JoinAll Blog Posts
Blog Post
Are Your Students Pretenders in a Digital World?
The Pretender was a television show many years ago just before the 21st century arrived where the main character Jarod took on new roles each and every week that required him to master any task required for that job. He was a pretender – stepping i...
By Christine Royce
Blog Post
Science vocabulary: See it, say it
How do you make vocabulary terms meaningful for students? I’m talking about really getting them to understand how the word or words are used in context. I feel students often just copy down a definition and never truly grasp how it relates to t...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
An intersection of physical science and art
I love it when a book of art activities recommends finding materials in thrift stores or using recyclables or common classroom materials to create art. It’s even better when the activities can be part of a science exploration or investigation into ...
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
Setting up the learning space—where should the magnifiers go?
Do you have a “Science” area in your classroom or other space? Which, if any objects should be permanent residents of a science area? I usually keep a few tools there so children can find them when needed—magnifiers, trays, pipettes/droppers, a...
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
Connecting students and scientists
As the new school year is getting underway, are you looking for some experiences to get students focused on scientific thinking and research skills? How can we show students what scientists actually “do” and how they communicate? Many tea...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Misconceptions about the “doing” of science
Many teachers feel they are “doing” science when they teach what is in textbooks, laboratory manuals, and their lectures. Such a focus on science teaching has existed for decades. Teachers, school administrators, students, as well as parents,...
By Robert Yager
Blog Post
Argument-Driven Inquiry in Life Science
In the new NSTA Press book Argument-Driven Inquiry in Life Science: Lab Investigations for Grades 6-8, 20 lab activities present an innovative approach to lab instruction called argument-driven inquiry (A...
By Carole Hayward
Blog Post
Chris Lehmann Talks Technology and Teaching Revolutionary Science in the Digital Age
“You stood in front of your community and said, ‘This is the scholar I have become. This is what I can do.’ And in doing so, you reminded all of us of what young people can do when given the freedom and the support to dream big....
By Lauren Jonas, NSTA Assistant Executive Director
Blog Post
How Do Real Science Teachers Prepare for BTS?
Knowing science teachers like I do, I’m not surprised to see that they express a gamut of emotions and have some really innovative ideas about how to prepare for going back to school. A completely unscientific survey of the Twittersphere reveal...
By Lauren Jonas, NSTA Assistant Executive Director
Blog Post
We’re a 1:1 school, and all of my students have access to iPads in class. I’m thinking of transitioning from hard-copy notebooks to electronic notebooks. My students are not thrilled with this. —R., New York...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Where are you reading Science and Children this summer?
A family trip took me to a new and breathtaking location—Glacier National Park....
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
SXSWedu 2016: Vote for NSTA’s Session Idea, The Next Generation of Science Teachers
Voting opens today for SXSWedu session proposals for the conference’s 2016 program, and NSTA needs your vote! To be selected for inclusion at SXSWedu, proposals must pass an extremely competitive crowd-sourced PanelPicker process....
By Guest Blogger
Blog Post
Transforming Teaching at the 2015 Mickelson ExxonMobil Teachers Academy
...
By Guest Blogger
Blog Post
Teachers often have questions about interactive science notebooks, especially at the secondary level. Mary Morgan, a high school science teacher from Belton High School in Belton, Texas, shares her experiences (These ideas refer to traditional format...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
What's the Role of Science Teachers in the New Conceptual Economy?
In the new conceptual economy, what skills will students need to acquire to walk into professional settings and tackle complex problems? A recent podcast Innovation Skills for the 21st Century Workplace (BFM 89.9) details the mindset that contributes...
By Lauren Jonas, NSTA Assistant Executive Director
Blog Post
House and Senate Leaders Begin Work to Reconcile Education Bills to Replace No Child Left Behind
...
By Jodi Peterson
Blog Post
Team building is something that any sports team undertakes; business teams participate in; as well as other professional areas focus on. The purpose of team building is to bring individuals together to develop interactions that enhance or increase ...
By Christine Royce
Blog Post
...
