The creation of a school garden inspired this fourth-grade unit.  All students in the school were responsible for planning the garden, as well as for planting, weeding, and harvesting our crops of tomatoes, pumpkins, and carrots. The harvest was shared with the school cafeteria staff, who prepared salad and dessert bar selections for the students, and our fire department staff, who watered our garden in the summer, providing a community connection. All food scraps were composted, and many seeds were harvested, dried, and saved for use in future gardens.

Judy Hebert and 4th-grade students

The curriculum focus for each grade included the study of specific plant parts. Fourth graders explored how the structure and function of plant leaves would be important for optimum plant growth, a Disciplinary Core Idea focus at this grade level. During their research, students often encountered the term food factories. It was interesting to observe students wondering (on their own!) why that connection existed, then, without prompting, asking questions while they considered potential answers, reflecting NGSS practice.

My students live in an area with large factories that had been staffed by immigrants from their own families. I encouraged students to interview those family members and other relatives to better understand how the factories worked, including the products they made, supplies used in production, and waste that was disposed. Students shared their stories with the class, then wrote journal entries about the parallels between food production of leaves and the manufacturing sites they had observed.

Students were intrigued by the idea that children worked in factories at very young ages, so I introduced the book Kids at Work, which detailed the jobs held by young children, including coal mining, farming, and textile factory work. Child labor laws protecting children from working in dangerous jobs were discussed, and some class groups chose to research the lives that children led before these laws were passed.

During the discussion and journaling activities, I asked the students where most of the factories in their area were located. Students eagerly responded that the factories were all near the river, providing a great example of observing the crosscutting concept of patterns. Next, I asked them to explain, with evidence, why they thought the factories were located near the river. After much discussion, students decided to research reasons for this placement, as they determined that their ideas needed to be supported by more evidence.

Students again interviewed family members, and reviewed (with teacher modeling) the history of the city pertaining to industry. I also included a review of simple machines, focusing on their engineering design, and asked students to again parallel differences between simple machines and the machines used in the manufacturing process in these factories. Students then illustrated how changes made to these machines resulted in enormous gains in production.

As students became more familiar with the manufacturing process, they encountered the term assembly line. As they had done previously with the term food factories, students became interested in creating their own assembly line. They detailed their suggestions for one and shared their ideas with the class. Their practice of planning and carrying out an investigation became a natural progression from their own research.

I asked them to consider these questions: What is the product goal of your assembly line? What materials will be used, and how is waste eliminated? I reviewed the comparisons between raw materials in leaves (CO₂, water), light from the Sun, and green material in chloroplasts, and the materials that might be used in the assembly line. This offered another great opportunity to work with patterns and how they influence cause/effect. Students had traveled on such a tangential journey in their research that they needed a refresher on the concept of food production in leaves, since the goal of plant research at all grade levels was the garden’s success . The crosscutting concept of systems and their components was evident during the students’ investigations.

Next, students decided to invest some money (from the PTO fund) to develop craft packets to make Christmas ornaments. They discussed the constraints, most notably the cost! In the gym, all 60 fourth graders were divided into groups, and they passed the packet contents down their assembly lines, with each child responsible for one part of the craft creation. Students at the end of the line wore plastic gloves, examined each piece, and determined whether it needed to be returned for revision. Their quality control was impressive and provided evidence for determining criteria for success! 

Students created more than 200 ornaments, which were sold at the annual holiday musical event. Student groups then calculated profits, determined the cost of repaying the PTO investment, then shared their mathematical findings with the class. They presented creative ideas on ways their profits could be spent, with debate and visuals used as enticements. To demonstrate final factory/leaf food production integration, I had students read the book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and journal their ideas for a story called “Charlie and the Leaf Factory.” Their stories provided the connection between literacy and the crosscutting concept of understanding the behavior of systems.

This leaf-function journey allowed students to engage in three-dimensional learning every day. Students observed patterns in nature, constructed explanations of the relationships they observed, then engaged in all aspects of curriculum integration. Social studies, math, and literacy were seamlessly included in their studies. They were so involved and engaged that they shared their findings with students in other grades. Third graders then asked if they could “have fun” (their words!) learning the same material next year. Success!

