Consider the facility that students have with electronic communications and games. They somehow had to “learn” how to use these tools and figure out the rules and strategies of the games. But I heard some teachers talking about how “students do not want to learn.” The evidence the teachers had for their statement was their observation that “Students don’t do their assignments.”
But I wonder what the connection is between a student’s desire to learn and the tasks we require of them. How do we choose or design learning activities that will build on students’ prior knowledge, experiences, skills, and strengths while meeting their needs? Do we as teachers ever provide students with any choices or input into what they are learning and how they learn?
Although teachers may provide a variety of activities, several articles in this issue show a structured and systematic design can lead to increased student engagement and learning. Unit Pages: Differentiation for Students describes how students can be scaffolded into taking more responsibility for their learning. Differentiation Through Choice has examples of a strategy called a “think-tac-toe” which provides students with several alternatives to demonstrate their learning. (I’ve also seen this strategy described as a “choice board.”) Check out the websites of Carol Tomlinson  for more on differentiation and Kathie Nunley for more on layered curriculum.

Other articles in this issue describe how to support middle-schoolers as they use inquiry and literacy processes: Getting Students to be Successful, Independent Investigators and Science & Literacy: Tools for Life. Other articles look at the use of commercial video games, visual formative assessments, webquests, photographic scavenger hunts, and how to restructure group  discussions more equitably.
The February 2010 issue of Educational Leadership from ASCD also has several articles related to differentiation. Most require a subscription, but there are two that are available to all: What Research Says About Differentiated Learning and From Apathy to Mastery
And don’t forget that with SciLinks you can find a variety of resources to tap into student interests and skill levels.

Are you an urban or rural educator seeking pearls of wisdom for engaging your students? Plan to attend the NSTA National Conference in Philadelphia. The conference will give you those “pearls” through a strand of sessions entitled Meeting the Unique Needs of Urban and Rural Learners.
High school teachers, pick up some classroom and field activities and see how you can help urban students make the connection between their local environment and weather conditions (Thursday, March 18). Teach chemistry? Learn how urban high school teachers used a Professional Learning Community (PLC) to boost students’ chemistry participation (also taking place on March 18).
Elementary teachers, have any budding engineers in your classroom? Come to Philly and hear about some strategies for integrating standards-based, interdisciplinary engineering activities your urban students will enjoy (Friday, March 19). Middle level educators, find out how to use interactive notebooks to inspire your urban and rural young scientists, and even create your own version (Saturday, March 20).
And don’t miss featured speaker Garland L. Thompson on Saturday. In his Shell Science Seminar, Talent Knows No Color Line, this noted television commentator, law professor, and reporter will share his experiences selecting STEM competition winners who have “scaled hurdles our society says are insurmountable.”

Teachers use several strategies at the end of the school year. One strategy is to try to cram in as many topics as possible in an effort to “cover” everything.  Other teachers use culminating or capstone projects to integrate concepts and give students a chance to use what they’ve learned in science (and other subjects). Environmental investigations are a natural for these projects. The projects described in this issue highlight the students’ research questions and how they share the results of their authentic investigations:
The “Green” Root Beer Laboratory demonstrates an activity to promote environmental awareness in the classroom along with questions about consumerism, recycling, advertising, sources of food products, and nutrition. And it results in a useful product!
Investigating Aquatic Dead Zones incorporates concepts from chemistry and physics in a water study. SciLinks has additional information and suggestions in the collection of links for Ocean Pollution.
I went to a session at the 2008 NSTA conference in Boston by the authors of The Urban Green Tree Project. I was impressed then by the potential for this project, and it was interesting to see what this “looks like” in a real school.

