Authors Lisa M. Nyberg and Julie V. McGough have done it again. Dedicated to “all learners who seek answers and love learning,” their latest offering, The Power of Assessing: Guiding Powerful Practices, is another gem in the NSTA Press Powerful Practices series.* And it doesn’t hurt that the images inside are so eye-catching you may want to hang some in your classroom!

If you’re true to the book’s guidance, the first questions you’ll ask are “What can I learn from this? Why is this methodology so powerful ?” Here’s the short list of reasons:

1. The authors are veteran educators and know what works in real classrooms. Between the two, they have more than 50 years of teaching experience, ranging from preschool to graduate school.
2. The Power of Assessing has been thoroughly peer-reviewed and models authentic assessments that engage students in standards-based learning.
3. The book is chock full of practical resources like assessment charts (so you can tailor your assessments to your students’ needs), QR codes linking to videos so you can get a deeper understanding, instructions for design, rubrics, materials lists, and more.
4. ALL learners are taken into consideration (a point that is very important to NSTA’s mission “promoting excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all…”).

This is not a dry research tome; it’s a lively resource that will show you that assessments can not only be dynamic tools of learning, they can even be fun! The authors show creative teachers how to make the most of assessments, and how powerful instructional practices can change the lives of students.

Just as students have diverse learning styles, the authors show educators how to make the best use of diverse assessments. Have students who do well with pictures and images? Check out the visual-spacial assessments (complete with examples and criteria). Want to assess student understanding through physical movement activities? Dive into the bodily-kinesthetic assessments. There are so many assessment styles to choose from—musical assessments, logical-mathematical assessments, and linguistic assessments, to name just a few.

Toward the end of the book, the authors ask “How will you design new learning adventures to empower and inspire the children of today who will build our tomorrows?” That’s a tall order. But with this user-friendly book (think of it as a tutorial between two covers), readers will be fully equipped with dynamic strategies to engage their students.

Ready to learn a little more? Make your own assessment! A free chapter is available: The Power of Assessing: Guiding Powerful Practices.

This book is also available as an ebook.

*The Power of Assessing is the third book in the NSTA Press Powerful Practices series and focuses on modeling authentic assessment techniques. The series also includes The Power of Investigating (2017) and The Power of Questioning (2015), which was selected by educators and publishers of the Association of American Publishers as a REVERE award finalist.

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This week in education news, across the board teachers feel disrespected; University of Utah professors and local teachers are developing high school curriculum about opioids; Arizona State Board of Education approved revised science standards; new study finds 55 percent of university STEM classroom interactions consist mostly of conventional lecturing; Nintendo is giving elementary school students across the country Nintendo Labo: Variety Kits and Switch systems; new report details four key elements for successful high school redesigns; the teaching force has continued to grow larger, less experienced, and more racially diverse; and a University of Alabama researcher says educators must give students a motive to learn science.

We Followed 15 Of America’s Teachers On A Single Day. This Is What We Learned

A teacher whose income was so low, her child qualified for reduced-price lunch. A teacher whose school was so short on staff, he had to fill a shift as a security guard. A teacher who made meals for other teachers to pay for her grocery bill. We thought we knew teachers, until we followed 15 of them on a single day in September. What we learned: No matter their pay, teachers share in a feeling of disrespect. Read the article featured in USA Today.

High School Science Could Include Opioid Education With New Program

A first-of-its-kind program at the University of Utah is bringing together teachers and professors to create high school curriculum about opioids. Read the article featured on KUER.org.

New Arizona K-12 Science Standards Recognize Evolution

The Arizona State Board of Education approved revised science and history standards, shrugging off outgoing State Superintendent Diane Douglas’ suggestion to replace all the standards with a set from a conservative college in Michigan. Read the article featured on AZcentral.com.

Want To Keep Students Engaged? Ask, Don’t Tell

Quick: Think about something new you learned in the last year. It could be anything – an improved swing, a management technique, a coding language, a recipe. How did you learn it? New research suggests it wasn’t through a lecture. Maybe a teacher asked you a great question that made you articulate something for the first time. Maybe you took something you learned, rolled up your sleeves, and used it to solve a different challenge. The essence, according to new research, is that you need to use learning for it to stick. Read the article featured in Forbes.