Judy Hebert

Judy Hebert is a retired K–5 science teacher from Chicopee, Mass. She is currently an NGSS@NSTA Curator focusing on Earth science grade 4. Hebert’s work with students has always had an emphasis on outdoor education. Water monitoring, hiking in state parks, and school gardening have been her major interest.

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

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Stem Sims: Explosion Shield

Introduction
STEM Sims provides over 100 simulations of laboratory experiments and engineering design products for applications in the STEM classroom. Explosion Shield, one of the many valuable simulations offered by STEM Sims, allows students to explore how an explosion can affect different types and shapes of materials. Moreover, students can discover which material combination can offer the best protection. This simulation asks participants to test explosives on different materials, which is a very safe and motivating mechanism to cover this interesting topic. STEM Sims: Explosion Shield is aligned with state standards and the following national (NGSS) standards:
• MS-PS3.C. – Relationship Between Energy and Forces
• MS-ETS1.C – Optimizing the Design Solution

The simulation makes available for students a brochure (see link below) with a pre-assessment quiz and introductory information about the history of explosives and shields. We found that the historical overview gave a nice foundation of content and helped students to learn of advances in technology have changed over time. Moreover, this simulation is a great fit for teachers who want cover learning objectives related to energy and force in a fun and interesting manner that is very safe. Moreover, the deductive reasoning skills that are incorporated will challenge the brightest students to make accurate observations and formulate high-level problem-solving solutions.

Brochure:
https://stemsims.com/simulations/explosion-shield/brochure/brochure.pdf?version=2017-01-10
Sample Assessment

To maximize learning and help teachers in lesson planning, STEM Sims provides two lesson plans for this simulation (see link below):
Lesson 1:
https://stemsims.com/simulations/explosion-shield/lessons/lesson-1.pdf?version=2017-01-10
Lesson 2:
https://stemsims.com/simulations/explosion-shield/lessons/lesson-2.pdf?version=2017-01-10
Conclusion
Explosion Shield is a nice tool for teaching students about how the dangers of energy and force manifested in explosions can be both safe and very interesting. Undoubtedly, the topics covered in this simulation would be too unsafe for actual experimentation. Therefore, by using this simulation, students will be able to explore an area that would otherwise be ignored and at best- speculated. Consider signing-up for a free trial and evaluate this simulation for your future lesson planning and course instruction.
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

My first year of teaching biology was challenging, but I made it! Do you have any suggestions for what I should do to improve for next year?  —C, Virginia

Congratulations for completing your first year! A good way to prepare for next year is to reflect on this one, learning from your experiences.

How did you know a lesson was successful? What did you do when things didn’t go as planned? Were your classroom management routines and procedures effective? How did you deal with disruptive students? How well were you able to access and use the technologies available in your school? Are there any strategies you would like to consider, in terms of instruction, classroom management, or communications?

Were you surprised by any misconceptions or lack of experience among your students? Should you change the amount of time or emphasis invested in some topics? Did you have an effective combination of content, processes and interdisciplinary connections? Do you have any gaps in your own knowledge base?

Were your lesson plans detailed enough to adapt or modify? How well did assignments and projects align to unit goals and lesson objectives? Did your lab activities go beyond cookbook demonstrations to help students develop their own areas of inquiry? Did you provide opportunities for students to reflect on their own learning (e.g., through a science notebook, comparing their work to the rubrics)?

Did your students seem to enjoy learning science? Did you enjoy teaching and learning with them?

Your reflections can be the basis for next year’s goals. It’s tempting to say, “I’ll think about this when school starts. But if you think, reflect, organize, and plan now, you’ll have more time in the fall for getting your second year off to a good start.

A solar eclipse is coming on Monday, August 21, 2017! What a rare and exciting treat for your students who will get to experience this magical phenomenon. Of course after this amazing event, they will have plenty of questions. They will want to know why, how, and when will it happen again.

When the Sun Goes Dark by Andrew Fraknoi and Dennis Schatz is the perfect resource to share with your students. The illustrated book tells the story of a 12-year-old’s experience of learning about solar eclipses from her grandparents.

“Grandma was telling us about the big event during their trip. First, the Sun looked like it had a little bite taken out of it. They had to use special glasses to be able to look at the Sun without hurting their eyes. Then that dark bite out of the Sun got bigger and bigger. When the Sun was almost covered, it looked like a diamond ring for a second. After that, not only the Sun but also the sky turned dark. The birds even stopped singing. The stars came out in the middle of the day. All of the people watching with my grandparents oohed and ahhed because there was a halo of light around the Sun that was very beautiful,” the narrator says.

