My colleague and I are early–career science teachers at a middle school. Rather than our reinventing the wheel, do you have any suggestions how to make lab days run more smoothly, especially at the beginning and end of the class?
–Sean, Oakland, California
To ensure lab periods run smoothly (and safely), planning and preparation are essential. Every activity should relate to your learning goals and be appropriate for your students’ experience level.
Review the activities or investigations thoroughly to determine if you have the proper facilities, time, and materials to conduct them safely. Put yourself in the role of a student. What could possibly go wrong? How much guidance and support will students need? Never have the students perform a procedure that you have not tried or are familiar with yourself.
Plan activities for the amount of time you have. If you have a single period, choose investigations that can be completed (including the introduction and cleanup) within that time or that can be paused and continued at another time.
Assemble materials and equipment in advance. Have extra supplies on hand, so you don’t have to leave the room to get something. Assemble trays or boxes with materials for each group (I numbered the boxes to match each team). An “inventory” card in the box or note on board helps students know what should be in the box. Assign a student on each team the role of equipment manager to get the materials and alert the teacher if anything is missing.
Prepare students for the activity by reviewing the purpose, procedures, and safety issues. If students designed the procedure, check their ideas by having them show you their proposal before they start.

Monitor your students as they work. In addition to looking for safety issues or off-task behaviors, this is an opportunity for formative assessment. You can ask or answer questions, guide their thinking, and eavesdrop on their conversations as they work. You can have a list of lab skills and check off students as they demonstrate them. Also note anything you want to change for the next class or the next time you do this activity.
Even your best class can run into difficulties. Never leave the room or be distracted with emails or phone calls while students are doing an activity. Accidents can and do happen, but you don’t want students to hide broken glass or clean up a spill with a sleeve. Deal with the situation right away in a matter-of-fact style.
If a student is engaging in potentially dangerous behavior and does not respond to your guidelines, remove him/her from the situation immediately, stopping the entire class if necessary.
Time flies during an activity, and if the bell rings while students are still working, they’ll want to rush on to their next class. Students must assume responsibility for cleaning up at the end of the period so everything is in place for the next class. Set an alarm or timer so there’s enough time to clean the workstations and debrief on the activity.
Have a sign at each lab station with a list of cleanup tasks. The equipment manager on each team should make sure group members complete tasks such as returning the materials to the boxes, wiping the tabletop, cleaning the glassware, turning off or resetting probes and other instruments, discarding any trash in the proper receptacle, and following other directions you may have (such as sterilizing and storing eyewear).
Boxes should be returned to a designated place where you can see the contents. Pay attention to forceps, calculators, scissors, and other items that may “disappear.” Note if anything is broken. Establish a routine in which students wait until you are satisfied things are in order for the next class before leaving. (This should be the routine on non-lab days, too!)
At the end of the day, return materials and equipment to their proper places if the activity is completed. If you’re continuing the activity, put the boxes in a secure place.  Annotate your lesson plan with any concerns or ideas for next time. Update the inventory with how much of a material was used or if anything was broken or discarded.
This was an area in which I struggled at first. But with organizational strategies and routines, I found lab days were enjoyable and challenging for both the students and the teacher!
 
Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/40964293@N07/4018106328/

Each month, columns on safety in the science lab are featured in NSTA’s Science Scope (Scope on Safety) and The Science Teacher (Safer Science). These columns are written by Ken Roy, Director of Environmental Health and Safety for Glastonbury Public Schools in Glastonbury, CT, and NSTA’s Science Safety Compliance Consultant.
These are must-reads for science teachers and school administrators, regardless of what grade level or science course you teach. And NSTA members have access to them, regardless of which print journal you receive.
Here is a list of topics that have appeared so far this year:

• Eating in the Lab: A Recipe for Disaster – To summarize–Don’t.
• Pregnant and Safe in the Lab – Suggestions for teachers and students
• Anger Management – What to do with unacceptable student behavior in the lab.
• Safety in Videos – What to do with a video clip in which participants are usually potentially dangerous practices (such as not wearing appropriate eyewear)?
• Acknowledging Safety in Physics — Safety acknowledgment forms alert students and their parents or guardians that the lab is a dangerous place in which they must follow safety protocols (and not just physics!)
• Safety to the Wind – Are your science labs properly ventilated?
• Choosing Biological Stains Carefully – Some traditional stains should be reevaluated for safety and health issues.
• Shining a Light on Laser Safety – Check your local and state regulations, too.
• Earth Science Safety: It’s All in Your Form – Safety issues apply to all classes.
• Wave Warnings – Suggestions for classes studying light, sound, and wave energy.

