Multi-tasking

By MaryB | Published: March 20, 2010

Hughes High School, a STEM-focused school in Cincinnati, has an intersession which students devote to their projects. As luck would have it this year, the intersession is the same week as the NSTA conference in Philadelphia. Kathy Wright, a program facilitator, wanted to attend the conference but keep in touch with the teachers and students to support their efforts.

When I met her, she was Skyping with students in the classroom while conference-calling others who were out in the field. She was also following tweets from other classes. They were apprising her of the status of their projects, which they will document and upload via YouTube for her presentations on Saturday morning. And to think that these social media sites are blocked in many schools! What opportunities are their students and teachers missing out on?

I’ll add a comment after the session as an update.

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Do these guys ever rest?

By MaryB | Published: March 20, 2010

ISTE (the International Society for Technology in Education) sponsored a series of seven sessions (spread out over two days) presented by two of the most dynamic educators I’ve ever met: Ben Smith and Jared Mader of the Red Lion School District in PA. I attended the session on Google Docs, and I can’t wait to collaborate with this tool. The website of these EdTechInnovators is a wealth of resources, links to downloads, templates, tutorials, presentations, and examples of student projects that they are generously willing to share with us. Look for “Presentations” at the bottom of the page and click on NSTA2010.

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Taking a break

By MaryB | Published: March 19, 2010

Shopping at the NSTA store

Lunch time

Fresh air!

Resting our feet
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LOL in science class

By Debra Shapiro | Published: March 19, 2010
Diana Hunn and Susan Clay

Due to technical difficulties, I arrived late to Diana Hunn’s and Susan Clay’s session on Using Humor to Enhance Scientific Literacy. Fortunately, they are good humored about late arrivals. After experiencing the tech issues, I was ready to LOL a bit; they did not disappoint.

They put the fun in science by using mylar balloons, “stuffed animal” versions of blood cells and neurons, cartoons and comics, tongue-twisters, songs, and sayings from that noted Philadelphian, Ben Franklin. Susan says even though the Grossology exhibit is geared toward younger kids, her high school students enjoyed it so much that they aced a test on the digestive system. “Don’t ever think they’re too old” for gross-out humor, she advises.
Diana also pointed out that using humor in class can be an effective way to find out if your students harbor any misconceptions. She referred to the NSTA Press book Uncovering Student Misconceptions as a source for more information.
The main thing for teachers to bear in mind when using humor to teach science is to chill out, they conclude. “You’ve got to be relaxed. You’ve got to let it happen.”
On my way out, I encountered a teacher who was wondering if she could still catch part of the session–ah, a fellow latecomer; alas, too late! To keep her sunny side up, I told her the good news is that Diana and Susan will be back next year in San Francisco. She smiled. ;-)
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Science talk in Philadelphia at the NSTA national conference

By PeggyA | Published: March 19, 2010

Science talk between students (not teacher-to-student)–is that possible?

We learned how to get started at Kathy Renfrew’s session, NSTA  Science Talk: A Tool for Making Meaning, on Thursday. Kathy was an engaging and generous presenter, sharing the floor with participants who had experiences to share. We practiced science talk in a circle (see photo), deepening our understanding of how to implement it in our classrooms. Resources include articles by Karen Worth,  Jeff Winokur, Sally Crissman, Martha Heller-Winokur, and Martha Davis and a Science and Children (November 2009) article, Connecting Science and Literacy Through Talk.

Science teachers participate in a science talkVisit the NSTA Communities , click on Resources, then NSTA Science Talks (not the conference resource menu) in the drop down menu and download the material for the session.

With many early childhood appropriate sessions to choose from, I have a full schedule! It’s nice to have science simpatico family to come “home” to–a shout out to my cousin, environmental science teacher, Leigh Ashbrook.

Peggy

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Talking to Teachers

By Lynn Petrinjak | Published: March 19, 2010

I talked to a few more teachers this afternoon. There are folks from all across the country here this week, but I somehow managed to talk to two people from the West Coast in a row. They weren’t together, so just random chance. Maybe once the total attendance in calculated, someone could calculate the odds of that happening?

