JoinAll Blog Posts
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Choosing plants for fall school garden lessons
What should, or can, a teacher plant during the early days of school to support children’s adjustment to school and deepen their understanding of living organisms?...
By Peggy Ashbrook
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Science of the Summer Olympics: designing safety helmets
The 2012 Summer Olympics provides an exciting backdrop for STEM opportunities. Help students apply both the concepts of science and engineering design with Science of the Summer Olympics videos and connected lesson plans created by the partnership of...
By admin
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Mission to Mars, or, Where does this gravel come from?
08.06.2012 Curiosity’s Surroundings, NASA/JPL-Caltech...
By Peggy Ashbrook
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Help for a struggling colleague
Last year, a new science teacher in our middle school really struggled with classroom management issues. My principal is trying to help him, and she asked me if I could also work with him this year. I have some ideas, but I’m not sure how to ap...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Science of the Summer Olympics: the biomechanics of Usain Bolt
With the attention of educators across the country focused on STEM, the 2012 Summer Olympics provide a perfect opportunity to create new tools for science teachers. NBC Learn, NSF, and NSTA have partnered to create Science of the Summer Olympics vide...
By admin
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A new vision for reform of science teaching: beyond mindless progressivism
–Occasional commentary by Robert E. Yager (NSTA President, 1982-1983)...
By Robert Yager
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NSTA Professional Development Trip: Part VII
Hiking Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve NSTA Costa Rica Trip Day 8 July 30th, 2012 (posted on behalf of Greg Neff) ...
By Rob McNeely
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Science of the Summer Olympics: the impact of Jenny Simpson
London 2012. The Summer Olympics. A once-every-four-years phenomenon that attracts world-wide attention and participation. As we mentioned last time, the Summer Games are the focus of another team effort of NSTA, NBC Learn, and the National Science F...
By admin
Blog Post
NSTA Professional Development Trip: Part VI
Arenal to Monteverde NSTA Costa Rica Trip Day 7 July 29, 2012 (posted on behalf of Greg Neff)...
By Rob McNeely
Blog Post
NSTA Professional Development Trip: Part V
Bus tour/Tortuguera to La Fortunate NSTA Costa Rica Trip Day 5 July 27, 2012 (posted on behalf of Greg Neff) We first have to load into a water taxi and take the 1 1/2 hour trip up-river to meet up with our bus. Not raining yet but the boat is send...
By Rob McNeely
Blog Post
Perhaps our students don’t think so, but it’s unfortunate that the summer Olympics happen when most of the schools here in the U.S. are on break. There are many ways to show the connections between science concepts and sports that will ha...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Science of the Summer Olympics: Missy Franklin & fluid dynamics
Let the Games begin! NSTA has teamed up once again with NBC Learn and the National Science Foundation (NSF) to bring you another exhilarating video series with connected lesson plans that will excite your students and add to your hands-on repertoire....
By admin
Blog Post
NSTA Professional Development Trip: Part IV
Exploring the Canals around Tortuguera NSTA Costa Rica Trip Day 3 July 26, 2012 (posted on behalf of Greg Neff)...
By Lauren Jonas, NSTA Assistant Executive Director
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NSTA Professional Development Trip: Part III
Night 2 (posted on behalf of Greg Neff) July 25, 8-12:00 pm...
By Rob McNeely
Blog Post
NSTA Professional Development Trip: Part II
Turtle Data Collection (posted on behalf of Greg Neff) July 24 PM On a very rainy afternoon, we visited the town of Tortuguero, being sure to equip ourselves with rain gear and take in some of the culture of this isolated community, yet dependent on ...
By Lauren Jonas, NSTA Assistant Executive Director
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NSTA Professional Development Trip to Costa Rica
(Posted on behalf of Leisa Clark) July 24, 2012 We have arrived in Tortuguera! This is the view from one of our rooms. We are off to hear a lecture on sea turtles because tonight we will be assisting with sea turtle monitoring. It is nesting season! ...
By Lauren Jonas, NSTA Assistant Executive Director
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Students as part of school leadership for promoting reforms in science
–Occasional commentary by Robert E. Yager (NSTA President, 1982-1983)...
By Robert Yager
Blog Post
It is interesting teaching at the college level – the common phrase of “put your cell phones away during class” is still heard regularly. I actually have one colleague who will confiscate the cell phone until the end of class and ...
By Christine Royce
Blog Post
My colleagues and I have noticed many students entering middle school have had few experiences with science investigations. We’re considering doing a summer session before school starts to engage students in science and help them learn some bas...
By Mary Bigelow
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Summer is a time when many families visit a beach. How do you help your students build on what they learned through their summer beach experiences when they return to school? Maybe our colleagues whose schools are within walking distance from a beach...
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
Features of STEM education envisioned for needed reforms
–Occasional commentary by Robert E. Yager (NSTA President, 1982-1983)...
By Robert Yager
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My principal encourages all teachers to have students do class presentations during the year. I like the idea, but the thought of listening to 150 “oral reports” on a chemistry topic is mind-boggling, not to mention time-consuming. Do you...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Beginning the year with a plan to support science talk
Calling on experienced teachers—what do you advise new teachers to do to establish routines that support discussion, especially discussion where children share their ideas and evidence for those ideas? Discussion can happen in small groups, with an...
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
Have you been to a meeting or conference presentation and seen people typing or texting? I often wondered: Are they taking notes? Checking email? Making dinner plans? Playing a game? I found this a little disconcerting, until I realized that they cou...
By Mary Bigelow
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You say derecho, I say “what?”
Like many other residents of the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic states, I learned a new weather term this week: derecho. After scrambling to the dictionary and Wikipedia, I learned that the word is pronounced deh-RAY-cho and comes from the Spanish word f...
By Claire Reinburg
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What teachers can learn from students
I’m a first year physics teacher. I hear my colleagues talk about what they learn from their students. This puzzles me—what can I learn from students who don’t have the content knowledge that I do? —Wendy, Elizabeth, New Jersey...
By Mary Bigelow
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What are science teachers reading in June?
Science teachers are reading an eclectic selection of teaching resources this month, judging by the top content on NSTA’s website. You can look inside these books by downloading a free sample chapter at the NSTA Science Store. Post a comment or t...
By Claire Reinburg
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Wrapping Up the Old Year, Preparing for the New Year
We’ve heard that after the school year ends, many teachers spend time catching up on NSTA Reports articles they didn’t have a chance to read thoroughly earlier. To help you make the most of this precious downtime and prepare for the year ...
By Debra Shapiro
Blog Post
In the July 2012 Science & Children I wrote about establishing a “Teach and Tell” circle time at the beginning of the school year....
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
At an NSTA conference this year, I got really charged up about using more inquiry with my students. But when I look at our curriculum, it’s full of traditional “cookbook” labs that we are required to do. How can I make time for inqu...
By Mary Bigelow
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Getting more science teachers to model “doing” science
–Occasional commentary by Robert E. Yager (NSTA President, 1982-1983)...
By Robert Yager
Blog Post
Bright ideas for instruction and assessment
Several resources appeared on my iPad this morning that made me put my coffee mug down and read (rather than tag for later on). A few were mentioned on MSP2 (Middle School Portal 2–Math and Science Pathways). Even if you teach upper elementary ...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Migration—It's all about navigation and timing
I wouldn’t call it a misconception, but my middle school science students had an incomplete understanding of migration. They all knew that “birds fly south in the winter,” but they didn’t realize that for many birds, our location ...
By Mary Bigelow