Each year, the Association of American Publishers (AAP) PreK–12 Learning Group reviews hundreds of educational resources to select the best of the best for the REVERE Awards. AAP has just announced the 2015 REVERE Awards Finalists, and NSTA is pleased to have 10 publications on the Finalists list. Congratulations to the authors of these publications and to NSTA staff members for reaching the final round of 2015’s most prestigious awards in educational publishing! Read on to learn more about these and all the Finalists among this year’s educational resources.

Explore the Finalists in Resources for “Beyond the Classroom”

Author Emily Morgan’s Next Time You See series is designed to inspire elementary-age children to experience the enchantment of everyday objects and phenomena and encourage them to learn more about the natural world. Next Time You See the Moon showcases photos of the different phases of the Moon and key information about why the Moon looks different at various points in time. Download an excerpt of Next Time You See the Moon for a look inside this unique children’s book. Next Time You See a Maple Seed (timely for spring!) is chock full of facts and detailed photos of the mysterious-looking winged seeds that maple trees shed. Young children will learn all about how these fruits of maple trees, called samaras, help disperse seeds and what’s required for seeds to grow into the tall maples we see around us. You can download an excerpt from Next Time You See a Maple Seed for a glimpse at the book’s story of a seed’s journey and growth. Visit AAP’s website to see all the REVERE Awards Finalists in the Beyond the Classroom category.

Explore the Finalists in Supplemental Resources

What better way to help students see how central science is to understanding and participating in our complex world than to introduce lessons that require them to delve into everyday issues? Dana Zeidler and Sami Kahn’s book It’s Debatable! Using Socioscientific Issues to Develop Scientific Literacy, K–12 can help you bring science to life for students through lessons on topics such as “Should schools charge a ‘tax’ to discourage kids from eating unhealthy foods?” and “Should rare Earth elements be mined in the United States?” Download the free unit “A Need for Speed: Should Speed Limits Be Lowered to Reduce Traffic Fatalities?” for a sample from this collection of lessons.

The goals of science education today include helping students not only understand important concepts but also learn to do science. One increasingly popular way to knit all these elements together is argument-driven inquiry, an innovative approach to lab instruction and the focus of Argument-Driven Inquiry in Biology: Lab Investigations for Grades 9–12, by Victor Sampson and coauthors. The emphasis in these labs is on argumentation—the process of proposing, supporting, evaluating, and refining claims in the science classroom. Download the sample chapter “Explanations for Animal Behavior: Why Do Great White Sharks Travel Over Long Distances?” for a lab that will introduce students to many of the theories and concepts used by biologists to study and explain the behavior of animals. Visit AAP’s website to see all the Finalists in the REVERE Awards Supplemental Resources category.

Explore the Finalists in Professional Resources

Teachers don’t have to become mind readers to understand the ideas young students bring to science class. The formative assessment probes in What Are They Thinking? Promoting Elementary Learning Through Formative Assessment, by Page Keeley, guide teachers in how to draw out what students know (or think they know) about the natural world so they can tailor lessons to help students gain deeper understanding of science concepts. Covered topics range from why you can’t always see the Moon in the daytime to where water goes when it evaporates. Teacher notes and advice on how to encourage evidence-based discussions in the classroom are included in addition to a set of study group questions. Download the sample formative assessment probe “Pushes and Pulls” for a helpful tool to explore your students’ ideas about forces.

Eric Brunsell, Deb Kneser, and Kevin Niemi created their guidebook Introducing Teachers and Administrators to the NGSS: A Professional Development Facilitator’s Guide to help the science education community begin implementing the exciting changes called for in the Next Generation Science Standards. Their book provides tips, suggestions, resources, and a series of activities that can inform professional development experiences around the NGSS. Download the chapter “Introducing the NGSS“ for an activities-filled primer on the new standards and the conceptual shifts contained in them. Visit AAP’s website to see all the REVERE Awards Finalists in Professional Resources category.

Explore the Finalists in Magazines

In “Next Generation Botany” (The Science Teacher, October 2014), authors Stephen Rybczynski, Zheng Li, and R. James Hickey discuss how important it is to integrate plant biology into the science classroom, given the botanical challenges society faces associated with food production, climate change, invasive species, and biodiversity.

“Right to the Source: Exploring Science and History With the Library of Congress” is a column introduced in The Science Teacher in 2014. Each column features a science-related primary source from the collections of the Library of Congress—a photograph, letter, film, or other artifact—intended to spark conversations and inspire research investigations. The text explains the object’s place in the history of science and offers ideas and links for further research. Recent columns include “Right to the Source: Marconi Sends His Regrets” (The Science Teacher, September 2014) and “Right to the Source: The Secrets of Patent Medicines” (The Science Teacher, October 2014).

In “STEM in a Hair Accessory” (Science and Children, November 2014), authors Hui-Hui Wang, Barbara Billington, and Ying-Chih Chen offer a creative way to introduce STEM (Science-Technology-Engineering-Mathematics) education to students in an informal setting. The article combines three aspects of current science teaching that show up often in Science and Children: incorporating STEM, reaching ALL students (in this case, African American girls), and capitalizing on students’ interests.

