By Cindy Workosky
Posted on 2017-05-24
Four years ago, I moved from teaching middle school science to teaching grades 2–5 STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics) labs. One of the biggest challenges I faced was limited lab time in our elementary school. Because we shared instructional time with social studies, I was only able to meet with students for two 40-minute periods a week for half the year.
I had many other challenges as well. I had to adjust my planning for younger students, and learn to work effectively with co-teachers whose main focus was English language arts (ELA) and mathematics. Elementary science had been taught from dog-eared textbooks that were older than the students we were teaching, and teachers had relied heavily on worksheets and recall assessments. I knew three-dimensional instruction—as promoted in A Framework for K–12 Science Education (Framework) and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)—presented a daunting paradigm shift for teachers, but I was confident the new standards would yield significant benefits for student engagement and learning.
I think that using the three dimensions helps me maximize student learning. I plan lab investigations, problem-based learning projects, and engineering design challenges to help students apply and extend their classroom learning as they engage in science and engineering practices to solve problems. Crosscutting concepts, in particular, provide an essential, highly useful schema for intentional three-dimensional planning because they offer a big-picture perspective that helps me plan instruction with recurring themes as students’ progress through elementary science. According to the Framework, “Explicit reference to the concepts, as well as their emergence in multiple disciplinary contexts, can help students develop a cumulative, coherent, and usable understanding of science and engineering.”
Crosscutting concepts make intuitive sense to my youngest students, especially the concept of structure and function. For example, my second-grade unit on interdependent relationships in ecosystems features a modeling project to address 2-LS2-2, “Develop a simple model that mimics the function of an animal in dispersing seeds or pollinating plants.” We begin by viewing a video of a dog running through a field, collecting burrs on its coat, then shaking them off. I ask students if they have ever walked through the woods or a field and found burrs stuck to their socks or shoes. I inquire, “How do you think the burr sticks to your socks?”
We examine seeds with hand lenses and a 3D microscope, and view online images of seeds with hooks and spikes. I then ask why students think a plant would produce seeds with hook and spike structures. (Note: Before this lab lesson, students had explored seed dispersal by wind and water, and had discussed the importance of seeds traveling away from their parent plant for greater access to resources like water, sunlight, and space for their roots to spread.)
Students observe that the hooks help the seed get carried to a new spot where it can have a better chance of growing, and I introduce the term function. Function is the structure’s job: how it works to help the plant. We also examine examples of seeds surrounded by fruit and discuss how fruit is a structure that functions to attract an animal, helping a seed get dispersed. Of course, this produces much hilarity in the room as students realize how the seed eventually gets deposited in a new location, accompanied by a useful helping of fertilizer.
Squirrel with cheek pouch structures that function to carry nuts
I introduce an engineering design challenge: “Use the engineering design process to design, construct, evaluate, and present a simple model that mimics the function of an animal in dispersing a plant’s seeds. Your model must show the animal and seed structures (parts) and show how they function (work) to make seed dispersal possible.”
Bird disperses berry seeds through a drinking straw digestive tube
Students explore structure and function in third grade as they design a desert plant with adaptations to absorb and store water during a flash flood and to prevent water loss that occurs through evaporation. Before designing their plant, teams test various materials for speed of water absorption and structural integrity when wet.
Students wrapped their plant’s above ground structures in waxed paper or plastic wrap to function to prevent evaporation.
Data dashboard
Our Primary School’s Data Dashboard is posted prominently on a cafeteria wall. Each grade is responsible for recording daily precipitation (grade 2), hours of daylight (grade 1), and high and low temperatures (kindergarten). Teachers bring their students to the cafeteria with clipboards to ask questions and look for patterns, a crosscutting concept. Opportunities abound for discussing additional crosscutting concepts at our Data Dashboard, such as cause and effect and stability and change.
Recently, I participated in a Twitter chat on crosscutting concepts #elngsschat, one of my favorite Twitter chats for sharing ideas for elementary science teaching. Participants are enthusiastic, passionate science educators, eager to share their ideas, successes, and failures. Elementary science teachers can use this chat and hashtag to build a supportive PLN—especially helpful if you teach in a small district with limited science specialist teaching staff. As we continue to progress in our NGSS implementation journey, I look forward to hearing other educators’ experiences with teaching crosscutting concepts at all grade levels.
