This may seem like a simple thing, but I get requests for a considerable number of letters of recommendation every year. I suspect you do, too. I almost always say yes–partly out of being somewhat flattered, I’ll admit, but also because the majority of students (and faculty) who ask me for these letters are perceptive enough to recognize ahead of time that I have a fairly high opinion of them. And I must just be very friendly.

Just for fun, I kept a count one year. I wrote 45 separate letters for 23 different individuals. And yes, that means I wrote 23 new letters starting with blank pages. Most of the others required modest modifications of text that I already felt described this individual well. But in any case, anyone who has plopped themselves down in front of a blank, white form replete with blinky cursor knows that this isn’t a small amount of time…or effort.
But truly, I usually don’t much mind. But in the middle of a difficult letter, in the midst of a mild bout with writer’s block, I started wondering if our increasing mutual scrutiny has resulted in ‘regard inflation’ in the same way we’re experiencing ‘grade inflation’. Of course, there’s no way to know. But, the scientist in me just itches to find a way to find out.
I’ve seen a few examples (possibly apocryphal) of letters with double entendre that appeared at first read to be supportive of a candidate’s application, but…. I’m wondering if any of my readers have any examples (either of their own creation, or anecdotal) they would be willing to share here. Any great bon mots out there???
And how has your own experience been with letters? If you have a request from a student for whom you know you won’t write a glowing report, how do you decline? And do each of you get hit with 45 letters in a year, or does it just feel that way???
Please let me know. If you don’t wish to comment here, write me at acutler@uindy.edu. 

“What kind of science do you teach young children?!” people sometimes ask when they hear that the preschool curriculum includes science. Being able to share how the science activities are age appropriate, lay the groundwork for deeper understanding in later years, and support literacy and math learning, helps families understand that science is a natural part of an early childhood program. Including science activities does not mean that the program is only for children whose thinking is advanced beyond their years, nor does the program exclude imaginative play and artistic work.
Communicating what early childhood science is all about encourages families to support science learning at home. Here is a book and a few downloadable resources that can help.
What is a Scientist? by Barbara Lehn with photographs by Carol Krauss (1999, Millbrook Press): beginning with “A scientist is a person who asks questions and tries different ways to answer them,” and ending with “A scientist has fun,” this book’s simple statements and clear photographs describe science as children (and scientists) practice it.
From Australian government, the National Science and Technology Centre’s Questacon—a 36-page pamphlet with wonderful photos and general instructions for activities which are easy to implement at home.
Center for Inquiry Science: sample “Science Out of School” newsletter articles describing simple activities with the goal of “communicating to parents that science activities can be accessible, fun, and informative.”
TryScience—the Parent Page:  download a generic or city-specific brochure providing useful information and hints on science activities for parents and families everywhere, and listing local science resources.
Will you list your favorite books or pamphlets in a comment (click on the word “comments” below)?
Peggy

Here’s a tip for simplifying the clean up of dry, fine materials. Put a smooth cloth down under the item, such as a Tenebrio beetle container or a tabletop sensory box. Use a cotton cloth that is larger than the container, perhaps a tablecloth—large enough so it covers the table or children can sit on it around the box on the floor. Any bran or sand or rice that spills can be contained by the cloth and transported to a trash can (or back into the container if still clean).
A cotton cloth will not become as charged with static electricity as a synthetic or silk cloth, so particles such as bran or feathers will more easily fall off when gently shaken over the trash can.
One year I used a white cloth with a realistic black insect print and some children were reluctant to sit on it! When a beetle was dropped on it, it became a lesson in camouflage.
Peggy

