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I have a few students who test me, as well as my mentor teacher, in most directions and instructions that we give and will abuse the science materials. Any suggestions on how to address this behavior? – D., Maryland ...
By Gabe Kraljevic
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Choosing resources for early childhood science learning
Choosing resources for early childhood science learning that are scientifically accurate, developmentally appropriate, and reference research about learning, requires educators to have time to review resources ourselves, or access to reviews by exper...
By Peggy Ashbrook
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Ideas and inspiration from NSTA’s January 2018 K-12 journals
Installing Glass Walls and Doors in the Science Classroom, a commentary in Science Scope, describes what collaborative teacher teams “look like” in science and is appropriate for teachers at all grade levels to begin or fine-tune the proc...
By Mary Bigelow
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Eureka! Grade 3-5 Science Activities and Stories
Elementary teachers have to balance the challenges of literacy instruction with high stakes testing and content area instruction. What teachers need to achieve this delicate balance is a text that can be both an instructional tool and a step-by-ste...
By Carole Hayward
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Growing a Turnip and Growing Professionally: Resources at every step of the way
Resources that support early childhood science learning may be ideas or lesson plans for specific investigations by children, or be information for educators about children’s learning progressions, research into how children learn, science content ...
By Peggy Ashbrook
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NASA Grants Rocket Informal Ed Ahead
As part of a NASA CP4SMPVC grant to Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in Coral Gables, Florida, middle and high school students have identified 91 varieties of edible plants...
By Debra Shapiro
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Model-making and engineering in a preK program
Through visits to other programs, reading books, attending conferences and webinars, and having conversations with colleagues, I continue to learn about teaching young children. In conversation, preschool teacher Barbara Foster related how children u...
By Peggy Ashbrook
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Argument-Driven Inquiry for the High School Physics Classroom
Argument-Driven Inquiry in Physics Volume 1, Mechanics Lab Investigations for Grades 9–12 is the latest addition to the popular NSTA Press Argument-Driven Inquiry (ADI) series....
By Carole Hayward
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Ed News: A Novel Way To Improve Teacher Prep, Give Teacher Better Curriculum
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By Kate Falk
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Engineering in Early Childhood: Learning from conference sessions
One of the conference sessions on engineering I attended at NAEYC quoted children in the title: “Don’t Call Us Kinders, We’re Engineers!” To introduce an engineering design process to children in kindergarten up to second grade, Emily P...
By Peggy Ashbrook
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My partner and I are thinking of moving to rural North Dakota to teach. I teach high school science while my partner teaches middle school. We would both like to teach in the same district. Do you have any advice on how we should proceed? —A., Mis...
By Gabe Kraljevic
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A Q&A on Wisconsin's Science Standards
Wisconsin recently adopted new K–12 science education standards. Learn more about the standards in this Q&A with Kevin Anderson, Science Education Consultant for the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. When were your science standards a...
By Cindy Workosky
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Ideas and inspiration from NSTA’s December 2017 K-12 journals
Are you updating your approach to modeling? Aligning lessons between 5E and NGSS? Incorporating digital resources? Regardless of the grade level you teach, this month’s journals have ideas that can be used or adapted. Science Scope – Modeling...
By Mary Bigelow
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Ed News: How One CA School District is Leading the Way on New Science Standards
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By Cindy Workosky
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Conferences as professional development
Professional development—learning that will develop our professionalism, make us better teachers, and expand our content knowledge—aims to be delivered at just the right moment with an insight that changes you forever....
By Peggy Ashbrook
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Differentiating for an "Out of This World" Student
Artist’s rendition of Sirius A and B...
By Gabe Kraljevic
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As many high schools begin adopting curricula that include the study of microorganisms, biosafety must be addressed for a safer lab experience. Biohazards are biologically derived infectious materials, which may present a risk to other living thin...
By Kenneth Roy
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House Education and Workforce Chair Virginia Fox introduced a bill to reauthorize the Higher Education Act (HEA) last week, and her committee will be meeting to mark up the bill on Tuesday, December 12....
By Jodi Peterson
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Ed News: TFA, Alternative Programs Marginally Better Than Traditional Teacher Prep
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By Kate Falk
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My middle school students are creating organism presentations. How much scaffolding should I give them? — P., New York...
By Gabe Kraljevic
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What did you learn today, teacher?
I’m teaching a science methods class. I’d like to know: What was the most important thing you learned in your undergrad science methods classes? What do you wish you had known about science teaching that you didn’t learn in undergrad? ...
By Gabe Kraljevic
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Resources from previous NSTA conferences
Have you revisited the sessions from previous NSTA conference to check out the resources posted by presenters? Begin with the 2017 Elementary Extravaganza that has 27 resources listed, both documents and webpages. It was held on Friday, March 31 at t...
By Peggy Ashbrook
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STEMcoding project releases "Physics of Video Games" Hour of Code activity
Until recently, the world’s most popular K12 computer science website, hourofcode.com, did not have any physics-focused coding activities. This was the case until Professor Chris Orban of Ohio State University initiated an effort to develop co...
By Edwin P. Christmann
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Build the Science Department: Stories of Success
How can your science department become a site for developing teachers’ professional learning?...
By Carole Hayward
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Quick Lab and Activity Assessments
I would like to include a rubric when students are completing various labs and activities in science. Could you share any examples? – A., Iowa I have found that checklists, in particular, are good assessment tools during a lab. The objective...
By Gabe Kraljevic
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Discovery bottles: Learning moments for children and adults
“Discovery bottles” are one way to allow children to use small objects without putting them in their mouths. These bottles for open-ended exploration can be constructed to relate to many different science concepts and topics. Other bottles are ma...
By Peggy Ashbrook
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A Learning Trajectory for Sensemaking in Science
The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) offer teachers the opportunity to consider teaching science in a new way. We help students engage with, wonder about, and make sense of natural phenomena, which closely resembles how scientists perceive th...
By Cindy Workosky
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Asking Questions and Defining Problems by Making Cultural Connections
My goal for students in my eighth-grade middle school science class is to enter high school with the absolute certain knowledge that they can “do” science. They know that when presented with the inevitable problems and questions of everyday life,...
By Susan Cohen
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Science for All Students: A Teacher’s Perspective
Like many classrooms around the country, my diverse fourth-grade classroom consisted of regular education students, special education students, English learners, gifted students, students receiving free and reduced-cost lunches, and students from dif...
By Rita Januszyk
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By Kate Falk
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7 Safety Guidelines for Guest Presentations
Although guest presenters can offer real-life science experiences to students, they may not be familiar with the safety practices that need to be in place to create safer learning experiences. In October 2012, for instance, two fourth graders were ru...
By Kenneth Roy
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This is my first year of teaching physics and I can’t think of generic substitute plans for this class. Can you suggest some generic/emergency plans that could help me? – E., Michigan...
By Gabe Kraljevic
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Ideas and inspiration from NSTA’s November 2017 K-12 journals
Looking for lessons that align with NGSS? Teaching NGSS-Aligned Lessons in Science Classrooms has several examples that illustrate three-dimensional learning. Science & Children – Vocabulary in Context...
By Mary Bigelow
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Teach Students to Design Innovation
What if you could challenge your third grade students to design the train of the future? The exciting new book Transportation in the Future, Grade 3: STEM Road Map for Elementary School shows students how to do just that....
By Carole Hayward
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A Tree is Nice—Exploring seasonal changes WHEN the season changes
In regions where trees drop their leaves in fall, this big change draws children’s attention to the existence of seasonal changes. More subtle changes and incremental changes, such as more or less rain and slowly dropping or rising air temperatures...
By Peggy Ashbrook