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My principal questioned why I had U.S. and world wall maps on my request list. “You teach science, not geography” was his comment. But the maps were ordered, and during lessons we pulled them down and found the location of the Namib Desert, the Okefenokee Swamp, and coral atolls in the Pacific. We pinpointed where current events were happening (volcanic eruptions, storms, space shuttle launches and landings). We contrasted the continental shelf off the two coasts of North America and compared the sizes of watersheds. Those maps were among the best resources in the classroom. For younger students, A Sense of Place describes an activity to introduce students to the idea of a map as a model of an area. The Concept of a Model uses the experiences of upper elementary students to help them understand the meaning behind models (including computer models), along with suggestions for helping students with the critical thinking to generate their own models.

When parents hear about “models,” what may come to their minds is the traditional solar-system-on-a-hanger, pretzel stick log cabins, or shoebox dioramas. The authors of Math and Science Night describe an open house event that gets parents and students involved in inquiry activities using models and other hands-on activities to explore STEM concepts. The authors provide a planning guide, checklists, and examples of activities.

Visual literacy in science is one of my interests. What Do You See? has a lesson vignette that shows how a teacher guided students through an understanding of the purpose of visuals in science text. Using the topic of cells, the authors include a chart showing several questioning strategies and a description of how students created and interpreted their own visuals. [SciLinks: Cells (K--4), Animal / Plant Cells (5-8), Cell Structures (5--8),  How Do Plant and Animal Cells Differ? (5-8)]  And visit previous NSTA blogs for more on Visual Literacy and Models, Maps, and Spatial Understanding

A Wave of Interest capitalizes on current events and student curiosity. The teacher/author describes how he and his students created a working model in the classroom to study tsunamis. This activity was a wonderful opportunity for the teacher and students to learn together. Earthquakes! has a review of trade books related to earthquakes. [SciLinks: Tsunamis (K--4), Earthquakes (K--4)]

Models, such as described in Blood in a Bag, can help students visualize concepts. There are directions for this 5E activity to help students understand the composition of blood. [SciLinks: Blood (5--8),  Blood Type (5--8)] Make Your Own Snow Day shows how models can bring experiences into the classroom, even when the real event is not accessible. The 5E lesson incorporates maps and visuals, too. [SciLinks: Snowflakes]

Why Don’t Spiders Stick to Their Own Webs? This sounds like a question that students would ask, as they watch spiders during an investigation such as the one described in A Web of Learning. [SciLinks: Arachnida (5--8)]

Where Are the Stars? This formative assessment probe that looks at students conceptions (or misconceptions) about the solar system. [SciLinks: Stars 5--8, Solar System 5--8] And check out more Connections  for this issue (September 2011). Even if the article does not quite fit with your lesson agenda, there are ideas for handouts, background information sheets, data sheets, rubrics, and other resources.

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When we see the word “model” some of us get flashbacks to Styrofoam planets, papier-mâché volcanoes, or pretzel-stick log cabins. Their construction often was more of an arts-and-crafts exercise. But models in science can be more than representations of objects. As the editor notes, models “help us make predictions, understand complex systems, generate new ideas, and visualize both the very large and the very small. Examples include physical models, mathematical models, computer models, climate models, and model organisms such as laboratory mice and Drosophila fruit flies. The generation of models is the creative engine that drives scientific progress.” Several types of models are described in this month’s issue, and I’ve noted the SciLinks topics that would support the content or include additional activities.

As illustrated on the cover, Antigenic Shift and Drift has information about how modeling can help students understand the evolution of the influenza virus. Along with a basic primer on viruses, the article describes a 5E lesson in which students construct models of viruses to visualize how genetic reassortment (i.e., antigenic shift) occurs in the influenza virus. The author includes a list of materials used in the models as well as online materials. [SciLinks: Virus, Viral Diseases]

Modeling Natural Selection describes a unit that incorporates model-based inquiry and creating wikis to share student learning with a wider audience. (Edutopia recently had a article on the value of writing for an audience.) Because students may have misconceptions about natural selection, the unit begins with a pre-assessment. The links to the assessment are in the article. [SciLinks: Natural Selection]

