“I found these two rocks in the sandbox and I think they’re from a volcano.” Children like to share their special found objects and talk about where they came from and what they might be. “I think this is a dead spider or a something else.” They like the way the rock feels, or the ambiguity of shape of the possible spider. Describing these found objects can be a challenge if the child does not have any experience with volcanoes or spiders. Children need outdoor experiences on and with natural materials to become familiar with which materials occur naturally and which are made by people from those natural materials. They need to observe many living organisms to be able to recognize the characteristic shape of a spider. If you don’t live near a volcano the child might not be able to compare the found rocks with volcanic rocks. The origin of the rocks might never be known for sure but wondering about where rocks come from could be supported by going on a walk to look for rocks, or taking a field trip to a naturally rocky place. (Visit the “Salt the Sandbox” site for great tips on finding rocks in a suburb without natural outcrops of rock.)
Even older elementary students have much to learn about materials and where they come from. In a column in the December 2012 Science and Children, “Science Shorts: Is Concrete a Rock?”, Katie Brkich writes about using place-based education, which begins teaching with the local environment, to teach students  how to tell if materials occur naturally or are artificial or altered by humans. Students in grade 4 used “Is It a Rock?”, a probe from Uncovering Student Ideas in Science Volume 2, that asks students to explain their thinking, and tell what “rule” or reasoning they used to decide if an object is a rock or not.
Children in preK to grade 2 are also able to explain their thinking. When children come to me asking, “What is this?” about an unknown object, I often ask them, “What could it be?” This prompts them to share their observations and past experiences to explain their ideas. The explanations are often incomplete. When I hear that the gray melange stones (found in our volcano-free region) might be from a volcano, I see no point in bursting the child’s bubble by saying, “I doubt it.” (I also don’t say I agree that it could be from a volcano.) Instead I can use the excitement about finding an interesting rock to encourage the child to look closely at other rocks and become familiar with the variety of textures, colors, and luster of local and rock. We might start a Found Rock Collection and use children’s developing literacy skills to label their finds.
Some programs provide a variety of natural materials for students to use in making “projects” (art creations of any kind). In the December 2012 Science and Children Early Years column I write about making a Materials Museum where children write, dictate and draw on a card to describe materials they find or bring from home, or those you provide because you think they are important for the children to explore. Later, after the materials are explored, described and displayed, they can be used for art creations.

When I was a child, one of my favorite toys was a set of wooden blocks, in a variety of shapes and sizes. We would play for hours, sometimes building models of structures and other times experimenting with designs and patterns. We also had Lincoln Logs and Tinkertoys, and we realized that different materials could be used to make different things. Fast forward to today, where in addition to “building,” the articles in this issue also discuss the mental processing that young builders learn and use as they manipulate a variety of materials in 3-D and in real time.
For example, Bridges and Skyscrapers has a lesson plan for building and testing these structures in the classroom, along with suggested trade books on the topic. [SciLinks: Bridge Structures, Science of Bridges] And the author of Just Right describes a challenge in which students explore and test properties of materials and build model houses based on what they learned about the materials (and I enjoyed reading how the teacher used the story of the Three Little Pigs as an introduction! [SciLinks: Engineering Structures]
Young children are fascinated by putting things together and taking them apart. The authors of Family Style Engineering describe how teachers can support these beginning engineers in the classroom and also through hosting a family engineering event. (Their ideas could certainly be adapted for middle level students.) It’s No Problem to Invent a Solution shows how we can tap into the creativity of young children as they create their own inventions [SciLinks: Inventions/Inventors]

