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A peek at Informal Science Day
NSTA Informal Science Day offered a wide variety of networking opportunities and presentations. From noon to 2, attendees had a chance to have lunch while listening to Andrew Shouse and Philip Bell and their colleagues from the National Research Co...
By Debra Shapiro
Blog Post
I just have to say a quick “Wow!” I was walking by the ballroom and could hear music, shouting and laughing. I couldn’t resist looking in to see what was causing such a commotion. It was Grand Master Hank’s science lab. The p...
By Lynn Petrinjak
Blog Post
You never know who you'll see here
With thousands of people here, you’re certain to see someone you know. I ran into my grad school advisor, several people I had met before (virtually) on the NSTA listserves, and a vendor I had met in a previous life. I saw Bill Nye speedwalking...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
The Louisiana Science Teachers Association has a welcome booth here, with friendly faces and suggestions for sightseeing and learning more about this great city and state. And on the Exhibit floor there is a booth with information on next year...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
If you’re Blackberry-less like me and don’t want to tote your laptop around, there is a kiosk where you can check your email, update a blog, or contact your substitute. But, unlike Boston last year where the entire conference center w...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
The "cool" Darwin and the intersection of western science and native knowledge
Presenter Mark Plotkin seemed to enjoy being back in his native New Orleans earlier today as he talked about native cultures, Western science, and finding ways to use one to enhance the other. He encouraged attendees to make evolution relevant to the...
By Lynn Petrinjak
Blog Post
When I saw that the Planetary Society was sponsoring a session with Bill Nye and Neil deGrasse Tyson, I assumed that each would take the podium for a while. But those of us in the audience were treated to these two as dynamic copresenters!...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Looking inside the student brain to enhance learning
Understanding how a student’s brain works is vital to teaching and learning, says Kenneth Wesson, a neuroscience education consultant and vice president, international and western divisions, for Delta Education/School Specialty Science, durin...
By Debra Shapiro
Blog Post
Even in March the humidity here is high. Along with the morning fog, it makes for a place where “resistance is futile” in terms of coiffures!...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Busy morning at the conference
This is only my second NSTA national conference and I continue to be impressed by how eager everyone is to learn, regardless of whether he or she is an attendee or a presenter. Jeff Marshall of Clemson University conducted a session on the Four ...
By Lynn Petrinjak
Blog Post
So many sessions, so little time
I went over to the conference center this afternoon to pick up my badge holder, tote bag, and conference program. When I pulled out the program, my spouse remarked “That’s a big program.” His eyes got larger when I kept pulling ...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
How can we make time to teach science in preK-2 classrooms?
Observing the life cycle of an insect can include measuring growth and weight, counting calendar days and reading fiction, non-fiction, and writing poetry and descriptions—all ways to integrate science with other subjects in elementary school....
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
Happy pi day (3.14)! I’m clearing out my mailbox and “to do” lists before heading to the NSTA Conference in New Orleans. Here are some items of interest:...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Our science teachers are discussing whether to allow students to use Wikipedia as a source for their research papers. What do you think of this source? — Jessica, Orem, Utah...
By MsMentorAdmin
Blog Post
Reading this issue’s articles on English Language Learners (ELLs) — Challenges and Solutions for ELLs and Making the Connection — brought back memories of many students in my classes, but especially of Philippe, who moved to my tow...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Snack sorting! It’s an interesting way to involve students in classifying and, while sitting together to eat, there is time to talk about why certain groupings were chosen....
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
Activities get students focused
It takes my students a long time to settle down. By the time I take attendance and collect or return assignments, a lot of valuable time is gone. I’ve heard of “bell-ringer” activities. How would I use them? Do they really work?...
By MsMentorAdmin
Blog Post
Seed sprouting, activity and observation
It’s fun for children to plant seeds in a special container, but it can be hard to remember to water them, leading to disappointment if the plants don’t survive. Planting grass seed in some bare spots on any lawn is just as satisfying, perhaps mo...
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
An admin's eye view of teaching lab activities
I think administrators are evil. Or maybe it’s more accurate (but much less inflammatory) to state that they’re dangerously misinformed. One of the reasons I feel this way is because of the teaching load (and therefore value) ascribed to laborato...
