Tweet-up in Philadelphia! Join your fellow Listserv users, Facebookers, Tweeters, and LinkedIn’ers, and online Community users on Wednesday evening at the Brew Pub adjacent to Reading Terminal, 1150 Filbert St., for a (at your own expense) face-to-face gathering of your fellow science education colleagues! NO RSVP required! Ask for Howard Wahlberg or Daryl Taylor.
On our listservs, the subject of parents advocating for creationism in the science classroom has generated a spirited discussion, and rube goldberg contraptions are being discussed in Physical Science and DNA Fingerprinting is being talked about in Biology. Sorry to disappoint the moldy cat and poop fans out there; maybe next week.
In NSTA’s online professional learning communities, make sure to check out all the new presentation resources for our Philadelphia Conference.
On our “core site” (www.nsta.org): everyone’s gearing up for our National Conference on Science Education this March 17–21 in Philadelphia. Write your own declaration of independence and join your fellow educators this March in Philadelphia!
On Facebook, lots of folks have been discussing plans for the National Conference.
On LinkedIn, you can now find a jobs subgroup, that re-posts all of the listings on the NSTA Career Center.
And of course, on our Twitter stream, science educators are tweeting and re-tweeting about our upcoming national conference in Philadelphia!

My next-door neighbor is a lovely young woman, currently at the top of her junior class and gathering information on colleges. She’s interested in studying chemistry/chemical engineering (hooray!). I was reflecting on the opportunities she has that did not exist years ago when I was in her situation. Many colleges with strong science/engineering programs were men-only then or they did not encourage women to apply to these majors. We’ve come a long way, but we’re still talking about science-for-all issues.
This article Universal Design suggests purposeful design of instruction and facilities that will meet the needs of a greater number of students. The author notes that “when UD principles are applied to the classroom, content is presented in multiple methods.” I’m curious about possible connections between UD and differentiated instruction. After reading the article I followed the link to the University of Washington’s DO-IT website to learn more. It appears that many of the things we already do in classrooms (e.g., wait time, posting assignments on the board, avoiding jargon, using large type on projected material) fit into the strategies of UD.

Unlocking Science Vocabulary is subtitled “Lessons from an ESOL teacher.” Don’t think that the strategies apply only to ELLs (English Language Learners). All of our students are SLLs (science language learners) and these strategies for learning the specialized vocabulary of science are teacher-tested and align with the research of Robert Marzano and others who have studied the issues of learning vocabulary. It seems like another twist on UD—what is helpful for ELLs may be helpful to many other students who are struggling with specialized vocabulary. I was fortunate to have studied Latin in high school (thank you, Sister Euphemia), which was a great basis for understanding science vocabulary. The author provides a link to a list of root words and affixes from Latin and other languages, which would be a nice reference for students to play around with words.
3-D Teaching Models for All shows another example of how strategies for students with visual difficulties can be used to help all students learn. The SciLinks topic using models has more examples of models and visualizations on various topics.
Two articles in this issue illustrate what the 5E learning cycle (engage, explore, explain, elaborate, and evaluate) looks like in a real classroom. Who’s in the Zoo turns a traditional animal report into an investigation of the Earth’s biomes. (This could be adapted for younger students, too.) Check out the additional information on biomes in SciLinks. Students are great users of electronic technology. As described in Make Your Own Digital Thermometer, students investigate how to make scientific instruments, scaffolded by the 5E cycle. SciLinks has additional resources on the topic of temperature and regulation.
If you’re looking for ways to stimulate student interest and observation skills, this month’s NSTA Recommends includes The Exploratorium Science Snackbook. The Exploratorium is a must-see,  interactive science museum in San Francisco (where the NSTA national conference will be in 2011!) and is one of my favorite places in the city. The book is a collection of “snacks”—simple demonstrations and activities that can be used to explore topics and generate questions. If you’re not sure what a “snack” is, visit the Exploratorium website for a list and descriptions. The Tools for Teaching on the museum site is a treasure of resources, too.
Check out the Connections for this issue. Even if the article does not quite fit with your lesson agenda, this resource has ideas for handouts, background information sheets, data sheets, and rubrics.
We can work for the day when Science for All becomes a commonplace reality, and this theme can be retired!

The conference blog has reported on some interesting topics/conference events and sights to see in Philadelphia, but you’re disappointed that you won’t be able to attend this year—the economy, schedule conflicts, time constraints, etc. So here’s an offer you can’t refuse. I’m a “free agent” at the conference. Other than a few must-see general sessions, my schedule is open. So let me know via a comment if there is a hot topic in your school, with a brief context as to why it’s “hot.” I’ll be your avatar and attend some sessions on the topic. I’ll report back via the MsMentor blog after the conference.
I’ll even eat a Philly soft pretzel on your behalf!

Thanks to everyone who posted a comment and e-mailed me directly. Boosting meeting attendance seems to be on everyone’s mind. While there is usually no one “quick fix,” here are some ideas to think about:

• Restructure the meeting to appeal to a wider audience. Of course, you want programming to appeal to your most active attendees, but think about other attendees’ needs and other audiences.
• Use a marketing mix. Promote the conference via e-mail, your website (if you have one), in your newsletter, with dues billings and prospective member packets, at local educational institute campuses, etc. Be sure to market your conference through “related” or “like-minded” groups.
• Take a look at your conference through your attendees eyes. Can you answer “what’s in it for me?” Is there enough content to make it worth attending? Are your marketing materials accurately conveying the value of the meeting?
• Provide a significant discount for early enrollment—NSTA has a significant registration spike for our early bird registration rate.
• Have a big name/recognizable presenter—this has been an attendance trigger for NSTA.
• Offer a guarantee. If the attendee isn’t fully satisfied, refund their money.

These are some ideas to get our conversation started. Do you have a great idea you can share? What has worked for your group and most importantly, what has not worked? Post a comment below or e-mail me at aodonnell@nsta.org and share with your fellow leaders. Remember, the success of this blog is dependent on your participation!

Did you know that nearly every NSTA Press book has a free sample chapter you can download from the Science Store?  To make it easier for science teachers to locate these resources, we’ve created a new page listing the freebie chapters that include lessons and activities:  visit www.nsta.org/publications/press/chapters.aspx to learn more. We’ll add to the list as new books come off press.