of their work. Then I left.

Youtube now holds the proof of their work:

Even though they mounted the optical tube assembly (OTA in telescope-speak) reversed thus placing the majority of the OTA’s mass on the outside of the tripod’s balance point, I was impressed with their work and thanked them profusely!

Once up and running, the Carson SkeleScope proved to be a functional scope with reasonable optics. As a 14.4x the Carson SkeleScope preforms admirably. By using built-in extending eyepiece holder the works like a Barlow lens, 36x is possible. For reference, Gallelo’s telescope was about 6x and it provided him with views that would change the world. On the other end of the optical spectrum are the large reflecting telescopes. While a primary mirror diameter of three meters will get you on the list of major telescopes, the big guns at the top of the list are 10 meters or more in diameter. Well, there is only one more than 10m and that’s the Gran Telescopio Canarias in Spain. Of the next three 10m mirrors on the list, two are found on Mauna Kea in Hawaii and known as. They were also the world’s first 10m scopes.

On a side note, Mauna Kea is a glorious volcanic mountain in Hawaii touching the rarefied air at 4145m or 13,800 feet. That’s about the same as the tippy top of Grand Teton Peak in Wyoming. Now kids don’t normally summit Grand Teton so the effects of the reduced oxygen atmosphere at that elevation are not breaking news. However, if you drive up towards the summit of Mauna Kea, you will encounter many warnings about taking children to the summit to which you can obviously drive to. Here is the text from a visitor’s guide:

Anyone in poor health should consult their physician before planning a visit to Maunakea.  We do not recommend anyone who is pregnant to go further than the VIS.  People under the age of 16 should not go any further because their bodies are still developing and they are affected more rapidly when going to a high altitude. 

Now I’ve taken kids skiing at elevations over 11,000 feet or 3400 meters in Colorado so I was curious what was special about Mauna Kea that it might be more dangerous for children. It took some doing, but I finally got some straight talk from a ranger. In a nutshell 4100 meters in elevation in Colorado is the same as 4100m in Hawaii, but the two main differences between Colorado and Hawaii, in case you didn’t know, are that 1) you cannot drive from sea level to 4100m in Colorado, and 2) you rarely stay very long at 4100m in Colorado. 

On the other hand, you can drive from a sea level beach in Hawaii to the summit of Mauna Kia in a couple hours. And worse, there is plenty to do once you reach the 4000m+ summit.  Since the effects of thin air (reduced barometric pressure and accompanying oxygen saturation) disproportionately affect children, and it was not the children who did all the driving, and spent money on a rental car, there is a strong possibility that the adults in the group will ignore the children complaints (or possibly lack of complaining as they succumb to the altitude) in order to maximize their time on top. For the record, my kids made it about 45 minutes before we had to descend due to headache and fatigue.

So what does this digression have to do with the SkeleScope? Probably something deeper, but the best I can come up with is that both Mauna Kia and the SkeleScope strip away the veneer of what they offer. Mauna Kia offers 4K meter elevation to anyone. The SkeleScope offers visibility to anyone. Ok, that’s a reach, but quality metaphors can be hard to come by these days.

The Carson SkeleScope is a modern take on a historic design. Known as a Newtonian Reflector, the optics of the Carson SkeleScope trace their roots back to 1668 when Sir Issac Newton applied the telescope design to explore an ultimately support his theories about white light being a spectrum of different colors. Using mirrors to manipulate light avoids some significant issues when using a series of lenses. Even Galileo wrote about using mirrors instead of lenses. By the way, a trivia fact is that the year Galileo Galilei died, 1642, is also the year Isaac Newton was born. I use that date as a general reference of the birth of modern science.  Add 300 years to that date and you have 1942, the birth year of Stephen Hawking.

By using mirrors instead of just lenses, the Newtonian telescope can capture more light for its size compared to a reflecting scope, weigh less, be simpler to make, and have a focal length much longer than its tube length. And that shorter focal ratio makes for a wider field of view. 

