The article Using Japanese Lesson Design to ANTicipate an Invasion on Maui caught my attention, not as much because of the topic of fire ants as an introduced species, but for the description of “Lesson Study.” What I found interesting was how this Japanese approach is very different from the way lesson planning is conducted in American schools.
I’ve worked with schools that have “common planning time” in the teachers’ schedules, but in many cases, the “planning” session quickly degenerates into a gripe session or to another individual prep period. I suspect that this is because teaching in American schools is often seen as a solitary profession. There seems to be some sort of unwritten law that we have to do it all ourselves, and that somehow we are “cheating” if we work together or share lessons and other resources. Even when two or more teachers teach the same subjects, there is often little or no consistency in what is taught, in assessments, or in grading systems.
“I’m starting a unit next week on XYZ, and I need some ideas for activities.” This plea is often seen in listserves or teacher bulletin boards. I wonder what it would be like to work with a group of teachers to create, test, and refine curriculum-related lessons. What if these were then published so that others would not have to re-invent the wheel? What if eventually teachers would have their entire course mapped out with tried and true lessons, ready to be used, rather than scrambling on a daily/weekly basis to plan? I realize that for different groups of students, the lessons may have to be modified or extended, but that is certainly better than starting from scratch at the start of each unit.
I’d like to learn more about Lesson Study. I’ve started with a few websites:

• Lesson Study
• Lesson Study Resources
• Tools for Conducting Lesson Study

But I’d like to know more about what this actually looks like in real schools. Japanese Lesson Study, Staff Development, and Science Education Reform describes the efforts of the the Neshaminy School District in Pennsylvania.
Many of the secondary schools I work with are very small, with only 1-2 science teachers in each subject. How would Lesson Study be conducted in these small schools? What kind of professional development (and administrative support) is necessary for Lesson Study to be effective? It would be interesting to hear from other teachers who have been involved in this form of action research/professional development.

Here is an interesting coincidence. The other day, I was reading the Science Teacher article on “The Life and Work of John Snow,” with suggestions for an inquiry-based unit of study that focuses on the history and nature of science. One of the recommended websites, John Snow, is an interesting collection of resources related to his study of cholera during an 19th century epidemic in England. I poked around it for a while, looking at the fascinating period maps and other primary sources. I also logged into SciLinks and did a keyword search on disease for more related information. Later that day, my brother phoned with an invitation to attend a lecture at a local college given by Dr. Rita Colwell, the former director of the National Science Foundation. As we walked into the auditorium we were given a card with the title of her presentation–Global Climate, the Oceans, and Human Health: The Cholera Paradigm. Two references to cholera in the same week! Was this a sign?
Dr. Colwell described the occurrence of cholera in the world, her research on the subject (including how copepods are carriers) and discussed how advances in oceanography, ecology, microbiology, marine biology, epidemiology, medicine, and satellite imagery are being used to create predictive models of potential outbreaks of the disease. She also noted how a low-tech system of filtering water through cloth can reduce the incidence of this disease. If you want to fast-forward your students to a 21st century description of how cholera is being studied, try googling colwell + cholera for information on Dr. Colwell and her team’s studies.
Dr. Colwell concluded her talk summarizing science in the 21st century in two words: international and interdisciplinary. How can we bring these words to life in our classrooms?
This month’s journal has several articles that describe interdisciplinary studies – from inquiry using nematodes, food enzymes, and electrophoresis to a discussion of current taxonomy (astronomers are not the only scientists who reclassify things based on new evidence!).
As I listened to Dr. Colwell’s speech, I kept thinking of the authors’ description of Snow in the journal article–creative, courageous, pursued anomalies, and collaborative–and how this 21st century scientist exhibits these same characteristics as the 19th century one. How do our science classes help students to develop these characteristics?

