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Preparing Science Teachers for High-Need Schools
Ella Bonah (left), a teacher at Tyner Academy in Chattanooga, Tennessee, completed an apprenticeship through Project Inspire, a program that prepares teachers for positions in high-need schools. (photo by David Humber)...
By Debra Shapiro
Blog Post
Ed News: Idaho Legislature Approves New Science Standards that Omit Climate Change
This week in education news, the Idaho Senate Education Committee approved new science standards that omit climate change; more states introduce bills that interfere with science education; 100Kin10 renews its call to support STEM teachers; and a ne...
By Kate Falk
Blog Post
ESSA—What’s in YOUR State Plan?
States stakeholders are working now to develop plans to implement the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). These state plans will include new guidelines for accountability and much more. Plans are due to the U.S. Department of Education in eith...
By Jodi Peterson
Blog Post
10 NSTA Conference Sessions that Will Turn Your World Upside Down
Ready for something completely different? Ready to love science teaching even more?...
By Lauren Jonas, NSTA Assistant Executive Director
Blog Post
"Iron Science" students
I used to assign projects for students to complete at home. But I’m now at a middle school where many students do not have access to materials and resources outside of class. I need alternatives for in-class projects! –A., Colorado In-class...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Some of my students have little experience in lab investigations. My colleague suggested I “scaffold” my instruction to help them develop lab skills, but I’m not sure what that would look like. —C., Virginia...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Ed News: Teachers Eye Potential of Virtual Reality
This week in education news, teachers eye potential of virtual reality; schools zoom in on STEM equity; Louisiana considers new science standards; South Dakota’s antiscience bill is stopped; and Idaho teachers, parents, and scientists urged lawmak...
By Kate Falk
Blog Post
Maple trees and squirrels: a relationship
The Silver maple tree is flowering, early for the season in my region, but right on schedule for the way the season is unfolding this year. Although the flowers are tiny, the details can be seen with a magnifier....
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
What's So Special About Disciplinary Core Ideas? (Part 3)
DCIs Develop Across Time...
By Joe Krajcik
Blog Post
Ideas and inspiration from NSTA’s February 2017 K-12 journals
All three journals this month include the inaugural Best STEM Books for Students K–12 with descriptions and reviews. The rubric and criteria used in selecting these books is also provided. Share it with your librarian, too. Crowdfunding for Element...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Using Science and Engineering Practices in the Classroom
Helping Students Make Sense of the World Using Next Generation Science and Engineering Practices provides an in-depth understanding of the practices strand of A Framework for K–12 Science Education (Framework) and the Next Generation Science Standa...
By Carole Hayward
Blog Post
The Most Profound News of Valentine’s Day 2017
This Valentine’s Day, while most media attention was focused on the dismissal of the National Security Advisor, The New York Times ran a story that received much less media attention, but has far greater potential impact on our nation’s future....
By David Evans, NSTA Executive Director
Blog Post
Big learning from short observations of birds: February 17-20, 2017
Walk outside with your children, watch and count birds for 15 minutes while recording the names of those you know, and report your bird count to be part of a world-wide citizen-science project to collect data on wild birds, creating an annual snaps...
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
Avoiding Electrical Hazards in the Lab
In science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) labs, teachers and students can be exposed to a number of electrical hazards such as damaged electrical receptacles, missing ground prongs, and faulty electrical equipment. These hazards can result...
By Kenneth Roy
Blog Post
Join NSTA Press Authors at the 2017 National Conference in Los Angeles
We rely on their expertise and have their books lined up on our resource shelves for handy reference, but the opportunity to hear so many NSTA Press authors speak in person is too good to pass up. The array of authors who are scheduled to present a...
By Carole Hayward
Blog Post
The Surefire FirePak: A Smartphone Science Studio Lighting Solution
As smartphone cameras take on an ever-more sophisticated role in the science classroom, the technical limits of phone photography become more apparent. Luckily, a dose of strong light can overcome many problems as well as provide access to a world ...
By Martin Horejsi
Blog Post
Science education "trifecta"
I’m looking for creative ways for students to share what they know, other than traditional written reports or essays. —K., Michigan The creative process in science involves novel ways of thinking, problem solving, and communicating. When st...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Ed News: Scientists Take on New Roles in K–12 Classrooms
This week in education news, scientists take on new roles in K–12 classrooms, the U.S. Senate confirmed Betsy DeVos as Education Secretary, a new report finds California teacher shortages have led to ‘severe consequences’, the U.S. Ho...
By Kate Falk
Blog Post
The goTenna Off-Grid Communication Device: Take A "Cell Network" on your next Field Trip
Imagine co-leading a science field trip indoors in a large museum with questionable cell coverage, or outside and too far from the nearest cell tower. The goTenna system allows you to directly contact another goTenna equipped teacher using their smar...