Understanding the nature of materials is another component of the building process, and several articles have ideas for helping students explore the characteristics of common materials. With young children, you could start with a Please Touch Museum (with suggestions for doing so). In the investigations described in Limestone or Wax?, students study and identify the properties of common materials (there are graphics showing the students’ comparison chart) and then take on a design challenge. Is Concrete a Rock? includes a lesson plan to probe students’ misunderstandings and help them differentiate between natural materials and those made by humans. My grandfather was a steel worker and the bus I rode to school passed a mill every day, so we didn’t have to ask How Is Steel Made? But since most steel is now made overseas, students (and teachers) may find useful background information in this article. [SciLinks: Metals, Properties of Metals, Rocks, Rock Cycle]
The Great Build a Buoy Challenge presents a design project for students to build a floating structure. Even if you don’t live near a body of water, this challenge has opportunities for students to explore materials, buoyancy, hands-on building, and problem-solving. [SciLinks: Buoyancy, and if your students want more on what buoys are used for, check out NOAA’s National Data Buoy Center. Select an area from the menu on the right of the map for a closeup of the buoys in that area.]
The author of The Science of Safety notes that “science begins with a question to answer, whereas engineering begins with a problem to be solved.” She then describes how she took a science unit on force and motion and extended it with a problem-solving activity in which students apply their knowledge to design safety features for “cars” they made. The photos of the students and their cars’ passengers are priceless! [SciLinks: Forces]  And now, S&C readers can learn from Ken Roy, NSTA’s Chief Science Safety Compliance Consultant. His initial column, Modeling Safely, looks at types of modeling clay and their appropriateness for classroom activities.
Many of these articles have extensive resources to share, so check out the Connections for this issue (December 2012). Even if the article does not quite fit with your lesson agenda, there are ideas for handouts, background information sheets, data sheets, rubrics, and other resources.
 

I was asked if I would take a student teacher. This would be my first one. What should I consider in making the decision?
—Mark, Queens, New York
Your administrator must feel confident in your expertise to ask you to take on this responsibility. Working with the next generation of teachers is part of being a professional and is worth considering. You also posed this question on the NSTA email list and I’ve incorporated some of those responses here.
Helping someone else learn the ins and outs of teaching and learning can be an effective and rewarding professional development activity for you. You have the chance to collaborate with the preservice teacher on a daily basis and to interact with her/her program supervisor. You have the opportunity to share your own learning experiences as a teacher.

• As much as student teachers got ideas from me, I got ideas from them! It helped me be reflective on what I normally do in the classroom by watching the student teacher work. [Wendell]
• The intern in your classroom counts on you for guidance and feedback and needs you to analyze what he or she did whenever the unsuccessful experience occurs. It’s a lot of work and not always a pleasant one when you need to deconstruct his/her mistakes. [Elisa]

However, teachers who deal with standardized tests (and  may have their own performance partially evaluated based on those results)may be reluctant to turn over classes to someone who may not cover the tested topics in a timely manner. The preservice teacher may have a different personality and philosophy than you, and it could be difficult for your students to adapt.

• It was difficult at times to “let go” of my classes, and watch some of the discipline I had established erode a bit. [Shaun]
• You’ll be putting in more time prepping before school and processing what happened after school with your student teacher. Then there’s the possibility of getting a student teacher who’s not very good, for one reason or another, or your personalities clash. If this becomes the case, the situation can be a hassle for you. Your curricular timeline will probably have to be modified to accommodate for the student teacher’s lack of experience. [Wendell]

Do some fact-finding before you make a decision, and ask questions such as–

Ask about the content and experiences of the methods course(s) the preservice teacher has taken and if these courses included safety guidelines. Will the preservice teacher take all your classes or just a few (and when)? What will be your role in evaluating the preservice teacher and what are the criteria? Ask ahead of time for the “manual” to get a feel for the program’s expectations and requirements. Is there an escape clause if it’s clear that the preservice teacher is not going to be successful?

• Can you interview potential student teachers before final approval of the assignment is made, to make sure personalities and educational philosophies are a good fit? [Shaun]
• Ask the student teacher’s program to be very clear on your role. Some schools want the “master teacher” to be absent from the room, while some want her/him to be present at all times. In addition, check with your school/district to see what regulations they have. [Lee]
• Will the student teacher design his or her own units and lessons, use materials and formats from their program, or implement your district adopted activities and formats? [Linda]

The program may offer you a modest stipend and the experience can enhance your own resume. If the preservice teacher eventually takes on your entire schedule, you may have time to work on curriculum design or other projects. Some final thoughts from the email lists:

• I think the most important thing you can do for student teachers would be to require them to analyze the effectiveness of their own instruction, reflecting upon the lessons (perhaps via video), and have them articulate the reasons for the instructional choices they made. [Jennifer]
• Teachers should only accept the mentor role if they are confident, able to remain professional, are flexible, and are capable of interacting positively with people of diverse backgrounds. [Elizabeth]

