Teachers at the high school level expose students to learning that is applicable for college and career readiness. At the STEM Forum & Expo, hosted by NSTA, attendees will experience this STEM pipeline firsthand. STEM educators at the high school level can participate in hands-on workshops with activities to replicate in their own districts, and gain innovative ideas from peers and exhibitors.  Workshops are relevant, high interest, and easy to replicate. Panel discussions about the STEM pipeline will help focus your passion for STEM education to these pathways. Attendees will learn how to add more STEM classes and activities across the curriculum from presenters who demonstrate applications of science, computer science and robotics, industrial technology, engineering, and math.

An important theme of the high school strand is solving community problems, both in lessons and panels. Each attendee will leave with a new inspiration for involving their communities in STEM education, and knowledge of workforce needs across the nation.    

There is something to meet everyone’s needs in the high school strand offerings.  High school STEM leaders will gain knowledge to support the specialized responsibility they have in their districts to make decisions on curriculum, assessment, professional development, and community outreach. Participants and attendees alike will share their research findings with others in their field, learn what others are doing in STEM leading to new ideas for your learning community, meet like-minded people and find new opportunities to collaborate, and have fun! Attendees are encouraged to make connections with presenters, peers, and exhibitors for future collaboration and advice, and to come up with new ideas to present at next year’s Forum!

The 8th Annual STEM Forum & Expo, hosted by NSTA, is a unique, focused event that brings together (informal and formal) educators and representatives from exhibiting companies who are interested in, and who have tools and resources to share that will ensure successful implementation of STEM education into our schools and communities. It is intended to provide resources for educators and organizations seeking to learn more about STEM education, associated outreach programs, partnerships, schools, and curricula.

Future NSTA Conferences

2019 STEM Forum & Expo
San Francisco, July 24–26

The mission of NSTA is to promote excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all.

Follow NSTA

On behalf of the entire steering committee for the 8^th Annual STEM Forum & Expo, we invite you to join us from July 24 – 26, 2019, in beautiful San Francisco for the premier, international STEM education professional development event. The 8^th Annual STEM Forum & Expo, hosted by NSTA, is a uniquely focused event that brings together STEM partner organizations to create  a venue for learning and collaboration among pre-K through post-secondary educators, workforce professionals, business and industry leaders, informal educators, policymakers, public and private organizations, and other active participants in STEM education.

As evidence mounts and the need grows for a better prepared and stronger workforce in the STEM fields, so too does the need for quality STEM education that inspires students to pursue coursework in STEM and to take an active role in STEM careers. The STEM pipeline cannot occur until formal educators and our educational partners come together to create relevant, high quality STEM lessons and programs for our students. The STEM Forum & Expo is the place where we can gather and partner with other educators and educational entities to truly create STEM ecosystems that benefits all students at all levels. New teachers of STEM, and even veteran educators, need opportunities to help them effectively integrate the STEM disciplines, learn and use various instructional approaches, network with like-minded educators, and see innovation in action. If you are a novice STEM teacher or have been STEM-ming for years, the STEM Forum & Expo is the event you want to attend!

BUT WE NEED YOU! We are seeking creative, innovative formal and informal educators to share lessons, resources, and effective STEM programs with our attendees.  Educators need to build their skills and competencies in STEM, and they need resources that they can take back to their schools and inspire students to enter the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math. Each of us has a lesson, strategy, or program that we can share that would help to inspire another educator and influence the STEM learning of students across the world. We just need to take a leap and get out of our comfort zone of only presenting to students.

I hope to see you next summer in San Francisco for the STEM Forum & Expo. It will be a fantastic experience for all.

The 8th Annual STEM Forum & Expo, hosted by NSTA, is a unique, focused event that brings together (informal and formal) educators and representatives from exhibiting companies who are interested in, and who have tools and resources to share that will ensure successful implementation of STEM education into our schools and communities. It is intended to provide resources for educators and organizations seeking to learn more about STEM education, associated outreach programs, partnerships, schools, and curricula.

Future NSTA Conferences

2019 National Conference
St. Louis, April 11–14

2019 STEM Forum & Expo
San Francisco, July 24–26

The mission of NSTA is to promote excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all.

Follow NSTA

What is the best way to introduce science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) through literacy lessons in kindergarten?
—Y., New Mexico

To young children education is a single entity—they don’t make distinctions between disciplines until adults get involved! I think teachers of young children can easily capitalize on their innate curiosity and willingness to experiment to incorporate science, technology, engineering, mathematics, or any combination of them into almost any other activity.

A wonderful way to integrate the subjects is through solving engineering problems. Many excellent children’s books include all manner of scientific phenomena and topics. Check out NSTA’s Learning Center for dozens of ideas for kindergarten. NSTA’s Picture Perfect series provides amazing resources to use with some popular children’s books.

For example, after reading a story about birds a simple activity like, “Let’s build a bird’s nest” can inspire young students to think hard as they experiment with materials to keep eggs safe. Use the engineering design process to get students to analyze their creations and propose improvements. Reporting on what they have tried, their conclusions about different materials, and a description of the design they ended up with will be a excellent ways to teach communication, physical properties, measurement, gathering data, research, drawing, and more. They can compare their crafted items with real bird nests and propose why they are the same or different. Along this journey they communicate with their team members, learn new vocabulary, and work on fine-motor skills.