Issues Arise In Teaching New Science Standards

Advocates of a set of science standards for public schools cheered when the state Public Education Department agreed after some contention and debate to initiate those recommendations starting this year. But the harsh reality of adopting the standards seemed to set in this week when the Legislative Education Study Committee heard from a trio of experts concerned about the speed in which educators must move on the curriculum. Those three science standards proponents painted a picture of too much work without enough time or money to do it correctly. Read the article featured in the Santa Fe New Mexican.

How About Swapping That Science Book For A Nintendo Switch?

Nintendo is giving elementary school students across the country the opportunity to tinker and game while learning the basics of science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics. The company plans to deliver Nintendo Labo: Variety Kits and Switch systems to elementary classrooms nationwide, with the goal of reaching around 2,000 students ages 8 to 11 this school year. Read the article featured in PC Magazine.

Student Engagement, Supports Among Key Elements Of Successful School Redesign

A new report released this week by the Center for American Progress (CAP) details four key elements for successful high school redesigns: student engagement, career and college ready coursework, student supports and a tracking system for student success. More specifically, the report recommends career and technology classes, dual-enrollment college programs, project-based learning, social-emotional learning and grading systems that accurately gauge student success. Read the article featured in Education DIVE.

State Exam Report Card Is Out: Science Results Show Improvement But Math Continues To Be A Struggle

The focus on science education seems to be paying off for Pennsylvania’s public school students based on their performance on state exams. Statewide results on the 2018 Pennsylvania System of School Assessment and Keystone Exams released on Tuesday show that the percentage of students achieving passing scores (either proficient or advanced) on those exams improved at least slightly over the prior year in every grade level of students tested. Read the article featured on Pennlive.com.

5 Things To Know About Today’s Teaching Force

The teaching force has continued to grow larger, less experienced, and more racially diverse. And the high numbers of teacher turnover have continued, especially among inexperienced and nonwhite teachers, a new analysis shows. Read the article featured in Education Week.

STEM Dual Enrollment: Model Policy Components

A new report from the Education Commission of the States outlines state-level policy components that help ensure dual enrollment programs in science, technology, engineering and math are broadly accessible, particularly to students traditionally underrepresented in STEM courses. Read the report.

Why Students Should Read Scientific Literature

A University of Alabama researcher says educators must give students a motive to learn science by teaching them to reason. Read the commentary featured in Education DIVE.

Imagine A World Without Facts

To avoid sliding further into a world without facts, we must articulate and defend the processes of evidence generation, evaluation, and integration. This includes not only clear statements of conclusions, but also clear understanding of the underlying evidence with recognition that some propositions have been well established, whereas others are associated with substantial remaining uncertainty. Read the article featured in Science.

Meet The AP Biology Teacher Who Could Flip The New York Senate

John Mannion wants to shift the balance of power at the statehouse in Albany. But before he could even try, he had to get approved for leave from teaching four periods of high school biology ― and buy three reasonably priced suits for the campaign trail. Read the article featured in The Huffington Post.

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.

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How do you achieve the full concept of bringing the outdoors, indoors? How do you make sure your students are getting the most out of it? How do you transition smoothly where you do not lose any student’s attention?
— K., Louisiana

I love teaching outdoors! Part of the problem you face is the novelty of taking your students outside and the time spent walking out and back. Consider separating the activity into two sessions, the first one outside collecting data and the second one indoors analyzing the data. You need to do a lot of planning and preparation. Build the activity as an inquiry and allow students some flexibility in asking questions, gathering data and exploring. Run through it yourself in advance so you can avoid any obstacles (literally and figuratively) and gauge the time commitment. Create checklists that students will need to complete.

You can reduce difficult transitions by…eliminating them entirely! Have the students meet you outdoors and spend the entire period outside. Prepare the students beforehand so they know where to go, what to wear, what to bring and what not to bring (large back packs, food, and so forth). Prepare all the materials you will need the day before. Ask for some volunteers to help carry out and bring back any equipment. (I always thanked volunteers with a candy treat.) Once you have all the students outside, instruct them and give them a timeline to gather up the samples, return equipment, and have a discussion before dismissal. Do head counts frequently. To promote good discussions later, have students keep logs and take photos of their observations, which could be uploaded on a shared drive. The ‘indoor’ investigation can continue the next period.

