JoinSpend a little, gain a lot
By Debra Shapiro
Posted on 2010-03-21
Ted Koehn with his arsenal of inexpensive/free materials
Last year in New Orleans, I attended the session Sixty Labs You Can Do with Little or No Budget (see related posts below). Last year, so many people were there that some had to stand and some of us had to sit on the floor. I decided to go again this year because I was curious: Who would come this time? How many, given the late time slot of 5 p.m. on Saturday afternoon? What would I learn that I missed last time?
Ted literally describes his 60 high school physics and chemistry activities in a fast-paced, one-hour session. All of the materials he uses are either free or very inexpensive, and he even will tell you the exact amount–to the penny–he spent to acquire them (“at least in Lincoln,” Nebraska—his hometown—he adds). He provides each audience member with a packet containing guides for doing each of the labs, and the hour was filled with the sounds of pages turning as the teachers followed along.
He covered chemistry labs on moles, acids and bases, the periodic table, solubility curve… (the clock was ticking: 1 lab…10 labs…15 labs…)
…using gumdrops and toothpicks to create models of molecules…buying 100 chromatography strips for $3…10 vials of pH paper for $10…using eyedroppers as titration tubes…(20 labs…30 labs…)
Then came the physics labs. How to construct four inclined planes using inexpensive plywood…getting free ball bearings (from a truck repair shop) that students can roll down the inclined planes…checking garage sales for bargain supplies…propping a curtain rod on some books to create another inclined plane…(35 labs…40 labs)
…getting softballs from the PE department to use to teach projectile motion…”Ohaus gave out free spring balances in the Exhibition Hall; did you get one?”…having students use old film canisters and loading them with different amounts of pennies to see whether they would sink or float in water…(50 labs…60 labs! Hooray!) The audience applauded enthusiastically!
As you can see, the 5:00 start time did not deter science teachers from showing up for Sixty Labs. One teacher commented, “He’s amazing. I’m exhausted—but it was great!” (You can find Ted’s e-mail address online in the Saturday/Sunday program.)
Longtime readers of NSTA Reports, NSTA’s monthly newspaper, may recall the headline of this post was once the name of a popular column in the paper. (And hello to the former Reports editors reading the blog, who will remember the fun we had coming up with the names for the newspaper’s columns.)
Ted Koehn with his arsenal of inexpensive/free materials
What free time?
By Mary Bigelow
Posted on 2010-03-20
After the last session today was over at 6:00 PM, I went out for dinner. I didn’t try to eavesdrop on the nearby table, but when I heard science notebook, nature study, and rubric, I knew I was sitting near some teachers. They were from Montgomery County, Maryland, and an earlier session had them so excited, they were working right through dinner (on a Saturday night!). By the time they invited me to join them, they had a multi-page to-do list and preliminary sketches for a student notebook. I hope their colleagues and administrators appreciate their dedication and enthusiasm! I also hope they share their results at a future conference or in Science & Children.
After the last session today was over at 6:00 PM, I went out for dinner. I didn’t try to eavesdrop on the nearby table, but when I heard science notebook, nature study, and rubric, I knew I was sitting near some teachers.
Physics for all
By Mary Bigelow
Posted on 2010-03-20
Arthur Eisenkraft
Arthur Eisenkraft (former NSTA president) asked an interesting question: Would Faraday have succeeded in today’s urban American schools? In many of today’s schools, Faraday might not have been eligible for a traditional physics class because of his lack of math background. Or this outstanding experimentalist might have been assigned to a class that did not have lab opportunities. Or because his family was poor, there might be different expectations for him.
He noted that “physics first” is often for 9th grade prodigies, not the general student population. He is passionate about physics for all—not just those who have studied higher-level mathematics. “Physics should not be the second math course of the day.”
He illustrated his discussion of how physics classes can be adapted with examples of key strategies: differentiation, scaffolding, and rubrics.
Arthur Eisenkraft
Nature study
By Mary Bigelow
Posted on 2010-03-20
Bridging the Outdoors with Science Education, ELA, Art, and Historical Perspectives
Sheri Amsel is a biologist and artist who created the Exploring Nature website. Her session focused on using nature trails and other outdoor venues as learning resources. She shared many of her materials, most of which are available on her website. She also emphasized the value of having students draw while they’re in the field. Most of the resources from her presentation are also posted on the NSTA Communities site.
A resource I’m going to try is Making Tracks At this website, you can find a nature trail in your state, or (better yet) you can enter a trail at your school or community. Then you list species found there and get a a customized, illustrated list that can be printed. I’m going to share this with a nature center in my town.
She also showed how nature can be brought indoors with activity boxes, which are about the size of a manilla folder box.The one pictured here has materials collected from a forest floor. At first, students may say “this is junk” but with a few prompts they begin to see artifacts from a rich habitat.