Hope this helps! 

Image by stokpic on Pixabay

Envision a room filled with noise, excited whispers, and students shouting across tables. Piles of tinfoil, plastic cups, scissors, string, and tape are scattered around the room. Paper, pencils, and notebooks filled with sketches are strewn across groups of desks. The lingering scent of melting chocolate pervades the room, as does an electric feeling of excitement among students.

This room may seem chaotic, but actually, it represents the best learning. If you were to ask students what is happening, they would describe their goal: to create a wrapper that would prevent a chocolate bar from melting. They would outline their plan and materials list, and discuss the revisions they made after collaborating with their tablemates. The students have spent weeks investigating how different substances react to heat and cold and testing different materials, which has given them content knowledge about changes in matter and the skills to design, test, and redesign a wrapper that even Hershey’s would envy.

What student wouldn’t be excited to have this activity be part of their school day? What teacher wouldn’t want to provide this type of lasting learning experience for his or her students?

How could a teacher accomplish this? The answer is both simple and complex. Simply doing science is easy; it’s something that teachers do already. But helping students learn science using the three dimensions as recommended in the Next Generation Science Standards requires more thought and planning. The standards include disciplinary core ideas, crosscutting concepts, and science practices, and students need to be able to access all three. But where to start?

Getting involved with science is the access point for all students, including both English language learners and those who already are proficient in English. To give students access to language, we need to build on experience. In many cases, children are not interacting with the world, so teachers need to provide these experiences. Choosing a phenomenon that is familiar to students is vital in giving them an authentic learning experience.

Starting here will spark students’ interest and increase their engagement with the work, as well as foster their independence while doing it. This connection gives students a foundation on which they can build language skills and develop ideas. Beginning this process of inquiry allows students time to use their home language as they converse with their peers, sketch and label their thoughts, and write questions. Not only are these skills critical for every learner, but they are also part of the English Language Proficiency standards (ELPs). Students are using the inquiry skills developed through the science and engineering practices to make sense of and understand the phenomenon, and therefore understand their world more deeply.

Students will develop a deeper understanding of the phenomenon as they ask questions and make observations, but they will have to show their thinking. Modeling is a scientific practice that offers an ideal entry point for building language around student thought. Students of any ability level can use their sketches and language to describe what they believe is happening with the phenomenon. This is the perfect opportunity to scaffold to add language to the students’ work. Students add language to their ideas, rather than  struggling to formulate an idea around a foreign language.

This offers students an invaluable learning experience that validates their ideas and empowers them to learn more. It gives students a solid understanding and allows them to believe they can and want to use the language developed. They take pride in their discoveries and pleasure in being able to describe their model to their peers, instead of being fearful and not fully understanding.

Many students who have English as a second language lack the confidence to share their thinking with peers. With the gradual growth of their ideas through experiencing the phenomenon, modeling and revising it, and working with partners and groups, students are much better prepared to discuss their thinking. By the time they have synthesized their learning, they have practiced many different ways to show their thinking and express their ideas, and are much more confident and willing to share their ideas and reasoning with their peers.

Bringing science into the classroom creates a community of diligent workers and communicators. Students work harder because they are interested, engaged, and active. Students share more because they have multiple opportunities to access the academic vocabulary and practice it through investigations and partner and class discussions. The science practices are not just best practices for English Language Learners, they are also best practices for all learners.

Kayla Jury is a second grade teacher and professional development leader in the Beaverton (OR) School District. She has a Master’s of Science Education and is a Certified Science Instructional Specialist. Alongside a team of colleagues in Beaverton School District, Kayla has created a Next Generation Science based curriculum for the primary grades. She strives each day to provide integrated inquiry curriculum that is authentic and matters to all of her students. 

Note: This article was featured in the March issue of Next Gen Navigator, a monthly e-newsletter from NSTA delivering information, insights, resources, and professional learning opportunities for science educators by science educators on the Next Generation Science Standards and three-dimensional instruction.  Click here to sign up to receive the Navigator every month.

Visit NSTA’s NGSS@NSTA Hub for hundreds of vetted classroom resources, professional learning opportunities, publications, ebooks and more; connect with your teacher colleagues on the NGSS listservs (members can sign up here); and join us for discussions around NGSS at an upcoming conference.

The mission of NSTA is to promote excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all.

Future NSTA Conferences

2019 National Conference

• St. Louis, April 11-14, 2019

STEM Forum & Expo

• San Francisco, July 24–26, 2019

2019 Fall Conferences

• Salt Lake City,  Oct. 24–26, 2019
• Cincinnati, Nov. 14–16, 2019
• Seattle, Dec. 12–14, 2019

Follow NSTA

The release of the report English Learners in STEM Subjects: Transforming Classrooms, Schools, and Lives (shortened to “the report” hereafter) (NASEM 2018) is timely, as three emerging forces shape the changing landscape of K–12 science education. First, demographics of the nation’s student population are rapidly changing, including the fast-growing subpopulation of English Learners (ELs). Second, A Framework for K–12 Science Education (NRC 2012) and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS; NGSS Lead States 2013) are both academically rigorous and language intensive. Third, computer science, including computational thinking, is becoming increasingly important for all students.