Hope this helps!

Photo Credit: Creative Commons via Pixabay

What special features of plants and animals can inspire solutions to human problems?

That’s the driving question behind Jennifer Evans and Laura Chambless’s new eBook, “What Makes Them Special,” which provides K-5 students the engaging, highly interactive opportunity to be scientists and engineers while learning about structures and functions of animals and plants that live in their community.

This book, part of NSTA’s interactive eBooks+ Kids collection, takes students on a backyard exploration led by three characters, Lisa, DJ, and José, who help explain how nature has provided humans with many solutions to our problems. Students are given the opportunity to contemplate and ask lots of questions, define problems, analyze and interpret data, construct explanations, and argue from evidence. A companion Teacher’s Guide helps extend the learning experience into the classroom via shared discussions and activities.

When Chambless, the assistant director of K-5 math and science for the St. Clair County Regional Education Service Agency (RESA) in Marysville, Mich., learned that NSTA was seeking new authors–to write eBooks that helped teachers align their practice with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and Three Dimensional Learning–she turned to her good friend and colleague, Evans, who also works for the St. Clair County RESA as the assistant director of English Language Arts.

“Jennifer and I both work in the classroom with teachers and kids on a daily basis across seven different school districts in our area,” Chambless said. “This allows us to understand what teachers know, are able to do, what they are missing, and what they need help with.”

The book’s very first chapter, “What’s Special About Dogs Paws?” takes experiences familiar to students, such as seeing a dog’s paws and watching them run across a gravel driveway, and connects it to deeper learning about science and engineering. After exploring this chapter, students will be able to pose questions based on their observations; agree or disagree with arguments though listening to others’ ideas during discussions; develop a sound argument backed up with multiple points of evidence; and increase their knowledge and understanding by identifying key content vocabulary that becomes part of their usable language.

Given that higher levels of student engagement and accountability can be achieved via eBooks than with traditional textbooks, students transcend from being passive to active learners, Chambless said. “Our eBook presents eight science and engineering practices about kids doing  science. Students learn how to critique the reasoning of their peers, using the evidence they learned in the book.”

“The questions that we have placed to teachers or students on each ‘page’ really make them think, at the right time, about what they just learned, what they just experienced. These eBooks allow students to explore at their own pace and then check to see if their thinking is on the right track. It’s an ‘in the moment’ assessment,” she added.

Both authors agreed that science educators need more teaching and learning resources that integrate content areas such as science and reading and writing so fluidly and easily.

“There is a natural connection with science and reading and writing,” Evans said. “More support is needed to expose teachers to the kind of resources that are available. In my experience, very few teachers are using enhanced eBooks. They just don’t know that they are available.”

Chambless and Evans expressed excitement as well as pride in being able to work together to produce resources that teachers can use in enhancing their instruction and better engage kids in the inquiry-based process of learning content.

“It was really cool to go into classroom where the students were doing an ELA writing lesson and I told them that I was in the middle of writing this book,” Chambless said. “The students  wanted to look at my rough draft to ‘see’ what a real author does.”

Chambless recently moved closer to Evans, which allows them to take evening walks through their neighborhood and talk about things such as their next collaboration.

Those evening strolls have been productive. The two are already at work on their next interactive e-book!

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As we watch students arrive for class, we notice that Alejandra hangs her jacket on a coat hook, while Calder reaches for scissors to make a fringe on his picture. Tessa replaces her rain boots with the sneakers from her cubby, and Nick searches for a spoon to eat his cereal. These daily scenes illustrate that students come to school already familiar with structure and function relationships. They know which tool will get the job done; that’s why Nick grabbed the spoon, and not the fork, and Tessa switched to her sneakers before PE.

These daily habits tell us that structure and function is everywhere, and our students already rely on this concept to navigate their world. Students implicitly use structure and function throughout their day, and as educators, we can empower them and deepen their understanding of the natural and engineered worlds by making these relationships explicit.