 
Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/xevivarela/4610711363/sizes/o/in/photostream/

Festive holidays and winter weather can be disruptive for the classroom schedule at this time of year but can also provide inspiration for appealing science activities. Take advantage of cooking themes to teach some chemistry or take a cue from weather reports to delve into a lesson about frost. The December 2012 issue of NSTA’s Book Beat  features ideas to help you connect December themes with science lessons for students who might already be thinking of winter break and holiday fun. The free lessons this month include “Exploding Corn” from Sarah Young’s Gourmet Lab: The Scientific Principles Behind Your Favorite Foods, in which grades 6–12 students study how water can change state in the popping of corn. Also included in the downloadable lessons is “Chemical Change Café” from Karen Ansberry and Emily Morgan’s Picture-Perfect Science Lessons, Revised 2nd Edition, which will help your grades 3–6 students explore the differences between a variety of changes in states of matter as well as the chemical change of cooking pancakes. Another handy free resource is the activity “Let’s Make Frost” from Project Earth Science Meteorology, Revised 2nd Edition, in which grades 5–10 students relate the formation of crystals to the phase change from vapor to solid. If you’d like additional tips for fitting in more science on pre-holiday school days, this issue of Book Beat also offers “Making the Most of ‘Lost Days’” from The Science Teacher’s February 2011 issue. Science is the subject for all seasons, but tying winter and holiday themes into December class time can also add an element of fun to learning.

The 2012 NSTA conference season is over, concluding with the last sessions in Phoenix this morning. The variety of presentations and workshops had something for everyone–some addressed specific content topics and others related to teaching and learning in science. And the vendors provided “up close and personal” experiences with their products, helping teachers make informed decisions about what is needed for the classrooms (I also picked up lots of resources to share!).
I hope that attendees put down the smart phones and other devices once in a while and took time to talk with each other. These informal conversations are wonderful opportunities to learn. For example, I shared a lunch table in the food court with Connie Walker, an astronomer at the National Optical Astronomy Observatory in Tucson. She shared information about the Globe at Night project, an “international citizen-science campaign to raise public awareness of the impact of light pollution by inviting citizen-scientists to measure their night sky brightness and submit their observations to a website from a computer or smart phone.” Without this chance meeting, I might not have known about this project, which  aligns with the theme of the November Science Scope and the December Science Teacher.

I also attended several sessions on “flipped” learning in science classes. This strategy is getting a lot of attention (Google “flipped classroom), and the teacher-presenters were very honest about their experiences, including successes and things they are doing differently based on their successes and challenges. Their enthusiasm was contagious.
Another NSTA conference highlight is the lineup of speakers for the general sessions. Here in Phoenix, the first general session featured Colonel Eileen Collins, the first woman to pilot and command an American spacecraft. She noted that her success had several components: know the job, know the people, act with integrity, and have a passion for the mission. Would success in teaching have similar components? She also noted that as a commander, she wanted her crew to “make mistakes” during training. She wanted to see how they would deal with unexpected circumstances and learn from the experience so they would know how to handle unforeseen events during the mission. She described four steps: admit that a mistake was made, recover from it, learn from it and develop an action or policy to prevent it from happening again, and then put it behind you and continue the mission with a positive attitude. Again, good advice for the classroom.
Thanks to the conference planners, vendors, and presenters for making this a great learning and professional development event!
 

I’d like to try hands-on labs with my fourth graders, but I’m worried they’ll make mistakes. I guess I’m afraid they won’t learn the concepts if they don’t get the right answers. Is there a way to make the activities fool-proof? I’m a first year teacher.
—Melissa, Murfreesboro, Tennessee
If you scripted the procedures down to minutest details, hovered over the students, and intervened immediately when students were on the verge of doing something differently, you might get everyone to come up with the same correct, fool-proof results. But you’ll be exhausted from doing most of the work, and the students will learn that science is about following directions and watching the teacher. This style of teacher-centered activity doesn’t exemplify the real nature of science as wondering, investigating, questioning, data collecting, and analyzing.
As teachers, we want our students to be successful, but we have to let go a bit and let students work on their own (of course, if anything dangerous is about to happen we must intervene immediately). Science activities can be messy and unpredictable, especially with more than 20 students, but it’s possible for class time to be used productively and with a minimum of chaos.
You could start with a few simple investigations to learn about the experience levels of your students. Try the activities yourself ahead of time to determine what materials are necessary, what safety issues could arise, and approximately how much time to provide. It helps to have or develop class routines for lab activities and to organize materials so students know where to find them.
Two words should guide your own behavior: model and monitor.