I will describe two key domains the report highlights: contemporary views on language and STEM subjects with ELs, and contemporary instructional approaches compared to traditional instructional approaches with ELs. Based on these two key domains, the report contains promising instructional strategies (see Chapter 4).

Contemporary Views on Language and STEM Subjects With English Learners

Recently, parallel shifts in STEM subjects and second language acquisition have occurred. In STEM subjects, contemporary views emphasize that students make sense of phenomena and problems in the classroom community (knowledge-in-use), while traditional views have focused on individual learners’ mastery of discrete elements of content. In second language acquisition, contemporary views emphasize that language is a set of meaning-making practices learned through participation in social contexts (language-in-use), but traditional views have focused on discrete elements of vocabulary (lexicon) and grammar (syntax) to be internalized by learners. Recognizing these instructional shifts as mutually supportive can promote rigorous STEM learning and rich language use with all students, including ELs. When ELs are engaged in STEM disciplinary practices in which STEM experts and professionals regularly engage (e.g., developing models, arguing from evidence, constructing explanations), ELs learn STEM subjects and language simultaneously.

As ELs learn STEM subjects while engaging in disciplinary practices, they use language to make meaning through social interactions with peers and the teacher in the classroom community. ELs use language and other meaning-making resources purposefully in the service of “doing” and communicating ideas about STEM subjects (Lee et al. 2013). ELs can communicate their ideas using less-than-perfect English.

Contemporary Instructional Approaches Compared to Traditional Instructional Approaches With English Learners

With its charge to reimagine instructional approaches to promote STEM learning and language learning with ELs, the report compares contemporary instructional approaches to traditional instructional approaches. First, it is a misconception that disciplinary vocabulary is disciplinary language. While contemporary approaches recognize that disciplinary vocabulary is one key feature of disciplinary language when the vocabulary is used in context, language in STEM subjects extends way beyond vocabulary. In STEM classrooms, ELs use language to engage in disciplinary practices and communicate disciplinary meaning. Through this engagement, ELs learn language as a product.

Second, a misconception exists that a certain level of English proficiency is a precursor or prerequisite to meaningfully engaging in STEM learning. This misconception has led to pre-teaching and frontloading of vocabulary. Instead, contemporary approaches highlight the functional use of language in social interactions and view language as a product, not a precursor or prerequisite.

Third, in content-based language teaching, which has been common practice until recently, EL teachers are asked to develop “content objectives” and “language objectives.” Typical language objectives focus on grammatical forms (past tense) or only on a particular function out of context (“compare. . . .”). Instead, contemporary approaches highlight using language while engaging in STEM disciplinary practices and learning language as a product.

Finally, sheltered instruction with ELs often provides highly simplified content that seldom satisfies grade-level content expectations. This approach fails to meet the goal of content standards that are expected of all students, including ELs. In addition, simplification of language can have unintended consequences for ELs. For example, as cause-and-effect is a crosscutting concept across STEM subjects, shortening a sentence by eliminating words that establish a causal relationship (e.g., because, therefore) can actually make it more difficult for ELs to understand disciplinary content. Contemporary approaches highlight amplifying language to support and challenge ELs with academically rigorous content.

The report will become more critical as emerging forces continue to shape the changing landscape of K–12 science education in the coming years. Today, there is consensus in science education on what counts as science and how children learn science. Moreover, the science education community’s contemporary view of science teaching and learning offers language-learning opportunities to and holds equitable expectations of all students, including ELs. The other two articles in this issue provide classroom examples that promote both science and language learning with ELs at the elementary and high school levels.

Okhee Lee is a professor in the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development at New York University. She was a member of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) writing team and served as leader for the NGSS Diversity and Equity Team. She was also a member of the Steering Committee for the Understanding Language Initiative at Stanford University. She is currently leading collaborative research to develop instructional materials aligned with the NGSS in order to promote science learning and language learning of elementary students, including English learners.

References

Lee, O., H. Quinn, and G. Valdés. 2013. Science and language for English language learners in relation to Next Generation Science Standards and with implications for Common Core State Standards for English language arts and mathematics. Educational Researcher 42(4): 223–233.

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM). 2018. English learners in STEM subjects: Transforming classrooms, schools, and lives. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.

National Research Council (NRC). 2012. A framework for K–12 science education: Practices, crosscutting concepts, and core ideas. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.

NGSS Lead States. 2013. Next Generation Science Standards: For states, by states. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.

Note: This article was featured in the March issue of Next Gen Navigator, a monthly e-newsletter from NSTA delivering information, insights, resources, and professional learning opportunities for science educators by science educators on the Next Generation Science Standards and three-dimensional instruction.  Click here to sign up to receive the Navigator every month.

Visit NSTA’s NGSS@NSTA Hub for hundreds of vetted classroom resources, professional learning opportunities, publications, ebooks and more; connect with your teacher colleagues on the NGSS listservs (members can sign up here); and join us for discussions around NGSS at an upcoming conference.