Of course Newtonian telescopes have their disadvantages, but chromatic aberration is not one of them. CA or chromatic aberration is an effect where as light is refracted through a lens, the individual wavelengths or colors do not converge on the same point.

The difference in wavelengths among the colors causes them to “bend” at different angles which is the very property we know and love when we shoot white light through a prism. Unfortunately if you are using lensed optics, the individual nature each wavelength causes them to separate creating rainbow, fringing effects, and distortion among parallel features.

Although there is a long list of issues with Newtonian telescope designs, that list is not long enough to keep the Newtonian from being one of the most popular and affordable telescope designs for amateurs and professionals alike. Which is exactly the point of the Carson SkeleScope.

By exposing the innards of the scope to the point they can be observed and explored, students can both use and manipulate the light flow in the scope. Some explorations can include restricting the reflecting surface of the primary mirror by covering a portion of it with paper. What is affected? What is not?

In the end, the Carson SkeleScope makes a useful telescope on it’s own. At 14x, the craters on the moon are filled with details including rays, upheaval domes, and crater rims. Two or three moons of Jupiter show up as specks of light in a line crossing a larger speck that is the gas giant itself.

Since school usually takes place during daylight hours, terrestrial viewing is a great use for the Carson SkeleScope. In fact known size and distance outside the classroom walls combined with the exposed nature of the Carson SkeleScope allows actual measurements using meters sticks, rulers, and a good laser range finder if you’ve got one.

In science class, optics are often reduced to a series of equations. What better way to teach and learn about optics and work hands-on with the equations than to move beyond the traditional but effective light table and turn the volume up with less …and the Carson SkeleScope.

This week in education news, New Mexico unveiled proposed science standards that omit references to climate change and evolution; all California teachers with a teaching credential, including preliminary credentials obtained through a traditional teacher preparation program or an intern credential, will now meet the definition of “effective;” teachers need to keep creativity at the forefront of the educational spectrum; the Partnership For 21^st Century Learning launched a new learning framework; panel says teachers are quitting because they’re dissatisfied; it’s all about ‘new collar’ jobs; and solving real-world problems is key to Ed tech success.

WHOSE SCIENCE? Critics Say Proposed NM Science Standards Omit Evolution, Climate Change

New Mexico’s Public Education Department unveiled proposed teaching standards this week that critics say would omit references to evolution, rising global temperatures and the age of Earth from the state’s science curriculum. The standards are based on a science curriculum called the Next Generation Science Standards proposed in 2013 by a consortium of 26 states. But the New Mexico plan contains additions and deletions from the nationwide standards. Read the article featured in the Albuquerque Journal.

California Defines ‘Effective’ And ‘Ineffective’ Teachers, And Why It Matters

Intern teachers in programs like Teach for America who earn their preliminary credential while on the job will not have the scarlet letter of being labeled an “ineffective teacher” in California. In adopting the state plan for the Every Student Succeeds Act on Wednesday, the State Board of Education resolved a remaining contentious issue: the definition of an “ineffective teacher.” It decided not to include teachers with intern credentials in the definition after much testimony from former intern teachers and districts that readily hire them. Read the article featured in EdSource.

A Teacher’s Tips On How To Get Kids Excited About STEM

Emerging diseases, energy sustainability and severe weather are just some of the global issues today’s students will be asked to solve using the skills they learn in the classroom, according to one local teacher. Kenneth L. Huff, a middle school science teacher in the Williamsville Central School District, was one of 10 teachers nationwide chosen to help promote the science, technology, engineering and mathematics curriculum as a 2017 STEM Teacher Ambassador. Read the article featured in The Buffalo News.

