Tag Archives: assessment

Uncovering Student Ideas in Science Workshops at NSTA’s Area Conferences This Fall

By Wendy Rubin, Managing Editor, NSTA Press | Published: September 10, 2014

“Uncovering Student Ideas is highly recommended for teachers at every level; it contains a set of essential tools that cross discipline, grade, and ability levels. There’s no better way to guide your planning and decision-making process.” —from Juliana Texley’s review of Uncovering Student Ideas in Science, Vol. 4 Research has shown that the effective use […]

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Displaying Student Work

By Mary Bigelow | Published: April 14, 2014

I inherited a classroom-lab from a retired teacher, and I want to replace some of the generic posters with displays of student work. One of my colleagues says this is not a good idea. She didn’t explain her reasons, but now I’m not sure what to do. —Therese, Charlotte, North Carolina I’ve worked on statewide […]

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Scheduling make-ups

By Mary Bigelow | Published: March 3, 2014

At the end of a unit, there are always students who haven’t completed some assignments. Coming in before or after school is not an option for most of my students. Rather than moving on to the next unit, knowing they’ll fall even further behind, I’d like to provide some class time for this make-up work. […]

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Observing students as an assessment

By Mary Bigelow | Published: February 28, 2014

As part of a science methods class, we’ve been assigned to create an observation tool to assess students. I’ve seen many articles and suggestions online for helping students become good observers and tools for administrators to use when observing teachers. But I haven’t seen much on teachers observing students. What can I assess by watching […]

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Getting a grip on grading

By Mary Bigelow | Published: January 19, 2014

I feel overwhelmed by the grading process. It seems like I spend most of my waking hours grading homework, lab reports, tests, quizzes, notebooks, and projects. I teach two science courses at the high school and meet 150 students every day.  What can I do to use my time better and meet the deadlines? —Stacy, […]

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NSTA’s K-College Science Education Journals: January 2014 Issues Online

By Lauren Jonas, NSTA Social Media Director | Published: January 9, 2014

Communicating science—NSTA’s journals are all about it this month—helping children be captivated by the wonders of science, empowering them to share, and making science relevant to students as they grow into responsible citizens. The links below will take you to science education resources written by educators, for educators. NSTA’s January 2014 journals are live online […]

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Translating the NGSS for Classroom Instruction

By Carole Hayward | Published: November 18, 2013

Rodger Bybee’s new book Translating the NGSS for Classroom Instruction gives science teachers a powerful tool for moving the new science standards into classroom practices. Having the NGSS is a critical piece, but they will only go so far in affecting true reform if the standards aren’t applied to how science education is delivered in […]

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NSTA’s K-College Journals: Live for November

By Lauren Jonas, NSTA Social Media Director | Published: November 13, 2013

You’ve turned the clocks back an hour, but you’re still short on time—that’s what most teachers tell us! How can the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) help? With grade-level journals targeted to your needs, written by educators who know what works. Our November journals are live online (with select articles being free for all, and […]

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Assessment products and processes

By Mary Bigelow | Published: November 7, 2013

What is the purpose of an assessment? The featured articles in this issue show assessment as a true part of the instructional process, not an add-on to get a score for a grade. As I read the articles, I was impressed at how the assessments were designed to match the learning goals and the instructional […]

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Assessments: Part of the learning process

By Mary Bigelow | Published: September 29, 2013

Do you have advice on assessments that would be helpful for sharing with my mentee, a new teacher? —Shirley, Lexington, Kentucky Assessing student learning can (and should) include more than final tests. The process has components before, during, and at the end of the unit of instruction. You might find my archived posts with questions […]

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