The November 2014 issue of The Science Teacher on the theme “Analyzing and Interpreting Data” offers articles filled with ideas for including this important scientific practice in your own teaching. Our world is awash in a sea of data. We encounter more data on a daily basis than ever before, conveying information about weather, health, politics, finance, and science. Data arrives via sensors, social media, digital photos, weather stations, and many other sources. As our ability to store and share data increases exponentially, our students must develop the skills and habits of mind necessary to analyze and interpret information. The Next Generation Science Standards recognize Analyzing and Interpreting Data as one of the eight essential practices of science and engineering. Visit AAP’s website to browse all the REVERE Awards Finalists in the Magazines categories.

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When scheduling science at the elementary level, which is better for students: having science class in the morning or the afternoon? We have always had reading and math in the morning with science and social studies in the afternoon. But now my colleagues and I are wondering if there are better ideas. —H., Maryland

When I was involved in a reading project and visited classrooms of participating teachers, it was common for reading and math to be scheduled in the morning. The thought was that students would be fresher and more focused for these “skill” subjects (and we all know these are the tested subjects!). But like you I wondered if science, social studies, art, and music would also benefit from this perceived early morning freshness and focus.

This topic was discussed in a recent NSTA discussion forum, too. Some contributors noted that the morning was better for science because students were more alert, while others suggested that the hands-on, interactive nature of science investigations were perfect for the afternoon hours.

In addition to the time of day, another consideration would be the quality of the science lessons. A thought-provoking investigation, project, or discussion may engage students whatever time of day, while a worksheet or lecture may turn kids off no matter when it happens.

It would be interesting to see formal research studies on the optimal time of day for learning in different subjects. Assuming your administrators are cooperative, you and your colleagues have an opportunity to conduct your own action research on the topic. By analyzing and reflecting on data from your own classrooms, you can develop effective strategies for your students.

Action research models generally have several components, which I’ve annotated with some thoughts about your question:

• Identify and fine-tune a focus area or research questions. How does the time of day affect learning in science? Some other related questions could include: Do some students perform differently in science depending on the time of day? Is there any difference in terms of gender, age, or type of activity?

• Design a strategy and collect data. Set up a schedule in which students have science some days in the morning and other days in the afternoons. If other teachers are interested, you could expand the study to include other grade levels or subject areas. Note the kind of activity being done (investigation, group work, paper-and-pencil activity, simulations, video, etc.) and observe the students as they work. Describe their engagement in the activity. Describe their physical activity and their conversations. Summarize the types of conversations students have. Use formative evaluation strategies to check on the content and skills students are learning.

• Analyze and interpret the data. Examine your observations. Look for patterns and differences. Does there appear to be a difference in assessment scores between the two time periods? Are there differences in the level of student engagement and types of student interactions? You’ll also want to debrief with the students on their perceptions, insights, or feelings about the switch in schedule.

• Develop an action plan. Depending on your results you may decide to stay with your current schedule, change it, or have an alternating schedule. Making any changes should involve your administrator and an awareness of how “specials” are scheduled. You could also study ways to fine tune the scheduling. For example, in the discussion forum, a teacher noted when science was scheduled first thing in the morning or right after lunch or recess, it helped students to refocus if the teacher did a read aloud on the topic before starting the activity.

I’m glad to hear that your school does schedule science every day! In many elementary schools, science and social studies appear to be less emphasized, in favor of reading and math. Students are losing an opportunity to use and apply what they learn in math and reading to other content areas. And most students really enjoy science.

More on the action research process:

• Action research on notemaking/taking
• Action research (Science Scope September 2010)

Photo: https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5329/17205903525_3c437f3041_m_d.jpg

A student at Preston Middle School in Fort Collins, Colorado, holds up a prototype rechargeable lantern for inspection by collaborating students at the CHAT House in Uganda via Skype. Photo courtesy of Heidi Hood

 It’s an international effort that may be unique: Students in the United States and Canada are working together to design 3D–printed, portable, battery-powered, rechargeable lanterns that students in Uganda and the Dominican Republic, who do not have reliable access to electricity, will field test. This isn’t an act of charity, it’s a “global collaboration to use kids’ unique talents and technology to make the world a better place,” says Tracey Winey, media specialist at Preston Middle School in Fort Collins, Colorado.

“The premise of the program is everybody has different talents,” she continues. “It’s not one group serving another. Each [group] is contributing unique talents to make a successful program. We have laid a foundation that everybody’s voice is important.”

The groups include students at Preston Middle School; Riverview High School in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada; the Care and Hope through Adoption and Technology (CHAT) House in Uganda; the Dominican Republic; and Pheasey Park Farm Primary School and Children’s Centre in Walsall, United Kingdom.