Putting The ‘A’ In STEAM Education This School Year

As more students head back to school, we will continue to hear about how educators can successfully incorporate STEM education into curriculums from as early as Kindergarten. Whether it’s providing students with hands-on robotics tools where they can learn to code, program and design on their own, or using more in-class devices like Google Chromebooks that familiarize students with technology and problem-solving skills, there are many ways to integrate STEM into the classroom. However, as we put our efforts on fine-tuning these technical skills, we often lose sight of creativity. Read the article featured in eSchool News.

Your One-Stop Shop For ESSA Info On Teachers, Testing, Money, and More

For teachers, parents, principals, and others, the Every Student Succeeds Act is no longer on the horizon. Now it’s in their schools. Yes, ESSA has officially taken effect this school year. All but four states have turned in their plans for the education law’s implementation to the federal government—and some states’ plans have already gotten approved by the U.S. Department of Education. But there’s a decent chance you’re still gathering information and learning about ESSA. Read the article featured in Education Week.

The Partnership For 21st Century Learning Launches Framework To Help Today’s Youngest Learners Get Ready For Tomorrow’s Challenges

The Partnership For 21^st Century Learning launched a new learning framework to provide practical guidance on integrating 21st century skills into learning programs and experiences for the youngest learners. The framework extends the organizations’ body of work, integrating early learning into the college and career readiness continuum. Read the press release.

Teachers Are Quitting Because They’re Dissatisfied. That’s a Crisis, Scholars Say

States and districts must find ways to keep teachers in the profession—or they’re staring down the barrel of a growing teacher shortage, researchers and policymakers said at a panel discussion here on Tuesday. Read the article featured in Education Week.

Companies And Colleges Unite To Train ‘New Collar’ Students

So long white collar and blue collar. Now it’s all about the “new collar” job. In the current technological economy, where factories and production plants are closed or workers are replaced by computers, those computers need to be maintained and programmed. Enter “new collar” jobs — positions that require some specialized education (typically in a technical field), but not a four-year college degree. Read the article by NBC News.

Solving Real-World Problems Is Key To Ed Tech Success

As more classrooms are becoming one-to-one tech environments, schools are looking for more active ways for students to engage with classroom technology. One such way to do this is through problem-based learning, where students must use technology to find a solution. Read the article featured in Ed Tech.

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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Introduction

STEM Sims provides over 100 simulations of laboratory experiments and engineering design products for applications in STEM classrooms. One particular simulation found on this site, Data Visualization, is a stimulating and imaginative tool for students to analyze a graphic representation of Napoleon’s 19th Century invasion of Russia. Hence, students use data provided with an 1889 graphic representation drawn by Charles Minard. The drawing is detailed and gives a variety of information about the military campaign. Subsequently, students are able to imagine they are military historians investigating and making inferences to analyze the success or the campaign. As is the case with all STEM SIMs software, Data Visualization is aligned with national (NGSS) standards (see below) and is compatible with state standards as well:

• MS-PS4.C – Information Technologies and Instrumentation
• MS-ESS2.D – Weather and Climate

The simulation provides students with a brochure (see link below), a pre-assessment quiz, as well as introductory information about the concepts of Data Visualization. The simulation provides students with valuable data analysis skills; which offer an excellent content map that integrates mathematics, science, and social studies very well. Moreover, the activity challenges students to solve the problems of how and why the campaign failed, making it both engaging for students and stresses the higher levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy, e.g., Analysis and Evaluation.

Brochure: https://stemsims.com/simulations/data-visualization/brochure/brochure.pdf?version=2017-01-10

STEM Sims provides four separate lesson plans for this simulation (see links below) and provides an excellent learning opportunity for students while minimizing the planning needed by teachers:

Lesson 1: https://stemsims.com/simulations/data-visualization/lessons/lesson-1.pdf?version=2017-01-10

Lesson 2: https://stemsims.com/simulations/data-visualization/lessons/lesson-2.pdf?version=2017-01-10

Lesson 3: https://stemsims.com/simulations/data-visualization/lessons/lesson-3.pdf?version=2017-01-10

Lesson 4: https://stemsims.com/simulations/data-visualization/lessons/lesson-4.pdf?version=2017-01-10

Conclusion

Data Visualization, much like the other simulations on this site, gives students the opportunity to learn authentic and integrated STEM concepts. Moreover, this simulation provides science teachers with a valuable opportunity to work across the curriculum with other subjects. Therefore, science teachers will have the opportunity to work with other teachers and make more diverse connections with their science students. Consider signing-up for a free trial to evaluate this excellent simulation for your classroom and try to determine where this simulation fits into your instructional planning.