The mission of NSTA is to promote excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all.

Future NSTA Conferences

2019 National Conference

• St. Louis, April 11-14, 2019

STEM Forum & Expo

• San Francisco, July 24–26, 2019

2019 Fall Conferences

• Salt Lake City,  Oct. 24–26, 2019
• Cincinnati, Nov. 14–16, 2019
• Seattle, Dec. 12–14, 2019

Follow NSTA

Accidents in the lab involving electricity can produce fire, smoke, electrocutions, and explosions. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), “electrical equipment shall be free from recognized hazards that are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees.” This blog post describes the steps teachers must take to prevent such hazards from arising in their science classrooms and laboratories.

Preventing electric shock and electrocution

Unfortunately, many people believe circuit breakers protect lab occupants. In fact, circuit breakers only protect the science labs and building, not the teachers or students. Breakers are designed to prevent electrical fires by shutting off the electrical flow if too much electricity tries to move through the circuit’s wires. An excessive amount of electricity coupled with resistance may lead to a fire.

The human body is a poor conductor of electricity. Even so, if a person were to come in contact with a wet surface and an electric current of as little as one-fifth of an amp, then that person could receive a harmful shock. Installing a ground-fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) in the lab can protect students and teachers from electric shock and electrocution. This device constantly compares current flowing from the hot wire to the neutral wire. If the GFCI senses an imbalance of approximately 5 milliamps in the current flow, the current will stop flowing in less than a second.

However, there are two safety issues with GFCIs that need to be addressed. First of all, if these electrical devices are not maintained, they may corrode and not function properly. Preventative maintenance can avoid this situation. This can easily be done by flipping the breaker several times every month or two. Inform the school of this maintenance to ensure that computers or other technologies are not being used when flipping the breaker.

Second, the GFCI does not protect the individuals from a line-to-line contact hazard, which happens when a person holds two hot wires or a hot and a neutral wire at the same time. This could happen if a student has his or her fingers on the metal prongs of the plug when pushing it into the wall receptacle. Students and teachers need to be made aware of this danger in safety training workshops at the beginning of the school year before doing work in the laboratory.

Meeting legal safety standards

There are a number of electrical safety protocols that need to be addressed. According to the OSHA, potential exposures to electrical hazards may result from faulty electrical equipment/instrumentation or wiring, damaged receptacles and connectors, or unsafe work practices. OSHA suggests the following best practices to avoid such hazards:

• Always follow manufacturer’s recommendations for using electrical equipment. Do not use electrical equipment to perform a task for which it is not designed.
• Most equipment includes either a three-pronged plug or double insulation. Equipment without these features is less safe, but may meet electrical codes. You will not be protected from electric shock unless you are using a three-pronged plug that is plugged into a three-prong outlet.
• If you plug more than two pieces of low demand equipment into a standard outlet, use a fused power strip that will shut off if too much power is used.
• Make sure that any outlet near a sink or other water source is GFCI protected. If you have a GFCI, periodically test it by plugging something into it and pushing the “test” button. Once the equipment shuts off, just turn it (the GFCI or the equipment?) back on.
• Above all, do not disable any electrical safety feature such as removing a ground prong on a three-prong plug.
• Before turning equipment on, check that all power cords are in good condition.
• Do not use extension cords as a substitute for permanent wiring.
• If you see a person being electrocuted, do not touch the person. Turn off the power (pull the plug or trip the circuit breaker), or use an item made of non-conductive material (e.g., wooden broom handle) to pry the person away from the contact. Call 911 immediately.

Conclusion

Teachers and their supervisors involved with renovations or new science laboratory facilities need to ensure that such electrical protection is provided. Existing laboratory facilities should also have such protection for teachers and students. If concerned about electrical standards and protocols being met, contact your building administrator and request an electrical inspection.

Submit questions regarding safety to Ken Roy at safersci@gmail.com or leave him a comment below. Follow Ken Roy on Twitter: @drroysafersci.

NSTA resources and safety issue papers
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President Trump submitted his budget request for Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 programs last week and, as expected, discretionary funding for the U.S. Department of Education would be cut significantly for FY20 programs that would begin this October. 

The President is requesting $62 billion for the Education Department for FY2020 fiscal year — a 12 percent reduction when compared with current funding.  He proposes to eliminate funding for 29 education programs, including funding for ESSA Title IVA Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants ($1.17 billion); Title II-Supporting Effective Instruction state grants ($2.1 billion); 21st Century Community Learning Centers ($1.2 billion). Title I funding and funding for IDEA (special education grants) would be level-funded.

This is the third year that the Administration has sought to cut ED’s budget. Fortunately, thanks to continued advocacy and voices from education community, Congress has repeatedly denied the Administration these cuts in funding.  As you will recall, Congress raised Title IV spending from $400 million to $1.1 billion in FY2018.

The FY20 budget request also includes a 10-year school choice program (Education Freedom Scholarships) that would create up to $5 billion a year in new tax credits for individuals and businesses that donate to scholarships that help students pay private school tuition or other education expenses

According to the Department of Education, the budget request also contains $300 million for Education Innovation and Research (EIR) grants, a $170 million increase from fiscal 2019. Of this amount, $200 million would be used for demonstration projects to “improve the quality and effectiveness of classroom instruction by empowering teachers to select their own professional development activities” and $100 million would be used for field-initiated projects that would promote innovation and reform in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education, including computer science.