Of all the objects in a classroom, we love the paper clip to explain structure and function. Grab a paper clip and ask your students, “What does it do?” This reveals the function. Straighten the paper clip and ask, “Does it still hold paper?” No, because you changed the shape, which means you also changed the function. As you might predict, several of your students might point out that the new shape is perfect for poking—a different function.

Now make a paper clip–shape with a piece of string and ask, “Can this paper clip bind paper? It has the right shape after all.” After your students respond no, ask them why not. They may say no because it has the wrong physical properties and is too flexible. This simple exercise helps students understand that the shape and physical properties—the structure—of an object enable its function.  

We developed Quick Start questions to explore the crosscutting concepts. We rely on the four below to deepen our understanding of structure-and- function relationships. Here’s how they work with our paper clip:

• What does it do? (function) Holds papers together;
• What is its shape? (structure) Curved, flat, and spiral-shaped;
• What are the physical properties? (structure) Thin and rigid yet flexible; and
• How do the shape and physical properties enable the function? The flexible and rigid nature, along with the curves of the paper clip, apply pressure to papers, holding them together.

We invite you to use shoes to further explore this relationship in the engineered world. Before class, channel your “inner Kardashian” and bring various types of shoes, such as sandals, hiking boots, mud stompers, cleats, running shoes, dress shoes, and tap shoes. Make signs that say things like beach, fashion runway, bog, mountain, and dance floor. Ask your students to match the shoes to the signs.

Use the Quick Start questions to reinforce the role that shape and physical properties play in enabling function. Nothing makes this point like donning high heels and trying to kick a goal. Despite having some cleat-like qualities, heels are clearly not the functional equivalent.  

Drawing by Zander Lubkowitz

Structure and function relationships exist throughout the biological world. We bet you have never seen a raptor trying to drink at a hummingbird feeder, nor a pelican trying to peck a tree for insects. The raptor’s beak is sharp and shaped to tear flesh, not sip nectar from tubular- shaped flowers. The pelican’s beak serves as a ladle for scooping fish and does not have the shape or the strength to peck wood and bark.

Image courtesy of Ralph Fletcher, an author, educator, and nature photographer.

Bird beaks are a rich and easily accessible topic for exploring structure and function in the natural world. Observing bird beaks can take place on the playground, through your classroom window, and even in a picture book like Sneed B. Collard’s Beaks!

Image courtesy of Ralph Fletcher, an author, educator, and nature photographer.

A great time to apply the concept of structure and function is when reading aloud, particularly from picture books. Some books—most often nonfiction ones—expressly focus on structure and function: for example, What Do You Do With a Tail Like This? (by Steve Jenkins) or Bridges Are to Cross (by Philemon Sturges). Apply the Quick Start questions to any page in these books to begin the conversation.

Sometimes a question describing an unlikely scenario invites humor, but also focuses students on the way structure enables function. For example, a rope bridge doesn’t work well for a dump truck trying to cross a river. Once you start looking, you will see structure and function everywhere, even in fiction, like the fairy tale featuring houses made of straw, sticks, and bricks. Your students will be amused when they realize that The Three Little Pigs is actually a tale of structure and function going wrong before it goes right.

Teachers have so many opportunities to launch a discussion about the crosscutting concepts in their daily classroom routines, and one of our favorites is the read-aloud. Read-alouds are perfect because the crosscutting concepts shout or whisper on every page of every book, once you know how to find them.

Image courtesy of Ralph Fletcher, an author, educator, and nature photographer.

Valerie Bang-Jensen and Mark Lubkowitz, professors of education and biology respectively, teach at Saint Michael’s College in Colchester, Vermont. They present frequently on the NGSS crosscutting concepts and their book, Sharing Books, Talking Science: Exploring Scientific Concepts With Children’s Literature (Heinemann 2017).

Note: This article was featured in the October 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

2018 Area Conferences

• National Harbor (MD), November 15–17
• Charlotte, Nov. 29-Dec. 1

2019 National Conference

• St. Louis, April 11-14, 2019

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As an entomologist, one of my greatest challenges is trying to overcome my students’ feelings of fear and disgust regarding insects. Insects often have negative images in society. Walk through any toy store, and you will likely find plastic insects with the words “gross” or “creepy” written on their colorful packaging.

