I need strategies to encourage students to ask their own questions. They answer mine and discuss topics, but when I ask them if they have any questions, I get a lot of blank looks. —A., Washington

Asking questions and defining problems is one of the science and engineering practices of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Tapping into student thinking and curiosity goes beyond their asking procedural questions.

Teachers often say, “Any questions? Good.” with little or no time between the words “questions” and “good.” Without wait time, students don’t have an opportunity to think. And sometimes they don’t know what to ask. Take a look at the prompts you use to solicit questions. A context for questions (such as “Any questions about the…” “How could we determine…” or “What would happen if…”) with a few seconds of wait time may help students formulate their thoughts.

Some students may perceive asking questions as a sign of weakness. They might be interested but hesitant to show it. Or they may be afraid of being ridiculed. Remind students that there are no “dumb” questions and establish an environment of respect. Show interest in their questions, even if you’ve heard them many times before. Model the type of questions you want them to generate.

Sometimes students come up with questions that are not related to the topic. These might be teachable moments,  but if not, use a section of a bulletin board or wall space as a “parking lot” to save them for later discussion.

Student questions do not have to be oral. Strategies such as exit tickets, the “W” column of a Know/Want to know/Learned (KWL) chart, or the written results of a think-pair-share discussion can stimulate student questions.

Your guidance, encouragement, and positive feedback can provide a safe place for student to ask questions.

A recent feature in Science Magazine (21 Oct 2016) offers “Science lessons for the next president.” As I read the article I realized that these lessons exemplify the reason that all citizens need to be scientifically literate.

While by no means comprehensive, the article covers the range of science-based issues that the next president will face. Science was not an issue during the recent presidential campaign and I fear that the voice of science will be sadly silent—or at best muted—in the days ahead with the new Administration. But our next president will not decide these issues alone; Congress will weigh in on every issue and the public needs to be able to voice its concerns.

While recently released NAEP Science scores tell us our 4th and 8th graders are improving in science, the results also indicate that 40 percent of 12th-grade students perform below the “Basic” level and only 22 percent are “Proficient.” Clearly we need to increase student achievement at this grade level. Critical to this effort is to find a way to help older students (and their parents) understand the significance of science-based issues.

“Science lessons for the next president” tells the story of these issues in a focused and easy to follow format: What the Science Says, Why it Matters, and Pending Policy Issues. Consider the topics:

• Evolution promises unpleasant surprises – Pathogens change faster than our defenses
• The genome-editing revolution beckons – CRISPR raises tough ethical issues
• Seas are rising sooner than you think – Regional variation means Atlantic shorelines are already at risk
• Brain health should be top of mind – The personal and budgetary costs of Alzheimer’s disease and other maladies are immense
• Machines are getting much, much smarter – Advance in artificial intelligence carry promise and peril
• We aren’t so great at assessing risk – Gut instinct can lead to poor policy

For each issue, the writers present a clear, easily understood example of why science matters and why everyone has a stake in understanding it. Evolution, climate change, and computer science are especially prominent. When our students ask, “Why do I have to learn this? I am never going to use it,” invite them to read this article and take it home to their parents as well. They need to understand that, in a democracy, as we speak to our elected leaders, the voice for science has to come from citizens as well as from scientists. That voice will become loud and clear when we all have learned our “science” lessons.

Dr. David L. Evans is the Executive Director of the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA). Reach him at devans@nsta.org or via Twitter @devans_NSTA.

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

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Want to integrate writing into your science lessons for your young students? Want to help students feel more comfortable in a science classroom? Are you looking at using your honors-level students to increase K-12 students’ interest in STEM education? Or do you simply need some new activities for you science classroom? The November K-College journals from the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) have the answers you need. Written by science teachers for science teachers, these peer-reviewed journals are targeted to your teaching level and are packed with lesson plans, expert advice, and ideas for using whatever time/space you have available. Browse the November issues; they are online (see below), in members’ mailboxes, and ready to inspire teachers.

Science and Children 

Integrating writing into science lessons can be a daunting task for educators. The difficulty lies in developing speaking, reading, and writing skills with students who have a limited science vocabulary. The activities in this issue allow students to develop a working vocabulary within a science context, allowing them to communicate their findings with a scientific perspective and voice.

