JoinAll Blog Posts
Blog Post
How PLCs Helped Move Us Toward Equitable High School Assessment Practices
My colleagues and I began using units intentionally designed for the NGSS for biology in early 2017. We started with a high-quality unit evaluated by my colleagues on the Science Peer Review Panel, and eventually used a full program from the unit’s...
By Holly Hereau
Blog Post
PLNs + High-Quality Units = NGSS Success
In June 2013, Kentucky’s Board of Education officially adopted the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), which not only set a new course for science education in Kentucky, but also started me on a new professional journey. As the newly-minted s...
By David Grossman
Blog Post
Improving Elementary Science Programs Through Professional Learning Communities
“I’m not good at science.” It’s a declaration that far too many students have made in classrooms. Their beliefs are often based on lack of exposure to science, not their true potential to do science. So how do we change their minds and get th...
By Edel Maeder
Blog Post
When informal science institutions (ISIs) offer professional learning opportunities to teachers to support science in schools, they create the potential for dynamic science educators and classrooms that can support high-quality science learning for s...
By Dr. Vanessa Lujan
Blog Post
Arguing From Evidence to Discover the ‘Why’
In my science classroom, students look at evidence all the time. Sometimes it is in photos or videos; sometimes in charts and graphs; and sometimes we generate our own data through investigations. A more traditional approach previously used is asking...
By Rebecca Schumacher
Blog Post
Blog Post
Designing Engineering Projects That Teach Science Concepts by Cory Culbertson
Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about the engineering projects in my courses. On the surface, they don’t seem like something I need to worry about. My students love these projects and talk about them all year. My administration likes the student-...
By Cory Culbertson
Blog Post
Helping Students Take Control of Their Learning
I am responsible for teaching my students how to think, learn, solve problems, and make informed decisions. I firmly believe that science is everywhere and affects all aspects of our daily lives, from the food we eat to the way we communica...
By Cindy Abel
Blog Post
Under Indefinite Construction: Creating an NGSS-Friendly Classroom Community
When the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) were first released, I struggled with how to create opportunities that allowed the students to investigate and question. These standards ask alot of our students and require more planning an...
By Megan Rowlands Elmore
Blog Post
I first encountered the KLEWS teaching strategy in an article in Science and Children (NSTA 2015), “KLEWS to Explanation-Building in Science.” I shared the article and modeled the strategy with teachers who wanted to support their K–5 students ...
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