One of our main jobs as educators is to give students informative experiences that correct misconceptions and open their minds to new ideas. To accomplish this, I incorporate insects into my lessons.

Insects are excellent models for many behaviors and physical adaptations. Because of their diversity (i.e., millions of species!), insects offer numerous examples of reproductive, defensive, foraging, and feeding strategies. One area of the NGSS in which using insect models works well is with the Crosscutting Concept (CCC) of structure and function. Encouraging students to learn about the structures that evoke so much fear opens doors to further curiosity and learning.

A structure-and-function investigation that students especially enjoy involves insect mouthparts. This two-part investigation is easily adaptable and can be used in many units of instruction, ranging from comparative morphology to adaptations.

Insect mouthparts

How is the structure of the mouthparts a reflection of their function and the insect’s diet type? Insect feeding serves as the phenomenon for this investigation.

Part 1:  Behavioral analysis of mouthparts

Give students an assortment of adult insects that have different types of mouthparts: for example, grasshoppers or caterpillars (chewing mouthparts), houseflies (sponging mouthparts), mosquitoes or stink bugs (piercing-sucking mouthparts), butterflies (siphoning mouthparts), bees (chewing-lapping mouthparts), or horseflies (rasping mouthparts). Using magnifying glasses or dissecting microscopes, students observe and describe the mouthparts as they function on a moving, living organism. You will be surprised about how amazed students will be to observe a living insect and its complexity. Allow them to formulate hypotheses regarding which foods each mouthpart type is best suited for consuming. Provide students with leaves and sugar water–soaked sponges for feeding their insects. How accurate were their hypotheses?

Allow students to observe feeding using their magnifying glasses or microscopes. They will be able to see that the mouthparts are interacting appendages that work together to manipulate and consume food. What different mouthpart appendages do they see? How are each of these components shaped? How do they manipulate the food? How does each component’s shape reflect its apparent function?

Part 2: Mouthpart dissection

Yes! Dissections can fit into an NGSS framework. Separating all components of grasshopper mouthparts during a small dissection exercise reinforces the concept of interacting structures and allows students to better visualize the structure of each mouthpart appendage. For this dissection, I recommend using large grasshoppers. Grasshoppers have chewing mouthparts that allow them to eat solid foods, like leaves. Of all the insect mouthpart types, chewing mouthparts have the greatest number of similarities to the human mouth. Preserved specimens can be ordered for a low price from a scientific supply company.

Divide students into pairs, and provide each pair with a grasshopper. Have students use dissecting scissors and a probe to carefully separate and disconnect the different components of the mouthparts. Have students create an expanded view of the mouthparts by placing them on their dissecting trays, as in the photo.

Use the following questions to guide the investigation:

• Do any of these components resemble structures of the human mouth?
• Some of the mouthpart appendages are composed of many tiny segments and contain microscopic hairs. What other structures on the grasshopper or the other insects from part 1 have a similar structure? What do you think this means in terms of function?
• Describe the shape and composition of each mouthpart appendage. How do you think each component contributes to food manipulation or consumption?
• What other types of insects do you expect to have similar mouthparts?
• How do you think these mouthparts would differ if the insect ate firm, woody plants instead of leaves?
• Consider part 1. Which appendages do you think are modified in these other mouthpart types? Which components, if any, do you think are common across mouthpart types?
• What body systems are involved in mouthpart movement, taste perception, and digestion of the consumed food?

Customize this investigation to fit your needs!

• Add modeling! Have students create models of the process of food consumption. Models can be created before the investigation, then revised as new evidence is gathered in the dissection. These models serve as excellent artifacts of student learning.
• Is your class ready for a full-body dissection? Have students dissect the grasshopper’s body to reveal the structures of the digestive system. This provides for a more comprehensive lesson, covering all structures from consumption to excretion.
• Don’t have access to grasshoppers? No problem! Modify the investigation by having students perform an online or literature search for images of grasshopper mouthpart components. Have students then create paper cutouts of each of the components. Stack the components as they would exist in a living grasshopper, and fasten them together using a metal brad. Allow students to move the pieces around as if the insect were chewing. Have them describe the structure of each piece and consider the interactions in their paper models to deduce the function.