If you’re looking for a science department discussion topic, take your pick! For more on safety topics, go to NSTA’s SciLinks and use “safety” as the keyword.
Graphic: http://www.flickr.com/photos/epicfireworks/3646350410

Patterns…cause and effect: mechanism and explanation…scale, proportion, and quantity…systems and system models…energy and matter: flows, cycles, and conservation…structure and function…stability and change…
How does your science and engineering teaching involve concepts that cut across many science disciplines and are central to the K-12 Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)?
These seven crosscutting concepts are presented in the document that framed the NGSS, A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, crosscutting concepts, and core ideas (NRC 2012) and were previously identified in some form in Science for All Americans (AAAS 1989), Benchmarks for Science Literacy (AAAS 1993), National Science Education Standards (NRC 1996), and NSTA’s Science Anchors Project (NSTA Press 2010).
The seven crosscutting concepts presented in Chapter 4 of the Framework are as follows:
1. Patterns. Observed patterns of forms and events guide organization and classification, and they prompt questions about relationships and the factors that influence them.
2. Cause and effect: Mechanism and explanation. Events have causes, sometimes simple, sometimes multifaceted. A major activity of science is investigating and explaining causal relationships and the mechanisms by which they are mediated. Such mechanisms can then be tested across given contexts and used to predict and explain events in new contexts.
3. Scale, proportion, and quantity. In considering phenomena, it is critical to recognize what is relevant at different measures of size, time, and energy and to recognize how changes in scale, proportion, or quantity affect a system’s structure or performance.
4. Systems and system models. Defining the system under study—specifying its boundaries and making explicit a model of that system—provides tools for understanding and testing ideas that are applicable throughout science and engineering.
5. Energy and matter: Flows, cycles, and conservation. Tracking fluxes of energy and matter into, out of, and within systems helps one understand the systems’ possibilities and limitations.
6. Structure and function. The way in which an object or living thing is shaped and its substructure determine many of its properties and functions.
7. Stability and change. For natural and built systems alike, conditions of stability and determinants of rates of change or evolution of a system are critical elements of study.
These science and engineering concepts are part of early childhood learning. Early childhood educators teach their students to make patterns—ABAB, AABAAB, ABCABC—and to observe patterns—the sky is cloudy when it is raining, day follows night follows day, most leaves are green. We help our students investigate causes of events—pouring for a long time may overflow a container, the isopod/pillbug rolls up when touched, the playdough dries up when the lid is left open.


 
 
 
 
Children are beginning to learn about measurement of time and objects through experiences in early childhood, and learn about systems as varied as magnetic train and track sets and pollinators’ relationship with flowering plants. Caring for living organisms such as bean plants and fish teaches children that they need food (energy) of some kind to survive. Another early experience with energy is feeling the warmth of sunlight on their skin and feeling cooler in the shade. Building blocks, a staple of kindergartens since they were first organized, provide children with many experiences with stability. Pairing blocks with a ramp opens the door to exploring how changes in ramp position affect the motion of objects moving down the ramp. Making a change in matter through cooking is another way children explore change in the early years.


 
 
 
 
 
Our conversations and discussion with children can help them make connections as we ask them to tell us what they are thinking and how they came to that understanding.
The editors of the National Science Teachers Association’s elementary journal, Science and Children, put out a call for papers on the topic of crosscutting concepts for journal issues in the 2014-2015 school year.
How are children in your program expanding their understanding of these concepts that cut across the different areas of science? The deadlines to submit your manuscript are March 1-November 1, 2014. I’m looking forward to learning from you!