Beth Topinka
Beth Topinka is the S.T.E.A.M. lab teacher for grades 2–5 at Millstone Township School District in central New Jersey. She’s a vocal advocate for interdisciplinary, problem-based learning, and loves to create and share engaging 3D investigations and engineering challenges. She is a Science Friday Educator Collaborator, and was recently named a Science Channel Science Superhero. Topinka was selected as a state finalist for the 2016 Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching.
The mission of NSTA is to promote excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all.
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Four years ago, I moved from teaching middle school science to teaching grades 2–5 STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics) labs. One of the biggest challenges I faced was limited lab time in our elementary school. Because we shared instructional time with social studies, I was only able to meet with students for two 40-minute periods a week for half the year.
By Mary Bigelow
Posted on 2017-05-23
Do you have any ideas for faculty meetings for a new science department chairperson? I’m sure I can handle most of the responsibilities, but I’m terrified of leading meetings. —S., Indiana
Facilitating a meeting is not unlike teaching a class, so apply your classroom management strategies to “meeting management.”
You could also use a “flipped classroom” strategy. For your meeting topic, send out readings or links to video segments to watch prior to the meeting. (The NSTA journals and web resources would be good sources.) Your meeting can focus on active discussion, decision-making, or teacher reflection related to these topics. Teachers can use the meeting time to work collaboratively on tasks that they would otherwise have to do on their own.
As a new chairperson, you may run into resistance from teachers who are used to the old ways. Participating in discussions or group activities may take some getting used to. If meetings previously were seen as a waste of time, you may have to be persistent to demonstrate that things are going to be better. And they will!
Photo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/tomsaint/2987926396/
Do you have any ideas for faculty meetings for a new science department chairperson? I’m sure I can handle most of the responsibilities, but I’m terrified of leading meetings. —S., Indiana
Facilitating a meeting is not unlike teaching a class, so apply your classroom management strategies to “meeting management.”
By Peggy Ashbrook
Posted on 2017-05-20
Two-years-olds may be too young to remember the seasonal changes that happened in the last year but they are not too young to understand and talk about the natural changes that happen on a shorter time scale—the cycle of day and night. Looking for the Moon can be a nighttime or daytime activity. Older children remember events that occur seasonally—leaves dropping from deciduous trees or the occasionally heavy snow that closed school and made new play opportunities in their familiar landscape. All ages are affected by regional changes such as annual flooding, summertime dry spells, and changes in animal behavior. Hunting seasons are tied to annual animal lifecycles.
Migration of animals such as toads and bears are the focus of community efforts to make residents aware of the seasonal changes in animal activity. In some regions, all are fascinated and sometimes freaked out by the appearance of a large number of cicadas, an insect that has a life cycle that for some species takes more than a decade. Regional experts, such as naturalist Alonso Abugattas, can help us make sense of changes we don’t understand.
Those occasional events are memorable. Observation and documentation are strategies that help children (and scientists) make sense of the everyday and occasional changes in their environment (NGSS practices). Children can make simple documentation of the daily weather and relate it to the seasonal cycles that affect living organisms. If your children are recording the daily temperature in relative or standard measurement, they can look back and see how many days with “hot” temperatures occurred before their pea seeds sprouted, cicadas emerged, or the swimming pools opened.
Children who are not yet reading numerals or able to count the small marks on a thermometer can read the colors on a thermometer with color-coded groups of 10-20 degrees of temperature. They can hold a cloud chart against the sky to match cloud types or collect and measure precipitation. A class’ daily “weather report” of sunny/cloudy/rainy/windy/snowy becomes much more meaningful when their sky cover and temperature data from the year is displayed so children can see patterns and relate changes in weather to changes in the life cycles of the plants and animals in their neighborhood. Early childhood educators are discussing weather education in the NSTA Learning Center Early Childhood Forum, one place to learn how to extend children’s understanding of the relationship between daily weather and seasons, and how those changes affect living organisms.
Two-years-olds may be too young to remember the seasonal changes that happened in the last year but they are not too young to understand and talk about the natural changes that happen on a shorter time scale—the cycle of day and night.
By Kate Falk
Posted on 2017-05-19
This week in education news, 12 Texas students injured in outdoor science experiment involving fire; student misconceptions about the teaching profession, as well as a lack of discussion on the part of professors, contribute to the current shortage of STEM teachers; President Trump’s new budget proposal would boost school choice; and according to NCTQ’s new report only 16 teacher prep programs ranked as top tier.