By AnnC
Blog Post
We are opening a new academy for grades 10, 11, and 12. We’re going to have a science lab for combined use in biology, chemistry, and physics. I’ve taught in labs, but I’ve never designed one. Where do we start? —K. D., Oklaho...
By MsMentorAdmin
Blog Post
In last month’s issue of Science and Children, Bill Robertson asks the question “Why do we classify things in science?” He notes that many teachers teach classification as an end in itself or as a communications exercise....
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
March 20, 2009, will be the 40th anniversary of the publication of Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar, a book loved by children for its parade of fanciful food, by parents for the healthy eating message, and by all for the artwork with splend...
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
I recently received the first seed catalog in the mail. For those of us in the northern states, seeing the pictures of flowering plants is a harbinger of spring! In the same delivery was this issue of S&C, themed around plants. A coincidence?...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
I’m very fortunate to be attending NSTA’s National Conference on Science Education this year. I’ve never been to an event of this size, and I want to get the most I can out of it. Do you have any suggestions for a first-timer? —Renee, Fli...
By MsMentorAdmin
Blog Post
Spring flowering bulbs planted where they can be seen
Are the daffodils blooming yet at your school? My across-the-street neighbors get about 6 more hours of direct sunlight on their front yards in February and March than I do, so I always have a preview of what nature happening will be coming next to...
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
To celebrate the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birth (February 12), the Science Section of the New York Times (February 10, 2009) has several fascinating articles. Even if you don’t teach biology, they’re worth reading! Here are links a...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Planting peas—who will help students record the growth?
I’m wondering what crops your class grows—Peas? Collards? Cilantro? Zinnias? Marigolds?...
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
Must haves—flashlights, mirrors, and sunshine
Sometimes as a teacher leads an activity, a student verbalizes all the observations and new questions that were hoped for, making one think, “Was this child coached to say these things, or am I really eliciting all this learning!?” I like to beli...
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
Count the birds you see on February 13–16 for just 15 minutes!
I’ve never taken part in the Great Backyard Bird Count but it sounds like an interesting way to learn about collecting data and become part of a greater group contributing to knowledge about bird population trends....
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
I have to attend a workshop on teaching reading in the content areas. Is it really the job of a secondary science teacher to teach students how to read? —Sofia, Visalia, California Short answer—Yes, it is the job of science teachers to help their...
By MsMentorAdmin
Blog Post
How does cartoonist Richard Thompson do such a splendid job of channeling the thoughts of preschoolers with their questions about the order of the world? In the world of Cul de Sac, Blisshaven Preschool reminds me of Every School where the goals of...
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
As mentioned in NSTA Reports, the new year has been designated Year of Science 2009 The website has many suggestions for YoS events and ideas for building interest in science....
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Remembering a snow from 1/3 of a lifetime ago
Finding a covering of the season’s first snow on their car, my 3-year-old neighbor helpfully suggested, “Use that tool, that small brush,” to her father. Was she recalling last winter? It is possible that she had seen the snow brush/scraper in ...
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
I have always loved science – earth and space sciences especially. Although I’ve had a variety of jobs, since I began home schooling, I’ve discovered I absolutely love teaching. I’m thinking about getting my bachelor’s degre...
By MsMentorAdmin
Blog Post
I’ve worked with several schools that are framing their curriculum and units of instruction around big ideas, key understandings, generative topics, or themes (the terminology depends on which model is being used). The rationale for using an ov...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
In this Year of Science, this early childhood science teacher is excited to have a President who says, “When it comes to science, elevating science once again, and having lectures in the White House where people are talking about traveling to th...
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
Dinosaurs—a reason to draw and write
Dinosaurs! This high-interest subject is a focus for questions relating to how animals live in many different environmental niches. What evidence do we have for what we think we know about dinosaurs?...
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
With the theme of “record keeping,” we might have expected the cover photo to show children writing in a notebook or typing on a computer. Instead, the editor chose a photo of a child looking through binoculars with an “Oh Wow!̶...
By Mary Bigelow