In the local newspaper, an organization advertised its Haunted House event for Halloween. One of the chambers is the laboratory of a “mad scientist.” I’m sure it was full of the usual stereotypes from horror movies.
Compare these caricatures with the work of real scientists in this month’s Science Scope. (You can access the table of contents by clicking on the picture of the cover.) None of the articles this month has a SciLinks connection code, but you can create your own list by logging into the SciLinks site, and in the Member’s Triad Search, select “History and Nature of Science” and “Science as a Human Endeavor” for a list of interesting websites.
One of my favorites is the website of the Chemical Heritage Foundation. The Classroom Resources section has a section on Chemical Achievers, with biographies arranged by topic. Rather than just a litany of facts, these biographies have graphics, oral histories, and timelines, organized around themes. Some familiar names are here, as well as some that reflect the diversity of those who have made significant contributions. I can spend hours with this site!
Another good resource is Science as a Human Endeavor . This is part of a site created by teachers to showcase websites that relate directly to the National Science Education Standards.
Although the cover of this month’s journal is beautiful, the four scientists (I recognize Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Edison, and Albert Einstein, but I’m not sure about the fourth one. Any suggestions?) are famous figures from the past. By concentrating on these historical figures, I wonder if we are perpetrating the misconception that science is, as my students might say, “so over.”
How many of our students (and teachers, perhaps) have ever met a real scientist? Museums, government agencies, businesses, and colleges/universities have scientists that can provide our students with real-life examples of what a scientist does. I was involved with a project that brought together two scientists from a natural history museum with local teachers. The herpetologist shared his nationwide research project on frogs and involved the teachers in their own studies of vernal pool amphibians. The entomologist shared her research on endangered species of butterflies and guided the teachers through a study of insect populations in their own schoolyards. It was interesting to watch the interactions between the teachers and these scientists who have a real passion for their work.
In another project, university science professors teamed with K-8 teachers. In addition to conducting hands-on, inquiry-based workshops, the professors visited the teachers’ classrooms on a monthly basis. The students in theses rural schools were astounded to meet real scientists! One child even asked the physics professor if he would autograph his textbook! (I know that writing in textbooks is a no-no, but I would have made an exception in this case.)
A teacher recently asked me for suggestions to replace the library activity in which students prepared “reports” on famous scientists. She wanted students to learn about these scientists, but in the era of electronic encyclopedias and Wikis, having students re-write a list of events and discoveries did not seem like a productive use of students’ time and the school’s technology. We came up with a few ideas (this month’s journal has some great suggestions) for her to try, but perhaps you have some teacher-tested ones already in your lesson plans?
The bottom line here is that the most interesting scientists are not just from the past or the present. Put a mirror on a bulletin board where students can look at scientists of the future!

In a previous entry on fall activities, I forgot to include Mole Day, celebrated on October 23 (10/23) from 6:02 a.m. to 6:02 p.m. The timing of this event celebrates Avogadro’s number — 6.02 * 10^23
For more information on the concept of a “mole” (in a chemical context, not the mammal!), login to SciLinks, and enter “Avogadro” into the keyword search. You’ll get a list of websites related to moles and to the work of this scientist.
This day is used to celebrate the science of chemistry and its applications. The National Mole Day Foundation’s website has background information, themes, and some suggested activities. The American Chemical Society has embedded Mole Day in its National Chemistry Week events. The ACS site has many resources for students and teachers of all grade levels.
Rather than competing with the commercial hoopla around Halloween, perhaps we science teachers could do our own special celebrations that relate to science concepts! I’ve also heard of teachers who reverse the numbers and celebrate their mole day on June 2 (6/02) at 10:23 a.m. This could be a neat end of the year wrap-up!
According to several sources, this event was inspired by an article in NSTA’s The Science Teacher from the 1980s, but these sources do not mention the title of the article. Unfortunately, the online archives for this journal do not go back that far to get the original article, and I’ve recycled my journal copies from the 80s and 90s. Does anyone have the title and author of the article?

This is the theme of the October Science and Children. Whether you’re an elementary or secondary teacher, be sure to check out this issue online (just click on the photo) for some discussions on the relationship between science and mathematics and some activities that can certainly be adapted for science students, regardless of their ages.

The articles on graphing do not have any SciLinks codes, so I’ll mention one of my favorites! Create a Graph is a tool that helps students create graphs from their data. There is a tutorial on types of graphs and how to choose the appropriate one for the given task. To make the graph, you enter the title of the graph, labels for the variables or categories, and the actual data. You can even select the colors and fonts! After seeing the graph, you can print it or save it in several graphic formats. The neat part is that you can email it to yourself and receive a link so that you can go back to the site and edit the graph later! This is a user-friendly, online alternative to more complex graphing programs.
I’m currently working with a project that is teaming university science professors with K-12 teachers (mostly at the K-8 levels). One of the physics professors was working with the teachers on graphing the data from their wind energy investigations. He described graphing as another way of telling a story. After he modeled the process, he showed them a graph and they had to brainstorm possible stories. They came up with some interesting ones! It was an effective way to demonstrate the value of graphs as a means of communicating information and events (stories).
The students in the article “Making ‘Photo’ Graphs” (scroll down to the article link) told a story about plant growth with their graphs. Nice work, and they’re third-graders!