12 Texas Preschoolers Hurt In Blast From Color-Changing Fire Experiment Gone Wrong
An outdoor science experiment involving fire at a Texas Presbyterian preschool went terribly wrong Tuesday, injuring 12 students — six of whom were transported to a hospital with burns. A group of preschoolers were gathered outside to watch a teacher change the color of fire using different chemicals. The teacher mixed boric acid with methanol and tried to light it on fire. Nothing happened, so the teacher added more alcohol and lit the mixture again. Then there was an explosion. Click here to read the article featured in the Washington Post.
Teachers Speak: What PD Actually Works?
Even with the best technology in the world, there is one key element that determines student success: a high-quality, highly-effective teacher. In fact, some research estimates that teachers can impact students’ lifetime earnings by 10 to 20 percent, which can increase the U.S. gross domestic product by tens of trillions of dollars. And professional development (PD) is critical in helping teachers as they continue to hone their skills and evolve as educators. But what kind of PD is most effective, and does the kind of PD that helps teachers best change as teachers become more experienced? Click here to read the article featured in eSchool News.
Best Time To Build A Love Of STEM? It’s After The School Day Ends, Research Says
After-school programs can help students develop an interest in science, technology, engineering or math. In a national survey last year, more than 78 percent of children said they’d had a positive experience with the STEM subject areas because of an after-school program, according to new research from the PEAR Institute at Harvard University, McLean Hospital and IMMAP: Institute for Measurement, Methodology, Analysis and Policy at Texas Tech University. The survey included 1,600 children and after-school program leaders in 11 states. Click here to read the article featured in The Hechinger Report.
We Need More STEM Teachers; Higher Ed. Can Help
America’s colleges and universities have fallen short for decades in providing K-12 schools with teachers, particularly secondary school teachers, in the high-need STEM fields of physics, chemistry, math, and computer science. These shortages continue to have an impact on the quality of STEM education with the ripple effect of discouraging young students from pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering, and math themselves. Click here to read the article featured in Education Week.
Trump Budget Proposal Would Boost School Choice
President Donald Trump’s fiscal 2018 spending proposal would ax the Department of Education budget by $9 billion while pouring an additional $1.4 billion into school choice programs. The blueprint offers the first concrete insight into the administration’s education policy priorities and would make good on the Trump team’s goals of shrinking the federal government and helping students in failing schools by allowing them to attend the school of their choice, public or private. Click here to read the article featured in U.S. News & World Report.
Classroom Gaming Should Be Engaging, Tied To Curriculum – And Not Require Teachers To Code
It’s one thing when master teachers successfully implement learning games in a carefully controlled research study. But engaging students through game-based learning (GBL) means little unless the games are easy to implement and effective where they matter most—in the classroom. For district leaders, teachers, and edgame developers, this involves an ongoing balancing act of engagement, pragmatic learning and in-class application. Click here to read the article featured in EdSurge.
New Science Standards Deliver Students From Textbooks To ‘Real-world Applications
A new wave of teaching science is taking shape at Kittatinny Regional High School and its sending districts, steering students away from learning about facts from a textbook and into learning real-world applications of science, complete with hands-on experiments and big-picture concepts. Adopted by the New Jersey Board of Education in 2014, the Next Generation Science Standards are state mandated for K-12, and according to the New Jersey Department of Education’s Science Coordinator Michael Heinz, the standards shift a student’s thought process to “how things happen, why things happen and how the world works. Click here to read the article featured in the New Jersey Herald.
Only 16 Teacher Prep Programs Ranked As ‘Top Tier’ In New Report
Lesser-known Hope College in Holland, MI; Lipscomb University in Nashville, TN; Messiah College in Grantham, PA; and St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN surface on a shortlist of the best undergraduate programs for preparing high school teachers, alongside Arizona State University, the University of Iowa and the University of Minnesota. What puts them there? According to the National Council on Teacher Quality, each has “solid admission standards, provide sufficient preparation in each candidate’s intended subject area and show them how best to teach that subject.” Many also do well in teaching future teachers how to manage a classroom and in providing high quality practice opportunities. Click here to read the article featured in Campus Technology.
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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Legislative Update
By Jodi Peterson
Posted on 2017-05-19
President Trump’s budget is not expected out until Tuesday, May 23, but the Washington Post is reporting that the Administration is planning massive cuts to the U.S. Department of Education, and is proposing that another $1 billion be provided for school choice programs. (In related news, Secretary DeVos is expected to unveil the Administration’s school choice plan during a speech on Monday, May 22.)