Have you had any experience with partnerships between K-12 teachers and higher education faculty? We’re thinking of writing a grant proposal for this type of project and we’re open to suggestions.
— David, Springfield, Massachusetts
I’ve been involved with several K-16 professional development projects with various “partnership” arrangements. In one case, it was very traditional: the teachers attended workshops or courses conducted by the university. The university staff structured the content and the course schedule specifically to meet the needs of the teachers. The courses were on-site and on-line. The advantage was teachers updated their content knowledge while becoming more familiar with technology and lab equipment. In such a project, it is important to describe and measure what the teachers are learning and determine how this new knowledge will affect their classroom instruction.
In another project, university professors worked with teachers over the summer on special topics aligned with the state science standards, and then the professors visited the schools to interact with the K-6 students. Spending one day each month in an elementary school was a new experience for the university faculty. They learned what challenges the teachers face, including the variety of students (and size of the classes), the obligation to address state science standards, the type of equipment available in the schools, and the emphasis on testing in reading and mathematics. But they enjoyed the students’ energy and enthusiasm and were impressed by their questions and interest. The students in the rural communities served by the project had the opportunity to meet real scientists. (The physics professor was very flattered when some 4th graders asked him to autograph their science textbooks.) The disadvantage of this type of project is that a “special event” atmosphere can occur. For lasting impact, this should be an ongoing collaboration between the teacher and the professor, not just a few gee-whiz demonstrations while the teacher watches from the sidelines. In this project, however, it was interesting to see the elementary teachers and the professors exchange roles as the year progressed.
At the 2009 NSTA conference, I attended a session in which two secondary science teachers described a mentoring project. They spent a summer working as research assistants at a nearby university. They had to learn the content, the lab procedures, and the research model being used. The teachers actually assisted with collecting and analyzing data. In the fall, they returned to their classrooms with new content knowledge, a new sense of accomplishment, and insights into scientific research. They have stayed in communication with their mentors, and because of their relationship with the university, they can borrow specialized equipment for their students to use. This required a long commitment over the summer on the part of both the teachers and the professors, and the professors had to provide background information and training for the teacher “newbies.”
In both of the projects described, the K-12 teachers and the university faculty were compensated for the time they spent beyond their normal teaching duties. Although the compensation was certainly appreciated, the real value was in the new opportunities for collaborative teaching and learning.
There are partnerships providing teachers access to higher education facilities: nature centers, museums, laboratory tours, library resources, special lectures or presentations, and field trip opportunities for students. Some higher education institutions have traveling science specialists who visit schools for demonstrations or assemblies.
Regardless of what your partnership project looks like, it will be important to ask “What happens at the end of the project? What knowledge, skills, and self-confidence will the teachers have to continue to improve student learning?”

This is a timely theme, considering that 2009 is the International Year of Astronomy. And this month’s Science Scope is full of relevant teaching ideas and lots of background information, such as simulating the vast spaces in the solar system, working with models of the Earth, incorporating movement into lessons, and finding video resources on Teacher Tube
I must admit that I never had the chance to formally study astronomy in high school or college. But it’s been the focus of a lot of my informal learning – in museums, planetariums, observatories, and with my own telescope. It is certainly one of the oldest of human scientific endeavors in many cultures, as described in the article Solar Paths: An International and Integrated Look at the Sun and the Seasons.
Many of us have done lessons on the phases of the moon, but the authors of Inquiry, Argumentation, and the Phases of the Moon show how to embed this content into a lesson on scientific literacy, argumentation, and critical thinking.
For more information on astronomy, check out a special set of websites in SciLinks. One of my favorites here is NASA Quest, which has many learning activities in astronomy and the atmospheric sciences for grades K-12. One of my morning rituals is listening to StarDate program on my local public radio station. At the website, you can listed to the daily program, download a podcasts of the programs, read current astronomy news, and get lesson plans, classroom activities, and lots of visuals. Of course, if you have particular topics in mind related to astronomy, you can log into SciLinks and search for particular keywords.
I’d also suggest two other sources. One of my favorite sites is Windows to the Universe. This site (many sections of which are in the SciLinks database) takes a comprehensive look at the universe and Earth’s place in it. There are many graphics, lesson plan ideas, and the site is available in Spanish, too. Another good source is Teachers’ Domain. Use the index to get multimedia resources and lesson plan ideas on the topic of “Earth in the Universe.”
You don’t have to wait for a Science Scope themed issue for update in astronomy. The monthly column “Scope on the Skies” has information and suggestions for classroom activities. The author has his own website Current Skies with monthly star maps and other resources.
But getting back down to Earth…. Who would think playing with a pen (something that I do at meetings that once made my supervisor go crazy!) would inspire a science activity described in Everyday Engineering: What Makes a Bic Click? If you’re thinking of including this activity in a study of writing technology, check out the SciLinks topics for pencils and paper. Right now, SciLinks doesn’t have much on how to actually make paper. We’ll work on adding some (if you have any suggestions, put the URL in a comment, and we’ll take a look at it) but here are some directions for making handmade paper from the Exploratorium.

