Call for Papers: The Science Teacher

The Science Teacher (TST) is seeking manuscripts that describe new and creative ideas for the secondary science classroom. Manuscripts should provide worthwhile ideas and practical help for teachers as they relate to the themes listed below. TST also always encourages manuscripts outside of the listed themes (see "The Fine Print").

Call for Papers: Special Issue on Infectious Disease

Guest Editors: Brooke A. Whitworth and Colby Tofel-Grehl

The COVID-19 pandemic laid bare simultaneously the need for and absence of resources for teachers to engage students in learning about infectious disease (Kafai et al. under review). With infectious disease largely absent from the NGSS, teachers have been forced to be creative in linking lessons that contextualize and examine key aspects of infectious disease education within the COVID 19 pandemic. This special issue provides space for educators to gather resources regarding infectious disease and discuss the affordances and challenges they experienced in teaching students about infectious disease during the pandemic.

We engage the Straif-Bourgeois et al. (2014) framework for infectious disease education, which delineates three dimensions of epidemiologic education in which to engage learners:

The biology of disease and viruses as related to individual bodies.
The epidemiology of disease with a focus on incubation periods and other temporal considerations for the spread of disease.
Infectious disease epidemiology. The framework explores the impacts of disease on communities, especially those that are marginalized.

We welcome contributions of articles focusing on classroom learning activities for any of these three dimensions.

Timeline:

Deadline for Submissions: April, 2022

Initial Decision: May, 2022

Revisions Due: July, 2022

Full Special Issue To Editor: September, 2022

Issue Themes

2022

July/August – Societal Issues in STEM
Submission deadline: Feb 1, 2022
September/October – Alternative Assessments in the Science Classroom
Submission deadline: April 1, 2022
November/December – Social Justice and Culturally Relevant Pedagogy in the Science Classroom
Submission deadline: June 1, 2022

Departments

Activities and Investigations

Submission deadline: Ongoing

Activities and investigations play a central role in all science courses. Do you have a new activity that promotes inquiry and allows students to better understand important science content? Have you found ways to improve on an old favorite or to integrate technology? What about low-cost alternatives? Have you modified an activity to align it with the new Framework for K–12 Science Education or the Next Generation Science Standards or created a new investigation with these new standards in mind? TST is looking for manuscripts describing interesting, practical investigations that can be incorporated into science classrooms and laboratories.

Submission deadline: Ongoing

Do you have an article idea in mind that does not fit with one of TST’s themes? Write about it and submit it for review! General articles, not targeted to a requested theme, are published in every issue. If you have written a manuscript on a secondary education topic, please submit it at any time.

Idea Banks

Submission deadline: Ongoing

TST is always seeking Idea Banks—short articles of about 1,000 words. If you want to share an experience, activity, or classroom tip but do not think it will work as a feature-length article, consider submitting an Idea Bank!

Submission deadline: Ongoing

Commentaries of approximately 750 words on any secondary education topic are accepted at any time. Do you have thoughts on science education that you would like to share with your peers? Write up a Commentary and submit it to TST for review.

Letters to the Editor

Submission deadline: Ongoing

Have you used an activity published in TST in the last year, or liked—or disliked—something you read? Send us an e-mail at drannmackenzie@gmail.com. We welcome your comments and feedback at any time.

The Fine Print

In addition to submitting articles specifically targeted to the focus of each issue, authors are always encouraged to submit original manuscripts, Idea Bank articles, or commentaries on any secondary science education topic at any time for further consideration by the peer-review panel and the field editor. Manuscripts should describe successful lessons implemented in secondary classrooms, as well as provide specific details for educators who might wish to use the activities with their own students. The manuscripts should include appropriate assessment tools and specifically reference the Next Generation Science Standards where appropriate. Examples of student work to illustrate results of a successful lesson are encouraged, as are figures, sidebars, and accompanying photos. Author Guidelines can be found here.