The Administration is also requesting $200 million for Teacher and School Leader Incentive Grants that would “help develop, implement, improve, or expand human capital management systems or performance-based compensation systems. New awards would support mentoring or residencies for novice teachers or increased compensation for effective teachers, particularly in high-need fields and subjects, such as science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

In a statement Education Secretary DeVos said “this budget at its core is about education freedom — freedom for America’s students to pursue their life-long learning journeys in the ways and places that work best for them, freedom for teachers to develop their talents and pursue their passions and freedom from the top-down ‘Washington knows best’ approach that has proven ineffective and even harmful to students.”

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., the top Democrat on the Senate education committee, responded by saying “Secretary DeVos is proposing gutting investments in students, teachers, public schools, and even school safety—all to make room for her extreme privatization proposal that no one asked for. This is not a serious budget proposal, and I am going to once again work with Republicans in Congress to ensure every student has access to a quality public education in their neighborhood.”

In a statement the Title IVA Coalition (NSTA is on the board of this Coalition) said,

 “For the third year in a row, we are deeply disappointed by the Administration’s Fiscal Year 2020 budget proposal to eliminate funding for the (ESSA Title IVA)  SSAE grant program despite districts finally being able to make use of these funds in a flexible and meaningful way to support students. The SSAE grant program under Title IV-A of ESSA is a flexible block grant that is designed to provide support for much needed student health and safety programs, well-rounded education programs, and the effective use of education technology.

“The Administration’s decision to zero out funding for this program—just as districts are utilizing the $1.1 billion Congress provided in FY18 and before the Department of Education has done any data collection on how states and districts are using these funds to support critical school and student needs—shows a complete lack of commitment to the success of the program.

“We find it contradictory of the Administration and the Secretary to routinely highlight the value of SSAE block grant by pointing to the value of the program in its reports (most recently, the Federal Commission on School Safety highlighted this program as a way of improving social emotional learning, school climate, and student safety) and speaking publicly about the flexibility and local control this program offers to districts to use funds based on their unique needs—but continuously call for the complete elimination of funding. Proposing no funding for the SSAE program for FY2020 reiterates the message this Administration continues sending to public schools: that it does not value investments in programs that make students safer at school, improve school climate, provide access to courses like AP, computer science, STEM, CTE, music and the arts, PE, or ensuring educators are prepared to use technology for blended and digital learning.

“Defunding the SSAE program stands in stark contrast with the will of Congress, which recognizes the value of this investment, and we are thankful for the $1.1 billion in FY18 and $1.17 billion in FY19 appropriated over the last two years. In order to give districts the opportunity to continue making effective use of these funds to improve the lives of students, we sincerely urge Congress to fund the SSAE grant program at its authorized level of $1.6 billion.”

Read more here and here.

Dems File Resolution that No Federal Funds Be Used to Train or Arm Teachers

Last week  Democratic lawmakers in both the Senate and House, including teacher U.S. Representative Jahana Hayes (CT-5),  introduced a resolution, S. Res. 110 (116), to “clarify” that the Department of Education cannot allow school districts to use federal funds to train or arm teachers with firearms.  Specifically, the resolution says that the funding under Title IV of the Every Student Succeeds Act can only be used for policies that will lead to weapons-free schools.

Watch the press conference here.

STEM for Girls

And finally, a bipartisan group of lawmakers has introduced legislation that would create and expand upon STEM education initiatives at the National Science Foundation for young children, including new research grants to increase the participation of girls in computer science.  Read more about the Building Blocks of STEM Act.

Stay tuned, and watch for more updates in future issues of NSTA Express.

Jodi Peterson is the Assistant Executive Director of Communication, Legislative & Public Affairs for the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) and Chair of the STEM Education Coalition. Reach her via e-mail at jpeterson@nsta.org or via Twitter at @stemedadvocate.

The mission of NSTA is to promote excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all.

Follow NSTA

This week in education news, On International Women’s Day, a student reflects on a class that inspired her creativity; new research suggests that there are no real differences in student achievement gains across different textbooks; President Trump seeks 10 percent cut to Education Department aid; Julie Neidhardt wins the Shell Science Lab Regional Challenge grand prize; a wave of state bills could threaten science education; U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens introduces the Building Blocks of STEM Act; a series of recent studies have revealed weaknesses in past evidence supporting grit in education; and climate researchers estimate the average temperature across the United States will warm by 5 degrees Fahrenheit by 2050.

What High School Engineering Taught Me, and How It Can Empower Other Girls

International Women’s Day 2019 is all about #BalanceforBetter—gender balance, that is. Women make up only 30 percent of the science and engineering workforce today—yet this male-dominated group are the people who are designing our gadgets, building machines and tools that are used in health and environmental care, coming up with algorithms that determine a lot of what happens on social media and more … which does not seem balanced. Read the article featured in Scientific American.

The Gates Foundation is Hoping Better Curriculum Will Boost Student Learning. A New Study Says, Not So Fast.