This story, designed for readers in grades 5-8, explains the extraordinary science behind solar eclipses by using everyday objects such as a lamp, tennis ball, hula hoops, and ping pong balls.

Just as Grandma gives the narrator step-by-step instructions for creating an eclipse with a lamp’s light, teachers can illustrate the same lessons in the classroom. There are also many detailed illustrations showing the different phases of the moon; the constellations the Sun is in front of each month; and the paths of the Moon’s and the Sun’s orbits, for example.

“It turns out that the Sun and the Moon arrive at the crossing points together only twice a year. So we have a kind of ‘eclipse season’ roughly every six months when eclipses of the Sun and the Moon happen somewhere on Earth,” Grandpa explains.

The book discusses how astronomers can predict eclipses hundreds of years in advance and helps students to comprehend complicated astronomical concepts using vocabulary at their reading level.

When the Sun Goes Dark will answer students’ questions and stimulate their curiosity. The book comes with a glossary of terms and additional web resources that will help beginners to gain an in-depth understanding of both solar and lunar eclipses and inspire their interest in our magical solar system.

Fraknoi and Schatz are award-winning experts in astronomy and science education, and the authors of the NSTA book Solar Science: Exploring Sunspots, Seasons, Eclipses, and More.

Read a sample chapter here. This book is also available as an e-book.

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This week in education news, students attending high-poverty schools have fewer opportunities than students attending low-poverty schools; K-12 school spending got caught up in budget standoffs this year; the number of girls taking AP computer-science exams more than doubled; writing improves all learning; and a South Dakota science teacher selected as a national ambassador.

The Role Of Science In Boosting Outcomes For English Learners

All too often, English learners (ELs) do not receive the same educational opportunities as their non-EL peers. This pattern manifests in a variety of ways, including the disparate levels of access that ELs have to high-quality science instruction. Indeed, a recent Education Trust-West study of California school districts found that ELs are significantly underrepresented in advanced science courses throughout the state. The report also notes that ELs consistently score lower than the rest of the population on statewide science assessments at all grade levels. Click here to read the article featured in New America.

‘STEM Deserts’ In The Poorest Schools: How Can We Fix Them?

Students attending high-poverty schools tend to have fewer science materials, fewer opportunities, and less access to the most rigorous mathematics classes, like calculus and physics, than students attending low-poverty schools, a new analysis points out. That means that they’re less likely to encounter real-world problem-solving that characterizes advanced work in those fields—as well as the most rigorous content that serves as a benchmark for beginning college majors or minors in those fields. Click here to read the article featured in Education Week.

In My Classroom, Students Are The Teachers—Here’s Why It Works

We have all heard the words, “don’t give up!” It is a constant reminder to keep going, to persevere in tough situations and when things aren’t working well, try again. Frequently, students in my programming class get frustrated when working on a project and debugging code. As a teacher, how do you keep them inspired to work through their challenges? Click here to read the article featured in eSchool News.

K-12 Funding Entangled in States’ Budget Drama

K-12 school spending this year got caught up in budget standoffs that, in some states, led to brief government shutdowns. And the drama isn’t over yet. Though most state legislatures now have wrapped up business for the year, several this summer still are trying to design new revenue models, K-12 funding formulas, and—in the case of Kansas and Washington—awaiting court approval to assure their new school spending plans are constitutional. Click here to read the article featured in Education Week.

Number Of Girls Taking AP Computer-Science Exam More Than Doubles

More girls than ever took an AP computer-science exam this year, Seattle nonprofit Code.org announced Tuesday, calling the results “incredible.”Code.org crunched the numbers from the AP College Board, which shows that 29,708 girls in the U.S. took an Advanced Placement computer science exam this year, more than double the number from 2016. Girls made up about 27 percent of the 111,262 students who took an AP computer-science exam in 2017. Click here to read the article featured in the Seattle Times.

If We Fix Student Teaching, Will We Fix Teacher Shortages?