This April, the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) will feature a special strand “Leading From the Classroom” at our 2014 National Conference on Science Education, in Boston, April 3–6.
Can you be a classroom teacher and a leader? Yes! You grow professionally throughout your career, and as you do, you see opportunities to improve science education. If you’re like other great science teachers, you may think your only career path leads out of the classroom. But as seasoned NSTA members know, there are many ways you can take on a leadership role while doing what you love–teaching science in the classroom. This strand addresses the skills and opportunities for developing your leadership capacity while continuing to serve as an effective classroom teacher.
Sessions organized around this strand include a featured presentation on Friday, April 4, 8:00–9:00 AM (“The NRC Framework and the NGSS: An Opportunity for Teacher Growth and Leadership”) by Arthur Eisenkraft (Distinguished Professor of Science Education, Professor of Physics, and Director of the Center of Science and Math in Context, UMass: Boston, MA). More sessions on Leading From the Classroom include the following:

• Preparing for the Future: Developing Science Teacher Leaders
• Opening Up Your Door: Fostering Teacher-led Communities of Inquiry and Collaboration
• Becoming Teacher Leaders Through Curriculum Development: Collaborating to Design and Implement the Science Youth Action Research Curriculum
• Teachers and STEM Education Policy
• Building Teacher Capacity: The Role of Science Leader-Teachers
• Science Education Fellowship Program: Supporting District Cohorts of Science Teacher Leaders
• How to Effectively Implement a Curricular Review as a Teacher Leader
• Teachers Developing as Leaders: A Panel Discussion
• Analyzing Student Work for Language Structures That Support Conceptual Understanding
• Teacher Leaders in the RESTEP to STEM
• Developing Teachers into Master Educators and Leaders: National Board Certification
• Who Me? Yes, YOU! How to Become a Teacher Leader
• Making the Case for Elementary Science Specialists
• Professional Development: Capturing the Trends, Practices, and Research to Strengthen Teaching and Learning
• Partners in Learning and Leading: Teacher Residencies in a Science Museum
• To Lead from the Classroom, Get Out of the Classroom!
• Streamline to Mastery: A Model for STEM Professional Development
• SILT (Science Instructional Leadership Teams): A Model of Student Work Analysis to Improve Teacher Practice
• Levels of Leadership for Teachers in Educator-based Organizations: An Example from the Pennsylvania Earth Science Teachers Association
• Collaborative Capacity Building for Next Generation Science Teacher-Leaders

Want more? Check out more sessions and other events with the Boston Session Browser/Personal Scheduler.

Lindsey Vonn—probably the closest to a household name as any winter Olympian. Sadly, we won’t be able to see her defend her women’s downhill gold medal in Sochi due to her ACL injury. But you can find out a bit more of the back story in Injury & Recovery, one of ten videos in the latest installment of NBC Learn’s Emmy Award-winning “Science of Sports” series—Science & Engineering of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games. Partnering with NSF, the videos reveal how key engineering and science concepts, as well as cutting-edge technology, play an integral part in each athlete’s sport. Of course, NSTA is providing connected lesson plans to make your STEM efforts cutting-edge as well.
The videos provide you with several “jumping off” places, and you’ll find a timeline at the beginning of each lesson plan that steps you through the action. Then, scan through the Injury & Recovery Integration Guide for suggestions of where you can tap into the video as one of your resources. Take a look at the Inquiry Guide too, for suggestions of hands-on investigations into both science and engineering design concepts.
Find the series, available cost-free, on www.NBCLearn.com and www.science360.gov. Leave a comment. We’d love to hear your reactions!
Image of Lindsey Vonn training in Vail, CO, in November 2011 courtesy of Snow Buzz.
Video
Injury & Recovery discusses the occurrence of knee injuries in downhill skiing and an innovative new technology to repair one type of knee injury: anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) damage.
Lesson Plans
Injury & Recovery Integration Guide spells out the STEM in the video and gives you mini-activities and ideas for research, teamwork, projects, and interdisciplinary connections.
Injury & Recovery Inquiry Guide models a science inquiry focused on the function and structure of the knee joint AND an engineering design inquiry focused on making and testing a bracing system for knee joints.
You can use the following form to e-mail us edited versions of the lesson plans: [contact-form 2 “ChemNow]

This month’s guest editorials address the theme of science for ALL students:

• NGSS Case Studies: All Standards, All Students includes a table that highlights effective strategies for various demographic groups of students. The editorial also describes case studies that reflect the implementation of NGSS in real classrooms. These are worth a read. http://www.nextgenscience.org/appendix-d-case-studies
• Making a Difference describes some of the challenges of meeting the needs of all students in an elementary science class. Students with special needs or disabilities will need modifications to business as usual, and the article lists some research-supported effective practices such as adaptive materials for physically-challenged students, hands-on learning, well-designed heterogeneous grouping for cooperative activities.