After digging out of 30+ inches of snow here in the Northeast The CORALS Connection looks like a tropical topic. SciLinks has more resources on Coral Reefs. Current maps of snow depths or other weather conditions show that on February 14, every state in the continental US had some snow cover!!).
Many of these projects, including the field ecology course described in Meet Us Outside! could be implemented as a supplemental summer term project, too.  All of these authors provide suggestions for how (and why) to incorporate these investigations into a busy schedule. The projects described in this issue are authentic inquiry/research projects related to environmental topics. You may also be interested in activities in the February issue of Science and Children, in which younger students investigate local watersheds and soils.
Encyclopedia of Earth may look like a blog or wiki, but according to the article in this issue, it’s a peer-reviewed work based at Boston University and operated in partnership with the National Council for Science and the Environment with articles written by reputable authors. Many articles have been individually added to SciLinks, but the entire, searchable site is a valuable resource.
If you’re reading this, you already know about blogs. Create a Classroom Blog looks at blogs as way of sharing and interacting among students, using an authentic technology tool. For example, in a class I observed, the teacher created a blog for students to add their reflections, comments, summaries, or conclusions about their projects and investigations. The students could read what others posted, and the teacher could add comments right to the document. The article has suggestions for sites to host blogs at no cost. Unfortunately, blogs are blocked in some schools. I’m curious about that: Shouldn’t the teacher have a say in what resources are (or are not) available to them?
Regardless of the grade level you teach, bookmark the NSTA Portal: Safety in the Science Classroom with lists for secondary and elementary schools. Many of these resources are also in SciLinks topic Safety in the Science Classroom. Check out the  Connections for this issue. Even if the article does not quite fit with your lesson agenda, the authors provide handouts, background information sheets, data sheets, rubrics, or examples of student work that may give you some ideas. And NSTA Recommends has more resources related to climate change and “teaching green.”

Bird counts involve children in citizen science projects where a greater community contributes to the data used by scientists to understand bird behavior and more. The Great Backyard Bird Count is happening now and counting can take place through Monday, February 15th, so there is still time for your students to participate.

This annual four-day event is led by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and National Audubon Society, with Canadian partner Bird Studies Canada and sponsorship from Wild Birds Unlimited. Gathering data over many years makes them more meaningful. The shortest length of observation that can be submitted is just the right amount of time for young children—15 minutes! And, you do not have to be outside to count. Counting from a window is perfectly acceptable and “Your counting always counts!” Visit the Great Backyard Bird Count at www.birdsource.org/gbbc/ and learn how your students can contribute data.
I’ll let you know what I see tomorrow. There are plenty of Mourning Doves, House Sparrows, Blue Jays, Northern Cardinals, and Black-capped Chickadees around even with all the snow we’ve had in the last weeks.
Peggy

I’m hoping that secondary teachers will take a look at the articles that describe authentic investigations conducted by young scientists in their communities: Creative Soil Conservation and Boulder Creek Study. The latter has examples of student work as they studied the water quality in their communities, using various indicators, including the presence of aquatic invertebrates. The authors noted that their students did not have much background in the topic of a “watershed.” If your students need this information also, use the keyword watershed in SciLinks. SciLinks also has websites with information and activities on topics related to soil for grades K-4 and 5-8 (e.g. types of soil, soil erosion, microorganisms in soil).
From hurricanes to earthquakes, forest fires mudslides, and record-setting snowstorms and rainfall, children often ask “Can it happen here?” Three articles are related to this topic. Along with Can We Protect Our Communities From Natural Disasters?,  check out the SciLinks keyword disasters for grades 5-8. Even if you’re not in an earthquake zone, activities such as those in Shake It Up and The Built Environment tap into the creativity of future engineers. SciLinks has lists of related websites on the topic of earthquake resistant structures and the science of bridges. One of my favorites is Building Big: All About Bridges from PBS.

If you like the ideas in the article How It’s Made, SciLinks has more information on pencils (5–8).  Action Figures describes how to hook students into a study of the skeletal system. Even though my curriculum did not include human anatomy, I learned that a brief review of the human skeleton helped students to connect to the skeletons of other vertebrates. In SciLinks, search for bones (5–8) or skeletal system (5–8), which includes other systems of the body. Three examples include Bird Skull Collection, the Mr. Bones interactive puzzle, and Virtual Body, which is also available in Spanish
To extend your activities on growing seeds, check out From Mystery Seed to Mangrove Island (I wonder what other variations on the mystery materials teachers who do not live in Florida can come up with!) and The Farmer in the Lab, which makes the investigation more complex and challenging for older students.
Many teachers are looking for ideas to integrate science with other content areas. It’s challenging to keep the project focused on a theme or essential question, rather than merely putting together a collection of “activities.” Living Off the Land dispels some of the misconceptions children have about Native American cultures as they focus on the relationships between people and natural resources. Outdoor Classrooms has suggestions and resources to use a corner of the schoolyard, a window box, or an outdoor center. And check with a local rescue or rehabilitation center if you have students similar to the Turtle Girls and want to give them ownership of their project.
I’m going to reread Using Learning Progressions to Monitor Progress Across Grades. I wonder how this way of assessing students in science processes is interpreted in schools where science takes a back seat to test prep in reading and math? I’m also curious as to how students beyond grade 4 would “score” on this. This article has related resources in the Connections for this issue, along with ideas for handouts, background information sheets, data sheets, rubrics, for several of the other articles.