Featured articles (please note, only those marked “free” are available to nonmembers without a fee):

• Dissecting Student Dialogue
• Learning Science in a Second Language
• Supporting Academic Language
• Free – Read All About It
• Free – Editor’s Note: Meeting the Challenges of Communicating Science
• Full Table of Contents

Science Scope 

Many students feel vulnerable when they step into the science classroom and will be in need of various types of support if they are to be successful in science. You can help more of your students step into the classroom with confidence with the help of the teaching strategies featured in this issue of Science Scope.

Featured articles (please note, only those marked “free” are available to nonmembers without a fee):

• Using Place-Based, Structured Inquiry to Motivate At-Risk Students
• Learning to Read Science
• An Interdisciplinary Approach to Gene Therapy
• Free – “Accelerating” Science Learning With Reading
• Free – From the Editor’s Desk: Speaking Up for All
• Full Table of Contents

The Science Teacher 

This issue offers a smorgasbord of activities, topics, and subject areas to engage your students in science learning. The Idea Bank reviews an essential lab skill—making accurate and precise measurements. “Materials Science and the Problem of Garbage” reveals that recycling alone, though important, doesn’t solve our trash problems. Scientists have been using fruit flies in their genetics studies for generations. “Learning From the Fruit Fly” presents a related but easier way to teach Mendel’s laws, meiosis, and Punnett squares. “Settling the Score” explores a historic debate over atomic bonding. And, finally, our cover story, “The Microscopic World of Diatoms” investigates this biological indicator that can help detect pollution. Our usual columns and departments round out the issue.

Featured articles (please note, only those marked “free” are available to nonmembers without a fee):

• The Microscopic World of Diatoms
• Settling the Score
• Learning From the Fruit Fly
• Free – Editor’s Corner: Growing Mountains of Trash
• Free – Materials Science and the Problem of Garbage
• Full Table of Contents

Journal of College Science Teaching 

In this issue’s Two-Year Community column, read about an honors-level service learning program at a two-year college in which students served as mentors and engaged K–12 students in STEM topics outside the classroom, with the intention of increasing student interest and retention in STEM majors. Also, learn how one researcher incorporated mini-research proposals into her lab courses to expose undergraduate students to methods and technologies they wouldn’t otherwise encounter and to better prepare them for more advanced writing. And in the Research and Teaching department, see the article that explores how the level of questioning impacts learning in large general biology classes using case studies and personal response systems (clickers).

Featured articles (please note, only those marked “free” are available to nonmembers without a fee):

• Using Citizen Science to Engage Preservice Elementary Educators in Scientific Fieldwork
• Team-Based Learning Reduces Attrition in a First-Semester General Chemistry Course
• An Authentic Research Experience for Undergraduates on a Budget: Using Data From Simple Experiments to Develop Mini-Research Proposals
• Free – Effects of Gender on Student Response to Course-Based Research
• In the Midst of a Shift: Undergraduate STEM Education and “PBL” Enactment
• Full Table of Contents

Get these journals in your mailbox as well as your inbox—become an NSTA member!

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

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Begin Developing your BRIGHT Schools Team

The goal of the Bright Schools program is to create a learning experience that will help students, parents and teachers better understand the link among light, sleep and student health and performance. Through the Bright Schools Competition, students in grades 6-8 select a topic related to light and sleep and select one of three exploration options to create an original project. My 6^th grade class has stepped up to the challenge of leading a team to the light at the end of the competition tunnel. We want to be the brightest team builders that we can be. The idea of a simple team of a few kids and a teacher is in the past. We live in a world where we are constantly team building and intentionally working brighter, not dimmer. So… let’s do this people! Our BRIGHT Schools teams should include students, teachers, mentors, parents, board of education, and community members. We need BRIGHT team members who will be able to dazzle our knowledge and shine light on a variety of areas.

Research, Research, Research

And just when our BRIGHT Schools team thinks that we have enough research and think we see the light…research more! The competition goals and outcomes are shining right in our faces. We are trying to prove or disprove knowledge about the facts of light and the students’ bodies. Based on the research, hopefully define and create a solution. The more accurate and up-to-date the BRIGHT team research information is, the more brilliant the BRIGHT team competition project will reveal itself to be. Create opportunities for the team to research using credible journals and references sources such as articles and reports. As educators, we are research ninjas! Teach the BRIGHT team members how to polish their research skills so they too can flip the switch of researching.  

