JoinAll Blog Posts
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!
...
By Carole Hayward
Blog Post
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
Blog Post
7 NSTA Resources that Save Science Teachers Time and Money
Having worked at the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) for many years, I get to talk to a lot of science teachers. One of my favorite things about them is how much they share with each other. In fact, I joked at our recent national confere...
By Lauren Jonas, NSTA Assistant Executive Director
Blog Post
I’m a new high school teacher looking for suggestions on how to estimate the amount of time a lesson will take. My lessons look good when I plan them, but I find that often a lesson is either too short and we have extra time at the end of the c...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
The Vernier Motion Encoder System: Motion Encoding Made Personal
The Vernier Motion Encoder System marks a significant shift in the science teacher’s ability to transition between the conceptual, formula-based physics of motion to the “real world” application of those concepts and formulas—and here’s the...
By Martin Horejsi
Blog Post
Engaging in the Art of Teaching With the Next Generation Science Standards
For the past 15 months, a four-letter acronym has been on the tip of science educators’ tongues: NGSS, the Next Generation Science Standards....
By Guest Blogger
Blog Post
Solace in the Solstice? Shedding Light on the Nature of Science
The coming of autumn at 9:29 EDT last night (which I was pleased to see featured in today’s Google Doodle) serves as the perfect segue to a theme of mine as Executive Director of the National Science Teachers As...
By David Evans, NSTA Executive Director
Blog Post
NGSS and 21st century tools and skills
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
Using STEM Clubs as a Catalyst for Change in K-12 Education: A Statewide Model
The growing abundance of research supporting the importance of incorporating increased Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) into schools, combined with the recently vocalized excitement in regard to STEM by high profile individuals appea...
By Guest Blogger
Blog Post
Kindergarten teachers–webinar for you on Wednesday, September 17, 2014
Investigating motion....
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
Now that we are back in school somewhere between a week and a month depending on where you live and what schedule your district adheres to, I thought it might be a great opportunity for all of us to step back and consider how we set the stage for sci...
By Christine Royce
Blog Post
I’ve heard that there will be a vacancy in the high school science department next year. The position is for three sections of general biology and two sections of environmental science (not AP). I currently teach middle school general science b...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Uncovering Student Ideas in Science Workshops at NSTA’s Area Conferences This Fall
“Uncovering Student Ideas is highly recommended for teachers at every level; it contains a set of essential tools that cross discipline, grade, and ability levels. There’s no better way to guide your planning and decision-making process.”...
By Wendy Rubin, Managing Editor, NSTA Press
Blog Post
Picture-Perfect Science Workshops at NSTA’s Area Conferences This Fall
“Emily Morgan and Karen Ansberry have done it again!...
By Wendy Rubin, Managing Editor, NSTA Press
Blog Post
How Can Elementary Teachers Work Toward the Vision of the Next Generation Science Standards?
When I taught elementary school, science was the foundation around which I built my multi-age classroom, but I think this approach was rare....
By Guest Blogger
Blog Post
When are children old enough to begin exploring the natural world? Can a three-year-old touch a crawling beetle? Can a two-year-old smell a flower; can a one-year-old? Can a 3-month-old feel a leaf?...
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
The Next Generation Science Standards: Ready or Not, Here They Come!
This is a particularly exciting time for science educators across our nation, both for those in states that have adopted the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and those in areas that will never formally take that step, as they begin the proces...
By Guest Blogger