For a free trial, visit https://stemsims.com/account/sign-up

Recommended System Qualifications:

• Operating system: Windows XP or Mac OS X 10.7
• Browser: Chrome 40, Firefox 35, Internet Explorer 11, or Safari 7
• Java 7, Flash Player 13

Single classroom subscription: $169 for a 365-day subscription and includes access for 30 students and 100 simulations.
Product Site: https://stemsims.com/

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. Anthony Balos is a graduate student and a research assistant in the secondary education program at Slippery Rock University in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania

What could be better than one anisotropic magnetoresistance magnetic field sensor? How about three anisotropic magnetoresistance magnetic field sensors and a Hall effect sensor as well! Pack them all into a lightweight watertight housing with a rechargeable battery and wired or wireless connectivity and you’ve got yourself a Vernier Three-Axis Magnetic Field Sensor.

Vernier Three-Axis Magnetic Field Sensor

I’ve been a fan of Vernier’s magnetic field sensors for decades, ever since the 1990s when my earth science students used the sensors with their primitive Apple laptops in the fields, hills, and caves of Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho. 

Back then the magnetic field sensor was long cabled tube with amplification box that connected to a computer via a wired and powered interface box of some variety (Bluetooth hadn’t yet cut it’s teeth in classroom electronics yet so adding “less” to wire was years away). Still, the students loved making sine waves of magnetic field strength within the futuristic Logger software. Measuring the earth’s magnetic field, as well as the orientation of two thousand-year old basalt flows. Students could pick up a broken piece of basalt and using the Vernier Magnetic Field Sensor re-orient the stone in relation to the larger background rocks.

In the classroom, the student used the Vernier Magnetic Field Sensor to locate and map magnetic objects buried in sand, and even hypothesize about the objects size, shape, depth, and density using a control set of objects and sandbox.

Today Vernier offers a wireless Three-Axis Magnetic Field Sensor as part of their Go Direct series of sensors. Back in the 1990s it was a substantial update when the DIN connector changed to a BTA connector, and the beige serial connection box morphed into the translucent LabPro. To think that a couple blinking lights was exciting feedback from a battery-powered interface! 

Go Direct sensors are a new class of Vernier probeware that evolved out of almost 40 years of science teaching hardware and software that built in or bolted on advancements in consumer technology including replaceable battery power, USB connectors, rechargeable batteries, mobile device compatibility, touch screens, multiple inputs, online support, digital curriculum, wireless communications, more touch screens, low energy Bluetooth, and now universal power and data connectivity using the EPS standard.

Today’s topic is the Go Direct Vernier Three-Axis Magnetic Field Sensor. The sensor is a breakthrough in capability, size, weight, price, and most important performance. The Vernier Three-Axis Magnetic Field Sensor measures magnetic field strength along three planes within one sensor. The 12.2 centimeter long probe (19 cm overall) has a tiny 0.7 cm footprint on the tip allowing the probe’s proboscis to be inserted inside some small spaces such as inside solenoids with no clumsy cables, or probe rotations to mimic three-axis measurements.