Illuminate Student Learning

Keep the BRIGHT Schools team members thinking outside the box and don’t be afraid to push the team’s creativity. In the end, it may be a team member’s golden moment. Remember, we are working with a team whom many refer to as “Generation Z.” They are highly connected to high-tech driven world so…use it as a team advantage. The BRIGHT teams have been challenged to develop a device, technology, or awareness. Essentially, you and the other adult team members become the socket to their light bulb. Hook the team members up! Take the BRIGHT team students on virtual field trips, Skype with scientists, check out the local tech stores, or create a Makerspace for them to create in. We must introduce them to concepts, ideas, or prototypes that ignite their intrigue. Keep yourself thinking ahead so you can keep the team ahead of the game. You never know, the team may spark an idea based off another.  

Golden Opportunity

The competition is a BRIGHT team’s coach or mentor golden opportunity to shine!  In this competition, the golden opportunity can be seen as the golden rule. Teach others how you would want to be taught. As a coach or mentor, we inspire them to want to explore and investigate the world around them. We must be the radiant examples they are searching for in the dark. We are the search light, the flashlight, the lighthouse, the front porch light that goes on or off, and at times the light the flickers when it has been on for hours and hours. Believe it or not, we are the ones equipped. We plug away at problems all day, every day. Generally speaking, we have backup batteries or bulbs sitting to the side for when things are dim. Why not equip our BRIGHT Schools team members with the same ability? We need to teach them how to turn on their own lights and how to self-equip and as they go out into the world for their own adventure. If we are teaching the team members how to equip themselves, then we are growing dendrites in others’ brains. How brilliant does that sound?

Highlight your BRIGHT Schools Team

Highlight the efforts and progress of the BRIGHT Schools team through ample communication. Throughout the competition, communication is key to gaining support and acknowledgement for the team. Communication should include the teachers and others in the school building, board of education, mentors, and community members. It is important for us to be intentional with the communication we are providing others, no matter how big, small, bright, or dim the news may be. A great way to highlight a team or a member is to ask them to write something. Essentially we are asking them to reflect on what they have done and really think about the competition. Since the competition aspect is mainly done by the team, it is important for others to hear from them and for them to be in the spotlight. When we illuminate the progress of our BRIGHT team, we shed light and build others’ understanding of the BRIGHT team’s goals, steps, outcome, and allow others to shine.  

Transform The World

Last and definitely not the least: transform lives one at a time, one moment at a time, one experience at a time. In return, they can radiate their light onto others and transform the world into a brighter place for this generation and future generations to come!

Danielle Owens has 13 years of teaching experience and is currently a gifted and talented teacher at Savannah Middle School in Savannah, Missouri. She can be reached at: dowens@savannahr3.com.

Registration for the Bright Schools Competition is now open and submissions are due on February 6, 2017. Learn more by visiting our website, send an email to brightschools@nsta.org or follow us on Facebook and Twitter: @Bright_Schools. 

When Rogue One: A Star Wars Story debuts next month, science teachers who use the Star Wars films in their classrooms will have another tool not just for teaching science, but also for integrating it with other subjects. The films “are a great place to integrate science and the arts,” says Jacob Clark Blickenstaff, NSTA’s media reviewer and Director of K–12 Engagement at the Pacific Science Center in Seattle. “If teachers are worried about STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) leaving out the arts, [the films] are a great place to make that connection.”

John Derian uses Star Wars films in his Living Environment and Physical Science class at The Brooklyn International High School in New York City. Here students are doing a peer tutoring activity about protein synthesis using magnetic nucleotides to build DNA and mRNA. (photo by John Derian)

John Derian, who teaches ninth- and 10th-grade Living Environment and Physical Science to newly arrived immigrants at The Brooklyn International High School in New York City, uses the first three Star Wars films to do just that. After learning sculpting from an art teacher, he incorporated it in a Star Wars project-based unit he created for a school-wide interdisciplinary portfolio project with the theme “Adaptation”: something young immigrants can readily relate to.