Allison Bogart

Allison Bogart

Allison Bogart, a middle school science teacher from Lake Isabella, California, is attending her first national NSTA conference, thanks to winning  the Delta Ed/Frey-Neo/CPO Science Education Awards for Inquiry-Based Science Teaching. Lake Isabella, California: It’s my first national conference. I’m only here because I’m an NSTA award winner,” she explains. “That’s really the only reason I could be here. Otherwise, I could never afford it on my own and my school district wouldn’t let em, especially with the terrible budget crisis happening in California right now.
“I hope to learn the best ideas of science teachers throughout the nation and steal them and use them in my own classroom. Because I teach eighth grade physical science, I would love to learn more tips and tricks and techniques; learn more doing more on a budget, doing more with less or doing more to encourage science inquiry especially in my middle grades. I also teach math so I’m going to a lot of workshops that have to do with the integration of science and math together. I’m here with my husband who’s a math teacher so he’s going to those too. It’s kind of cool. We’re kind of collaborating on units we can teach together.”

Marybeth

Marybeth from Washington State

Marybeth (sorry, I missed your last name—if you read this, drop me a note in the comments and I’ll update the post!) is in Philadelphia for her first national NSTA conference as well. ”I live in Washington state. I had the opportunity to come over and it was paid for, so I came,” she says. “I need more professional development. I wanted to get some good ideas for teaching [10th grade]biology next year. It’s not a new subject, but I’ve been in the middle school for 10 years. There’s been a lot of new developments in the field so I wanted to come and brush up. I found a lot of good ideas.”

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Girl power in science

By Debra Shapiro | Published: March 19, 2010
Christina Dragon

Christina Dragon

I loved how Christina Dragon’s presentation “She Discovered It! Bringing Women Scientists to Life in the Classroom” turned into a lively interactive discussion about how to reach girls in science. Christina, a hospital research technician, gave an overview of notable women scientists and how they and their work were largely ignored in the past. “You don’t even have to do the whole class about them,” she advised teachers. “Just drop a name” to inspire girls in your classroom.

Listeners turned into contributors, as various audience members shared resources and strategies for getting girls psyched. One teacher said both girls and boys appreciate hands-on activities, while another described how she focuses on textiles and makeup to help girls learn science is a part of their everyday lives. Christina’s mother, who is also a scientist, said she and her students at a teen parent academy explored the science of cooking, the absorbency of diapers, and the physics of toys.

Other attendees referred us to AAUW, which is about to release a report called “Where the Girls Are,” and a website called STEM Equities Pipeline, which contains research about gender and science.

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Students teaching teachers and rethinking education at the college level

By Lynn Petrinjak | Published: March 19, 2010

Linda Colon

I just watched a group from Science After School squeeze in one last practice session before their presentation, What We Want Science Teachers to Know. These Manhattan students seem very eager to share the student perspective on learning science. It’s a bit a role reversal with students teaching the teachers.

I also spoke with Linda Colon, program manager with Educational Equity Center at AED in New York, New York. She’ll be presenting two sessions on informal science education this weekend. “We want to communicate to the science community how important it is for children to have opportunities after school, to do fun, engaging, hands-on activities that really make the connection between what they’re doing during the day and what they can do after school,” she says. “Just finding the fun.”
Read more »

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Getting ideas

By Lynn Petrinjak | Published: March 19, 2010

I was in an interesting session yesterday and have overheard bits and pieces of a lot of different conference attendees talking about presentations they’ve liked. I’m wondering: What presenters would you like to hear more from?

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What attendees are saying

By Lynn Petrinjak | Published: March 19, 2010

I talked to a few teachers this morning between sessions. Here’s what they’re saying about attending the conference:

Daniel Welker

Daniel Welker, a 9th grade Earth science teacher in central Pennsylvania: “I always get good materials .. I always hear very good speakers that give me good ideas…things I need to do.”

He notes the size of the conference can be a challenge, with sessions occuring in the convention center was well as a few hotels, particularly when he finds a session he planned to attend doesn’t fit his needs, which he describes as a bit unusual. He explains, ”I can usually tell in five minutes if[a session] is for me or not…I teach 9th grade Earth science. I’ve got to present at a high school level; a lot of the curricula is at the middle school level.”

Amy Hawkins

Amy Hawkins of Anderson, South Carolina, has attended five NSTA conferences including regional conferences. She has some specific goals in mind for this meeting : “I wanted to learn more about scien movement toward core standards and the 21st century initiative going on. I’m looking for ideas to take back to my district.”

She also has some a more general objective. She adds, ”This is where you go to get revitalized. You need it for refreshing your ideas. A lot of it is informal [talking to fellow educators]. I come up with a lot of ideas to take home.”

Steven Thedford

“I’m looking forward to getting a lot of information on astronomy,” says Steven Thedford a chemistry, physics, and physical sciences teacher from the Atlanta, Georgia area. A member of the National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network, he was a presenter at a Research Experience for Teachers program yesterday morning. Thedford also planned to attend a few exhibitor workshops in the hope of working out a few problems he’s had with some technology in his classroom.

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