I hope you will be inspired to use insects in your classroom. Working with these organisms is likely a new experience for your students and a great way to illustrate the complexity of life all around them. How have you used insects in your classroom? What other topics could be brought to life in your classroom with an insect model?

Happy dissecting!

This investigation builds upon:

Angela Cruise is president of Cruise Consulting Group, LLC, which specializes in lesson development and educational consulting for the agricultural, forensic, and life sciences. Cruise has a bachelor’s degree in biology from Loyola University Maryland and a PhD in entomology (forensic entomology concentration) from North Carolina State University. She has taught science at the college level and has organized and participated in dozens of elementary and middle school outreach events across North Carolina. Cruise has developed lessons for one of the country’s largest biological suppliers and has participated in several intensive NGSS training programs. She is excited to share her love of insects with students and teachers everywhere!

Note: This article was featured in the October 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

2018 Area Conferences

• National Harbor (MD), November 15–17
• Charlotte, Nov. 29-Dec. 1

2019 National Conference

• St. Louis, April 11-14, 2019

Follow NSTA

Young children often experience a developmental stage in which they question everything. Why aren’t there dinosaurs anymore? Why do cats purr? Why are some potato chips green? They go from simply observing their surroundings to analyzing, experimenting, and wanting to make sense of their world.

As a high school teacher of ninth-grade biology and AP Biology, I often incorporate this innate questioning strategy by asking my students “why questions” when introducing phenomena.

Why isn’t there a vaccine for colds?

Why is life carbon-based and not silicon-based?

Why are amphibians and reptiles often green, but not mammals?

Why are ticks being blamed for meat allergies?

Science seeks to answer these questions and more, reigniting childhood curiosity and deepening understanding. In my biology courses, these questions are examined under multiple lenses, and solutions can be found by zooming to the subcellular level. The explanations often lie in the crosscutting concept, structure and function.

The statement “structure correlates with function” has been a key focus of ConnectedBio, a four-year National Science Foundation–sponsored project I was selected to participate in. Working alongside faculty from Michigan State University’s Lyman Briggs College and the BEACON Center for the Study of Evolution in Action and digital innovators from Concord Consortium, I and other teachers are currently helping to design technology-enhanced three-dimensional lessons for high school biology. These lessons are an extension of Evo-Ed cases.

One case study focuses on clam toxins. I teach about this by first displaying headlines of dogs becoming ill then dying after swimming in green water, along with images depicting dead marine life near red- or green-colored waters. I ask students: What is causing this? Several of my students cite toxic algae, having previously heard the news reports. This leads to the follow-up question to launch our investigation: Why are some algal blooms toxic? 

To answer this driving question, my students first engage in knowledge-building activities. I have them do the following:

• Examine maps to understand geographically where the blooms occur.
• Analyze a marine food web to see how the toxin moves through an aquatic ecosystem.
• Dissect a bivalve to learn about its anatomy: most notably, the two body systems we will investigate, nervous and muscular.

These initial activities segue into modeling how a neuron fires an action potential. Depending on the student’s grade level, the teacher may choose to provide an overview of the events: 1) dendrites stimulated, 2) axon opens channels, 3) molecules are released in the synapse, and 4) a muscle cell contracts. This simplified sequence could be used for the NGSS performance expectation HS-LS1-2, linking two interacting body systems, which is a component of the disciplinary core idea HS-LS1.A.

For an AP course, in which I implement this case study, a detailed account of ion movement, the neurotransmitters involved, and cell-to-cell communication covers essential knowledge 3.E.2 in the AP Biology Curriculum Framework.

Using bulletin-board paper and laminated cutouts, my students demonstrate how a neuron “talks” to a muscle cell.

The connection between structure and function unfolds as the students see specific ions (Na⁺ and K⁺) fitting together like puzzle pieces into Na-K pumps located along the axon and “keys” (neurotransmitters) fitting into specific “locks” (receptors) on the adjacent muscle cell.