Better curriculum was supposed to be one of the next big things in education. But new research, amounting to one of the largest-scale examinations of curriculum materials to date, suggests that the choice might not matter much — at least when it comes to elementary math test scores. Read the article featured in Chalkbeat.

Millennials Are the Most Diverse Generation, But the Teaching Force Hasn’t Caught Up, Analysis Finds

Is the teaching profession getting more racially diverse—or less? While there are more teachers of color than there were a few decades ago, the teacher workforce is growing whiter than the college-educated population as a whole, according to a new analysis from the Brookings Institution. Read the article featured in Education Week.

Trump Seeks 10 Percent Cut to Education Department Aid, $5 Billion for Tax-Credit Scholarships

President Donald Trump is seeking a 10 percent cut to the U.S. Department of Education’sbudget in his fiscal 2020 budget proposal, which would cut the department’s spending by $7.1 billion down to $64 billion starting in October. Read the article featured in Education Week.

Local Teacher Julie Neidhardt wins Shell Science Lab Regional Challenge Grand Prize

Hutchens Elementary Science Teacher Julie Neidhardt was named a Shell Science Lab Regional Challenge Grand Prize Winner! Shell Oil Company and the National Science Teachers Association teamed up to showcase teachers who are doing remarkable and innovative things in their classroom. Watch the segment featured on FOX News10.

The Energy 202: A Wave of State Bills Could Threaten Science and Climate Education

State lawmakers from Connecticut to Florida are proposing measures that some groups say could threaten how science and climate change are taught in the classroom. More than a dozen such bills have popped up this year, including from state lawmakers pushing back against broad scientific consensus that people are warming the planet, according to the National Center for Science Education. Read the article featured in the Washington Post.

U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens Sponsors Bill Directing More Funding Into STEM Education Research

Michigan Congresswoman Haley Stevens has introduced her first sponsored bill as a newly-elected member of Congress. Rep. Stevens, D-Rochester Hills, introduced the Building Blocks of STEM Act, which directs the National Science Foundation to more equitably allocate funding, with a focus on supporting STEM education research on early childhood. Read the article featured in the Oakland Press.

Is ‘Grit’ in Education All It’s Cracked Up To Be?

More than a decade after academic and psychologist Angela Duckworth released her first paper on the notion of grit and its application to education, a series of recent studies have revealed weaknesses in past evidence supporting grit and in survey questions that measured it within people. Read the brief featured in Education DIVE.

What Climate Change Might Mean for Test Scores

The combination of rising temperatures and aging school buildings across the country could lead to falling academic performance and wider achievement gaps among students, a new study finds. Read the article featured in Education Week.

Stay tuned for next week’s top education news stories.

The Communication, Legislative & Public Affairs (CLPA) team strives to keep NSTA members, teachers, science education leaders, and the general public informed about NSTA programs, products, and services and key science education issues and legislation. In the association’s role as the national voice for science education, its CLPA team actively promotes NSTA’s positions on science education issues and communicates key NSTA messages to essential audiences.

The mission of NSTA is to promote excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all.

Follow NSTA

What are some interesting ways to introduce some of the major players in scientific discoveries so that my students can have a better grasp at who these people were and that they can aspire to be just as innovative and crucial to the world of science?
—T., Ohio

I would often hold a series of student presentations called Who’s Who in [insert subject here]. These consisted of one, 10-minute presentation per week typically on “Wacky Wednesday.” Students were encouraged to be as creative as possible and use all their varied talents. These presentations were often the highlight of the week. I graded their one-page, written biographies which they also shared with the class.

There were many impersonations. Other students ran game shows, created music videos, performed raps, demonstrated experiments, conducted mock interviews, and more. One student set up a dinner table and gave a monologue on “My Dinner with Tesla.”

You can join in the theatrics. I would act out scenes such as: “Gregor Mendel—Party Animal” where I demonstrated the dedication needed to control the pollination of thousands of pea plants; introduced Newton’s laws of motion in an English accent and curly wig; re-enacted the apocryphal cannonball experiments of Galileo. Some were cautionary tales like “Watson and Crick—Brilliant Jerks” which alluded to their treatment of Rosalind Franklin and “Don’t Jump the Gun! The Fleischmann and Pons Cold Fusion Experiment.”

You can have a lot of fun with this. The out-of-the-ordinary things you do in class are much more memorable than the mundane.

Hope this helps!

Image by mohamed_hassan on Pixabay

Regardless of what grade level or subject you teach, check out all three K-12 journals. As you skim through titles and descriptions of the articles, you may find ideas for lessons that would be interesting for your students, the inspiration to adapt a lesson to your grade level or subject, or the challenge to create/share your own lessons and ideas. Click on the links to read or add to your library.

The lessons described in the articles include a chart showing connections with the NGSS. The graphics are especially helpful in understanding the activities and in providing ideas for your own investigations.

NSTA members have access to the articles in all journals, including the Journal of College Science Teaching.

Science & Children – Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions

There may be teachers who are comfortable with life science investigations but apprehensive about physical science ones. This issue has ideas and lessons to explore concepts related to forces and motion – topics students (and teachers) will enjoy!