At Preston Middle School, students in the One Million Lights Club visit Winey’s media center before and after school and during lunch to work on the project. Along with Winey and John Howe, the school’s vice principal, they have Skyped with CHAT House students to learn more about their particular needs for the portable lights and shared their designs with the Riverview students. The CHAT House students also will field test the lights designed and built in Colorado. Winey says the CHAT House students will check the circuits to make sure they work and track how long the lights last, how many cranks are needed to charge the battery for how many minutes of light, whether the light is strong enough, how long batteries must be plugged into solar panels to be fully charged, and more. Their feedback will help the Preston students improve their designs.

“One byproduct [of the project] is light, but another is to foster global collaboration…[while] creating philanthropy in our kids,” explains Winey. “Our kids learn so much content through this program. This isn’t a class; my kids come before school, after school. Kids are motivated because they are curious and they know their work matters.”

And it does. While speaking with the CHAT House students, Winey’s students learned they wanted handheld lights so they would be able to identify predatory animals and other threats when they left the main CHAT House building to visit outhouses during the night. Her students also learned that while CHAT House has a generator for reliable light inside the orphanage, most of the surrounding village does not, which could lead to resentment. Sharing rechargeable lights with their neighbors would help build a stronger sense of community.

At Riverview High School, science teacher Ian Fogarty shares the story of Maria and Hailey with his students. In August 2014, one of his students met the two girls in the Dominican Republic. They both dream of becoming doctors, but struggle to study after dark when their home only has electricity a few nights a week.

“Engineering seems to be a nice mix of purposeful science,” Fogarty says. Instead of getting “lost in our science lab,” he adds, philanthropic engineering projects provide concrete answers to why students learn about circuits. “Now they are learning to help somebody. I tell them, ‘Here’s their story, here’s how we can help.’ It gives content real-life purpose…The motivation is ‘We’re going to learn this to help somebody; if we don’t learn, someone is going to suffer.’ There is no middle ground; either it works or it doesn’t.”

Fogarty was able to add the light project to his existing curriculum. “It wasn’t a big change in the classroom. It was a change of focus. We can do the same tests as before,” he explains. His ninth-grade students do the same circuitry labs as in previous years, but do them with Maria and Hailey in mind. In his 10th-grade Broad Based Technology course, students use Google SketchUp to draw cases for the flashlights, while 11th- and 12th-grade physics students go into greater depths working with electronics and microprocessors. The Science 12 class, which “blends the borders [among] science, humanities, and language arts,” also examines the role of the local culture, investigating how they will get the lights to Maria and Hailey (and other students in similar situations), he relates.

“Engineering is the last gender gap, I think,” remarks Fogarty. “In this project, eight out of 12 students are girls. Three [female] students not in class are checking in weekly. They tell me, ‘We’re invested in it now. We want to see it through.’ One of the goals is gender equity in science moving forward; this seems to be helping that out quite a bit.”

The Fort Collins and Moncton students shared their designs with one another electronically. Winey explains the Moncton students knew more about circuitry than her middle school students did, and her students had more experience in virtual collaboration and 3D printing. In addition to collaborating on circuitry with Winey’s students in Colorado, Fogarty’s students worked across the Atlantic Ocean with Gareth Hancox’s fourth-grade students at Pheasey Park Farm Primary.

“My students taught those students about circuits and sent them a design task [to create] cases. Each kid spent five [to] eight hours of [his or her] own time designing lights. They pitched their designs to us and really challenged what my high school kids were thinking…They’ve helped us with brainstorming design,” says Fogarty. The elementary students’ designs included glow-in-the-dark cases, dimmer switches, and options to make the lights wearable.

Hancox notes this “revolutionary approach to learning…between elementary and high school students on different continents has been a giant leap forward in learning. Both sets of students had interesting, sensible, and exciting ideas on how best to approach the problem of supplying light to students in the Dominican Republic. What happened next was true collaboration; the younger students presented their designs over a Skype video presentation with immediate feedback from Canada. Ideas however ‘out of the box’ were discussed, and certain elements were further developed until a final design was agreed upon by all the students.” He adds that it has been incredibly important for his students “to work on a real project with definitive outcomes that will change the lives of others.”

Fogarty and Winey also tapped into resources in their local communities. He has had an engineer “loaned” from a technology company check that the students were designing with safety in mind, and a university professor visit while students worked on circuit boards. Volunteers from Intel worked with Winey’s students on soldering, and the school’s computer science and electronics teacher checked students’ circuits. “The beauty of it is that people who want to come, come. It’s truly motivated by people…serving for the sake of serving,” Winey says.

UNESCO has declared 2015 the Year of Light to raise awareness about light-based technologies and how they can be used to promote sustainable development and resolve energy, education, agriculture, and health challenges. Winey and Fogarty hope more educators will be inspired to make philanthropic engineering part of their curriculum.

With Howe, they launched a website, www.philanthropic-engineering.org, to share how they have made creating reliable light sources for others central to their students’ learning experiences. Fogarty hopes to eventually add more philanthropic engineering materials—such as designs for an automated greenhouse a group of his students have been working on to support a community garden—to the site.

This article originally appeared in the May 2015 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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