The author of A Tale of Four Electrons shows that using creative writing can be an engaging way for students to demonstrate what they’ve learned about chemical bonding. Students are given basic concepts and key vocabulary to incorporate into an original story. The author provides a sample story line as a model or guide to help students get started. When it’s so easy for students to copy and paste information, this appears to be a way of encouraging originality and creativity. Writing in science does not have to be dry formulaic, as shown in the samples provided in the article. [SciLinks: Chemical Bonding, Electrons,  Electron Configuration]

This month’s New Teacher’s Toolbox looks at Making the Most of “Lost Days”—how to take advantage of the days before holidays or time before starting a new unit. One suggestion could be to use engaging, multidisciplinary investigations such as the one described in One Fish, Two Fish, Redfish, You Fish! Although the authors refer to the three hands-on simulations as “games,” the teacher can guide the students through a focused discussion on the impact of recreational overfishing. The authors provide suggested procedures and data sheets. This activity could also be appropriate for younger students. [SciLinks: Overfishing] The videos and resources described in Electronic BeeSpace could also be integrated into various topics related to genetics, environmental science, or molecular biology. [SciLinks: Honeybees]

If you thought that case studies were only used in law school, the authors of Teaching Forward show that students’ critical thinking skills can be enhanced and reinforced with case studies on topics of interest (and they can also learn content). The source for the case studies is the National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science (NCCST) at the University of Buffalo.

Another type of communication is described in Student Sustainability Conference. Student interact with community members and professionals in a school-based conference format  to discuss the ideas for promoting sustainability in the schools.  [SciLinks: Sustainability]

In the classroom, many teachers use a “model” of instruction. In the case of Flipping Your Classroom, the teachers still provide the same instructional strategies, but in a different order. Students watch or listen to presentations (e.g., vodcasts) outside of the class period. The teachers then have more in-class time for investigations, clarification, additional practice, or group activities. The teachers act as mentors while the students take on more responsibility for their learning.  Check out Bergman and Sam’s website or their social networking site  for more information and ideas (I’m going to search the program for sessions on this at the NSTA conference next month—I’ll be there.)

Don’t forget to look at the Connections for this issue (February 2011). Even if the article does not quite fit with your lesson agenda, this resource has ideas for handouts, background information sheets, data sheets, rubrics, etc.

What’s New for May on NSTA’s various online outposts

Many of you are wanting to download the resources from the conference in Philadelphia. Here’s how.

On our listservs, flood relief efforts for a school in Tennessee are being arranged on our Chemistry list, and the brain and our senses is being discussed in the General Science listserv.

In NSTA’s online professional learning communities, make sure to check out all the presentation resources for our Philadelphia Conference.

On our “core site” (www.nsta.org): read about National Lab Day and get involved!

On Facebook, discussions abound about summer activities and the coming end of the school year..

On LinkedIn, lots of discussions about biology teaching.

And of course, on our Twitter stream, science educators are tweeting and re-tweeting about an opportunity to fly a microgravity flight!

Renew Your Membership!

Now is the time to insure that you don’t miss a single journal issue or one minute of the time you use to network and build professional connections here in these online communities. Click the link above to renew your membership and insure that NSTA stays in your corner for your science education career!

Ellis Island...Science and Immigration Policy

Ellis Island Ambassadors Barbara DeSantis, Cindy Jenkins, and Beth Topinka are interested in  investigating how government policy and science are intertwined and in the historical context of innovations and discoveries. They participated in a summer project at Ellis Island on  the science of historical restorations, in which teachers studied topics such as the chemistry of paint chips and floor coverings and the biology behind the medical screenings that took place at Ellis Island during the 20th century.

They shared some of the projects in which elementary students researched some of the diseases and other physical conditions for which immigrants were screened. They also shared some poignant photographs of Ellis Island, how they also integrated language arts with the projects, and anecdotes about their studies.

They encourage teachers to use the historical places and artifacts in our own locations as a basis for scientific inquiry. Barbara, who is doing a Web 2.0 session on Sunday, also demonstrated several web-based tools that students and teachers use to organize and display their work.

The word “data” for some people conjures up pages of numbers or a dreadful experience in statistics class. But get rid of the deer-in-the-headlights look and dig into lessons focused on forensics, snow, fruit flies, and Down syndrome. The protocols, rubrics, and examples can help you work with students in this critical inquiry process.

