Do you have ideas on how to help my middle school students become more thoughtful, independent learners? —J., Michigan

In my experience, self-assessment and reflective activities gave students ownership in their learning.

Self-assessment is more than students “correcting” their own papers. When students self-assess, they reflect on the results of their efforts and their progress toward meeting the learning goals or performance expectations. They examine their work for evidence of quality and decide what to do next.

But if you ask middle school students to “reflect,” you may get puzzled looks or blank stares. Students don’t necessarily have this skill. They may initially think that an assignment or project is good simply because they spent a lot of time on it, they enjoyed it, or they worked very hard on it.

Students may need to be taught strategies for self-assessment through examples and practice. Take a piece of student work (with no name on it) and guide students through the process of comparing the work to the rubric. You may have to do this several times before students feel comfortable critiquing their own work.

Share with students how they could reflect on their own learning with responses to prompts such as: I learned that… I learned how to… I need to learn more about… It’s very powerful if you share your responses to your own work. , too.

In their notebooks, students could reflect on their work with prompts such as From doing this project I learned… To make this project better, I could…or Our study team could have improved our work by…

Honest self-assessment and reflection are difficult processes, even for adults. But they are valuable tools for developing lifelong learners.

This week in education news, NGSS’ next big challenge…finding curricula; Girl Scouts 23 new STEM badges; school success stops and ends with teachers; new report finds science teachers are often expected to teach beyond their subject matter training; New York school district to send science experiment to space; Trump Administration ask Tech CEOs for STEM policy advice; President Trump donates his second-quarter salary to education department; schools need to do more to equip K-12 students with computational thinking skills; Colorado adopts STEM seals for high school diplomas; and Alabama Governor Kay Ivey unveiled a new education initiative.

The Next Generation Science Standards’ Next Big Challenge: Finding Curricula

As states wrestle with putting the Next Generation Science Standards into action, one question I’m hearing more and more: What to do about curriculum? It’s also a question that’s been on the mind of the Carnegie Corporation of New York, which provided major support to the groups that developed the framework and standards that evolved into the NGSS. Click here to read the article featured in Education Week.

Together, Technology And Teachers Can Revamp Schools

In 1953 B.F. Skinner built his first “teaching machine”, which let children tackle questions at their own pace. By the mid-1960s similar gizmos were being flogged by door-to-door salesmen. Within a few years, though, enthusiasm for them had fizzled out. Since then education technology (edtech) has repeated the cycle of hype and flop, even as computers have reshaped almost every other part of life. One reason is the conservatism of teachers and their unions. But another is that the brain-stretching potential of edtech has remained unproven. Click here to read the article featured in The Economist.

Girl Scouts Adds 23 New Badges To Encourage Girls In Science, Tech

Girl Scouts can now earn badges in designing robots and coding in addition to legacy badges of first-aid and hiking. Is there anything these girls can’t do? The Girl Scouts of the USA announced Tuesday the addition of 23 new badges in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) fields. The move marks the largest programming rollout in almost a decade. Click here to read the article featured in USA Today.

Trump Budget Endangers STEM Learning

Any observant educator knows that after-school and summer learning opportunities are critical elements of a great education, helping students to succeed in school, work, and life. President Donald Trump’s proposed federal budget for fiscal 2018 would eliminate the single largest funding source for these programs: an annual $1.2 billion for after-school programs supported by the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program, which enrolls more than 1 million students across rural, urban, and suburban communities in all 50 states. But the damage wouldn’t stop there. Click here to read the article featured in Education Week.

District Chief: Why School Success Stops And Ends With Teachers

I believe the hardest day of any job is the very first day. On that first day, the basic, most elementary parts of the workplace are foreign. Where do I park? Where is the coffee? How do I log in to my new computer? The list of things to learn goes on and on. However, a new job also brings tremendous opportunity. Click here to read the article featured in eSchool News.

Study Shows Science Teachers Often Teach Beyond Their Training

A new study from researchers at Brigham Young University and the University of Georgia shows that new science teachers are often expected to teach beyond their subject matter training. College students training to be middle or high school science teachers, often choose a subject, like biology, chemistry or physics. They then take the necessary classes to specialize in that subject area so they can achieve a “highly qualified” teacher status. But, the majority of new science teachers across the country, 64 percent, are asked to teach more than their area of expertise. Click here to listen to the segment on KUER-FM.

Prepping Students For Future Computer Science Jobs

The economy is rapidly feeling the impact of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, which allows computers to make decisions, recognize speech and perform other traditionally “human” tasks. Nearly half of all jobs in the U.S. in the next 10 to 20 years will be related to AI, according to a 2016 Obama administration report, “Artificial Intelligence, Automation, and the Economy.” But the quality of computer science education varies widely across the country. Click here to read the article featured in District Administration.