For some of out students “hands-on” can be a challenge. The authors of Let’s Get Physical* show how they adapted two elementary science investigations (egg drop and plant growth) to include accommodations and suggestions for students with cognitive, physical, and sensory disabilities so they could fully participate. The suggestions could apply to any grade level and activity! [SciLinks: Learners with Disabilities]
Kindergarten students find out What’s the Weather Like Today?* with lesson ideas and strategies designed to reach students of all abilities. Focusing on wind patterns, students gather and chart data. Eventually they also collect and chart data on temperature and precipitation. The authors describe how the lesson uses trade books and can be adapted for students who use assistive technologies or have visual impairments. Watching the Wind* features several trade books and lessons that help children focus on what the wind can do so they can understand that wind has power and can be used to simply blow items around (K-2) or generate wind power through building windmills (3-5). The lessons include links online resources and connections to Common Core and [SciLinks: Winds, Weather]

Students come to our classrooms with varied experiences to build on: cultural backgrounds, ELL, reading level, learning preferences, age, and a range of abilities. Assessment for All discusses how formative assessment probes can address all students and ways teachers can adapt them to meet the diverse needs within their own classrooms.
Watching the Wind* features several trade books and lessons that help children focus on what the wind can do so they can understand that wind has power and can be used to simply blow items around (K-2) or generate wind power through building windmills (3-5). The lessons include links online resources and connections to Common Core and [SciLinks: Winds]
NGSS for English Language Learners* addresses the question of how to get ELL students to engage in scientific argumentation. When a lesson did not go as intended, the authors revised their thinking with reflection on NGSS goals, planning and practice in designing a lesson on forest ecosystems.
Most teachers appreciated the role of visualization in learning. The authors of The Power of Multimodal Representations* share research findings on the effectiveness of visual supports with students with learning disabilities and with emotional or behavioral disorders. They provide several examples of concept maps and student-generated drawings and photographs. The article also includes a template for a claims-and-evidence discussion
Do you have a family night or similar event for students and parents? The authors of Culture Matters in Science Education* describe a multicultural “festival” that engaged students, parents, and the community. The article also discusses the concept of “culturally relevant teaching” in terms of the diverse ethnic, cultural, linguistic, and religious backgrounds of students.
Using the school yard as a resource and building on their prior experiences, students investigated renewable and nonrenewable resources as described in Learning Science in Cultural Context*.
This month’s Early Years column, Shape Exploration: Another Dimension* has suggestions for young scientists to explore three-dimensional shapes.
*And check out more Connections  or this issue (January 2014). Even if the article does not quite fit with your lesson agenda, there are ideas for handouts, background information sheets, data sheets, rubrics, and other resources.
 
 
 
 

Talking with other early childhood educators enriches my understanding of how children learn and I often learn good ideas for teaching about particular science concepts. I had an online conversation with Mary Myron who I met at the 2013 annual conference of the National Association for the Education of Young Children. Mary has held several positions in early childhood, has a Master of Education in Early Childhood and is a National Board Teacher in Early Childhood. She is now the Mentor Kindergarten Instructor at the East Tennessee State University’s “University School” and an adjunct faculty member, with a wealth of experience as a lead teacher in early childhood programs.
Welcome Mary!
Peggy: At what age should children begin learning science and engineering concepts?
Mary: Children start on their own at birth! They are curious scientists and use all their senses to figure out how it all works.
Peggy: Can you describe an “ah-ha!” moment for you as a classroom teacher when you noticed a particularly effective technique for helping children understand science concepts?
Mary: I don’t remember the exact moment but I do remember when I was working with fellow educators to explore and absorb Reggio experiences. The projects that the Reggio children were involved in went in so many different learning directions—I wondered how will I manage this? It was shortly thereafter when I realized that I was a co-learner and co-researcher with the children and could joyfully participate with them. For me the ah-ha discovery was really listening to them and respecting their questions…then facilitating their search for answers and understanding using the scientific process (on their level of course)
Peggy: What is a memorable, or current, science investigation that your preK or K students took part in?
Mary: I would be happy to begin with a memorable one, the Bird Project. It has been to date the longest and most in-depth project I have been involved in. This does not in any way diminish others that are not as long but it was such an amazing experience that I love to share it. If I may, I will just describe what happened.
For curriculum planning purposes, I use an over-all umbrella theme for a period of weeks or even months. It is always a science related theme and usually has to do with the changes that are occurring out of doors in our northeastern Tennessee environment. I select these themes because they are meaningful and relevant to young children as curious scientists.

