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#NSTA14 Long Beach: Highlights from the Hall
The Long Beach NSTA 2014 Area Conference on Science Education starts this week! We’ll be making ourselves at home at the Long Beach Convention Center in sunny California, December 4-6, 2014....
By Lauren Jonas, NSTA Assistant Executive Director
Blog Post
NSTA Members – Three Reasons We Are Thankful For YOU!
As we prepare the turkey and brave the elements (some of us) for those last minute ingredients we forgot, this time of the year we give thanks for family and friends. NSTA is no different – we are very thankful for our members and here are just a f...
By Teshia Birts, CAE
Blog Post
The Lab Out Loud Podcast for Thanksgiving: Top 12 Science Celebrity Episodes Edition
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By Carole Hayward
Blog Post
No Money in the School Budget to Attend the NSTA National Conference? Learn What You Can Do
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By Carole Hayward
Blog Post
Teaching is my second career. I used to work for an environmental agency, but I’m having second thoughts about this switch. I took over for my cooperating teacher at the beginning of this marking period....
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Supporting children's interests
As we take a nature walk on the paths through a large garden area tended by church members, the children always want to “go to the pond.” This body of water is an 8’ by 10’ pool with pump-circulated water flowing from a raised area. We watch ...
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
NSTA Has Made 25 Members Very Happy (and We Have Even More in Store)
A big shout out and congratulations to 25 NSTA members who recently renewed their membership for two years and won FREE registration to the NSTA National Conference on Science Education in Chicago, March 12-15, 2015. The winners will also receive a $...
By Teshia Birts, CAE
Blog Post
NSTA journals: A goldmine for teachers
One of the perks of being an NSTA member is having access to all of the journals online. Regardless of the grade level you teach, the journals have ideas for authentic activities and investigations that can be used, adapted, or extended for different...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
NSTA’s K–College Science Education Journals: November 2014 Issues Online
Cause and effect, solutions to problems, analyzing and interpreting data, and quantitative reasoning… these are the subjects science teachers are writing about in this month’s K-College journals from NSTA. The November issues are online, ...
By Lauren Jonas, NSTA Assistant Executive Director
Blog Post
Learn to engage students in scientific argumentation
A gallery walk gives students an opportunity to discuss claims and evidence...
By Claire Reinburg
Blog Post
Addressing concerns about activity and healthy eating
What could be more fun that creating art while being physically active? An upcoming book by MaryAnn Kohl and Barbara Zaboroski shows how to do just that in ways that encourage children to make choices and control art medium in active ways....
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
Prepping for a pre-service teacher
I agreed to work with a student teacher next semester, and I’m looking forward to the experience. I teach three classes of biology and an AP class at the high school and two sections of middle school science. Should the student teacher take all...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
New from NSTA: Quick Reference Guides to the Next Generation Science Standards
In focus groups, science teachers tell NSTA staff members that time is their biggest challenge. We hear that again and again, and we listen! Many science educators are excited about the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and have begun to imple...
By Lauren Jonas, NSTA Assistant Executive Director
Blog Post
As humans, we are driven to explore and explain our surroundings; we wonder about the things we see and try to figure out how and why they appear the way they do and what some of the underlying mechanisms might be that drive what we see in the world....
By Guest Blogger
Blog Post
Patterns: a crosscutting concept
Children notice patterns in nature in small moments as they play in natural areas and find a new kind of leaf, or suddenly realize one morning that they are leaving for school before the sun comes up. Did that happen recently with any of your childre...
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
Hesitate to Participate? Part 2
In a previous blog, a teacher posed a question about getting her students to participate in discussions. She shared her experiences in trying the strategies suggested by our colleagues and her reflections on the results:...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
K-12 Primer on the Midterm Elections and Everybody’s Talking about Testing
There is plenty of discussion this week on what’s ahead for education and science as Americans head to the polls on November 4, and the testing/accountability issue is really moving to the front burner as major players in education—including Pres...
By Jodi Peterson
Blog Post
The Echo Meter Touch is a hardware module (with ultrasonic microphone) and software app that work together to let you monitor, record, and analyze bat echolocation. The module plugs into the power port of an Apple iPhone or iPad. Considering that bat...