Rochester City School District To Send Science Experiment To Space

Rochester, New York, students have some bragging rights when it comes to space exploration. East High School students in the Rochester City School District recently earned the opportunity to send their microgravity experiment to the International Space Station. The experiment—which tests the role of microgravity in the production of chlorophyll—is one of 21 student projects that will launch from Cape Canaveral in Florida this month. Click here to read the article featured in District Administration.

Trump Administration Tapping Tech CEOs For STEM Policy Approach

White House officials including Ivanka Trump have begun an outreach campaign to major technology, business and education leaders including Laurene Powell Jobs and Apple’s Tim Cook for advice on shaping funding approaches to science, technology, engineering and math education in U.S. public schools. Click here to read the article featured on Bloomberg.com

The Next Big Thing in Education Reform May Be Practice, Not Policy

The era of hyperactive education policymaking is about to come to an end. That might be hard to believe, given this summer’s high-decibel policy disputes, both in Washington and in the states. The implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA); debates about a potential large-scale federal school-choice initiative; and deep disagreements about civil rights enforcement continue to captivate—and roil—all of us involved in education policy, in D.C. and around the nation. Click here to read the article featured in Education Next.

Trump Donates $100,000 — His Second-Quarter Salary — To Education Department For Science Camp

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos announced at the White House on Wednesday that President Trump was donating $100,000, his salary for the second quarter of the year, to the Education Department to help fund a science camp. Click here to read the article featured in The Washington Post.

Congressional Panel Asks: What K-12 Skills Are Needed For STEM Workforce?

Schools need to do more to equip K-12 students with computational thinking skills to prepare them to fill the growing number of middle- and high-skilled jobs that require computing or programming skills, witnesses told members of a congressional committee this week. The STEM workforce is rapidly changing, said James Brown, the executive director of the STEM Education Coalition, a STEM education advocacy group. Click here to read the article featured in Education Week.

From Skyhook To STEM: Kareem Abdul Jabbar Brings The Science

Kareem Abdul Jabbar is taking his shot helping narrow the opportunity and equity gaps with his Skyhook Foundation and Camp Skyhook. The Los Angeles nonprofit helps public school students in the city access a free, fun, week-long STEM education camp experience in the Angeles National Forest. Click here to listen to the segment featured on NPR.

State Adopt STEM Seals For High School Diplomas

Colorado educators Elaine Menardi and Jess Buller would seem an unlikely pair to be writing legislation. But neither felt that their students, then middle schoolers, were on track for meeting state benchmarks for workforce readiness in technology and computing. So, while participating in a fellowship together, the two cooked up a solution: a STEM diploma endorsement awarded to high school students with a track record of strong achievement in those subjects. Click here to read the article featured in Education Week.

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey Unveils First Big Issue Important To Her: Education

Gov. Kay Ivey unveiled a new education initiative on Wednesday, focusing on three stages of education: early childhood, computer science in middle and high school, and post-high school workforce preparedness. Calling this her first formal initiative as Governor of Alabama, Ivey said “Strong Start, Strong Finish” calls for various existing education groups to work together in a collaborative way from pre-kindergarten through workforce development. Click here to read the article featured on Al.com.

Stay tuned for next week’s top education news stories.

The Communication, Legislative & Public Affairs (CLPA) team strives to keep NSTA members, teachers, science education leaders, and the general public informed about NSTA programs, products, and services and key science education issues and legislation. In the association’s role as the national voice for science education, its CLPA team actively promotes NSTA’s positions on science education issues and communicates key NSTA messages to essential audiences.

The mission of NSTA is to promote excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all.

Follow NSTA

On Tuesday, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and Adviser to the President Ivanka Trump teamed up for a STEM-related reading event at the National Museum of American History and later worked on some STEM-focused projects with the students. Read more here.

The following day, President Trump donated his second quarter salary to the Department of Education to help fund a STEM-focused camp for students. The donation, totaling $100,000, was accepted by Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos at the daily White House Press briefing, more here. 

STEM Education Focus of Congressional Hearing

On Wednesday July 26, STEM Education Coalition Executive Director James Brown testified before the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology Subcommittee on Research and Technology at their hearing on “STEM and Computer Science Education:  Preparing the 21st Century Workforce.”

The hearing focused on the importance of STEM and computer science education to meeting a wide range of critical current and future workforce needs. In his written testimony, Brown covered three key issues: how states are incorporating STEM as they work to implement the Every Students Succeeds Act; the changing nature of STEM careers; and the emergence of informal STEM education.  View the hearing and read the testimony here, and learn more about the STEM Education Coalition here. (NSTA chairs the STEM Education Coalition.)