For this project the question was, “What changes happen outside during autumn?” We took our cameras outside and our clipboards with paper and pencils to record our findings. We were sitting outside on the lawn in our fall jackets being quiet observers. The children took no time at all in noticing the squirrels running around. “Why were the squirrels running?” some asked. Others with lots of prior knowledge (these were big kindergartners after all!) said they were gathering nuts so that they could hibernate (I noted the misconception but did not jump in with the correction…let the children have time to discover this!). Photos were taken, sketches made.
One child looked in the sky and asked, “Why are those birds flying like that?” (This was the V-formation). Photos did not happen…we were not fast enough, but sketches were made.
The next day, and in days to come, we continued with collections of questions, photos and sketches. Some of the children were very interested in the trees and the different shapes of the leaves. Others were interested in the animals and their habits (the hibernation and getting ready questions). A group of children was still very much interested in those birds. We searched in books for children and books for adults and did a lot of reading. We did do some research on the internet but did not have a lot of access at that time. We looked in old encyclopedias. We went to the Library. 
The Bird Group learned that those birds were migrating—going to fly all the way to Florida! We consulted a map and talked about families flying on planes to Florida and driving for days to get there. This brought more questions. “How do wings work?” Wow…how to facilitate discovery of this answer? The children provided the way to this knowledge discovery. They suggested that they would make wings out of several different materials and then test them to see which would work best! The children discussed during their project meetings just how this would happen. It was decided that they would make wings out of paper, cardboard, and fabric. The wings would be big enough to fit on a child’s arms and be able to flap freely. The children would fly down the long hallway wearing the wings. A rating scale was devised. The criteria of ease of movement, strength, and amount of wind they produced would be the determinants as to which was best. They worked diligently for days to construct the wings. Finally the testing day came. They found that the paper ones ripped too easily. The cardboard wings were too bulky and did not move easily. The fabric wings were miraculous. They were strong yet moved easily. They produced a lot of wind. This was the winner! The children then decided that their wings were not representative of all the work so they engaged in a search to find a bird they would like to “adopt” as their own. We went back to the encyclopedias, internet and “birder” books. They found a beautiful Macaw and decided that was It. I brought in a yard or so of red felt and the children colored and cut out fabric of other colors for the wings. The wings were not only beautiful but also worked wonderfully for flying down the hall when the mood struck. They were a fixture in our classroom for a long time until they wore out!
The group then turned their attention to the feet of the birds they had been researching. They were very curious about the differences they noticed. Joyfully back to the resources (these included encyclopedias, trade books, and even books used by adults. We invited a grandfather in who was a “birder” and he helped the children learn about the different types of birds and why their beaks and their feet were so different. They were truly fascinated with the talons and learned about all the different birds that had these. This, of course, led to the children learning about the diet and feeding practices of the different kinds of birds. The children speculated on the diet of a bird just by looking at their beaks and feet!