By Ken Roberts
Blog Post
#NSTA14 Orlando: Highlights From the Hall
We’re just one short week away from the Orlando NSTA 2014 Area Conference on Science Education. We’ll be making ourselves at home at the Orange County Convention Center in sunny Orlando, Florida, November 6–8, 2014....
By Guest Blogger
Blog Post
Why Did Mrs. Carter Ask a Science Teacher to Create a Butterfly Garden?
It’s not every day that a science-teacher-turned-author gets the call that a former first lady of the United States could use his help. When that happened to me, I was uncertain if I would have anything to offer someone of Mrs. Carter’s stature....
By Guest Blogger
Blog Post
I know this is a rare problem: quiet kids. But what suggestions do you have for a ninth-grade class that is made up predominately of students who seem to be unwilling (or unable) to share thoughts or ask questions during class discussion. They’...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
We often discuss differentiated or individualized instruction being important for students and then provide “one-size-fits-all” professional development for educators – the entire range from K-12. At one point in a previous article, I wrote “...
By Christine Royce
Blog Post
A clear vision supported by specific plans is critical to the success of any organization....
By Bill Badders
Blog Post
I’ve Been Hired as a Science Teacher, but I’m Not Certified to Teach Science. Help!
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By Carole Hayward
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The Best Way to Answer Kids' Questions, and Other Things I Learned at #NSTA14 Richmond
When you bring a bunch of science teachers together, the most amazing, surprising connections are made....
By Lauren Jonas, NSTA Assistant Executive Director
Blog Post
Richmond, Virginia and science in early childhood 2014 NSTA area conference
Here are some glimpses from the NSTA 2014 Richmond, Virginia area conference where teachers shared their work and learned from others. The location is excellent—beautiful train station, hotels just across the street from the convention center, easy...
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
Crosscutting Concepts in NSTA Journals
The more I learn about NGSS, the more I’m intrigued by the crosscutting concepts. These concepts are the big ideas that transcend and connect the core ideas and processes within and in between traditional subject areas....
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Observe. Everything. Young children, Science Friday and walks in nature
Why is a spider hanging out on a flower? Two-year-old children observed this spider but haven’t yet asked a question about it. Give them time. #ObserveEverything...
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
This era of AYP (annual yearly progress) and the pressure to meet AMAOs for English Language Learners (ELLs) has fueled our current focus on academic language goals, often framed as vocabulary or discrete elements of grammar....
By Guest Blogger
Blog Post
Highlights from the Hall: #NSTA14 Richmond October 16–18
We’re just days away from the first NSTA area conference of the year. We’ll be making ourselves at home at the Greater Richmond Convention Center in Richmond, Virginia, from October 16-18, and we invite you to join us as we Celebrate Science ...
By Guest Blogger
Blog Post
I need suggestions on encouraging students to tell me when they don’t understand something. I ask my classes if they need any help, but no one seems to have any questions. The next day, it’s as if they never heard of the topic before! &#...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
My Name Is Teshia and I'm an NSTA Groupie
Yes, my name is Teshia Birts, and I’m an #NSTAGroupie—I have been for four years now....
By Teshia Birts, CAE
Blog Post
What’s Ahead for K-12 Education and CCSS Snapshot
Official Washington has slowed to a crawl with the midterm election just weeks away and the possible power shift in the U.S. Senate. This Ed Week blog has a great take on what’s ahead for education if the Republicans take control of the Senate....
By Jodi Peterson
Blog Post
NSTA’s K–12 Science Education Journals: October 2014 Issues Online
Patterns, arguing from evidence, and ecosystem ecology—these are the themes of the October 2014 science education journals published by the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA). Each issue is filled with articles written by science educat...
By Lauren Jonas, NSTA Assistant Executive Director
Blog Post
I’ve been reading the literature on the value of play in learning. I do give my students unstructured activity time in science class, but I’m not sure they’re getting anything out of it. For example, I gave each group of students a ...
By Mary Bigelow