Working in groups, “students design and sculpt an alien animal adapted to a specific Star Wars planet and identify its unique sequence of DNA by investigating ecology of different ecosystems, animal adaptations, and protein synthesis,” Derian explains. 
“Students model their animals around real animals and adaptations…We look at animal skeletons” to prepare them to create their alien animal’s framework, he relates. Students “look at the Star Wars animals with a critical eye [and ask the] big questions, such as, ‘Did [George] Lucas consider adaptations when he created [those animals]?’”

In addition to completing written assignments, students create time-lapse videos showing the creation of their alien animal. Derian says he asks students to do this “to be more cognizant of the design process in the moment. Additionally, the requirements for the final fully edited time-lapse video require students to reflect on the design process and how they collaborated together.”

Because the protein synthesis of real animals involves sequences of 50 to 1,000 amino acids, Derian does short sequences with the alien animals instead. “I’ve never had students more enthusiastic about learning protein synthesis,” he asserts. Using their Star Wars animal “makes [it] more purposeful.”

“Darth Maker”—a.k.a. Dave Marriott, makerspace lab facilitator at Stateside Elementary School in Jacksonville, North Carolina—incorporates Star Wars in subjects like robotics to provide students with authentic experiences for applying science and math. “I show students the clip from Episode IV [in which] Luke is buying droids. [Then I ask,] ‘What is their purpose?’” says Marriott.

“We’ll have a discussion: Could we have a lightsaber or autonomous droids? Or I’ll show the clip from Episode II with C-3PO, a droid, making other droids. Then I’ll show a video of robots building cars, assembly-line robots, so [students] can see how they’re used in society,” he relates. 

“Kids want to build what they see,” Marriott contends. When they build robots, they “see where science fiction turns into reality, even if their robot
looks more C-3PO than I’d like.” 

May the Force Game With You

Amy Alexander, science teacher at Angola High School in Angola, Indiana, uses Star Wars to teach evolution and created an activity with a gaming element. “[S]tudents [read] a page from Star Wars: The Essential Guide to Alien Species, which describes the characteristics of dianogas, the slithering, one-eyed creatures who live in the garbage chutes of spaceships. I show students the clip from Episode IV [in which] Han, Luke, Leia, and Chewie escape down the chute, and Luke gets pulled under by the dianoga.”

Next, “students roll dice to determine how the next generation of dianoga will evolve. They then get to decide the path of evolution, and roll a die to determine what type of environmental change will occur. They then make a determination as to whether the new trait will be beneficial in this new environment or not.

“They go through this cycle 4–5 times and draw their final dianoga in its new environment. This really gives students a chance to be super creative,” she contends.

Megan Menker, middle division teacher at Marburn Academy in Columbus, Ohio, incorporated Star Wars in her grades 7–8 physics unit to teach about forces, vector diagrams, and net force. In one game-like activity, she gave each student a paper lightsaber with an amount of Newtons specified on it. “They took their lightsabers up to the blackboard for a duel and drew vector diagrams demonstrating the force of their lightsabers,” she relates. “They then determined who is stronger by subtracting the difference between the forces to find the net force.”

Then as a class, “we combined forces to overcome Darth Maul, and drew vector diagrams to represent that. By themselves, each Jedi was not strong enough…The students realized they had to combine forces to beat Darth Maul,” she points out.

Attacking Science Flaws

Some educators have their students explore the films’ scientific inaccuracies. In her sound unit for preservice teachers, Mary Lamar, science manager and chemistry lecturer at Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond, Kentucky, has students “write a letter to George Lucas to explain why they would not hear the Death Star explosion in space if they were [in] X-Wing fighter[s] with their back[s] to the Death Star and the communications system [was] down.”

After her eighth graders complete a unit on force, energy, and motion, Rebecca Kern, Year 2 and 3 Integrated Science Educator at Channing Hall International Baccalaureate World School in Draper, Utah, shows her students a Star Wars film. “While viewing [it], students take notes about all of the ‘misuses’ of physics” in it, she notes. When the film ends, “students immediately start writing an argumentative essay that includes topics such as Newton’s Laws of Motion, lightsabers, sound in space, jet engines, and explosions in space. I also give the students links to supplemental materials, such as Discovery Channel’s MythBusters episodes on Star Wars…, that they can use as evidence to back up their claims” in the essay, Kern explains.