The neurotoxin (saxitoxin) is peach-colored above.

 To connect these actions to the clam case study, the neurotoxin released by the algae (saxitoxin) is introduced. I ask students these questions:

How does the toxin’s structure enable it to interact with the neuron?

How does the toxin affect the function of the nerve impulse?

Image credit: MacQuarrie & Bricelj MEPS 2008

The lesson continues with the students observing a photo of two populations of clams in the presence of the neurotoxin and asking this: What impact will the toxin have on the muscle? Tank B contains clams that are sensitive to the toxin, rendering them unable to burrow and escape predators. Tank A contains clams with a genetic mutation that alters the shape of the channel, preventing the toxin from binding. Toxin-resistant clams can still burrow and extend their siphons to feed. By demonstrating structure and function on a genetic level, students realize that when the toxin is present, mutated clams are more evolutionarily fit.

The case study culminates by having students examine a negative consequence of a mutated channel when the toxin is absent from the environment. Researchers observed that the mutation affects the efficiency rate of a nerve impulse. To model this impairment, one student wears an oven mitt to hinder movement while digging in a container of substrate to retrieve a hidden object, while another student designated as lacking the mutation models a more agile burrower by searching for the object with a bare hand. This demonstrates once again how structure affects clam behavior and why nature maintains variation.

From start to finish, this case study engages students in the interplay between structure and function. Each component builds upon authentic, coherent discoveries to cultivate analytically-minded students. As you design lessons around this crosscutting concept, consider these questions:

What “why questions” will you ask your students?

How will structure and function allow your students to deepen their learning experiences?

Rebecca Brewer teaches Advanced Placement and ninth-grade biology at Troy High School in Troy, Michigan. With more than 19 years of experience, Brewer hopes her constructivist approach to instruction—which emphasizes student-led learning—sparks students’ passion for biological concepts. She has co-authored the high school biology textbook Biology Now; works for MiniOne, a biotechnology company that is training teachers to use its kits and equipment; and creates educational digital resources for Science Friday and PBS NewsHour Extra. In addition, she serves as the director of Michigan’s Outstanding Biology Teacher Award program, and is a past honoree.

In 2011, Brewer received $27,000 for her classroom as the first-place winner of the ING Unsung Hero Award, and in 2007, she was a named a member of USA Today’s All-USA Teacher Team, which recognizes the top 20 educators in the United States. You can contact her on Twitter: @brewerbiology.

Note: This article is featured in the October 2018 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.

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

Although astronomical fall for the northern hemisphere begins when the autumnal equinox occurs on or around September 22,   meteorological seasons vary geographically. October may be when your area “really feels like fall.” Does your school or program mark the season by harvesting from your own garden or by visiting a “pumpkin patch”? Pumpkins are an excuse for an unofficial National Pumpkin Day on October 26, a 2-day festival  and all day “Punkin Chunkin’ affairs before or after Halloween. 

Playing with pumpkins involves children in sensory experiences as they handle pumpkins of various sizes, shapes, and colors. Before pumpkins are cut open to feel the slimy innards and count seeds, they can be weighed, floated, and rolled, introducing concepts of measurement and motion. Adults learn a lot too!

Children may have a hard time saying which of two pumpkins–one taller but thinner and one wider but shorter–is the “biggest.” A discussion leads to understanding that many attributes can be measured. The Erikson Early Math Collaborative website has more resources in their “Idea Library” for engaging children in learning math than a pumpkin has seeds! In “Halloween and Animal Fun While Exploring Big, Bigger, and Biggest” by Lisa Ginet describes how to use children’s literature to begin understanding “bigness.” Use the Idea Library’s Foundational Math Topic: Measurement section to find more ideas illustrated by videos.

What happens to pumpkins that don’t get eaten? In “The Rotten Truth—Discovering Decay!” early childhood educators describe a preschool study that included investigating the needs of living organisms and an important part of the pumpkin story that is often not explored—what happens to pumpkins when they decompose, and why is decay important? The writers also created an e-book, The Rotten Truth, describing and illustrating the study with photo galleries, video, and a description of the authors’ process. It is free from iTunes, for iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

“Teaching Through Tradebooks: Pumpkins” by Karen Ansberry and Emily Morgan is a free article in the October 2008 issue of Science and Children. 

