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- So close, yet so far
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Recent comments
- EllaJay Parfitt on New blog on the block
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- MaryB on Formative assessments
- MaryB on A picture is worth a thousand words
- MaryB on Formative assessments
- Marie Faust Evitt on Seasonal scavenger hunt
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- Never Be Within Doors… | Purple For Parenting on Are children getting enough direct experience with natural materials?
Author Archives: MaryB
Science careers
There was an interesting article recently in eSchool News. Survey: Educators aren’t discussing STEM careers with students reports on a survey of students who basically said that their teachers make the content interesting, but they don’t always make the connection to science and engineering as careers.
To access the entire article, you need to subscribe [...]
Conference first-timer
I will be attending the NSTA national conference for the first time. And while I am really excited, I am also nervous. Can you give a newbie some advice on how to approach the conference? I want to make the most of this experience.
—Krishna, Chicago, IL
Attending this event is a wonderful professional experience. I assume [...]
National Board Certification
I currently teach third grade, and I’m a candidate for National Board Certification (NBC) for Generalist/Middle Childhood (7–12 year olds). I would like advice for studying for the Knowledge of Science assessment. I’d also appreciate any other tips for preparing for this certification.
—Lori, Evanston, Illinois
According to the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) website, [...]
Differentiated instruction
Consider the facility that students have with electronic communications and games. They somehow had to “learn” how to use these tools and figure out the rules and strategies of the games. But I heard some teachers talking about how “students do not want to learn.” The evidence the teachers had for their statement was their [...]
Going green
Teachers use several strategies at the end of the school year. One strategy is to try to cram in as many topics as possible in an effort to “cover” everything. Other teachers use culminating or capstone projects to integrate concepts and give students a chance to use what they’ve learned in science (and other subjects). [...]
Posted in SciLinks Tagged classroom strategies, environmental science, NSTA Recommends, online resources, safety, weather 1 comment
Science in the community
I’m hoping that secondary teachers will take a look at the articles that describe authentic investigations conducted by young scientists in their communities: Creative Soil Conservation and Boulder Creek Study. The latter has examples of student work as they studied the water quality in their communities, using various indicators, including the presence of aquatic invertebrates. [...]
Posted in SciLinks Tagged anatomy, assessment, community, Earth science, earthquakes, engineering, environmental science, invertebrates, outdoors, plants, vertebrates, weather 1 comment
Formative assessments
I’m looking for suggestions for formative assessments. Do you have some unique ideas to assess students quickly and adjust instruction accordingly?
—Karen, Arizona
Formative assessments are ongoing, classroom level assessments critical to discovering what students are learning during the instructional process so we can move on (if students have learned a topic) or revisit our instruction to [...]
Science activities: quantity vs. quality
My ninth grade students enjoy labs, but my colleagues say I do too many and the students aren’t learning anything. How many labs should I do each week?
—Carolyn, Billings, Montana
I’m curious as to what you mean by “labs.” Some teachers use the word lab to describe a variety of activities from investigations and experiments to [...]
Science and current events
To help students understand this month’s earthquake in Haiti, the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology has compiled a set of resources called Recent Earthquake Teachable Moments. These include links to animations and visualizations, presentations, news releases, and other materials for students and teachers to explore seismology within the context of current activity. These resources are [...]
Looking for a challenge