Model the behaviors you expect of students: questioning, accuracy, organization, following class routines and safety guidelines, enthusiasm, and cooperative learning roles. Monitor the students as they work, but don’t do the work for them. For example, if you see students measuring inaccurately or using equipment incorrectly, show them how to do it and then watch as they do it again themselves. Ask students to explain what they’re doing before offering your advice. If they are deviating from the procedure, guide them back (or let them go, if they’re thinking creatively outside of the box).
It’s important for you and your students to view mistakes or unanticipated outcomes not as abject failures but as learning opportunities. As I noted in a previous blog, during a fourth grade class I visited, students were investigating the relationship between volume and temperature. They had made their predictions, but as the teacher, Mrs. M., put their data on the board, it was apparent that the results were too varied for the students to see any trends and come to any conclusions. As Mrs. M. tried to think of an explanation, a student remarked, “Maybe we didn’t all do the experiment in the same way.” Other students offered suggestions: they may have read the thermometers incorrectly, perhaps they did not all measure the balloons accurately, or maybe some of the balloons had tiny holes in them that allowed some air to escape. The teacher then joined in the discussion about the importance of controls in an experiment and the value of consistency and accuracy in measurement. When the students asked if they could repeat the experiment, Mrs. M. helped them annotate the procedure with their suggestions so they could try again. After class, she reflected on the lesson. She said at first she was disappointed the activity did not work out as planned, but she was excited about the way the students responded. She concluded that learning from a “failed” experiment was a valuable experience—the students took ownership in the activity beyond getting a correct answer.
I still stay in touch with Mrs. M. and we both agree: if we had a dime for each class in which something unexpected happened, we’d both be in a much higher tax bracket! But the enjoyable experiences with our students are priceless.
Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/elycefeliz/4448688868/sizes/q/in/photostream/

The tablet computer like the iPad can be a magic box of inquiry. For instance, it has a camera, and in particular a front facing camera. Why that is important is because students can manipulate objects on the camera and collectively view the results. And of course you can, with the touch of a finger, record the image for later use. Or even take a video.
To get started, here is a short list of five things to put on an iPad camera:

1. A prism. A prism “bends” light, and when placed on an iPad camera, the camera sees at a right angle. If the prism is centered, you have half the view in one direction and half in the opposite direction. Sliding the prism more to one side will adjust the view proportionately. The above image show the prism positioned towards the edge of the iPad Mini filling the screen with the hand.

2. Polarizers. A pair of linear polarizers easily demonstrates the effect of cross polarization. When one polarizer is laid over the camera, the other polarizer can be manipulated at a distance from the iPad causing a reduction or blockage of the light reaching the camera. The above image has one polarizer covering the camera, and a second polarizer held above the camera that when rotated allows or filters the amount of visible light.

3. A Spectrometer. Both low and high quality classroom spectrometers can be placed directly over the camera providing a large-screen view of the color spectrum or color bands of various light sources. The image above uses a slit spectrometer. The image below uses a traditional classroom spectrometer. As you can see in the picture, the incomplete spectrum of the fluorescent lights is clearly visible. This is a good example what can be easily photographed.

 

4. Lenses. The effects of convex and concave lenses are obvious when placed at varying distances from the iPad camera. Imagine the assessment potential if you could show a real-time and testable lens effect. In fact, student photos could be the quiz. The above image shows a concave lens while the image below uses a convex lens.

 

5. UV and IR light sources. TV remotes and UV lights might not emit wavelengths the human eye can see (or even safe to look for in the case of UV light), but the iPad camera has no trouble seeing longer and shorter wavelengths of light.  You can also test the penetration of the light by placing things over the light source. The image above is a short wave UV light that produces very little visible light. The iPad camera, however, has no trouble showing the large amount of light emitted by the UV flashlight.
The Best of All Worlds! How about combining the prisms, polarizers, lenses, spectrometers, and the UV and IR light sources into an inquiry based light lab? Sounds like a lot of science fun to me!
What do you think will happen if two crossed polarizers are placed between the UV light and the camera?