But should the need for a cabled connection between Go Direct sensor and digital device, that is certainly possible as well. Using the same micro-USB port that charges the internal battery, the Go Direct sensor can be hard-plugged directly into a computer. Why go wired when you could be wireless? Good question. The backwards compatibility allowing a copper connection over an electromagnetic one expands the usability of the sensor. A little-discussed element in the science lab is sacrificial computer or tablet. As technology ages, it looses it reliability, connectivity and security. By being able to buy the most modern digital sensor yet plug it into an obsolete machine for lab work fresh life is breathed  into old tech. The Go Direct concept is also a significant upgrade when using BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) science classes because an old Windows machine will work along side a Macbook Pro next to a Chromebook, next to an iPad, next to an iPhone or Android smartphone.

But on to the Vernier Three-Axis Magnetic Field Sensor. By using multiple sensors built into a single  33 gram probe, the nimble Vernier Three-Axis Magnetic Field Sensor can be waved  about like a magic wand, or maybe more like a symphony conductor’s baton as the student conducts their experiments. And at only 33 grams, that almost 14 Vernier Three-Axis Magnetic Field Sensors per pound.

So how does the sensor work? It uses two methods of measuring magnetic fields. The tip of the sensor has a +/- 5 mT chip that applies the property William Thompson (aka Lord Kelvin) observed in 1856, a phenomenon now called anisotropic magnetoresistance or AMR.

So what do you get when you mix the quantum physics effects of spin-orbit interaction with the magnetization of a material? Magic? Well actually anisotropic magnetoresistance. But it seems like magic. Ever wonder how a digital compass works? Like the kind in cell phone apps and GPS receivers. Do you think there’s a little magnet spinning in your phone? Actually, there might be, but not for the compass. Moving metal in a phone is how it vibrates when a call or text comes in. In the case of anisotropic magnetoresistance, there is an effect on electrical resistance between the direction of magnetization and its angle relative to an electrical current. Maximum electrical resistance occurs when the magnetic field is parallel to the direction of the electrical current. And of course the sensor must be calibrated for the job it will do.

In order to determine polarity of the magnetic field, a thin film of permalloy has strips of gold (or aluminum) laid across it inclined at forty-five degrees. With the current unable to flow along the normal path of least resistance, instead it is offset at and angle and thus forcing it to have a dependance around a neutral point. Like I said, magic.

Back in 1960 at the General Conference on Weights and Measures, the unit of Tesla was announced. One tesla is equal to one weber per square meter with the weber (Wb) being the SI unit of magnetic flux. The weber is named after the German physicist Wilhelm Eduard Weber. 

Measuring the X-direction Magnetic Field Magnetic fields that point in the same direction the wand is pointing are recorded as positive, and fields that point in the opposite direction are recorded as negative. Thus, the magnetic field of the Earth will register as a positive field when the wand is pointed toward the magnetic pole in the Earth’s northern hemisphere, which is a South magnetic pole. When the wand is aligned with a permanent magnet and pointed toward the South pole of a magnet it will also record a positive field.

Measuring y- and/or z-directions The marks on the sides of the wand, at the tip, indicate the y- and z-directions of positive magnetic field measurements, as well as marking the location within the housing where the ±5 mT magnetic field sensor is located. This is important for consistent placing of the sensor and accurately measuring the distance between the sensor and the source of a magnetic field.

In the case of the Vernier Three-Axis Magnetic Field Sensor measurements of +/-5 mT are possible as well as measurements of +/-130 mT. How can this be, you might ask, with no switch between a high and low setting like on previous magnetic field sensors? Great question. Part of the magic of this sensor is that it is actually multiple sensors. About five millimeters from the tip of the sensor is the +/-5 mT anisotropic magnetoresistance sensor, and about 10.5mm from the tip is the +/-130 mT Hall effect sensor.