By Lauren Jonas, NSTA Assistant Executive Director
Blog Post
NSTA summer journals for K-12 teachers
Add these journals to your summer reading! The Science Teacher: Big Data...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
7 Science Facts #NSTA Learned on Twitter This Week
Twitter is a treasure trove for news. These tweets caught our eye at NSTA recently, and they could surely be useful conversation starters in the classroom. Read on, and share the stories that caught your eye this week! 1. Kids love chasing fireflies,...
By Lauren Jonas, NSTA Assistant Executive Director
Blog Post
What are science teachers reading this summer?
Browse this month’s most popular books, e-books, children’s trade books, and journal articles on NSTA’s website. Between now and August 14, 2015, save 10% on NSTA Press and NSTA Kids books or e-books by entering promo code SUMMER at che...
By Claire Reinburg
Blog Post
Expanding understanding, resources for discussions about gender
Young children’s imaginative play often includes creating family groups with toy animals or dolls, and role-playing with housekeeping and dress-up materials. They recreate the relationships they experience or know of from books and other media....
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
A graphic organizer for writing
When I ask students to write about a topic, most try to submit a collection of copy-and-paste paragraphs. I’m looking for strategies to help students create original writing. —H., Georgia...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Senate Passes Legislation to Overhaul No Child Left Behind
Fourteen years after it was first signed into law and seven years after it expired, the U.S. Senate passed legislation on Thursday, July 16 to overhaul the Elementary and Secondary Education Act–commonly known as No Child Left Behind–by a vote of...
By Jodi Peterson
Blog Post
Engineering Next Generation Science Leaders in Omaha, Nebraska
“Here we go” was a tweet from a delegate attending the 2015 National Congress on Science Education (NCSE), held last week in Omaha, Nebraska, by the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA); excitement was evident from start to finish! Congre...
By Guest Blogger
Blog Post
...
By Lauren Jonas, NSTA Assistant Executive Director
Blog Post
Finding out what students know and can do
I teach sixth grade science, and my students come from five district elementary schools and several private schools. Some schools emphasize science more than others, so it’s hard to know what knowledge and experience each student has. My principal ...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
K–5 and the Next Generation Science Standards—Webinars
The free webinars by National Science Teachers Association experts, Carla Zembal-Saul, Mary Starr, and Kathy Renfrew, will guide us to a deeper understanding of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)....
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
Summer weather events and patterns
If you haven’t been tracking weather events with the children in your summer and year-round programs, they are missing an opportunity to make observations and learn about collecting data. Some regions have more of the same every day, some experienc...
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
Senate Debates NCLB; House Passes NCLB Rewrite Legislation, Student Success Act
This past week the full Senate began work to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act with the Every Child Achieves Act, legislation that would replace No Child Left Behind, first signed into law 14 years ago and scheduled for reauthor...
By Jodi Peterson
Blog Post
July 8, 2015, image of Pluto and Charon tak...
By Claire Reinburg
Blog Post
Do you have any suggestions for how I can help my middle school students understand and use the metric system? We struggle with this at the beginning of every year. –E., Indiana...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Start Your App Search With a Question
[youtube]https://youtu.be/LL4n4nq0DDc[/youtube] In this video, columnists Ben Smith and Jared Mader share information from their Science 2.0 column, “Start Your App Search With a Question,” that appeared in the Summer issue of The Science Teacher...
By sstuckey
Blog Post
NSTA at #ILA15: Hands-On Science + Literacy Solutions
...
By Lauren Jonas, NSTA Assistant Executive Director
Blog Post
NSTA President Carolyn Hayes Welcomes NSTA's New Committee, Advisory Board, and Panel Members
On behalf of the ...
By Guest Blogger
Blog Post
NSTA’s K-College July 2015 Science Education Journals Online
...
By Lauren Jonas, NSTA Assistant Executive Director
Blog Post
Our Most Popular NSTA Press Book Quotes
For nearly two years, NSTA Press has been pinning quotes from its books to Pinterest. Our followers often repin these interesting, informative, and often inspirational quotes. These are the books that have garnered the most attention. Are you followi...
By Carole Hayward
Blog Post
Three major features of “doing” science
NSTA has identified three major features of students who actually “Do” science. The first of these is Human explorations of the natural world. The second includes Explanations of the objects and events encountered. And the third requires Evid...
By Robert Yager