JoinAll Blog Posts
Blog Post
Spiders and ants and bees, oh wow!
Are you seeing a lot of spiders this last week in October?...
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
Digging Deeper: Peeling Back the Practices: What Did High School Students Think?
One of the big shifts in the NGSS is the integration of Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCIs) with Crosscutting Concepts (CCCs) and Science and Engineering Practices (SEPs). In other words, content is not taught in isolation: The teacher consciously include...
By Cindy Workosky
Blog Post
Engineering: From Trial-and-Error to NGSS-Aligned
Four years ago, when the other seventh-grade science teacher and I started redesigning our curriculum for the NGSS, we knew we would have to include engineering. At that time, my understanding of engineering was pretty limited. I knew that engineers ...
By Cindy Workosky
Blog Post
As our first-grade class was returning to our classroom after recess, a learner directed our attention to our school’s newest retaining wall. He asked, “Why is the wall always falling apart on that side?”...
By Cindy Workosky
Blog Post
The Engineering Design Process: A Middle School Approach
To support the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) Middle School Engineering Design, we have three goals for our students: to define problems accurately, design the best solution using a rigorous process, and evaluate and improve their designs b...
By Cindy Workosky
Blog Post
I hope that everyone has learned who the most important adults in the school are: the support staff! Custodians, administrative assistants, teachers’ assistants (TAs)— these people are invaluable and can make your life much easier. Many of these ...
By Gabe Kraljevic
Blog Post
UL Xplorlabs: Fire Forensics – Claims and Evidence
Introduction ...
By Edwin P. Christmann
Blog Post
Ideas and inspiration from NSTA’s October 2017 K-12 journals
Having just completed an online course on climate change, I was interested in the Commentary: Why the Scientific Consensus on Climate Change Matters for Science Education, from The Science Teacher, and the important role science teachers play in help...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Student Talk: The Use of Dialogue and Discussion
This summer a group of Oregon teachers prepared to launch the Oregon Science Project, which focuses on professional development for rural teachers around NGSS. During our 3-day facilitator’s training we focused on dialogue not discussion. As a gr...
By Korei Martin
Blog Post
I’m a new teacher and I can’t believe how ragged I feel—I seem to be just barely ahead of the class. I have lessons that are not going to plan and I feel like I’m just running around non-stop. Please help! —W., Virginia...
By Gabe Kraljevic
Blog Post
Preparing for Medical Emergencies
Science teachers need to know the necessary actions to take in the event of a medical emergency. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and American National Standards Institute (ANSI) provide insight on this issue by means of workp...
By Kenneth Roy