In my suitcase I have a collapsible jug, tube, funnel, glitter, pebbles, foam hearts, sea shells, and empty plastic bottles—all part of the materials I need for a presentation at the 2017 ECSTEM conference (February 3-4), organized by The Children’s Center at Caltech, in collaboration with THINK Together.

An education conference is a joyful place where people are seriously planning to help children develop into critical thinkers, future leaders and life-long learners, as well as learn skills and content matter. This kind of professional development connects people who have experience and want discussion around their topic with people who want to learn about it. And it connects education researchers with people who are teachers so their conversation can be mutually beneficial. These connections can extend beyond the conferences and become resources for each of us. Conferences expose us to regional differences in schools, programs and culture, and to the many, many vendors that sell to the education community. Being at a conference as it unfolds gives us new appreciation for our education associations and organizations, for their ability to build a system that can meet many of the needs of a community that is so diverse. I know a conference was time well spent when I feel part of a group that wants a good future for all children; when I’ve learned some new science content; gained insight into how children learn, how adults learn, and how schools can become better at supporting science learning; and have resources and connections to colleagues who I can turn to with questions.

A science education conference is a place for early childhood educators and an early childhood education conference is a place for science educators. We have to show up and contribute to create the conference experience that will benefit our teaching practice and our students. Having a colleague work with me at my first conference presentation (using an overhead projector to share photos of children at work in a science exploration) made this first experience less daunting. Those of us who have been in the profession for longer can partner with newer educators to support their first presentation experience as we learn from them. Any who are able can donate to scholarship programs that pay for conference registrations, housing and travel for those whose programs can’t pay these expenses.

I’m looking forward to the 2017 NSTA national conference in Los Angeles where I’ll participate in the amazing Elementary Extravaganza event and take in as many other sessions as I can! Early bird registration deadline is February 3!

What local, regional, state, or national conference do you recommend?

I’m looking for ideas to incorporate writing into my general biology classes. I’ve tried term papers but many of my students struggled and it took a lot of class time. Any ideas for other relevant writing assignments?  —V., Ohio

Writing in science has alternatives to traditional term papers or reports. Rather than making a formal writing project an “event” in class, it might be beneficial for students to experience how communicating information is an everyday science practice (as described in the Next Generation Science Standards).

A museum herpetologist told a group of teachers that although his research focused on snakes in their environments, a good portion of his time was spent writing—notes, memos, observations, summaries, reports, journal articles, blog entries, and letters. So if you have students write lab reports, make journal entries, summarize their learning, contribute to a class blog, take their own notes, or respond to open-ended items on an assessment, you’re already helping students with the focused type of writing used in science and engineering.

You can’t assume that students have the writing skills they need (especially for a term paper or formal report). You can teach students about writing, but the best way to develop skills is to have them write through planned and purposeful activities in class. Modeling is essential. Show students what effective science writing looks like (incorporating both words and graphics). Show them examples of ineffective writing and ask them to clarify it. Do a “think-aloud” as you write along with the students. Show them the value of text structures such as bulleted or numbered lists, headings, or tables.

When students display or share their writing in the classroom or with the community through a webpage or other publications, having an authentic audience adds another dimension of relevancy.

Introduction

When studying the cardiovascular system, Vernier’s Go Wireless^® Heart Rate monitor is an excellent way for students to engage in the collection of real data by having the opportunity to monitor their heart rates in a variety of ways. For example, students can take their pulse before, during, and after exercising. While doing so, the data is being collected and transmitted wirelessly through a Bluetooth sensor via a free “App” for either an Android or iOS device. Once downloaded, students can use the Graphical Analysis App to wirelessly collect, analyze, and share data collected from the sensor. Hence, students can do real-time graphs from the experimental data that can enhance their work and lab reports with easy annotations, statistics, and curve fits.

How does it work?

First, it is worth emphasizing that the Vernier’s Go Wireless^® Heart Rate monitor is an incredibly user-friendly device.  To get started, the first step before beginning an experiment is to download the Graphical Analysis App, which is compatible for iOS devices (version 2.2 or newer) at the App Store and Android devices (version 2.1 or newer).

Once the download is complete, there are two separate components of interest: 1)  the Heart Rate Hand Grips and 2) the Polar Transmitter Module (battery included).  After you connect the Polar Transmitter Module, it detects each electrical signal from the heart from the electrodes on the hand grips. Subsequently, while holding the hand grips, the heart rate data is transmitted wirelessly to your mobile device. Since each device has a unique ID located on the side of the Polar Transmitter Module, by opening the Graphical Analysis App, you can identify the correct ID and proceed to  analyze your data.

Because the data is collected in real time, the students can see the data being collected, which gives them an opportunity to examine how their physical activity levels affect pulse rate variations. Here are some examples of science activities that can be used with Vernier’s Go Wireless^® Heart Rate monitor:

Heart Rate and Exercise: https://www.vernier.com/files/sample_labs/HP-A-04-COMP-heart_rate_exercise.pdf

Heart Rate and Blood Pressure as Vital Signs: https://www.vernier.com/files/sample_labs/HP-A-10-COMP-heart_rate_bp.pdf

Effect of Coughing on Heart Rate: https://www.vernier.com/files/sample_labs/HP-A-06-COMP-effect_of_coughing.pdf

Conclusion

Vernier’s Go Wireless^® Heart Rate monitor is an exciting new tool to explore heart rate in the science classroom. Undoubtedly, it will give students a conceptual understanding of how different levels of exercise intensity can change heart rate variations and will also challenge your students to get out of their seats and enjoy this user friendly scientific device for meaningful learning. If you are looking for a way to maximize your students’ interest in learning about heart rate; Vernier’s Go Wireless^® Heart Rate monitor is an excellent tool for meeting the instructional objectives.

Cost: $89

Product Site: https://www.vernier.com/products/sensors/heart-rate-sensors/gw-hr/

User Manual: https://www.vernier.com/files/manuals/gw-hr.pdf

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.