Our principal has started doing 5-minute “walk-throughs” in our school. What can she learn from such a brief classroom visit? How should I prepare?
— Rose, Burbank, CA
While principals have always been out and about in their schools, “walk-throughs” or “learning walks” are becoming an accepted strategy to learn more about what is happening inside the classrooms. According to the Center for Comprehensive School Reform and Improvement, a walk-through is a “brief, structured, nonevaluative classroom observation by the principal that is followed by a conversation between the principal and the teacher about what was observed.” A recent (2009) issue of Principal describes walk-throughs as contributing to a “schoolwide picture made up of many small snapshots.” The literature usually describes principals as the observers, but walk-throughs can also be conducted by central office staff, instructional coaches, department chairs, project directors, teachers, or teams.
These brief visits could be seen as checking the vital signs of a school. The principal gets an overview of what is happening in the classrooms across grade levels or subject areas, not just by walking in the hallways but also by stepping into classrooms on a frequent, regular basis. These walk-throughs differ in format and purpose from the formal yearly or biannual observations in which the principal focuses on a single teacher for a longer period of time. Some schools refer to walk-throughs as “visits” to differentiate them from the more summative or contractual “observations.”
You can compare walk-throughs and formal evaluations to your own behavior when students are working in small groups on projects or reports. As the teacher you circulate around the classroom, briefly visiting each group, observing how they work together, checking their progress, answering questions, and providing encouragement and feedback. You probably do not “grade” these informal observations and interactions, but you do learn a lot about your students and what they are doing. When the students have finished their projects, you then formally evaluate the project with a rubric and give a score or grade.
Does your principal communicate whether she is looking for anything specific in her visits? For example, if your school emphasizes strategies such as cooperative learning, writing in the content areas, classroom management, higher-order questioning, or technology integration, she may visit classrooms with these strategies in mind. Most of the principals with whom I’ve worked were not science teachers, so it might be helpful if you and your colleagues helped the principal to understand what to look for in science classes: inquiry, safe lab practices, student engagement in teams, science notebooks, the use of technology, and authentic assessments.
You do not have to do anything special to prepare for these visits; continue your lesson while the principal is in the room. If she does not provide feedback in a timely manner, I would ask her about what she saw and whether she had any questions or feedback.
I know a principal who puts time for walk-throughs in his weekly planner. He views this time as an essential part of his day and visits each teacher several times every month. The key element of walk-throughs is not just doing them, but in the reflective dialogue between the teacher and principal soon after the visit. These conversations can become opportunities to improve teaching and learning.

I like to visit other classes and learn what other teachers are doing—but not much time is allotted in a preschool budget for such networking.
Internet forums can serve the same purpose. Viewing teacher’s pages and communicating through online forums broadens my community and improves my teaching. What are your favorite online forums for early childhood teachers—especially those with science content, methods, and concerns—and what do you like about them? What are the characteristics of the forums you like best and those you visit most frequently? Let me know if you think they should be added to the list of links on this site.
Peggy

“Kazoo” is a cool word and playing one is an easy way to ‘feel’ sound. Kids think so too, judging from the comments I hear from parents the day after their children bring home the kazoos they made in school.
Here’s one:
“My daughter took out the special “thing” she made when we got home from school. She put it to her mouth and hummed and showed me how to feel the ‘titation’ with her finger. Then she played with making different sounds—high, low, loud, soft—feeling the different ‘titations’. She was so excited to feel sound. Of course I had to feel it too, about 50 times!”
It’s so gratifying when children share what they’ve learned with their families. Read how to make vibrations with kazoos in April 2009 Science and Children The Early Years column.
Peggy