The Power of Developing Questioning Strategies in the Science Classroom

Blog Post | February 2016

As authors of the popular NSTA Press book The Power of Questioning: Guiding Student Investigations, we get a lot of questions from readers. One of the top questions we get is, “What types of questions do I need to ask…

Mastering Scientific Practices With Technology

Blog Post | February 2016

In this video, columnist Ben Smith shares information from the Science 2.0 column, “Mastering Scientific Practices With Technology,” that appeared in a recent issue of The Science Teacher. Read the article here. …

Adding More STEM to the School Day

Blog Post | February 2016

Middle school students dissect a frog as part of a hands-on lesson from Science from Scientists, an in-school enrichment program in Massachusetts and California. (Photo by Arturo Martinez) Schools seeking to enhance…

Prepare Your Students for the August 21 Solar Eclipse with Solar Science

Blog Post | February 2016

Great extras accompany this book, including safety glasses for viewing the eclipse and an Observer’s Guide to the All-American Total Solar Eclipse. “On Monday, August 21, 2017, a total eclipse of the Sun will be…

NSTA’s K-12 February 2016 Science Education Journals Online

Blog Post | February 2016

Looking to take advantage of the creative approaches that STEAM offers students? Want to explain to your students how traits are passed down from one generation to another? Are your students fascinated with nanoscience…

ECE galore in January 2016 Science and Children!

Blog Post | January 2016

Writing about my science teaching for early childhood educators means thinking about a potential community that spans geographic distance and different biomes, seasons, cultures, educational backgrounds, ethnicities,…

"Flipped" meetings

Blog Post | January 2016

As the science chairperson, I’d like to change the format of our monthly afterschool meetings. Do you have any ideas what we can do in terms of professional development or other projects? It seems like we don’t get much…

Zika, @neiltyson, and flick picks from POTUS: Twitter tales for science teachers

Blog Post | January 2016

You can’t believe everything you see in social media, but when something’s popular on Twitter/Facebook/Snapchat, it’s sure to be something you can use to catch students’ attention. The stories that caught our eye this…

Ideas and information from NSTA's January K-12 journals

Blog Post | January 2016

All three journals this month include the article Addressing Three Common Myths About the Next Generation Science Standards – another must-read article that applies to all grade levels and science subjects. Science and…

Teacher Professional Learning: Transforming Teacher Practice

Blog Post | January 2016

I encourage STEM educators (and administrators) across the U.S. to read and understand Science Teachers’ Learning: Enhancing Opportunities, Creating Supportive Contexts, a terrific report just released by the National…

Positive classroom environments support teaching science

Blog Post | January 2016

Science teaching is only a part of the work of early childhood science educators. Supporting children’s development of social-emotional skills and executive function are foremost in every activity we engage children in…

More Than 200 Vetted Classroom Resources on the NGSS@NSTA Hub

Blog Post | January 2016

With the creation of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) came the question of “What does NGSS-based instruction look like in my classroom, and where will I find the instructional resources for teaching the new…

STEM's Good Samaritans

Blog Post | January 2016

Physics and engineering undergraduates and graduate physical therapy students participating in the GoBabyGo program at Rockhurst University in Kansas City, Missouri, modify electric–powered toy cars for children with…

Did You Vote for NSTA's New Leaders? Here's Why You Should

Blog Post | January 2016

The 2016 presidential election has drawn a lot of attention in the press but there is another important election that is also occurring in 2016 – the NSTA Elections. Candidates have been selected from a rigorous…

“Knowledge” — how to use the term to illustrate the “doing” of science 

Blog Post | January 2016

“Knowledge” has several meanings for its use with student learning! A definition of “Knowledge” is traditionally considered information to help reform science education.  It refers to information that can be used to…