Bridging the Outdoors with Science Education, ELA, Art, and Historical Perspectives
Scenes from the exhibit hall
By Mary Bigelow
Posted on 2010-03-20
 Bill Nye |
 Asking questions |
 NSTA Avenue |
 Picking up ideas |
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Bill Nye Losing your marbles over data
By Mary Bigelow Posted on 2010-03-20  Improving Your Students' Graphing and Graph Interpretation Practices Tony Bartley (from Thunder Bay, Ontario) and Mike Bowen (from Halifax, Nova Scotia) discussed how to improve students’ data literacy. They reviewed types of data (nominal, ordinal, and integer/ratio) and the type of graph that would be appropriate for each. Using simple materials such as marbles, paper cups, and a ruler, they engaged the participants in an activity that incorporated concepts such as data types, graphing, variables, line of fit, and interpreting data. By the end of our marble-rolling trials, we had the beginnings of a great bar graph.  How far does a marble push a cup? They noted that “science is a probabilistic endeavor. It doesn’t make absolute deterministic statements; it makes statements of probability.” They also shared a booket they created on data literacy for students (and teachers). Improving Your Students' Graphing and Graph Interpretation Practices Science and social studies
By Mary Bigelow Posted on 2010-03-20  Ellis Island...Science and Immigration Policy Ellis Island Ambassadors Barbara DeSantis, Cindy Jenkins, and Beth Topinka are interested in investigating how government policy and science are intertwined and in the historical context of innovations and discoveries. They participated in a summer project at Ellis Island on the science of historical restorations, in which teachers studied topics such as the chemistry of paint chips and floor coverings and the biology behind the medical screenings that took place at Ellis Island during the 20th century. They shared some of the projects in which elementary students researched some of the diseases and other physical conditions for which immigrants were screened. They also shared some poignant photographs of Ellis Island, how they also integrated language arts with the projects, and anecdotes about their studies. They encourage teachers to use the historical places and artifacts in our own locations as a basis for scientific inquiry. Barbara, who is doing a Web 2.0 session on Sunday, also demonstrated several web-based tools that students and teachers use to organize and display their work. Ellis Island...Science and Immigration Policy Creating tomorrow's STEM workforce
By Debra Shapiro Posted on 2010-03-20  Katherine Johnson helped pave the way for women and African Americans in technical fields Have you ever heard of Katherine Johnson, an African American woman who helped calculate the orbits that put Neil Armstrong on the Moon? Chances are you haven’t, says Garland Thompson, news correspondent for the Philadelphia Tribune, who is one of the first African Americans to join the editorial board of a major daily newspaper. He told the audience at his Shell Science Seminar today that while “talent is widely distributed among the human family,” Johnson and other minority and female STEM pioneers remain virtually unknown to today’s students. These are the people to point to as role models, he urged teachers.
 Garland Thompson In the 21st century, our country will have “so many things we need that we don’t have a workforce for,” said Thompson. “We need to train up a new crew to do that work.” Not all of these workers will be scientists and engineers: Many technical workers with associate’s degrees will be needed to make it all happen. Instead of focusing on the nation’s 52% dropout rate, he suggests turning to the students who aren’t dropping out and who just need some support on their road to a place in the STEM workforce. “Let’s not always talk about deficits,” he urged. To create the new technical workforce, Thompson says teachers and curriculum writers should develop applied science and math lessons. He informs teachers that they and their students can attend–at no charge–conferences such as the Black Engineers of the Year Awards and Career Conference, to be held in Washington, D.C., next February. He calls this “an Oscar program for people in science and technology” and adds that companies often send recruiters to these events who are looking for bright students to hire. “A lot of people like that will help you” by sending representatives to your school to talk to your students–or even “loaning” you an executive for the whole school year who can help you teach, observes Thompson. Lots of help is out there; “you just have to reach out and ask for it,” he points out. Katherine Johnson helped pave the way for women and African Americans in technical fields CSI Philadelphia
By Debra Shapiro Posted on 2010-03-20 Full disclosure–NSTA got me hooked on the CSI programs. Ordinarily I would have ignored them, but when I heard that these shows excite students about science, I had to see at least one episode. Eventually I was watching all of them regularly. (I have weaned myself off of CSI on Thursdays, but not the New York and Miami ones.)  Michael Lazaroff So when given a chance to attend a session called “The Dead T-Shirt Contest” that promised to enlighten us about teaching forensic science, I had to go there, of course. Presenters Michael Lazaroff and David Rollison of Staples High School in Westport, Connecticut, have created a unit in which students serve as both “murder victims” and pathologists.  Since they can’t bring dead bodies to class, they provide students with t-shirts marked with various “wounds,” such as bite marks… bruises, and bullet and puncture wounds. (Doesn’t the teacher on the right look like a real murder victim with her eyes closed?)  Teacher CSIs at work  Following the evidence Groups of teachers then became students who had to examine the evidence and determine COD (that’s cause of death for all you non-CSI viewers). As teachers debated which injuries might have caused the fatality, Michael offered teaching tips, such as not allowing students to list COD as “undetermined” unless they can justify it … giving each group of students a different COD to prevent cheating…and when students are reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, making sure they place their hands over their hearts, not their lungs.  trajectory of bullet entering kidney Handouts contained diagrams like these that teachers can use in the classroom. Michael concludes his forensic science unit by dressing a mannequin (a discard from a local department store) in a white t-shirt and white pants, all marked with wounds. He asks students to solve the crime. Next, they take part in a courtroom trial and present the evidence, with half the class serving as prosecutors and the other half as defense attorneys. Well, I’ve had my CSI fix for today, so on to other sessions! Full disclosure–NSTA got me hooked on the CSI programs. Ordinarily I would have ignored them, but when I heard that these shows excite students about science, I had to see at least one episode. Eventually I was watching all of them regularly. (I have weaned myself off of CSI on Thursdays, but not the New York and Miami ones.) Meet the author
By Mary Bigelow Posted on 2010-03-20
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