Another group exploration involved those birds who were flying in the V formation. It was a big surprise to the children to learn that the birds fly all the way from Canada to Florida. This involved pouring over big maps and drawing lines to map the routes. They learned that not all birds flew to Florida or even south for that matter, that some of the birds stayed up here in the cold with us. The children wanted to know which birds stayed and wondered how they could help them find food. We were well into winter by now. Some of the students wanted to make bird feeders for the birds. A meeting was held with this group. They discussed various types of birdhouses that they had made in school last year and decided on one that seemed to work best…a plastic milk jug with a cutout. This was hung outside our classroom window as close to the window as we could get it. The children made a recording sheet to chart the different types of birds that visited the feeder. They cut out pictures of the types they knew would be staying and wrote their names alongside the picture. A watcher helper was assigned for different periods of the day. Much to the children’s surprise, they discovered that squirrels were eating more than the birds! This called for action! The group called a meeting and it was decided that a bird house/feeder was needed.
The children decided that the house needed to be made with holes that would accommodate only birds. The children drew wonderful plans/sketches. They were amazingly detailed. One child told of houses their family made out of gourds. Another told about the wooden birdfeeder that their father made. 
The “gourd” family brought in one gourd for each child with the hole already drilled. What excitement…the children each decorated their own with paints. The children then hung these from trees, fences, wherever they thought would be best.
My teacher candidate’s husband, who came to help, provided wood and expertise for making the bird house/feeder. Wow…what excitement. The children actually did the sawing and hammering themselves. We made two of these, which were quite large. The children painted them. It was decided that they would hang outside the window where our original milk jug feeders hung. That way the children would be able to observe the birds feeding. Another fantastic discovery! The food was placed inside the feeder but the position of the hole made entering the feeder very difficult for the birds. “WHY?” One child loudly and excitedly explained that what was needed was a perch! The house came back in and these were installed….success!
This study of birds lasted from late October through April. It culminated with a trip to an aviary. The Rangers at the aviary gave a lecture on birds of the area. The K-Kids were amazing with the depth of questions they asked and answered. The Rangers were impressed!
I may not have not have communicated the wonderful joy of the science discoveries here or the (way above grade level) amount of math, reading, research, writing, social studies and community involvement that were part of this investigation. The inquiry process was the seed of this wonderful learning adventure. Children asked questions; they collected evidence (using sketches and photos); conducted research using reference books and trade books and people from the community; came to conclusions and communicated and shared their findings.
Peggy: Are there any particular science or classroom organizational tools that supported the investigation?
Mary: To support this type of learning, an attitude of openness to inquiry must be present. Listen to the children and respect their questions. Respect their ability to conduct inquiry and pursue answers to their questions. There also needs to be a willingness on the part of the teacher to find ways to weave this into the teaching schedule. I have found that having children work on their inquiries in small groups can free me up to work in small groups of children in reading or math. Certainly, there is a lot of reading and math that integrates with their projects, well as engineering! I have to emphasize that science makes the classroom pop with excitement for learning and the students are eager to read and write about their discoveries!
Peggy: I understand that the University School kindergarten classroom is inspired by the Reggio Emilia Principles. Do these principles support learning science and engineering concepts?
Mary: My classroom and approach is inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach. It is not a curriculum but rather a philosophical approach. This approach is very sensitive to where you are teaching in the world….so that what happens in Northeastern Tennessee would not happen in Florida.
It is child centered and collaborative, and as you can see from my previous answer, it supports learning science and engineering concepts. I could go on forever but I am not an expert, just a believer! By the way, I have an engineering center in my classroom.
Peggy: Thank you, Mary, for sharing your ideas and experiences!
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology has many resources for beginning and experienced birders. The Project Feeder Watch page has information about food and feeder preferences for the birds in your region.

