JoinAll Blog Posts
Blog Post
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
Blog Post
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
Blog Post
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
Blog Post
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
Blog Post
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
Blog Post
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
Blog Post
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
Blog Post
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
Blog Post
Appropriators Provide Boost for Federal Education Programs
ESSA Title IVA and Title II See Increases for FY2020 Programs...
By Jodi Peterson
Blog Post
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
Blog Post
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
Blog Post
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
Blog Post
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
Blog Post
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
Blog Post
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
Blog Post
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
Blog Post
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
Blog Post
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
Blog Post
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
Blog Post
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
Blog Post
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
Blog Post
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
Blog Post
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
Blog Post
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
Blog Post
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
Blog Post
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
Blog Post
The Week of the Young Child is April 8-12, 2019
The Week of the Young Child is sponsored by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), beginnin...
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
On teaching life cycles of living things
The changes living organisms go through fascinate us (and sometimes freak us out) even if we’ve seen the process before. Early childhood educators especially feel this because every day we come to work we are fascinated by the development and growt...
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
NSTA’s 75th: Celebrating the Past, Educating for the Future
Editors Note: Today in this blog series commemorating NSTA’s 75th Anniversary we celebrate the many stakeholders who work hard every day so that ALL students are engaged in science learning and who have helped NSTA to become a dedicated advocate fo...
By Kate Falk
Blog Post
Building STEM Ecosystems: Community Partnerships
When I was a classroom teacher, I relished opportunities to connect my high school biology students to real world science and applications of their textbook science. Now, in the informal sector, I find my role reversed, and I get to collaborate with ...
By Korei Martin
Blog Post
High School Teachers, The STEM Forum & Expo is for You
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...
By Korei Martin
Blog Post
8th Annual STEM Forum & Expo: We Need You!
On behalf of the entire steering committee for the 8th 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....
By Korei Martin
Blog Post
STEM, literacy and the young mind
What is the best way to introduce science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) through literacy lessons in kindergarten? —Y., New Mexico ...
By Gabe Kraljevic