Theresa Jones, science teacher at Hackensack Middle School in Hackensack, New Jersey, shows her fifth graders Episode IV. They then “brainstorm all the science fiction in the film” and create a list of topics for a research paper, says Jones. Their papers include “what the real-world equivalent technology/invention would be”and “the scientific principles involved in making it a reality,” as well as the benefits and negative effects of it, she relates.

“Kids typically like doing the research paper because they really want to know if these crazy things just might be possible,” Jones contends. 

This article originally appeared in the November 2016 issue of NSTA Reports, the member newspaper of the National Science Teachers Association. Each month, NSTA members receive NSTA Reports, featuring news on science education, the association, and more. Not a member? Learn how NSTA can help you become the best science teacher you can be.

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

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Flying across the country to the conference for the National Association for the Education of Young Children brought many different landscapes into view through the plane window. I saw ridges, meandering rivers and river-carved canyons, heavily wooded areas, hills, mirror-like lakes, flat regions that went on and on, and sharp snow covered peaks. Human impact on the land appeared as long straight and curved lines, circles, crazy quilt patches, and structures of many shapes including skyscrapers, railway lines, wind turbines, flat roofs, single structures and clusters of structures. The sky changed from clear to cloudy.

How can we help preschool children explore how the landscape and natural resources affect how their community’s infrastructure develops? Should we? National Council for the Social Studies describes the benefits of learning about geography: “Geographic inquiry helps people understand and appreciate their own place in the world, and fosters curiosity about Earth’s wide diversity of environments and cultures” (NCSS, pg 40). How can preschool educators provide experiences that will later help children think about the landscape and ask questions to learn more to be able to make informed choices as adults?

We can begin with becoming very familiar with the area around our own school or home, talking about its slopes, vegetation, and structures. Help children take an inventory of the natural features of their play area counting how many: trees or other plants, rocky areas, puddles, grass lawns, mulched areas, steep slopes and gentle inclines, and other elements. An inventory can include human structures such as fences, tables, and climbing structures. As they count and record how many, children can sort the features into groups, natural or human-made. Ask children what elements they would add, if possible.

Walking field trips to the field or building next door will reveal additional features–the spot with the most grasshoppers or a ditch with cat tail plants to pick for their fuzzy heads, and buildings made of stone containing fossils or windows with a glimpse into a store. Children’s reasons for valuing a particular location may differ from adults’ reasons. A walking field trip can incorporate a mapping experience (Ashbrook). As children grow older the walks can go further, expanding children’s understanding of their place. 

Ashbrook, Peggy. 2011. The Early Years: A Sense of Space. Science and Children. 49 (1): 30-31

National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS), The College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards: Guidance for Enhancing the Rigor of K-12 Civics, Economics, Geography, and History (Silver Spring, MD: NCSS, 2013).

At the beginning of class, it takes my students a long time to settle down. We are wasting time as I try to get their attention. Any suggestions? –T., Maryland                                  

To take advantage of the class time we have, it helps to have an established routine so students know what to do when they come into the classroom.

One method I found effective was posting an agenda. When the students entered the lab, they saw what the learning goals were, what activities they were going to work on in class, what needed to be turned in, and what materials they needed (pencil, science notebook, paper, and so on). As they assembled these materials and put their other things away, they still had a little time to socialize, which is important to middle schoolers. When we started the lesson or lab investigation, they had their materials in order.

Another suggestion is to have a warm-up or bellringer activity. Students should get started right away, even before the bell actually rings. The students are focused while you take attendance, distribute materials, or return assignments. Some examples include

• Answer a question about yesterday’s work or another related topic
• Respond to a statement or visual to uncover misconceptions or activate prior knowledge
• Complete a vocabulary entry with a graphic organizer
• Do a “quick write” with several sentences on a theme or topic
• Do a “quick draw” on a theme or topic

You can tell the students to quiet down over and over every day. Or you can help students take responsibility for using time purposefully through guidance and modeling (and persistence).