JoinAll Blog Posts
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Using Daily Dos to Make Science Accessible to Our Youngest Learners
By Maria Barthelmann and Stephanie Canale
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In Evolution Education, State Science Standards Matter
By Glenn Branch, Deputy Director, National Center for Science Education
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By Jordyn Frost and Anastasia Sanchez
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Creating Science Learning Environments in Which Indigenous Students Can Thrive
By Megan Bang, Nikki McDaid-Morgan, and Alice Tsoodle
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Achieving Equity Through Assessments
Our school requires all students to take chemistry. We teach all levels, ranging from Collaborative/Inclusive Chemistry to Honors and AP Chemistry. All of our classes have students who speak different languages, as well as students with a range of so...
By Laura Littrell and Kevin Williams
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NGSS: Planning for Science Success for All Students
Creating an Environment for All Students to Show Their Understanding Much discussion has focused on how the NGSS (and other state standards based on the Framework and NGSS) make science accessible to all students. I believe all students can be suc...
By Hallie Booth
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Using Senses in Nature to Experience Equity
In one of my favorite lessons, I take my kindergarten students outside to explore the schoolyard. Though I take my students outdoors throughout the year, I do this lesson at the beginning of the year because it’s an opportunity to teach students to...
By Julia Deevers-Rich
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How PLCs Helped Move Us Toward Equitable High School Assessment Practices
My colleagues and I began using units intentionally designed for the NGSS for biology in early 2017. We started with a high-quality unit evaluated by my colleagues on the Science Peer Review Panel, and eventually used a full program from the unit’s...
By Holly Hereau
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PLNs + High-Quality Units = NGSS Success
In June 2013, Kentucky’s Board of Education officially adopted the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), which not only set a new course for science education in Kentucky, but also started me on a new professional journey. As the newly-minted s...
By David Grossman
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Improving Elementary Science Programs Through Professional Learning Communities
“I’m not good at science.” It’s a declaration that far too many students have made in classrooms. Their beliefs are often based on lack of exposure to science, not their true potential to do science. So how do we change their minds and get th...
By Edel Maeder
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When informal science institutions (ISIs) offer professional learning opportunities to teachers to support science in schools, they create the potential for dynamic science educators and classrooms that can support high-quality science learning for s...
By Dr. Vanessa Lujan
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Arguing From Evidence to Discover the ‘Why’
In my science classroom, students look at evidence all the time. Sometimes it is in photos or videos; sometimes in charts and graphs; and sometimes we generate our own data through investigations. A more traditional approach previously used is asking...
By Rebecca Schumacher
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Designing Engineering Projects That Teach Science Concepts by Cory Culbertson
Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about the engineering projects in my courses. On the surface, they don’t seem like something I need to worry about. My students love these projects and talk about them all year. My administration likes the student-...
By Cory Culbertson
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Helping Students Take Control of Their Learning
I am responsible for teaching my students how to think, learn, solve problems, and make informed decisions. I firmly believe that science is everywhere and affects all aspects of our daily lives, from the food we eat to the way we communica...
By Cindy Abel
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Under Indefinite Construction: Creating an NGSS-Friendly Classroom Community
When the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) were first released, I struggled with how to create opportunities that allowed the students to investigate and question. These standards ask alot of our students and require more planning an...
By Megan Rowlands Elmore
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I first encountered the KLEWS teaching strategy in an article in Science and Children (NSTA 2015), “KLEWS to Explanation-Building in Science.” I shared the article and modeled the strategy with teachers who wanted to support their K–5 students ...
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Impact of Change by Jessica Holman and Michelle Schuster
If you were to walk into our classroom years ago, you would see students from all walks of life, and with a range of ability levels. All of the students were blended together to learn science and were eager to be engaged. We were teaching units that ...
By Cindy Workosky
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As several reports have shown, it is critical for teachers to understand instructional strategies that are consistent with the NGSS vision, as well as to have the skills to implement them in their classrooms. I had the privilege of working with two e...
By Diane Johnson
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Elementary Science—Best Practices for All Students
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 g...
By Cindy Workosky
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Contemporary Instructional Approaches to Promote STEM Learning for English Learners
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 educati...
By Okhee Lee
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One District’s Path to Improving Student Discourse
If you’ve spent any time exploring the shifts in NGSS instructional practices you will understand the call for “less sage on the stage and more guide on the side.” While such a metaphor can be applied to a variety of science classroom settings,...
By Sean Musselman
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Exploring Structure and Function in Insects
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...
By Cindy Workosky
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Using Toxic Algal Blooms to Teach Structure and Function
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, experimen...
By Rebecca Brewer