From data literacy to citizen science to using trade books in science lessons, take a look at what science teachers are reading so far in 2014 at NSTA’s website.
Most Popular NSTA Press Books
1. Inquiring Scientists, Inquiring Readers: Using Nonfiction to Promote Science Literacy, Grades 3–5
2. The Basics of Data Literacy: Helping Your Students (and You!) Make Sense of Data
3. Picture-Perfect Science Lessons, Expanded 2nd Edition: Using Children’s Books to Guide Inquiry, 3-6
4. Translating the NGSS for Classroom Instruction
5. Designing Effective Science Instruction: What Works in Science Classrooms
Most Popular NSTA Press e-Books
1. Take-Home Physics: 65 High-Impact, Low-Cost Labs
2. Science for the Next Generation: Preparing for the New Standards
3. Citizen Science: 15 Lessons That Bring Biology to Life, 6-12
4. Models and Approaches to STEM Professional Development
5. Forestry Field Studies: A Manual for Science Teachers
Most Popular Science Trade Books for Kids
1. How Does a Plant Grow?: I Wonder Why
2. Next Time You See a Pill Bug
3. What Makes Different Sounds?: I Wonder Why
4. Next Time You See a Firefly
5. Spenser and the Rocks: I Wonder Why

You’re barely in the door of your local sporting goods store before you’re bombarded with displays of clothing designed specifically for every sport—even fishing! Are you better at any one of these sports when you’re wearing the specially designed togs? Maybe—maybe not. But in sports where gold medals can be determined by hundredths of a second, the well-placed seam can make a difference! Delve into the design of those seams and fabrics by watching Shani Davis & Engineering Competition Suits, part of the latest “Science of…” series from NBC Learn and partner NSF. In this series the 2014 Winter Olympic Games becomes a backdrop for furthering your STEM efforts.
NSTA joins the team as well, with video-connected STEM lesson plans brimming with ideas for science and engineering design inquiries and activities focusing on math and technology. Download the lesson plans at the links below. When you open them, you’ll see that some are labeled grades 4–12 and others are labeled 7–12. Note that the writers are always targeting middle school, but, depending on the sophistication of the video’s concepts, many of the connections, suggestions, and activities can be scaled up or down for your students.
Find the series, available cost-free, on www.NBCLearn.com and www.science360.gov. Leave a comment to let us know what you think. And if you end up making significant changes to the lesson plans, or have new ideas to add, let us know and we’ll be in touch with submission information.
Video
Shani Davis & Engineering Competition Suits highlights speed skater Shani Davis as it discusses the factors that influence how the team at the Under Armour Innovation Lab design the competition suits that speed skaters wear.
Lesson Plans
Competition Suits Integration Guide spells out the STEM in the video and gives you mini-activities and ideas for research, teamwork, projects, and interdisciplinary connections.
Competition Suits Inquiry Guide models a science inquiry AND an engineering design inquiry focusing on the effects of friction.
Image of the Shani Davis in a 2009 speed-skating competition, courtesy of Onno Kluyt.
You can use the following form to e-mail us edited versions of the lesson plans: [contact-form 2 “ChemNow]

I feel overwhelmed by the grading process. It seems like I spend most of my waking hours grading homework, lab reports, tests, quizzes, notebooks, and projects. I teach two science courses at the high school and meet 150 students every day.  What can I do to use my time better and meet the deadlines?
—Stacy, Seattle, Washington
One of my big “aha” moments when teaching 150 students was a realization that different types of assignments required different levels of my attention. It’s important to identify activities and assessments that demonstrate students’ understanding of a concept or their ability to use a process. These require time for in-depth evaluation.
But teachers can overwhelm themselves with trying to evaluate and designate points to every piece of student work. The real value of in-class assignments, homework, and formative assessments is in how they contribute to student learning, rather than how many points they’re worth. I know teachers who select student work randomly to get a sense of what students understand. (They explained this strategy to the students in advance.) Some teachers check off completed assignments before discussing them in class. The teachers recorded which students completed the task and students had the opportunity to update or revise their work.
Explain to students you need time to examine their efforts on projects and written work carefully and respond thoughtfully. For example, you could divide tests into two parts: an objective part and an essay part. The first could be returned and discussed quickly (even the next day), but the essays could take longer to read and comment on. I assigned a score for each, showing students the essay part was just as (if not more) important as the objective questions.

For lab reports, borrow the idea of “Focus Correction Areas”  from our language arts colleagues. Instead of trying to review the entire report, focus on one or two key areas, such as the research question/hypothesis, data tables, graphs, illustrations, or conclusions. Glance through the rest of the report for any glaring errors or omissions if you like, but concentrate your comments on these areas.
Differentiate between proofreading and providing feedback. Part of your rubric for major assignments could be “clarity of communication,” but correcting every spelling or usage error on every assignment takes away time from providing constructive comments related to the science goals (and could discourage students from writing).
Feedback should focus on what specifically the student did well, point out where the student may have made errors or demonstrated incomplete thinking, or discuss how the student could improve. With 150 students, it would indeed be overwhelming to write a detailed analysis for each student. Rubrics can be used to provide feedback, showing students how they performed on components of the task, giving you time for more personalized comments.
Use science notebooks as much as possible. Each week, review a few from each class or focus on a key assignment. Have students include their vocabulary, notes, graphic organizers, summaries, or bell-ringers and review them holistically instead of individually. During lab or small-group activities, spend some time with each group to observe their work and do a quick scan of their notebooks.
With two different subjects, you have some options to help yourself. Don’t give tests in both subjects on the same day. Give yourself some breathing room in terms of doing labs, too. Assign projects in your two subjects at different times.
And take a break from the paperwork once in a while to clear your head—exercise, read a novel, do some yard work, visit a coffee shop, or do something fun with your family or friends. Your health and sanity are just as important as today’s science quiz.
Photo:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/ahlness/424645772/