James Brown, Executive Director, STEM Education Coalition; Pat Yongpradit, Chief Academic Officer, Code.org; Representative Barbara Comstock (R-VA), Chair of the Research and Technology Subcommittee; A. Paul Alivisatos, Executive Vice Chancellor & Provost, Vice Chancellor for Research, and Professor of Chemistry and Materials Science & Engineering, University of California, Berkeley; and Dee Mooney, Executive Director, Micron Technology Foundation at the July 26 hearing on STEM Education.

Making the Most of ESSA: Opportunities to Advance STEM Education

ESSA to support STEM education. The report, which can be found here, is similar to the Achieve report released a few weeks ago on STEM in ESSA, which found (among other things) that 10 out of 16 states are including science assessment as part of an academic achievement or proficiency indicator. 

New Title IV Coalition Website Now Available

Check out the new Title IV-A Coalition website, a great resource for teachers and other education stakeholders. The website has a ton of resources and information on the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) flexible block grant program under Title IV Part A, which provides states and districts with funding for activities in three broad areas:

• Providing students with a well-rounded education (e.g., college and career counseling, STEM, music and arts, civics, IB/AP);
• Supporting safe and healthy students (e.g., comprehensive school mental health, drug and violence prevention, training on trauma-informed practices, health and physical education); and
• Supporting the effective use of technology (e.g., professional development, blended learning, and purchase of devices).

More Title IV resources are also at the NSTA website here.

Stay tuned, and watch for more updates in future issues of NSTA Express.

Jodi Peterson is the Assistant Executive Director of Communication, Legislative & Public Affairs for the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) and Chair of the STEM Education Coalition. Reach her via e-mail at jpeterson@nsta.org or via Twitter at @stemedadvocate.

The mission of NSTA is to promote excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all.

Follow NSTA

If you haven’t heard about what is known as the Great American Eclipse by now, it is not too late. This August 21, 2017 natural phenomena promises to be well worth “attending” or stepping outdoors for at least a few minutes approaching the moment when most of the Sun is covered by the Moon in your location. A partial solar eclipse can be seen by everyone in North America and parts of South America, Africa, and Europe so even if you are not within the  path of totality you can still experience and view this solar eclipse. If you have children in your care at the time, they will always remember the day the teacher did not follow the Daily Routine but took them outside to experience a darkening of the sunlight in daytime. They will remember the break from the ordinary and your excitement if nothing else.

A note about safety:

Indirect viewing may be the best way for young children to view images of the Sun during the eclipse. See the simple instructions for pinhole viewing from the American Astronomical Society. When talking about the Sun, I always tell children that we don’t look right at it because it will damage our eyes. Some children may be tempted to test their ability to look at the Sun to show how they can withstand pain. I tell children that even if it doesn’t hurt right now, the light will damage some of the insides of our eyes, making it harder to see, especially when we are older, so DON’T DO IT. Some suggest having people face the ground to put on the glasses before looking up at the Sun, to have time to make sure the glasses are on securely. The NASA website says this about safe viewing with special glasses:

Eclipse viewing glasses and handheld solar viewers should meet all the following criteria:

•    Have certification information with a designated ISO 12312-2 international standard

•    Have the manufacturer’s name and address printed somewhere on the product

•    Not be used if they are older than three years, or have scratched or wrinkled lenses

•    Not use homemade filters or be substituted for with ordinary sunglasses — not even very dark ones — because they are not safe for looking directly at the Sun

Our partner the American Astronomical Society has verified that these five manufacturers are making eclipse glasses and handheld solar viewers that meet the ISO 12312-2 international standard for such products: American Paper Optics, Baader Planetarium (AstroSolar Silver/Gold film only), Rainbow Symphony, Thousand Oaks Optical, and TSE 17.

Here are government agency and organizations’ links to information that will guide you in viewing safely and understanding the science at developmentally appropriate levels. 

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) 2017 Solar Eclipse website answers the questions, Who? What? Where? When? and How?  and provides information on safety, science information about the players (Sun, Moon, Earth), and resources including downloadable maps, fact sheets and posters.

Search the National Science Teachers Association’s store for “eclipse” to find new (and older) resources about eclipses, including a free article, “Total Eclipse” by Dennis Schatz and Andrew Fraknoi in the March 2017 issue of Science Teacher. Their book, When The Sun Goes Dark, features a family re-creating eclipses in their living room and exploring safe ways to view a solar eclipse. A free viewing guide is available as part of these authors’ book on solar science for middle school, Solar Science: Exploring Sunspots, Seasons, Eclipses, and More. 

American Astronomical Society has a useful glossary of eclipse related vocabulary among many other resources and information.

Astronomical Society of the Pacific also has information and resources.

GreatAmericanEclipse.com, published by Michael Zeiler and Polly White, is a fun site for eclipse maps and science facts.

I’m planning on making a special day of it with my family since I won’t be in school. Thanks to all the scientific community for making it possible for everyone to learn how to view the 2017 solar eclipse!