Experts say we are now in the Web 4.0 environment (where meaning can be created by the majority; web participation is a necessity; etc.). According to Yahoo! Finance, we’ll be able to purchase the first Web 4.0 tablet on or about March 15th. This isn’t science fiction; it’s here, and it sounds incredible. According to NBC News, “This ‘first of its kind’ tablet will be able to receive information and instructions without the user having to touch the tablet, utilize voice input, or incorporate any peripheral device whatsoever.” This announcement got my attention, and in my quest to pre-order, I came across several other fantastic ideas on the company’s website. Browse the site for yourself (scroll about halfway down the page and read the section titled “Intelligent Interaction in the Classroom, Board Room and Home”), and you might agree that this puts into perspective how important STEM education is. We must equip our students to function in the 4.0 environment and beyond. Not only to have the technical abilities to gain employment, but to make them scientifically literate enough to assess the reasonableness/validity of the content created by the masses (think wikis) and ultimately to be able to thoughtfully influence the creation of meaning. Read more at here and  here. It’s an exciting time. Let us know what you think!

Teachers, students, and parents who have participated in a science fair have different perspectives on the experience. Students may feel both excited and nervous as they choose their topics, develop the projects, and present their findings. Parents may remember their dining rooms turning into makeshift laboratories and design studios as crystals form, incline ramps are tested, and foamcore display boards are lettered and laid out. Meanwhile, teachers are grappling with two core questions:

• How can I organize all of my students when they are all doing different projects at the same time?
• How can I help my students while giving them the freedom of choice and independence of thought that characterize genuine inquiry?

These are the two core questions addressed in Science Fair Warm Up—Learning the Practice of Scientists. Author John Haysom developed a series of three grade-level versions for students (Grades 5-8, 7-10, and 8-12) and a Teacher’s Guide, available separately or as a complete set.

 Science Fair Starting Points

Haysom explains that all students need a starting point from which they can build an understanding.

“As students work on a project, they will undoubtedly  meet all sorts of problems: formulating ‘good’ (scientific) questions, measuring, designing good apparatus, devising good experiments, graphing, making sense of what they have learned, and so on. But they can get help along the way from the experiences in these books, from the teacher, and from their friends and classmates.”

Whether you have students who have never participated in a science fair before or have students who need to be more cognitively challenged, these books offer original investigations to help students develop the inquiry skills they need to carry the project through. A theme that resonates throughout the books is the practices of scientists. Regardless of the project selected, students are encourage to look at the scientific way of dealing with the problem at hand.
The idea behind science fairs is to allow students to experience genuine scientific inquiry. By becoming scientific problem solvers, they “gain an understanding of the art of solving problems (the nature of scientific inquiry), Haysom explains.
As the science fair process gets underway in your classroom and at your school, these books can help you enjoy the creative thinking of your students as you guide them through the process.
Consider these two additional NSTA Press® resources when doing your science fair planning: Science Fairs Plus: Reinvent an Old Favorite, Grades K–8 and STEM Student Research Handbook.

A fascinating feature of a popular astronomy app called Star Walk is the augmented reality feature that uses a device’s camera to blend educational imagery with reality.
Star Walk is a well-known app due to its appearances in Apple ads and product release events. You might know it as the one that gives you a virtual night sky view that is controlled by the direction and angle of the iPad. Wonder what’s overhead? Point the iPad up. Wonder what’s in the sky on the other side of the earth? Just point the iPad down. Daytime? No problem. The app shows what’s there above the clouds and atmosphere. Moon behind the mountain? The app shows exactly where.
Adding to this magic-seeming technology is the app’s ability to blend the objects in the sky with what the backside camera sees. That means if you point the iPad up in the sky, the screen will show the night sky objects floating on top of what is actually visible. But rather than spend more time trying to explain this in words, here is a video showing the augmented reality app. The augmented reality part of the demo begins at 28 seconds.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stWaVqdimdw[/youtube]
The price of the Star Walk app is $2.99 which seems to me to be exceedingly low for such a powerful portable personal planetarium.  While the augmented reality aspect is stunning, the quantity of easily accessible information in the app challenges most textbooks. But when you add in the real-time nature of this app along with its man-made object database and updates, if ever you have considered writing a curriculum around an app, this would be a good one!
And for those accessory designers out there, it would be a fun challenge to make a faux telescope that viewed the iPad through the same optical telescope assembly and focusing mechanism in order to practice sighting skills inside the classroom!
 

If you have yet to experience a National Science Teachers Association conference, take a look at the multiple opportunities offered each year. Attend a conference to firm up your understanding of science and engineering concepts, learn teaching strategies, meet with other science-interested teachers, get resources and have fun.

Upcoming conferences:

• National Conference—San Antonio, Texas: April 11–14, 2013
• 2013 STEM Forum & Expo—St. Louis, Missouri: May 15–18, 2013
• Area Conference—Portland, Oregon: October 24–26, 2013
• Area Conference—Charlotte, North Carolina: November 7–9, 2013
• Area Conference—Denver, Colorado: December 12–14, 2013
• National Conference—Boston, Massachusetts: April 3–6, 2014

 
A special event that I’ve enjoyed at a past conference is the Elementary Extravaganza, sponsored by the Association of Presidential Awardees in Science Teaching, the Council for Elementary Science International, the NSTA Committee on Preschool–Elementary Science Teaching, Science and Children authors and reviewers, and the Society of Elementary Presidential Awardees. I hear they have coffee this year as well as door prizes and a chance to win an iPad.

