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Exploring Structure and Function in Insects
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As an entomologist, one of my greatest challenges is trying to overcome my students’ feelings of fear and disgust regarding insects. Insects often have negative images in society. Walk through any toy store, and you…
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Using Collaborative Educational Technology Tools in Science
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Science literacy is critical for our students. We need them to understand why it is important for them to do activities, such as composting. In fifth grade, one of the goals for students is to obtain information about,…
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I had eagerly anticipated a session at the NSTA National Conference in Atlanta called How Do We Make NGSS Storylines Work by Pushing Students to Go Deeper?—presented by Michael Novak and Brian Reiser—and I was not alone…
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Cultivating Every Child’s Curiosity in the Natural World
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At the NSTA National Conference in Atlanta, I was honored to give the Mary C. McCurdy lecture on young children and their natural curiosity about how the world works. Anyone who has ever spent time with them knows they…
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As our first-grade class was returning to our classroom after recess, a learner directed our attention to our school’s newest retaining wall. He asked, “Why is the wall always falling apart on that side?”A rich…
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Modeling in Science Instruction
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With the shift toward three-dimensional teaching and learning that the Next Generation Science Standards requires, the Crosscutting Concept of Modeling has become a major focus of my instruction. I use a process…
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Choosing Instructional Materials: Lessons Learned
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Throughout my career as an educator, I’ve had many opportunities to select instructional materials. One experience is particularly memorable because I learned then that how you select instructional materials can be as…
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Implementing Storylines: A Meaningful, Effective Way to Practice the NGSS
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Why is a shift needed?The science instructional shifts outlined in A Framework for K–12 Science Education and embodied in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are bigger than a classroom, a school, a district,…
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Scaffolding the Practice of Asking Questions and Defining Problems
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With the adoption of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), teachers are wondering how to teach their students to do the science and engineering practices (SEPs). Some SEPs, such as carrying out investigations…
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Using Discourse With High School Science Students
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High school students love to talk. Covering topics from music to memes, the hallway conversations are always lively. But when students enter the classroom, they suddenly have nothing to say. I believe it’s because…
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Elementary Science—Best Practices for All Students
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Envision a room filled with noise, excited whispers, and students shouting across tables. Piles of tinfoil, plastic cups, scissors, string, and tape are scattered around the room. Paper, pencils, and notebooks filled…
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Seeds of Science, Roots of Reading Program Helps Students Develop Explanations
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The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) encourage three-dimensional thinking in students. 3-D thinking, and the process of developing scientific explanations, are curiosity-driven: They involve wondering, posing…
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Storylines Allow Students to Own Their Learning
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“I don’t think this data tells us enough; we only know the temperature close to the ground,” Andy* told his peers. “Hail forms in the clouds. We need to know what the temperature is in the clouds.”The students had just…
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Building Classroom Community in an NGSS-Aligned Elementary Science Classroom
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In an elementary science classroom, it’s not incredibly challenging to motivate students to want to do science and engineering. I find that the students at the grade-level I teach (fifth) are excited about school and…
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Modeling How Students Can Share Ideas and Make Sense of Phenomena by Aaron Mueller
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One of the most important steps I take to elicit student ideas in the classroom is to establish a classroom culture that makes students feel comfortable sharing their ideas. I take the time to develop a strong,…
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