The president of the National Council on Teacher Quality presented what she sarcastically called a “radical” solution for both improving the pipeline of new teachers and filling specific teacher shortages: “Fix student teaching.” “There’s a misalignment between what’s needed [in districts] and what’s provided out of higher ed,” said Kate Walsh, speaking July 17 at an annual gathering of state teachers of the year.” Click here to read the article featured in Education Week.

Why Writing Doesn’t Just Improve Learning, It Improves All Learning-Including STEM

Writing is used to assess student learning more often than it is used to facilitate learning. We talk about writing as a product for assessment, a subject where paragraphs and commas are taught, or a skill that one either has developed or lacks. Rarely do we hear people, even teachers, discuss writing as a process for learning. Click here to read the article featured in eSchool News.

How States Can Boost Science Learning, Thanks To ESSA

Science education advocates are among those cheering the new federal education law known as the Every Student Succeeds Act: It’s an opportunity to get science on the radar screen in a way they couldn’t under ESSA’s predecessor. The former law didn’t count science tests towards anything, thereby relegating the subject, in many advocates’ eyes, to second-tier status. But under ESSA, states have a lot more flexibility to emphasize science in particular, and more generally, content in the STEM fields of science, technology, engineering, and math. Click here to read the article featured in Education Week.

MHS Science Teacher Selected As National Ambassador

A Mitchell educator has been selected as a national ambassador, tasked with the goal of empowering science teachers across the country. Julie Olson was selected as one of 10 math and science teacher leaders to serve as a 2017 STEM Teacher Ambassador, according to the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM). STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and math. Click here to read the article featured in The Daily Republic.

Local Teacher Tapped As STEM Teacher Ambassador

A Williamsville science teacher has been named as a national 2017 STEM Teacher Ambassador. WBFO’s senior reporter Eileen Buckley says the middle school teacher is one of ten math and science teachers selected nationwide. “It’s important that teachers are at the table – that as teachers our opinions are heard,” said Kenneth Huff, science teacher at Mill Middle School in Williamsville. Click here to listen to the segment featured on WBFO.

The Power of Story In The Classroom

There is something incredibly compelling about a well-told story. In fact, it is one of the most powerful tools we possess. For most of human history, oral stories were the primary way that knowledge and tradition were passed down through generations. But the modern classroom is often devoid of stories. Information is most often delivered through bland lectures and textbooks, only to be discarded. Click here to read the article featured in Education Week.

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

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

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

Follow NSTA

July has brought my happy place (where the worlds of early childhood education and science education overlap) to my mailbox in the form of the 2017 summer journals from the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) and the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC): Science and Children and Young Children. Both issues of these journals focus on math and the resources are such good reading in preparation for teaching! NAEYC’s Teaching Young Children (TYC) also has resources about early math. 

A friend who is a former early childhood educator was telling me about her grandchild, sharing how smart he is because at 2 years old he can count to 25. Knowing her and her daughters, I have no doubt her grandchild will grow up to be a deep thinker, capable of many achievements and contributions to society but she and I both know his ability to recite numbers in order does not reveal the depth of his understanding of the meaning of numbers.

When parents, grandparents, and other educators share their excitement about children’s achievements we can cheer and offer resources that support both the children’s learning and the adult’s learning about how children learn. I might say, “Wow, counting to 25! Here are some resources on early math development you may enjoy or already know about.”

I’m using these resources to help me understand what children may know and be able to do at ages of 2-5. Add your favorite resources in a comment to help me learn more.

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics’ (NCTM) October 2013 position statement, “Mathematics in Early Childhood Learning” states, “The big ideas in mathematics must include mathematical experiences that incorporate mathematics content in areas such as number and operations, geometry, algebraic reasoning, and measurement,” and, “Early childhood educators should actively introduce mathematical concepts, methods, and language through a variety of appropriate experiences and research-based teaching strategies.”

The NCTM Principles and Standards for School Mathematics has both content and process standards, defined in grade bands beginning with PreK-2. For example, part of the preK-2 expectations in content standard “Number and Operations” states, “In pre-K through grade 2 each and every student should- count with understanding and recognize “how many” in sets of objects.” And a PreK-2 expectation in content standard “Understand patterns, relations, and functions” states, “In pre-K through grade 2 each and every student should– sort, classify, and order objects by size, number, and other properties; 

Playing games is a time-tested and fun way to include math skill building in early childhood programs. 