As expected, the budget would also eliminate funding for Title IV-A, the ESSA block grant that would target funds to every state and district. The Washington Post states, “The Trump administration would dedicate no money to a fund for student support and academic enrichment that is meant to help schools pay for, among other things, mental-health services, anti-bullying initiatives, physical education, Advanced Placement courses and science and engineering instruction. Congress created the fund, which totals $400 million this fiscal year, by rolling together several smaller programs. Lawmakers authorized as much as $1.65 billion, but the administration’s budget for it in the next fiscal year is zero.”
This block grant was championed by Republicans during reauthorization of ESSA after they eliminated the Math and Science Partnership program and other smaller targeted grants. More about the programs the Administration plans to eliminate here and about Title IVA and STEM here.
The Administration’s skinny budget for FY2018, released earlier this spring, eliminates Title II professional development and class size reduction funds, and 21st Century Learning Programs (afterschool programs).
It is important to keep in mind that Congress is responsible for passing appropriations laws. As the Post article points out, “Asked for comment, a spokesman for Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), chairman of the Senate Education Committee, referred to Alexander’s response in March to the release of Trump’s budget outline. That statement emphasized that while the president may suggest a budget, “under the Constitution, Congress passes appropriations bills.”
The FY2017 budget passed last month provides $400 million the ESSA Title IV, far less than the $1.65 billion that Congressional authorizers requested for the program. Since this is not enough funding for all districts to receive funding for FY2017 only states have the flexibility to distribute the funds to districts competitively rather than by formula. Learn more about Title IV during this webinar on May 24.
Stay tuned.
Business Invests in Professional Learning. Why Doesn’t Education?
An Education Week commentary written by ASCD Executive Director Deborah S. Delisle argues why cutting professional learning funds for teachers is shortsighted. Read it here.
House Committee Approves Career and Technical Ed Legislation
The Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (H.R. 2353) updates federal CTE policies to help more students gain the knowledge and skills they need to compete for in-demand jobs. The proposal is largely identical to legislation the House of Representatives passed in September 2016.
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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President Trump’s budget is not expected out until Tuesday, May 23, but the Washington Post is reporting that the Administration is planning massive cuts to the U.S. Department of Education, and is proposing that another $1 billion be provided for school choice programs.
By Korei Martin
Posted on 2017-05-17
I want to personally invite as many middle level educators as possible to attend the 6th Annual STEM Forum & Expo, hosted by NSTA. This year’s roster of middle level sessions explores a wide array of STEM education professional development. NSTA is partnering with other top STEM organizations to bring you the best content:
These groups will lead hands-on workshops geared toward teachers establishing STEM programs in their schools, STEM leaders in rural districts, and teachers who are new to computer science and engineering.
I am excited about the sessions lead by fellow educators sharing the best practices and their experiences from implementing STEM education in their classrooms. These sessions in particular would be valuable to educators who are new to teaching STEM. Sessions will include topics, such as, makerspaces, 3D printing, using physics to engage students in STEM, applying the inquiry model in STEM classrooms, robotics, computer coding, integrating engineering design challenges and STEM in physical and life science classrooms. With over 50 sessions in the middle level strand, there is something for everyone.
Most of all, I want you to attend the 6th Annual STEM Forum & Expo, hosted by NSTA to network with colleagues from around the world sharing their successes and failures in engaging students in STEM. The expo will be the perfect opportunity for attendees to pick the brains of their like-minded peers. You will return to your districts with new ideas, a plethora of resources, and a larger network of colleagues to lean on for support.
Kenneth C. Williams has taught in Prince George’s County, MD, Public Schools for 10 years at Oxon Hill Middle School. His first 5 years, he taught a range of math courses from Pre-Algebra to Geometry. For the past five years, he has taught PLTW Gateway, the middle school STEM course for Project Lead The Way. His undergraduate degree is in Physics from Lincoln University of PA and he has completed graduate course work in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Florida. He has been married for 14 years and is the father of 3 children.
The mission of NSTA is to promote excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all.