Editor’s Note: Teaching Forces and Motion “Allowing time for children to explore helps them build early understandings of force and motion. Students can take ownership of planning and carrying out their own investigations about motion, and through careful observation of outcomes, students can recognize patterns, evaluate cause-and-effect relationships, and begin to explore stability and change within a system…So, let’s get the marbles rolling and bring on the pushing and pulling in the classroom as we learn about forces and interactions.”

Many authors share resources related to the lessons and strategies in their articles. These resources include rubrics, graphic organizers, handouts, diagrams, lists of resources, and complete lessons. You can access these through the Connections link for Science & Children.

• “Because magnetism seems unexplainable and magical, exploring magnetism helps children understand the nature of science.” The Early Years: Exploring Magnetism includes a discussion of how to introduce the concept in an age-appropriate way, along with a lesson which students design and build a structure that uses magnetic forces.
• Teaching Through Trade Books: Interacting With Forces focuses on “different types of interactions between objects and ask students to consider what happens when a force is applied to an object. Does it stop? Does it change direction? Which force is stronger? How does gravity affect the object?” The article has suggested books and lessons How Does It Move (K-2) and Identifying Gravity (3-5).
• The author of Tech Talk: Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions states that “Pairing technology-rich experiences that simulate natural phenomena with actual hands-on learning in the real world is an effective way to use technology for science learning… Well-crafted simulation apps give students the opportunity to work in simulated real-world conditions. They also enable students to manipulate interactions with natural phenomena while getting feedback on their decisions.” There are descriptions of two such apps.
• Ramp It Up! reinforces the Tech Talk article. “Digital tools, such as the digital journal described in this article, can allow children to closely observe, document, review, and make sense of phenomena that occur slowly (e.g., plant growth) or, in the case of ramp investigations, phenomena that occur quickly.” The article has numerous photos of students engaged in their study of ramps and balls.
• Just Roll With It focuses on how changing the surface and the height of the ramp affects the motion of a marble. Students learn the concepts of independent and dependent variables, prediction, and data collecting. Formative Assessment Probes: Describing the Motion of a Marble could help teachers ascertain what students know (or think they know) about the concept.
• Fraught With Friction poses a question about how far a toy vehicle would travel on different surfaces. Students addressed the question using the PEOE strategy (predict, explain, observe, explain). The authors note that “Because we asked students for their predictions before conducting the investigation, they thought more about the activity and were more actively engaged during it to find out whether their predictions matched their observations.” Perhaps this lesson could be supplemented with The Poetry of Science: Poetry in Motion.
• Play takes on a new meaning as students combine play and learning. With traditional tops (which students may not be familiar with) and fidget spinners, students can investigate forces and motion. Engineering Spinners includes a lesson in which students designed their own versions of these toys. Pushes, Pulls, and Playgrounds demonstrates how playgrounds can do double duty as recreation and as a place to investigate forces and motion. Nonfiction texts add to the information and students’ vocabulary.
• See how students go beyond “activitymania.” In Engineering Encounters: Balancing Engineering and Science Instruction, students solve an engineering challenge to move an object from the floor to the table, as they learn about balanced and unbalanced forces.

These monthly columns continue to provide background knowledge and classroom ideas:

• Methods and Strategies: Scaffolding for Failure “Design failure is neither rare nor something to be avoided as students engage in science-integrated engineering design challenges as a part of the Next Generation Science Standards”
• Teaching Teachers: Evolving the Physics Mindset “Science is a foreign language to many adults, including teachers. Just as a teacher would not be expected to teach German to students if they do not speak the language, we cannot expect teachers to teach science if they do not fully know its ideas.”
• Science 101: What’s Wrong With “For Every Action, There is an Equal and Opposite Reaction”? “Whenever one object exerts a force on a second object, the second object exerts a force of equal magnitude and in the opposite direction on the first object.”

For more on the content that provides a context for projects and strategies described in this issue, see the SciLinks topics Electric Current, Engineering Structures, Forces, Forces and Motion, Friction, Gravity, Inertia, Magnets, Newton’s Laws of Motion, Simple Machines

Continue for this month’s Science Scope and The Science Teacher.

Science Scope – Performance Tasks and Test Prep

From the Editor’s Desk: Assessing Performance Expectations “A performance task is an excellent assessment vehicle because it allows students to demonstrate their knowledge, understanding, and proficiency through a product or performance, rather than with a traditional objective test.” If your state uses a traditional test format, however, the author has suggestions for helping students cope.

Articles in this issue that describe lessons (many of which use the 5E model) include a helpful sidebar documenting the big idea, essential pre-knowledge, time, safety issues, and cost. The lessons also include connections with the NGSS.

Many authors share resources related to the lessons and strategies in their articles. These resources include rubrics, graphic organizers, handouts, diagrams, lists of resources, and complete lessons. You can access these through the Connections link for Science Scope.