Regents’ Center for Early Developmental Education’s Games page, developed in collaboration with Dr. Constance Kamii of the University of Alabama at Birmingham. The Head Start and the Common Core Standards are listed for each game, with clear photos and instructions and illustrations to download. 

Next Generation Preschool Math, a project of Education Development Center’s (EDC) Center for Children and Technology, SRI International, and First 8 Studios at WGBH led to the development of a curriculum that includes eight tablet apps that are games that can be played individually or collaboratively and classroom activities. A teacher’s guide (http://first8studios.org/gracieandfriends/guide/) includes “The Basics” (defining the units subitizing and equipartition and explaining why they are important) and lesson plans for engaging children with these concepts through both digital and traditional classroom activities.

EDC’s Games for Young Mathematicians project researches the use of games to foster early mathematical learning in preschool settings. See their list of suggestions for published math picture books. 

The Erikson Institute Early Math Collaborative’s video series, Focus on Play, illustrates how educator care givers can help infants and toddlers explore precursor concepts of math, “concepts that anchor a child’s mathematical thinking and are essential for the growth of further mathematics.” See descriptions of the “Big Ideas of Early Mathematics” from The Early Math Collaborative’s book, Big Ideas of Early Mathematics and follow the links to learn more about each idea in written descriptions and Focus on the Child video clips from one-on-one interviews with individual children that reveal children’s thinking. It’s interesting to see how, after asking a question, the teachers and researchers wait for a relatively long time for children to answer.

Dr. Doug Clements and Dr. Julie Sarama, professors at the University of Denver, shared their work in a free webinar, “The Path for Math in Early Childhood: The Learning Trajectories Perspective” (June 15, 2016 Early Childhood Investigations). These learning trajectories include three components: “the mathematical goals, developmental progressions of children’s learning, and educational activities and teaching strategies (based on finding the mathematics in, and developing mathematics from, children’s everyday activity).” Read more of their work, “Math in the Early Years: A Strong Predictor for Later School Success,” in The Education of the States’ October 2013 newsletter. http://www.earlychildhoodwebinars.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Math-in-the-Early-Years.pdf 

Will you add to the number of resources listed here? What early math resource makes sense to you?

Prior to the new school year, most science teachers select and order their lab chemicals. Before placing an order, however, teachers should consider the health risks associated with using hazardous chemicals in the classroom laboratory.

Making the right purchase

To purchase the least chemically hazardous material possible, science teachers should first determine whether the hazard is health, physical, or environmental by running a hazards analysis. This involves:

• securing and reviewing the Safety Data Sheet (i.e., Section 2: Hazard(s) Identification, Section 7: Handling and Storage, Section 8: Exposure Controls/Personal Protection, and Section 11: Toxicological Information),

• checking the appropriateness of the chemical’s use on Rehab the Lab’s school chemical list,

• reaching out to the chemical supplier for additional information on the chemical’s potential hazards,

• reading professional publications such as the Journal of Chemical Health and Safety for health and safety information on chemical hazards, and

• checking out the chemistry listserv on NSTA’s listservs.

Next, complete a risks assessment. Some risks related to chemicals might include:

• breathing in vapors, gases, and particulates;

• exposure to skin by splashing, dipping, and airborne dust;

• exposure to chemicals by sticking fingers in the mouth or eating or drinking;

• exposure to eyes from vapor, gasses, particulates, or splashes; or

• puncture of the skin.

Depending on the chemical, further safety actions might need to be taken. Check out the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health’s Hierarchy of Controls (see image below) to take the appropriate action.

Additional considerations

Science teachers also need to consider several issues that may arise from using hazardous chemicals. First, they need to be aware of long-term exposure to hazardous chemicals, which can cause health complications. Appropriate ventilation in the lab, reading information in the Safety Data Sheet (SDS), and using personal protective equipment (e.g., particulate respirator) can help prevent long-term exposure. Employees usually have a right to be tested for exposure to hazardous chemicals and may ask their employer to have a worksite tested by a licensed industrial hygienist. If female employees or students who are pregnant will be working in your lab, be sure to read the SDS for information about reproductive toxins, harm to the fetus, and more.

