The Science Teacher

Read NSTA's award-winning, peer-reviewed practitioner journal for secondary level and high school science teachers.

Current Issue

January/February 2023

Special Issue on Immunology

Guest Editors: Colby Tofel-Grehl and Brooke A. Whitworth

The COVID-19 pandemic laid bare the absence of resources for teachers to engage students in learning about infectious disease as both a socio-scientific issue and a scientific phenomenon. With infectious disease largely absent from the NGSS, teachers had to creatively link lessons that contextualize and examine key aspects of infectious disease education. We saw in real time the impacts of popular news, social media, and public mood on broader socioscientific behaviors such as vaccination, masking, and social distancing. This special issue features 10 articles that share current teaching strategies and tools for teaching about epidemics and viruses, all framed within the Straif-Bourgeois, Ratard, and Kretzschmar framework for infectious disease, which delineates three dimensions of epidemiology.

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Journal Article

Did the Pandemic Impact the Brains of Our Science Students?

By Ann Haley MacKenzie

High School Biology Instructional Materials Life Science

Journal Article

Introduction to the Special Issue on Immunology

By Colby Tofel-Grehl and Brooke A. Whitworth

High School Biology Life Science

Journal Article

The Science of COVID-19

By Matthew Johnson, Tiffany Lewis, Kit Martin, Amber Cesare, Anthony Schmitt, Eugene Lengerich, Kristin Bittner, and Chris Divyak

High School Biology Curriculum Instructional Materials Life Science NGSS Pedagogy Science and Engineering Practices

Journal Article

We Are Living It

By Lindsey Mohan, Wayne Wright, Katie Van Horne, Joy Barnes-Johnson, Holly Hereau, Arash Jamshidi, Rebecca G. Kaplan, Audrey Mohan, Dawn Novak, Michael Novak, Allysa Orwig, Ty Scaletta, Nicole Vick, and Daniel C. Voss

Biology Curriculum Equity Instructional Materials Interdisciplinary Life Science NGSS Phenomena Three-Dimensional Learning

Journal Article

By Delaney Worthington, Andrew Warnock, Mike Viney, Victoria Jordan, Jennifer Mclean, Karina Hassell, Lynne Judish, and Courtney Butler

High School Biology Crosscutting Concepts Curriculum Disciplinary Core Ideas General Science Inquiry Instructional Materials Labs Lesson Plans Life Science NGSS Pedagogy Phenomena Science and Engineering Practices STEM Teaching Strategies Three-Dimensional Learning

Journal Article

Immersive Learning Through Experiential Inquiry of a Virtual Epidemic

By Tyler Hansen, Deborah Fields, Amanda Strawhacker, and Yasmin Kafaiy

High School Biology Citizen Science Computer Science General Science Inquiry Lesson Plans Life Science Literacy NGSS Science and Engineering Practices STEM Technology

Journal Article

Using Multiple Models to Learn about COVID-19

By Jamie Elsner, Troy Sadler, Eric Kirk, Rebecca Rawson, Patricia Friedrichsen, and Li Ke

High School Crosscutting Concepts Curriculum General Science Instructional Materials Lesson Plans Mathematics NGSS Policy Science and Engineering Practices Teaching Strategies Technology

Journal Article

Right Under Our Noses

By Latesia Coleman and Heather O’Leary

High School 5E Advocacy Citizen Science Equity Inquiry Interdisciplinary Lesson Plans News Research STEM Technology

Journal Article

An Evolution in Teaching Natural Selection

By Kadi Hogan

High School Biology Crosscutting Concepts Disciplinary Core Ideas Evolution Inquiry Instructional Materials Lesson Plans Life Science NGSS Phenomena Research Science and Engineering Practices Teaching Strategies

Journal Article

Is That Plausible?

By Imogen R. Herrick, Gale M. Sinatra, and Doug Lombardi

High School Advocacy Citizen Science Crosscutting Concepts Curriculum Environmental Science Equity General Science Instructional Materials Interdisciplinary Learning Progression Lesson Plans Literacy NGSS Pedagogy Policy Preservice Science Education Professional Learning Research Science and Engineering Practices Teacher Preparation Teaching Strategies Technology

Journal Article

It’s Worth a Shot

By Kristin Ambrose

High School Biology Crosscutting Concepts Literacy News Science and Engineering Practices Three-Dimensional Learning

Journal Article

Ancient Antimicrobials

By Akacia Halliday-Isaac and Brooke A. Whitworth

High School Biology Labs Lesson Plans NGSS Safety Science and Engineering Practices Three-Dimensional Learning

Online Connections (supplementary materials) for issues from 2020 and earlier can be found here.

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