Which of the USA states harvests the most acres of pumpkins? Take a look at the data from the US Department of Agriculture:

Agriculture: Economic Research Service, Pumpkins: Background & Statistics

Nutrition: SNAP-Ed Connection, Pumpkins

Recipes: Fall is Here! Celebrate with Pumpkin, 5 Different Ways by Corey Holland, RD, Nutritionist Consultant, Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, Oct 20, 2016.

In less than a month, science educators will convene for the NSTA Area Conference on Science Education in National Harbor, Maryland.

NSTA conferences are packed with opportunities to network, learn new ideas, share your own ideas, and gather valuable resources for you and your department. The conference in National Harbor is no exception. If you haven’t registered yet, there’s still time. Here are five reasons to attend:

1. Build a Stronger Understanding of 3D Learning
   
   Do you and your colleagues need help in understanding the three dimensions of the Next Generation Science Standards? If so, two workshops centered on three-dimensional teaching and learning will be offered: Making Sense of Three-Dimensional Teaching and Learning (Level 1) and Designing Three-Dimensional Lessons and Units Train-the-Trainer (Level 2). And, if you can only attend the NSTA Area Conference in National Harbor for one day, workshop registration includes Thursday access to the conference.

   Workshop participants will build a solid understanding of the three dimensions and how they integrate, take home a powerful toolkit of resources to further their implementation efforts, and learn how to use their resources to support broader implementation efforts in their schools and districts.

2. Gain Solid Professional Development

   With more than 300 presenter sessions and over 100 exhibitor workshops, you’ll walk away inspired to get back to your classroom with a ton of new ideas.

   Don’t miss the general sessions from nationally known presenters, including keynote speaker Mireya Mayor, primatologist, scientist, National Geographic Explorer, and author. Mayor will share her journey with anecdotes from her distant explorations of South America, Africa, and Madagascar, recounting behind the scenes explorations and exciting scientific discoveries.

   Concurrent sessions at the conference promote best practices in instructional planning and assessment, and focused sessions on instructional strategies make connections between literacy and scientific concepts and build pedagogical knowledge of science teaching.

   You can make a list of “must-attend” sessions ahead of time with the online session builder.

3. Explore the Exhibit
   
   One of the most exciting aspects of an NSTA conference is the exhibit! Discover cutting-edge solutions and the latest innovations and curriculum resources in the conference exhibit hall, and don’t forget to pick up FREE samples of high-quality teaching tools. 

   Find out how to help your students earn grants and savings bonds PLUS learn how you can win a comprehensive lab makeover for your school. In addition, engage in hands-on lab activities led by expert trainers, play a game of Giant Connect 4 or Jenga with your friends in the new NSTA Teacher’s Lounge, and enter to win Southwest Airlines tickets + FREE registration to next year’s National Conference in St. Louis or the STEM Forum & Expo in San Francisco!

4. Get Credit for the PD

   Make sure you receive credit for your work at the conference. You can earn one or two graduate-level credit/units in professional development through Dominican University of California course #EDUO 9029. To obtain credit/units, you must be registered for the NSTA National Harbor area conference, complete the required assignments, and pay a fee of $95 for one credit/unit or $190 for two credits/units. An NSTA transcript is also required.

   For more information about obtaining graduate credit, see the course syllabus.

5. Have Fun and Take Advantage of the Conference Location!

   Attending the conference is a lot of fun, but so is the conference location. The National Harbor is only minutes from Washington, DC, and across from Alexandria, Virginia—just south of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge in Prince George’s County, Maryland.  The area consists of shops and restaurants, a marina, and The Capital Wheel – a 180-foot observation wheel featuring panoramic views of the nation’s capital! You will receive discounts to a number of National Harbor businesses when you show your conference badge.

Take advantage of the conference location and allow time for visits to DC’s majestic monuments, museums, the zoo, and more.

We look forward to seeing you at the NSTA Area Conference on Science Education in National Harbor!

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