Future NSTA Conferences
2017 STEM Forum & Expo
Kissimmee/Orlando, July 12–14
2017 Area Conferences
Baltimore, October 5–7
Milwaukee, November 9–11
New Orleans, Nov. 30–Dec. 2
I want to personally invite as many middle level educators as possible to attend the 6th Annual STEM Forum & Expo, hosted by NSTA. This year’s roster of middle level sessions explores a wide array of STEM education professional development. NSTA is partnering with other top STEM organizations to bring you the best content:
Safety Blog
By Kenneth Roy
Posted on 2017-05-16
Many of the chemicals on the Department of Homeland Security’s Anti-Terrorism Standards Chemicals of Interest List can be found in high school storerooms. These chemicals may be prone to theft and unauthorized lab experiments. Some terrorist websites have even suggested that their operatives pose as students to acquire hazardous chemical, biological, or radiological agents (NAP 2011).
To meet this challenge, science teachers, their supervisors, and administrators need to provide a secure working environment by making their labs more secure.
Prevention strategies for workplace security
California/OSHA has guidelines for creating prevention strategies for workplace security. They include:
• a system ensuring that all employees comply with work practices designed to make the workplace more secure and do not engage in threats or physical actions, which would create a security hazard in the workplace.
• a system for communicating with employees about workplace security hazards, including a way to inform the employer of security hazards at the worksite without fear of reprisal.
• procedures for identifying workplace security hazards, including scheduled periodic inspections to identify unsafe work conditions and practices.
• procedures for investigating occupational injury or illness arising from a workplace assault or threat of assault.
• procedures for correcting unsafe work conditions, work practices, and work procedures, including workplace security hazards and procedures for protecting employees from physical retaliation for reporting threats.
• training and instruction about workplace security hazards, measures to prevent workplace assaults, and what to do when an assault occurs, including emergency action and post-emergency procedures.
Secure labs
To improve safety and security in school science laboratories, preparation rooms, and storerooms:
• entrances, exits, stairways, and hallways need to be kept clear to allow for safer evacuation.
• evacuation plans and emergency numbers should be posted in appropriate sites. All laboratories, preparation rooms, and storerooms should have access to a phone or intercom in case of emergency per OSHA’s Emergency Evacuation Plans standard 1910.38.
• all chemicals must be properly labeled, dated, and stored per the OSHA HazCom Standard.
• use appropriate housekeeping to reduce or eliminate trip and fall hazards, provide adequate clearance of sprinkler systems, provide access to emergency equipment, and have an unobstructed exit per the OSHA Housekeeping Standards.
• all doors should remain closed and locked whether occupied or unoccupied. Only science teachers, administrators, and custodians should have keys to laboratories, storerooms, preparation rooms, and chemical storerooms housing hazardous chemicals.
• emergency lighting should be available to assist evacuation in power outages as appropriate. The lighting should be inspected periodically to ensure operation per Emergency Lighting and Exit Sign Requirements.
• all laboratories, preparation rooms, and storerooms should have master gas shutoffs with appropriate signage and easy access.
Secure schools
Several recommended procedures for workplace security and safety in the school facility will help raise employees’ awareness, which is critical to make a school more secure and safer. Schools should adhere to the following recommendations.
• There needs to be a designated entrance and receptionist area to control access to the school. All remaining entrance doors should be locked.
• Once signed in, visitors should be escorted to designated work areas by employees.
• All employees should be required to wear visible photo identification badges.
• Employees should be trained to approach unaccompanied strangers in the workplace by asking to see their identification or visitor badge.
• Employees should be trained and be provided with vinyl gloves to sort mail. Protocols should be in place to deal with suspicious items.
• Employers should develop lockout, lockdown, shelter, and evacuation procedures for employees and students. Appropriate drills should be exercised per government regulations.
What’s more, OSHA requires schools to have emergency preparedness plans as part of their security programs. They include:
• alerting employees when there is a security issue or threat at the workplace site,
• emergency escape procedures and escape route assignments,
• procedures for employees who remain behind to correct the emergency situation,
• procedures to account for all employees after an evacuation,
• rescue and medical duties for employees with those responsibilities,
• procedures for reporting fires or other emergencies, and
• names and titles of people to contact for explanations or further instructions.
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.
Reference
National Academies Press (NAP). 2011. Prudent practices in the laboratory: Handling and management of chemical hazards. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.
NSTA resources and safety issue papers
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Many of the chemicals on the Department of Homeland Security’s Anti-Terrorism Standards Chemicals of Interest List can be found in high school storerooms. These chemicals may be prone to theft and unauthorized lab experiments. Some terrorist websites have even suggested that their operatives pose as students to acquire hazardous chemical, biological, or radiological agents (NAP 2011).
Join