Additionally: If you or a student is accidentally exposed to a hazardous chemical, read sections 3 (Hazards Identification Section), 5 (Fire and Explosion Data), 6 (Accidental Release Measures), and 10 (Stability and Reactivity Data) of the SDS. Finally, consider the storage and disposal of hazardous chemicals. The SDS Section 7 (Handling and Storage), local school policies, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the University of Iowa, and the National Fire Protection Association all have recommendations for storing hazardous chemicals. Before disposing of the chemicals, read section 13 (Disposal Considerations) of the SDS and check with the school facilities manager for information on how the chemical should be appropriately disposed of.

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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Last week in education news, DeVos’s signals hard-line approach on new federal education law; emergency effort to address teacher shortages in Wisconsin reflects larger education issues; teacher development model shows promising results; STEM education has well over 99 problems—but, for now, a lack of funding isn’t one; and physicist John Holdren is troubled by what has happened to the OSTP and to science policy under President Trump.

DeVos’s Hard Line On New Education Law Surprises States

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, who made a career of promoting local control of education, has signaled a surprisingly hard-line approach to carrying out an expansive new federal education law, issuing critical feedback that has rattled state school chiefs and conservative education experts alike. Click here to read the article featured in The New York Times.

New Teachers Need A Master’s Support

Teaching is a craft and, as with any craft, neophytes should ideally work alongside the experts and artisans to soak up knowledge and experience along the path to mastery. David Krulwich, principal of the Urban Assembly School for Applied Math and Science, a college preparatory school serving grades 6 through 12 in the Bronx, says new teachers are too often left to fend for themselves, without the benefit of an artisan-apprentice relationship. Click here to read the article featured in District Administration.

Borsuk: ‘Emergency’ Effort To Address Teacher Shortages Reflects Larger Education Issues

Underlying the legal language lie questions that are causing big concern in perhaps every school district and independent school in Wisconsin this summer: Who’s going to fill the remaining open teaching jobs we have? How are we going to put together a staff when some specific positions are proving hard to fill? Are we really getting the best people we feasibly could to work in our classrooms? Click here to read the article featured in USA Today.

Teacher Development Model Shows Promising Results As Advocates Fear Funding Cuts

In 2012, the New Teacher Center received federal funding in order to pilot a teacher induction model program, hoping to work with educators in a range of school districts to offer substantive mentoring and professional development. The center expanded its model to three districts, including Chicago Public Schools, Broward County Public Schools in Broward, FL, and Grant Wood Area Education Agency in eastern Iowa. Late last month, an assessment of the NTC model showed some promising results, indicating that model offered students in grades 4-8 learning gains of as much as two to four months in English language arts and two to five months in mathematics over a three-year span. Click here to read the article featured in Education DIVE.

STEM Education Is Facing Over 100 Challenges. Can $28 Million Solve Them?

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education has well over 99 problems—but, for now at least, a lack of funding isn’t one. 100Kin10, the national nonprofit seeking to recruit, prepare, and support 100,000 STEM teachers by 2021, has mapped out over 100 “grand challenges” facing STEM education. And today, the organization announced that Google, Chevron, and other funders have committed over $28 million to help. Click here to read the article featured in Education Week.

Science Is A Team Sport; Showing Students That May Boost Interest In STEM

Hollywood’s version of science—the lone genius toiling in the basement, the socially awkward computer engineer—stands in stark contrast to the real life, increasingly team-oriented work in science and engineering fields. A new study suggests correcting that misconception could encourage more American students to engage in science. Click here to read the article featured in Education Week.

Q&A: Former Obama Science Adviser John Holdren On The White House Science Office And Trump’s Science Policy

Physicist John Holdren, who for 8 years was Obama’s top aide on science and technology issues and also led the White House’s Office of Science and Technology (OSTP), is now back at Harvard University, where he is a professor of environmental policy in both the John F. Kennedy School of Government and the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences. He says he is troubled by what has happened to his office, and to science policy, under Trump. Holdren spoke with ScienceInsider about those concerns and about the role OSTP plays in supporting the president’s agenda. Click here to read the article featured in Science.