While you’re looking forward to winter break, here’s a way you can have fun and do a little bit of science data collecting to contribute to a citizen science project.
The Baby Laughter project would like to know what kinds of things babies find funny. Who are the funniest people? What are the funniest songs, sounds, toys and games? What are the funniest parts of your baby’s daily routine?
Psychologists at Birkbeck Babylab are inviting the public to submit a simple field report describing how you made a baby laugh. They think babies are going to be laughing at things that they are just starting to understand. Your data will help them learn what babies understand at different ages. The report is anonymous, confidential and takes about 15-20 minutes to complete.
This sounds like a great project for families of preschoolers with baby siblings.

As I browse through tweets and Facebook pages, I sometimes feel overwhelmed at the wealth of resources that are available for teaching STEM topics! I’ve learned to skim selectively, looking at some right away and bookmarking others that relate to current projects and curriculum topics or that are versatile and adaptable to a variety of situations. Here are a few that I discovered this month:
50 Education Technology Tools Every Teacher Should Know About – OK, I don’t have the time or energy to master all 50 of these! But the author divides them into four categories: Social Learning, Learning, Lesson Planning and Tools, and other Useful Tools. I was pleased to see that I was familiar with a few in each category, and I’ve added a few more to my “explore these” to-do list.
NASA recently announced its Wavelength Digital Library, a collection of resources for earth and space science education. With Wavelength you can find educator resources including hands-on learning, discussions, guided inquiry, models, and visualizations (more than 600 just for elementary grades!), NASA apps, videos, and images.
NOAA’s Ocean Today website has recently added its 100^th video. These are brief clips that could be used as bellringers or discussion starters. They are embedded in the NOAA site, not as YouTube videos. If you don’t have time to preview them all yourself, this could be a task for students to “preview and review”!
And from NOAA’s Environmental Visualization Laboratory: The 2012 Atlantic Hurricane Season in 4.5 Minutes. It’s fascinating to watch the movement patterns of clouds, and hang on for the 3:36 time when Hurricane Sandy first appears. This NOAA site has many other animations and photographs.
If your students are eager to add music to their presentations and online projects (along with the visuals), check with you technology coordinator for the latest in copyright guidelines for sound files. Students also discover that the cool songs this week might sound “lame” a few weeks later! So you might want to show them some sources of “timeless” music they can use without worrying about copyright limitations. Two that were suggested recently are Royalty-Free Music and Purple Planet. I would still have students document the source of the music, though.

The non-profit Minnesota coalition SciMathMN, published A Guide for Parents: “What Should I Look for in the Science Program in My Child’s School?”
Some of the items apply only to Minnesota but others are useful to families everywhere who want children to get a good science education. The last section, “What can I do to support good science education?” lists eight ways to be involved:

• Learn about and investigate the natural world with your child. You don’t have to know all the answers.
• Instill in your child the belief that he/she can succeed in science and that hard work pays off.
• Encourage your child to read about science and scientists and provide opportunities for them to explore science in your community.
• Learn to recognize a standards-based K-12 science program.
• Talk with your child’s teacher about their needs, concerns, and expectations for students in science.
• Volunteer to help in the classroom during science activities and learn with your child.
• Advocate for the resources necessary for a standards-based K-12 science program.
• Learn about the Minnesota K–12 Science Framework and the Minnesota Graduation Standards in science and how they are used in the school’s science program.

Reading about standards and guidelines for science teaching in early childhood gives me a framework from the research and practice of others. While not holding up any set of standards as “The Best,” I can compare them to my state’s guidelines, those in books, and my own experience. Here are just a few that I’ve looked at:
New Jersey State Department of Education’s Preschool Teaching & Learning Expectations: Standards of Quality (2009) pages 44-50, has Preschool Teaching Practices and Preschool Learning Outcomes for five science standards.
 The Oklahoma Early Learning Guidelines For Children (October 2010) has four science standards, Pages 51-58.
The state of Massachusetts Department of Education lists 26 learning guidelines for Guiding Preschool Learning in Science and Technology/Engineering (Pgs 19-25) in the 2003 publication Guidelines for Preschool Learning Experiences.
What standards and guidelines do you find most helpful?