Conference schedules are available online so you can see what sessions fit your needs. I usually search for terms “preschool,” “preK,” “kindergarten,” and “childhood” to try to find the sessions focused on early childhood teaching. Then at the conferences I attend a variety of other sessions to learn more about science and engineering concepts and to find out about new science and engineering standards being developed. From the first to last, sessions offer support and engaging discussion for incorporating science and engineering concepts into the curriculum, and hands-on materials—see these few examples from schedule of the 2013 NSTA National Conference in San Antonio, April 11-14, below.
Thursday, April 11 8:00–9:00 AM
“Bridging” Engineering and Science: Engineering Design Challenges That Inspire Inquiry
Marriott Rivercenter, Salon B
Through hands-on activities and discussions, we’ll explore how standards-based engineering and inquiry science can be authentically integrated in the classroom. Leave with a planning tool to use in your classroom!
Presenter(s): Kristin Sargianis (Museum of Science: Boston, MA)
Sunday, April 14 8:00–9:00 AM
Teaching the “E” with the “STM”: Integrating Engineering into Elementary School Curricula
Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, 214D
See how teachers at Poinciana Elementary STEM Magnet School are integrating engineering projects into their curriculum using materials ranging from popsicle sticks to 3-D printers.
Presenter(s): Sue Baillie (Poinciana Elementary STEM Magnet School: Boynton Beach, FL); Kris Swanson (Poinciana Elementary STEM Magnet School: Boynton Beach, FL)
Sunday, April 14 11:00 AM–12:00 PM
Combining Engineering and Ecology
Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, 208
Find out how we work with inner city and suburban students to enhance their knowledge of ecology through engineering activities.
Presenter(s): John T. Pappas (Carleton Washburne School: Winnetka, IL); Kerry Maxwell (Alcott High School: Chicago, IL)
Thank you to all the educators who share their expertise and experience! I hope others are inspired to submit a proposal for a future conference.

I am curious about the effectiveness of group or team tests given (maybe a week) before the actual, summative test. I am just beginning my student teaching, and think a group test might be a great way for students to share the responsibility of reviewing and would give the students who are less comfortable with the material a chance to hear it from other students. I know a group test cannot completely replace assessing individual students for comprehension of the material, but I’m wondering if students were given the opportunity to work together on a test reflecting the unit’s material as preparation for the day they take an individual test, would that be a helpful indication of where students are before they take the test?
–Reid from Eugene, Oregon
It’s been my experience that periodic, formative assessments during a unit of instruction are more helpful to both students and teachers compared to a single review at the end of the unit. The students get ongoing feedback on their learning and the teacher can address questions, misunderstandings, and incomplete understandings in a timely manner.
But you have an interesting question about the benefits of a summative review or study session. Since you’ve just started student teaching, you could discuss this with your cooperating teacher and observe how he or she handles this. As you observe or try different strategies, keep a log describing the activity and the results of the subsequent assessment. At some point, this could be an opportunity for a more structured action research project in the classroom—if not during student teaching then perhaps in your future classes.
Action research is inquiry or research focused on efforts to improve student learning. It is typically designed and conducted by teachers who analyze data from their own classrooms to improve their practice. Action research gives teachers opportunities to reflect on their teaching, explore and test new strategies, assess the effectiveness of these strategies, and make decisions about which ones to use. Action research models generally have several components, which I’ve annotated with some thoughts about your question:

Identify a focus area or research question. Your question actually raises other questions:

1. What is the purpose of a review? To connect content from several lessons? To apply learning to new situations? To help students become familiar with the assessment format and rubric? To practice skills? To practice retrieval of factual information?
2. When are the best times to review for a test? Periodic assessment opportunities during instruction? A summative activity just prior to the test? Both?
3. What is the value of group vs. individual review? Do students understand the purpose? Do students know how to review material? Are students familiar with protocols for working collaboratively? Do students benefit from different strategies?
4. What is the format of the review? A practice test? Summarization? Revisiting class notes? A game-like activity or contest?
5. What is the teacher’s role? To use the results to re-teach a concept that students are still struggling with? To ensure that all students are participating?

Implement a strategy and collect data. If you have more than one section, you could use a different form of review in each section. Debrief the students about their understanding of the purpose of a review. Observe the ways students do (or do not) participate. You could use photographs or videos to document the process. Examine what they are writing in their lab notebooks based on the review. Administer the test and score the results.
Analyze and interpret the data. How did the students perform on the test? Compare the test results to previous tests. If you tried different strategies, how did the results differ? Share your findings with students. Discuss any frustrations or other feedback from students.
Develop an action plan. You may need to try a strategy several times. Depending on your results, begin to assemble a “toolbox” of effective review strategies.
Action research is a systematic way to apply inquiry to your own teaching practices. The results of action research are often published in the NSTA journals. I hope that you will share your findings with us!
Resources:
Action Research
Action Research for Teachers
Action Research (NSTA’s Science Scope September 2010)
Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/fontplaydotcom/504443770/