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

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

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

Follow NSTA

Get ready for the total eclipse visible in parts of the US:

• Scope on the Skies: Vocabulary of the Skies
• Why, How, and Where to View Totality

Science & Children – The Science and Math Connection

Editor’s Note: The “Fundamental Tools” of Science: As they [students] investigate, we can move them beyond play by emphasizing the use of mathematics to develop scientific understanding, make predictions, record observations, create models, communicate information, and defend arguments through data.

• Many of the lessons this month incorporate data collection, graphing, and simple statistical analysis. The lessons described in the articles include connections with the NGSS.
• Toad-ally Cool Math and Science Integration describes a summer program in which students do field studies of frogs and toads. The photos show these girls in action.
• With the 5E lesson described in Bubble Babies, students investigate (using experimental design and data collection) the connection between parental care and survival rate in animals.
• Gaining Traction integrates a variety of strategies (including basic statistics) in a study of beetle behavior.
• Integrating Math in a Sea of Science is a variation of the lesson on birds’ beaks. Students study the relationship between the structure of a fish’s mouth and the type of food it eats using data they collect.
• Blending In uses colorful candies to simulate how living things that blend in with their surroundings have a higher survival rate.
• In The Early Years: Taking Math Outside, students collect objects to connect nature with skills such as classifying, sorting, counting, and comparing.
• Teaching Through Trade Books: Becoming a Citizen Scientist has two 5E lessons (K-2, 3-5) that illustrate the data collecting aspect of citizen science projects.
• Perhaps some students would enjoy describing their data as a poem — The Poetry of Science: The Math of Science.

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

• Science 101: Q: How Do Self-Driving Cars Work?
• Methods and Strategies: Ask the Right Question
• Engineering Encounters: The Internet of Things for Kids

For more on the content that provides a context for projects and strategies described in this issue, see the SciLinks topics Adaptations, Amphibians, Animal Camouflage, Animal Reproduction, Bats, Classification, Ecosystems, Forces and Motion, Fishes, Friction, Insects, Math and Science, Plant Growth

 Continue for Science Scope and The Science Teacher

Science Scope – Inventive Teaching

From the Editor’s Desk: Innovative Teaching = Learning: Innovative teachers are risk takers who are willing to accept failure. They model for others how to turn the traditional teaching model into one in which they facilitate learning by tapping into their students’ curiosity and capturing their imagination. They teach in every possible venue, often reaching out to partners with resources both within and outside their geographical area.

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.

• Moving Beyond STEAM describes how integrating the arts with traditional STEM topics adds another level of student engagement to a study of ecosystems.
• For many teachers, Unit Planning Using the Crosscutting Concepts is a new challenge. This article provides an example of the process.
• Exploring Terrestrial Isopods: How Terrestrial Isopods’ Behavior Can Influence Survival and Reproduction uses arthropods that are easily available to help students connect these concepts.
• NGSS on the farm? Incorporating a Farm Into Our Science Curriculum: An Innovative Twist shows middle school students connecting science with raising chickens and bees.
• Take your classroom word wall to the next level with Teacher’s Toolkit: Interactive word walls: Visual Scaffolds That Transform Vocabulary Instruction. The terms in Scope on the Skies: Vocabulary of the Skies could be a start.
• Integrating Technology: Innovative Youth: An Engineering and Literacy Integrated Approach includes innovative strategies to incorporate reading and science/engineering.
• Citizen Science: Summer Night Sky Citizen Science With Globe at Night describes a nighttime project collecting data to raise awareness of light pollution.
• Get students moving to improve their learning. Science for All: Kinesthetic Learning in Science has examples of tapping into students’ energy.
• Teacher to Teacher: Transitioning to Three-Dimensional Learning With Evidence Statements includes an authentic context for incorporating NGSS evidence statements.

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

• Disequilibrium: How Heat Affects the Density of Water
• Listserv Roundup: Four Effective Ways to Improve Laboratory Management

For more on the content that provides a context for projects and strategies described in this issue, see the SciLinks topics Arthropods, Astronomy, Coastal Changes, Constellations, Density, Electric Circuits, Honeybees, Laboratory Safety, Populations/Communities/Ecosystems, Safety in the Science Classroom, Water Cycle, Water Erosion

Continue for The Science Teacher

The Science Teacher – Engineering: The “E” in STEM

Editor’s Corner: Engineering for the Future: Engineering is the “E” that can integrate the other STEM subjects (science, technology, and mathematics). It encourages creative problem-solving and critical thinking while developing technological literacy.