I’ve been trying to learn more bird songs, from CDs and other media. So I was blown away by the idea of learning insect sounds as described in Exploring Sound with Insects. It was fascinating to read how the authors combined the physics of sound with an investigation in biology. I downloaded the software Raven Lite (free!) from Cornell University and spent an entire evening “playing around” with it and with the sound resources listed at the end of the article. The authors describe how to use the software to record and analyze insect songs, but it seems like the software could be used to record and analyze musical sounds or environmental sounds, too. The whole lesson looks fascinating, and if you’re concerned about learning the software, perhaps a few students could become familiar with it and do a demonstration for the class? (For background resources on sound, check out SciLinks with the keywords “sound” and “communication”)

With many of us in the grips of winter weather, perhaps a virtual exploration of Hawaii would be interesting. The lesson described in Predicting the Timing and Location of the Next Hawaiian Volcano shows students how to extract data from maps, diagrams, and tables and how to analyze the data by looking for trends and patterns. For background information for this lesson, check out SciLinks with the keywords “volcano” and “ring of fire” – a great way to integrate concepts in earth science and geography.

As someone who actually enjoys statistics, I was intrigued by the article Is Knowledge Random? Introducing Sampling and Bias Through Outdoor Inquiry. My state includes statistics in the math standards, so this lesson could be a way to show students some practical connections between science and math. I’ll share this with a math colleague.

I’m incredibly excited about heading to the NSTA Portland conference next week!  The first trimester is just ending at the school where I teach and I’ve spent an untold number of hours grading and writing report card comments.  The fact that in just one week I’ll go on a mini-vacation thrills me to no end.  Yes, it’s technically a work-related vacation, but as anyone who has ever been to a NSTA conference knows,it’s going to be a ton of fun!

I have a huge passion for the incorporation of technology into the science classroom.  While I use lots of different online mediums in my high school biology classes, my major area of focus has been the development of a student-run blog, Extreme Biology.  There are so many reasons why blogs are valuable tools to use in a science (or any) classroom.  At the NSTA Conference in Portland I’ll be giving a presentation entitled, “Using Blogs to Promote Science Literacy”, on Friday, November 21, from 9:30-10:30 in the Hilton Tower Broadway III/IV room.

In addition to my presentation, I’ll be blogging about my conference experience at this website.  I look forward to meeting many of the amazing and dedicated people who work in science education.  If you see a woman walking around with a camera in one hand, camcorder in the other, and a laptop under one arm come say hello!!!  It just might be me!!! 

Here is an interesting coincidence. The other day, I was reading the Science Teacher article on “The Life and Work of John Snow,” with suggestions for an inquiry-based unit of study that focuses on the history and nature of science. One of the recommended websites, John Snow, is an interesting collection of resources related to his study of cholera during an 19th century epidemic in England. I poked around it for a while, looking at the fascinating period maps and other primary sources. I also logged into SciLinks and did a keyword search on disease for more related information. Later that day, my brother phoned with an invitation to attend a lecture at a local college given by Dr. Rita Colwell, the former director of the National Science Foundation. As we walked into the auditorium we were given a card with the title of her presentation–Global Climate, the Oceans, and Human Health: The Cholera Paradigm. Two references to cholera in the same week! Was this a sign?

Dr. Colwell described the occurrence of cholera in the world, her research on the subject (including how copepods are carriers) and discussed how advances in oceanography, ecology, microbiology, marine biology, epidemiology, medicine, and satellite imagery are being used to create predictive models of potential outbreaks of the disease. She also noted how a low-tech system of filtering water through cloth can reduce the incidence of this disease. If you want to fast-forward your students to a 21st century description of how cholera is being studied, try googling colwell + cholera for information on Dr. Colwell and her team’s studies.

Dr. Colwell concluded her talk summarizing science in the 21st century in two words: international and interdisciplinary. How can we bring these words to life in our classrooms?

This month’s journal has several articles that describe interdisciplinary studies – from inquiry using nematodes, food enzymes, and electrophoresis to a discussion of current taxonomy (astronomers are not the only scientists who reclassify things based on new evidence!).

As I listened to Dr. Colwell’s speech, I kept thinking of the authors’ description of Snow in the journal article–creative, courageous, pursued anomalies, and collaborative–and how this 21st century scientist exhibits these same characteristics as the 19th century one. How do our science classes help students to develop these characteristics?