By Martin Horejsi
Blog Post
DeVos Confirmed as ED Secretary/House Kills ESSA Accountability Regulations
After a long and contentious confirmation battle the Senate confirmed Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education on February 7 after a highly partisan 51 to 50 vote. Vice President Mike Pence cast the deciding vote to confirm DeVos after two Republican Se...
By Jodi Peterson
Blog Post
An ECSTEM conference experience
An early childhood education conference is an opportunity to meet others who share a passion for improving our science teaching practice, meet our education mentors and gain new insights into why certain educational practices are effective. It’s a ...
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
The Celestron Micro-Fi Wireless Digital Microscope: A Handful of Wow!
The term “wireless” does not so much describe what is, but instead what isn’t. And what isn’t is wires. What’s strange about many wireless technologies is there was never a wired version to begin with so describing the device by...
By Martin Horejsi
Blog Post
STEM Sims: Interactive Simulations for the STEM Classroom
Introduction...
By Edwin P. Christmann
Blog Post
Mentoring — A team effort
The most experienced science teacher is retiring this year at the middle school where I am principal. The other five teachers on the science faculty are early in their teaching careers. What are your thoughts on asking an experienced non-science teac...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Commentary: It's About Time to Teach Evolution Forthrightly
Fifty years ago, in 1967, the Tennessee legislature repealed the Butler Act, a 1925 law that made it a misdemeanor for a teacher in the state’s public schools to “teach any theory that denies the story of the Divine Creation of man as taught in ...
By sstuckey
Blog Post
Students Teaching Science to Younger Students
A Science Ambassador from North Forsyth High School in Cumming, Georgia, uses a tube with a marble inside it as a “roller coaster” to teach an elementary school student about gravity, force, and motion....
By Debra Shapiro
Blog Post
The Carson HookUpz 2.0: The Missing Link Between Camera and Eyepiece
Over the years I have held digital cameras and phones up to the eyepieces of telescopes, spotting scopes, binoculars, and most often microscopes to take pictures, capture video, and stream imagery to projectors and TVs. In all cases the idea was soun...
By Martin Horejsi
Blog Post
The Micro Phone Lens: A Tiny Solution to a Huge Problem
Other than computer code, the Micro Phone Lens just might be the lightest accessory you can add to your tablet or phone. Weighing in at a fraction of a gram, the tiny lens leverages the optical power of existing cameras on phones and tablets. And lik...
By Martin Horejsi
Blog Post
Committee Approves DeVos Nomination, Senate Vote Expected Next Week
On January 31, the Senate Health Education Labor and Pensions Committee voted to approve the nomination of Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education by a party-line vote of 12 to 11....
By Jodi Peterson
Blog Post
Let’s Help Every Student Succeed with STEM
NSTA, in collaboration with 100kin10 and other key STEM leaders, has developed a new campaign designed to ensure that STEM and science/STEM teachers are a focus of the new federal education law at the state and local levels....
By Kate Falk
Blog Post
Big Data, Small Devices: Investigating the Natural World Using Real-Time Data
Many students nowadays are dependent on electronic devices. In fact, it’s sometimes hard to separate them from their smartphones and tablets....
By Carole Hayward
Blog Post
Keeping Students Engaged Before a Break
I finished a unit in middle school science two days ahead of our winter holiday break. We went on to the next unit, but my students didn’t seem focused, and I think I’ll have to review or repeat the activities when we come back....
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Senate Confirmation Vote for DeVos Scheduled for Jan 31
Following a contentious confirmation hearing for Education Secretary nominee Betsy DeVos that evoked images of guns and grizzlies and showcased a lack of understanding of key education issues, the Senate HELP Committee postponed its planned confirmat...
By Jodi Peterson
Blog Post
Weather watching and phenology support using evidence to state a claim
Noticing changes in the growth and habit of plants is part of the science of phenology. We do this casually when we comment on the buds swelling on the maple tree (yay! not as many branches are dead as I feared) or the daffodil leaves sprouting above...
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
Career of the Month: Television Writer
“I aspire to translate complicated ideas in science into consumable stories,” says Katherine Lingenfelter, who writes for TV shows with science or science fiction themes, such as House and Westworld, respectively. “Television is a writer’s me...
By sstuckey
Blog Post
A Three-Step Method for Safer Labs
The lab can be an unsafe place. Under NSTA’s Duty of Care, however, the teacher is required to make labs safer (see Resources). One way of doing so is to follow the analysis, assessment, and action (AAA) method. The method requires teache...
By Kenneth Roy
Blog Post
What’s So Special about Disciplinary Core Ideas (Part 2)
DCIs provide explanations for a variety of phenomena ...
By Joe Krajcik