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I want to study my middle school students’ perceptions of what and how they are learning in science. Do you have any suggestions other than a traditional survey? —R., Ohio...
By Mary Bigelow
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The TOMODACHI Academy: Friendship Beyond Borders
How can two countries with vast cultural differences maintain a relationship in which they can share ideas on how to improve their educational system and focus on STEM literacy? That is the goal of a partnership between the United States and Japan—...
By Guest Blogger
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The Vernier LabQuest Stream: The Absolute Hub of Discovery
“Stream” Nouns are useful, but verbs are educational. So when Vernier released their LabQuest Stream sensor interface into the wild, the familiar grey box quickly proved to be much more than just a powerful and innovative radio station ...
By Martin Horejsi
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The Power of Children’s Ideas: Thoughts about Science Learning and Teaching in the Early Years
Guest post by Cindy Hoisington, with thanks to Karen Worth and other dear colleagues for their inspiration...
By Peggy Ashbrook
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Recess: Outdoors and sometimes indoors
When the children and I leave the school building for playground time or recess, I feel a sense of relaxation and heightened awareness. We can see farther and the input from the surrounding environment to our senses changes every minute as the wind b...
By Peggy Ashbrook
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Preventing Overcrowding in K–12 Science Labs
Of all the safety concerns expressed by science teachers, class size is high on the list. Thus, occupancy loads in science laboratories should be restricted to create and maintain a safer learning environment....
By Kenneth Roy
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NSTA Back-to-School Science Resources For Parents
Keshia Gardner via Today.com...
By Cindy Workosky
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Engineering activities for students
If you’re concerned about how to teach engineering concepts in a K-12 environment, here are two resources that may be helpful....
By Mary Bigelow
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I meet with more than 100 students per day in my Earth science classes. As a relatively new teacher, I need suggestions on how to get to know them better including learning their names and interests in a timely manner. – L., Connecticut...
By Mary Bigelow
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Tips for the First Days of School...
By Lauren Jonas, NSTA Assistant Executive Director
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Upon reflection on last year’s practice of taking children on “nature walks” outside, I see how much they enjoyed nature, made gains in vocabulary and became familiar with diversity in plants. In June, at the end of the school y...
By Peggy Ashbrook
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What Can NSTA Do for You This New School Year?
Turning the calendar to the month of August signifies the excitement of another school year. Early on in my teaching career, a colleague jokingly stated when the date stamped on the breakfast orange juice container read August 15 it was a reminder t...
By Guest Blogger
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Career of the Month: Paleoseismologist
Based on Interviews With Professionals Using Science in the Workplace Paleoseismologists study geologic records to learn about earthquakes that happened thousands of years ago and then use that data to create models to forecast the probability of fut...
By sstuckey
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Right to the Source: Sketching the Double Helix
Exploring Science and History With the Library of Congress. In 1869, 25-year-old Swiss physician Friedrich Miescher first identified and isolated deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), calling it nuclein. Decades later, scientists identified the DNA molecule�...
By sstuckey
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I just took a fifth-grade position, and the principal showed me the classroom I’ll have. It’s a brand-new building, and there’s nothing in the classroom—just the student tables, bare bulletin boards, a few empty bookshelves, and a...
By Mary Bigelow
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Starting the New School Year: Seven Safer Science Strategies
Before starting the new school year, in terms of safety, a little planning can go a long way. Science teachers, supervisors, and administrators should check out the Safer Seven checklist below for strategies that improve laboratory safety. Know...
By Kenneth Roy
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Could a Species Like Bigfoot Have Evolved? 17 Mysteries Revealed at #STEMforum Last Week
2016 STEM Forum and Expo Denver, Colorado, July 27–29 As Seen on Twitter...
By Lauren Jonas, NSTA Assistant Executive Director
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I’m moving to a different state to take a teaching position. I don’t know anyone there, so where can I look for guidance on state standards and other resources that would be helpful in my new job? —W., Pennsylvania Congratulations on fi...