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

• Is It Engineering or Not? has several questions and examples to change traditional activities into engineering tasks.
• Modeling a Membrane describes how students designed and created a model of a plasma membrane using readily available materials.
• Consider these Myths About the Nature of Technology and Engineering and how to deal with these misconceptions in the classroom.
• The Stories of Inventions, a four-phase PBL unit, integrates inventions into a social context.
• Troubleshooting Portfolios are documentation of student design work and an example of formative evaluation.
• Focus on Physics: Sailing Into the Wind: A Vector Explanation uses vectors to show how boats are designed and engineered to sail with and against the wind.

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

• Career of the Month: Civil Engineer
• Health Wise: Getting Their Names Right
• Science 2.0: Align Your Curriculum With the ISTE Standards
• Right to the Source: View From the Top

For more on the content that provides a context for projects and strategies described in this issue, see the SciLinks topics Active Transport, Biomedical Engineer, Inventors, Cell Membrane, Diffusion, Engineer, Vectors, Winds

The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS) marked up their FY2018 education budget on Thursday; despite a lower funding level overall from last year, lawmakers seek to cut the Department of Education by $2.4 billion, or 3.5 percent. President Trump proposed cutting the Department’s budget by 13 percent (about $9.2 billion). Highlights:

• Provides $500 million funding to the Title IV block created by the Every Student Succeeds Act. The current funding level is $400m, and the authorized level for this program is $1.6 billion. President Trump eliminated funding for this program in his budget.
• The bill does not fund the Title II program under ESSA as Title II, Part A. Trump’s budget also calls for eliminating this program.
• Funds the 21st Century Learning Centers Program at $1 billion — down from $1.2 billion in funding this year. The President eliminated this program in his budget proposal.
• The bill funds Title I at $15.9 billion, similar to its funding for the current year. The House did not allocate $1 billion in Title I money to a new grant program that would allow students to attend the public school of their choice, and they did not include $250 million that the Trump administration wanted to expand and study vouchers.
• Provides $12.2 billion in funding for special education under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, a $200 million increase from the current level of funding.
• Increases funding for charter schools by $28 million, bringing it to a total of $370 million
• The legislation also calls for a $1.1 billion increase for the National Institutes of Health (the President had proposed reducing funding for NIH by $5.8 billion)

The full Appropriations Committee is expected to take action on this bill later this week.

Science Teachers Speak Out on Science Testing in Every Student Succeeds Act 

In late June, NSTA and the STEM Education Coalition sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Education, stating our concerns that their feedback to Delaware and other states about their state plans to implement ESSA was widely viewed in education policy circles as discouraging states from including science in their state accountability systems under the new federal education law. These concerns were covered in numerous press stories over the past two weeks and got national attention, including coverage in the Washington Post and New York Times.

The Department of Education responded to our letter, reaffirming that they support state usage of science testing in compliance with the ESSA requirements and further clarified the Department’s intent was not to discourage the use of science scores.  Read the letter from NSTA and the STEM Ed Coalition here and the Department of Education letter here.

STEM in ESSA Detailed in New Achieve Brief

On Wednesday, Achieve released a new brief examining ways in which the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) supports STEM education.  The brief outlines states’ current goals and approaches to science inclusion in their accountability plans under ESSA, as well as how they can leverage funding opportunities in ESSA to support science. (The brief limits its scope to only those 16 states and the District of Columbia who submitted plans to the U.S. Department of Education (USED) in the first round of ESSA state submissions this past May.) From the report, “Of the 16 states and the District of Columbia that have submitted ESSA plans to date, ten states (see table, below) are including science in their accountability system. All ten of these states are including science assessment as part of an academic achievement or proficiency indicator.

States Proposing to Include Science in Their Accountability Systems Under ESSA

The report also looks at how often, and in which grades, states administered science assessments for school year 2016–17, how federal funding can be used for STEM education, and how states intend to leverage ESSA to support STEM.

Stay tuned, and watch for more updates in future issues of NSTA Express.

Jodi Peterson is the Assistant Executive Director of Communication, Legislative & Public Affairs for the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) and Chair of the STEM Education Coalition. Reach her via e-mail at jpeterson@nsta.org or via Twitter at @stemedadvocate.

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

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