The tip of the sensor is noted with three embossed dots indicating the actual location of the sensors with two labeled as Y and Z with the third dot on the very end of the probe completing the triple capabilities of the Go Direct Vernier Three-Axis Magnetic Field Sensor

Just upstream a centimeter on the probe’s shaft is a Hall effect sensor for measuring a larger amount of magnetic flux. The Hall effect is the production of a voltage difference across an electrical conductor but transverse to an electric current in the conductor and to a magnetic field perpendicular to the current. Edwin Hall discovered the effect in 1879 while working on his doctoral degree at Johns Hopkins University. If only we could all be so lucky. And Hall did all this work almost two decades before the electron was even discovered!

At total of six data channels are measurable with the Go Direct Vernier Three-Axis Magnetic Field Sensor: X, Y, and Z magnetic field, and X, Y, and Z 130 mT magnetic field.

The durable sensor is water resistant, but the ~2.4 GHz of the Bluetooth signal is not. So underwater measurements would be a good candidate for using a USB wire.

The software to make the Vernier Three-Axis Magnetic Field Sensor really go to work is called Graphical Analysis 4.  So powerful is GA4 that it will get its own writeup in the future. But don’t wait for that day. Download it for free now.

For when you want to hold the Vernier Three-Axis Magnetic Field Sensor stationary, there are many solutions. No tripod mount is on the sensor, but the sensor fits wonderfully in the Joby GripTight ONE Mount which then can be attached to a tripod. Of course you could also just use a rubber band.

Conducting experiments and inspections with magnets is as easy as waving your magic wand. Don’t have a magic wand? Then use the next best thing, a Go Direct Vernier Three-Axis Magnetic Field Sensor.

In 2015, the National Fire Protection Association released a revised version of NFPA 45 that included a new chapter titled “Educational and Instructional Laboratory Operations,” which applies to K–12 school laboratories. The new chapter provides fire protection and safety requirements for new and existing educational laboratories doing experiments or demonstrations using hazardous materials.

Most state legislatures will eventually adopt the updated NFPA 45 standard, meaning it is or will become a legal safety standard that school administration and teachers must follow

The Specifics

The first section (12.2: “Instructor Responsibilities”) of the new chapter clearly states that in a demonstration or experiment using hazardous materials, the teacher is required to:

• perform a documented hazard risk assessment,

• provide a safety review to students,

• provide adequate personal protective equipment, and

• place a safety barrier between students and the demonstration or experiment to prevent personal injury.

Furthermore, this section states that laboratory teachers must be trained and knowledgeable in fire safety procedures, emergency plans, lab hazards, appropriate PPE, and conducting an appropriate hazard risk assessment.

The second section (12.3 “Chemical Storage and Handling”) directs teachers to store bulk quantities of chemicals in locked rooms outside the classroom or store portioned amounts for each class session in a locked cabinet inside the lab. The second section also includes the following guidelines:

• Quantities of chemicals should not exceed the pre-laboratory unit quantities specified in local fire or building codes.

• Bulk quantities of chemicals in a prep room should be dispensed outside of the classroom or lab.

• If the lab does not have a prep room, the quantities of chemicals must be kept in locked cabinets before students arrive in the classroom or lab.

• The minimum amount of chemicals needed must be transferred to a smaller, appropriately labeled bottle.

Section 12.3.2 (“Performance of Experiments or Demonstrations”) again requires specific actions on the part of the teacher. For instance:

• Experiments or demonstrations must be performed in a location with access to an exit.

• Experiments or demonstrations involving hazardous quantities of fumes, vapors, particulates, or gases must be operated within a chemical fume hood.

• If it’s not possible to perform the activity in a fume hood, it must be performed behind an impact-resistant plastic or tempered glass safety shield.

• If the activity is performed outside of a fume hood where a shield is not used, students must observe the activity from at least 3 m (10 ft.) away.

• Activities using flammable liquids and open flames must be performed by a knowledgeable instructor.

• Teachers must review the hazards with students, required PPE, and review of emergency procedures.

In the end

NFPA 45 (2015) provides clear direction for science teachers to conduct safer demonstrations or experiments with students. The standard does not, however, prohibit the use of flammable solvents in school laboratories.

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.

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