• How to Design a Performance Task describes a process to develop performance tasks based on NGSS performance expectations: unpack the expectation, identify an phenomenon, develop prompts, create rubrics or scoring guides, and pilot/revise. “As you prepare to make the shift to NGSS-designed performance tasks, we highly recommend you put together a team of forward-thinking teachers like yourself, and seek out professional development to guide you through this new process.” [Good advice!]
• Turning Tests Into Tasks has a step-by-step “scaffold” to help teachers design performance assessments based on standardized test questions. The two examples are summarized as graphic organizers that reflect and demystify the process.
• Practical Research: How Can Middle School Science Fairs Help Students Meet Science Standards? summarizes research on science fairs, specifically on the strategies teachers use to support students and the effect on the development of science and engineering practices.
• The Science Project Portfolio breaks down what could be formidable task for middle school students into a series of smaller, well-defined assignments, culminating in a final presentation.
• Making in the Middle: Making as a Performance Task illustrates how a traditional unit was transformed into a maker-centered project, in which students spent time gathering information, creating models, and presenting their work. The article includes examples and suggestions.
• In Ride the Movies, students create models or prototypes of amusement park rides based on ideas from movies to assess their understanding of forces, motion, energy transfers, and other physical science concepts. The authors include planning guidelines and photos of student creations.
• Students can participate in a project to analyze data related to Alzheimer’s disease with Citizen Science: Game for the Good With Stall Catchers Citizen Science
• A teacher describes the process she uses to create performance assessments in Teacher to Teacher: Three-Dimensional Classroom Assessment Strategies. Examples are provided, too.
• If your students have to take a standardized test, check out Science for All: Crosscutting Test Prep Strategies. “In our minds, test prep is about organically teaching students comprehension, self-monitoring, and problem-solving strategies through engaging instructional activities.”
• A concept sort as a performance task “provides a safe and engaging activity where students can showcase prior knowledge, scaffold new learning, and demonstrate acquired knowledge. Teacher’s Toolkit: So Many Words, So Little Time has several examples and an in-depth rationale for using concept sorts.

These monthly columns continue to provide background knowledge and classroom ideas:

• Disequilibrium: Polymers has a 5E lesson with “a fun activity that will help students gain a better understanding of the role polymers play in the functioning of designed materials.”
• Scope on the Skies: Occultations and Eclipses “In astronomy, an occultation occurs when something between you and a distant object blocks your view of that distant object…Every month, our Moon and asteroids are usually involved with occultations and conjunctions, often with the same stars and planets on a regular basis.”
• Interdisciplinary Ideas: Teaching Nonfiction Text Structure includes tables summarizing and illustrating nonfiction text features and structures: description, sequence, compare/contrast, cause/effect, problem/solution.

For more on the content that provides a context for projects and strategies described in this issue, see the SciLinks topics Alzheimer’s, Atmosphere, Catapults, Cell Structure, Chemical Reactions, Eclipses, Energy Transfer, Microgravity, Newton’s Laws of Motion, Organelle, Polymers, Populations and Communities, Water Cycle

The Science Teacher – Simulations & Games

Explore this issue to find out why a cup of coffee is featured on the cover!

Editor’s Corner: More than a Game “Scientists use simulations to make the invisible visible, answer questions, test ideas, and make predictions. Engineers use simulations to test the safety and performance of engineering solutions. Simulations help us understand dynamic, complex systems like weather and climate, rush hour traffic, ecosystem dynamics, group behavior, and much more.”

Many authors share resources related to the lessons and strategies in their articles. These resources include rubrics, graphic organizers, handouts, diagrams, lists of resources, and complete lessons. You can access these through the Connections link for The Science Teacher.

• Design Your Own Navy with an online simulator. Students apply what they have learned to “design and use ships for various naval missions by mastering scientific concepts such as force, energy, and work, while employing an engineering design process.” Students work in teams as engineers in the design process and as crew members in the mission challenge.
• Do Plants Breathe? addresses the misconception that plants engage in photosynthesis but not cellular respiration, using an online simulation.
• The processes of roasting, grinding, and brewing coffee are opportunities for learning science concepts, as featured in From Bean to Cup.
• The author of Spicing Up Your Classroom With Games lists three categories of classroom games: “active games that spice up review of content already covered, simulations that personalize content, and adaptation of commercially produced games to increase depth of content knowledge.” Classroom examples of each are provided.
• Teaching With Simulations includes a table that describes how the strategies used in simulations correlate with the NGSS science and engineering practices. Using the PhET simulations as a context, the authors offer suggestions on using simulations in instruction.

These monthly columns continue to provide background knowledge and classroom ideas:

• Career of the Month: An Interview With Atmospheric Scientist Shawn Urbanski “I decided that I wanted a career that involved both meteorology and chemistry.”
• Right to the Source: Envisioning the Possibilities of Educational Gaming with Carl Sagan has a link to look at Sagan’s ideas for a video game related to astronomy in the Library of Congress.
• Focus on Physics: Quickly Teaching Speed, Velocity, and Acceleration—Part 2 “One of the great things about being a physics teacher is the relevance of your study of nature’s rules.”

For more on the content that provides a context for projects and strategies described in this issue, see the SciLinks topics Acceleration, Atmosphere, Climate Change, Energy, Energy Transformations, Forces and Motion, Galaxies, Ozone, Photosynthesis, Physical/Chemical Change, Respiration, Speed, Velocity