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Robert E. Yager Exemplary Teaching Award—2019 winners
The Robert E. Yager Exemplary Teaching Award recognizes six full-time K–12 teachers of science who successfully use innovation and excellence in their classroom....
By NSTA Web Director
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Working with a dream team, learning about engineering habits of mind
Taking a chance, I asked two colleagues if they would work with me on a webinar about supporting young children’s early engineering problem-solving. They each said “Yes!” and in the process I have been learning much from Carrie Lynne Draper, M...
By Peggy Ashbrook
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I am student teaching in a first grade classroom and we are going to start covering life cycles. What are some good ideas I can do in my engage section? — G., Oklahoma...
By Gabe Kraljevic
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Ed News: How Can We Get More Highly Effective Teachers to Serve as Mentors?
This week in education news, state school board committee approved new science standards for Utah public school students; states are beginning to integrate CTE and STEM-related courses into high school graduation requirements; despite evidence s...
By Kate Falk
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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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Ed News: How U.S. STEM Practices Compare Internationally
This week in education news, new research finds that the level of level of teacher experience is positively associated with levels of student achievement, particularly for black and Latino students; City of Chicago asking school board to approve $13...
By Cindy Workosky
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Finding STEM Success in the Post-Secondary Classroom
The 8th Annual STEM Forum & Expo, hosted by NSTA, this July in San Francisco offers a post-secondary track to help educators create STEM-rich learning environments for students....
By Korei Martin
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Circle of Life 1.0: Planting seeds
I am working on a lesson plan for the life cycle of a plant for kindergarten. Do you have any activity ideas? — K., Oregon If you’re teaching about life cycles of flowering plants you should incorporate all the life stages....
By Gabe Kraljevic
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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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My kindergarten students believe that small objects are always light and big objects are always heavier. How can I address this misconception? —L., Wyoming Excellent question! This is a major misconception many adults have about density: the charac...
By Gabe Kraljevic
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Why Are Bees so Buzzworthy? Next Time You See One You’ll Know
“Bee-Wildering! Hives of Notre-Dame in Miraculous Survival” (Phys.Org): Headlines like this dominate the news lately....
By Carole Hayward
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They can say the word but can they explain what it means? The “illusion of explanatory depth”
The use of a particular word can support children’s communication about their understanding of natural phenomena and sometimes obscure the amount or depth of their understanding....
By Peggy Ashbrook
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How do you maintain classroom management and control during active science lessons? I am curious about how to keep students under control when encouraging movement and active involvement in teaching. — A., Texas...
By Gabe Kraljevic
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Ideas and inspiration from NSTA journals
Sometimes it seems like there are artificial boundaries in education: elementary vs. secondary, K-12 vs. higher education, middle school vs. high school. Having been an educator at all of these levels, I’ve found that there are more similarities ...
By Mary Bigelow
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Learning Visualized with the Vernier Go Direct Hand Dynamometer
Collecting real-time data is important in science and science education, but it also presents a wonderful opportunity to learn about graphing and data visualization in general. It also provides an inspection into what learning actually looks like. I�...
By Martin Horejsi
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Appropriators Provide Boost for Federal Education Programs
ESSA Title IVA and Title II See Increases for FY2020 Programs...
By Jodi Peterson
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Adding Inquiry to ‘Cookbook’ Labs
Jose Rivas’s AP Physics 1 students at Lennox Math, Science, and Technology Academy in Lennox, California, work on a rotational inertia investigation. ...
By Debra Shapiro
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Why I Am Voting YES for Science Teaching by Judy Boyle
I am an elementary teacher, not a science teacher. I teach everything from shoelace tying to technology. When I began teaching, my science content knowledge was at a minimal and when I taught science I tiptoed around it as if I were Indiana Jones nav...
By Kate Falk
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Handouts available, NSTA19 was great—thanks Missouri!
Where but at an NSTA national conference can you: See a possible future for your students in the keynote speech by retired astronaut and U.S....
By Peggy Ashbrook
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Many hands-on STEM activities and demonstrations require the use of a heat source. The challenge is to determine the appropriate heat source based on safety while still meeting the needs of the activity. For example, the Bunsen burner is perhaps the ...
By Kenneth Roy
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I was wondering how I could incorporate chemistry into my early elementary classes and what some good resources are to use. — G., Montana Chemistry activities for young children are some of the coolest and most engaging for students. Putting on go...
By Gabe Kraljevic
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NSTA Members to Vote on New Name
The NSTA Board of Directors took a bold step to usher in a new, exciting future for NSTA by voting in February in favor of changing the association’s name from the National Science Teachers Association to the National Science Teaching Association. ...
By Cindy Workosky
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I like to infuse humour into my classroom. What is your opinion on teachers and students joking around? — T., Utah I, too, am a jokester and like to have fun with my students. I attribute a large part of this to my own teachers who were funny and m...
By Gabe Kraljevic
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Ideas and inspiration from NSTA’s April 2019 K-12 journals
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 ...
By Mary Bigelow
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Ed News: Here’s The Math That Proves Teachers Are Underpaid
This week in education news, math that proves teachers are underpaid; how 29 year old Katie Bouman helped to capture the image of a black hole; and how STEM may help you to win next year’s March Madness bracket....
By Kate Falk
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I have observed a lack of emphasis on science concepts in the elementary classroom. Does this seem to be common practice in other schools? Any suggestions on how to incorporate multiple subjects within a science lesson to help alleviate this? – K.,...
By Gabe Kraljevic
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The Elementary (& PreK) Extravaganza, at NSTA19 St. Louis
Plan your strategy for getting the most out the 2 hours you have to access the 100+ presenters, each at their own table, in the Elementary Extravaganza (EE) at the NSTA annual confe...
By Peggy Ashbrook
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Ed News: The Evolution of U.S. Teacher Salaries in the 21st Century
This week in education news, a look at the variation in teacher pay between the states, a new Lego set for middle schoolers that incorporates coding, and challenges ahead with the California test based on new science standards....
By Kate Falk
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I recently discovered a Facebook post in which a parent expressed disagreement over how I graded her son’s assignment. This unleashed a torrent of hateful, profanity-laced comments including one person saying I should be fired. I’m afraid...
By Gabe Kraljevic
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Be the Successful Wiz Behind the Curtain to Your School’s Family Science Night
We have the ancient Greeks to thank for so much of what we continue to enjoy today. Take, for example, the concept of the community theater. Intergenerational groups would gather, all those years ago, in informal settings to both watch and participat...
By Carole Hayward
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NSTA Conferences: Professional Learning and So Much More
Editor’s Note: In this blog series commemorating NSTA’s 75th Anniversary we take a look to the past with an eye to the future. Can you imagine attending an NSTA convention over Thanksgiving weekend?!...
By Kate Falk
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Podcasting in the Science Classroom
Two of Ramona Jolliffe Satre’s sixth graders at Ogden Middle School in Ogden, Iowa, review a podcast they created using an iPad.Photo by Terri Reutter ...
By Debra Shapiro
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Do you have any suggestions on how to use Chromebooks in middle school for more than just watching videos and reviewing material? —A., Indiana ...
By Gabe Kraljevic