By Mary Bigelow
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The Anatomy of the STEM Pipeline: Dissecting Misconceptions at the 2016 #STEMforum
Anatomy: The subject tend to make teachers freeze up, or make the obligatory “gross” puns. But it’s a great topic for STEM, and a career field more students need to know about....
By Lauren Jonas, NSTA Assistant Executive Director
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Health Wise: Countering Poverty’s Effects on Learning
Poverty is a student health problem, according to the 64,000-member American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP; 2016a)....
By Guest Blogger
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Manipulating Contents & Containers, and representing 3-D objects in block play
It is so fascinating how obvious it is that children have different prior experiences, different developmental ages, and different interests when we teachers present them with a set of materials and don’t ask them to use them in a particular way! T...
By Peggy Ashbrook
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Wooden unit blocks and representing their use in early childhood education
Working with and reading about the work of other educators is inspiring. While observing or mentoring in different programs I am given an education and opportunity to reflect on my own practice....
By Peggy Ashbrook
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Once Upon an Earth Science Book
Do your middle school or high school students have trouble comprehending scientific reading? If you answered yes, we’ve got just the book for you! Here’s another question: Are you ready to have some fun in your classroom? Yes, again? Well, Once U...
By Carole Hayward
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Focus on Physics: The Equilibrium Rule—A Personal Discovery
Building an Understanding of Physical Principles Figure 1. Burl and Paul on a scaffold....
By sstuckey
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Ideas and information from NSTA's Summer K-12 journals
These issues are great additions to your summer reading list! Most of the lessons in these journals include a detailed chart connecting the lesson to the NGSS. Science and Children – From Molecules to Organisms...
By Mary Bigelow
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Soaring in a Digital Ecosystem
This column regularly describes digital tools to help teachers make learning more personal and effective for all students. When these tools converge, they create a sort of digital ecosystem designed to make students more collaborative and innovative,...
By sstuckey
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Place-Based Learning in Middle School: Putting Scientific Principles to Work in your Community
“When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe.” -John Muir, My First Summer in the Sierra, 1911....
By Guest Blogger
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Next year there will be an opening in the high school science department. Although I love teaching middle school, I’m tempted by the opportunity to try something different and use more of what I majored in (chemistry). What advantages and disad...
By Mary Bigelow
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Middle school children are inquisitive and enjoy classroom opportunities to learn visually. Subsequently, an option worth consideration is an application of technology known as 3D. It’s similar to the 3D technology that is used in movie theaters an...
By Edwin P. Christmann
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Write Grant Proposals That Win
A successful grant application can provide you with the funding you need to do exciting new activities with your students. The only problem is that grant writing is an art form of its own. There’s a new NSTA Press book that can help....
By Carole Hayward
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Water play…exploration…science inquiry
Water explorations are a popular in early childhood programs during the summer. Exuberant water explorations can happen outdoors. The experience of wetness is enjoyable and clothes that get wet accidentally can dry on the child rather than having to ...
By Peggy Ashbrook
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Managing Communication Channels
Last year, I tried improving my communications with students and parents via electronic media. I had lots of responses, but I was being texted, tweeted, emailed, and called on the phone at all times of the day and night. While I want to encourage the...
By Mary Bigelow
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How Can Science Teachers Use Examples of Dishonest Science?
NSTA members ask and answer one anothers’ questions about science teaching every day via the listserv, and the topics are fascinating. The latest question, trending on our NGSS list, focuses on dishonest science. The answers and comments are e...
By Lauren Jonas, NSTA Assistant Executive Director
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What goes into a small science starter kit?
A colleague asked me, “If you were going to provide a small starter set of science materials for family child care providers, what would you buy?” This group will be participating in some science education professional development. Most of these ...
By Peggy Ashbrook
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Teaching more than one subject
I’m a recent graduate. A school district where I would really like to teach has an opening for a secondary science teacher. But when I read the job description, the position requires teaching five classes of two different subjects (general biol...
By Mary Bigelow
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Bringing STEM to the Elementary Classroom
National initiatives, such as A Framework for K-12 Science Education and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), call for an increase in both the quality and quantity of engineering content. With the addition of engineering to science classroom...
By Carole Hayward