In the November and January issues of The Science Teacher, we wrote about using digital cameras in the classroom. November’s column (read it free) focused on using high speed cameras during inquiry. Wingspan makes affordable cameras that do just the opposite. With their Plantcam, you can easily make time lapse videos by setting the camera [...]
December’s Science 2.0 column focused on using rich media to spark questioning and inquiry. Here is a fully developed example from Dan Meyer’s blog that could work well in a physics classroom. First, the video: The set – up: Ask your students what questions they have about the video? Which of these questions are related [...]
At the beginning of the year, I covered measurement, basic equipment, and other fundamentals I thought my students (seventh graders) needed before we started our labs. Now they seem to have forgotten everything and need to be taught this information again whenever we do a lab. What can I do to help them remember? —Diane, [...]
Inquiry seems like one of those words that as my seventh-graders would say “I know what it means, but it’s hard to ‘splain.” Rather than an inquiry/not inquiry dichotomy, many of the articles in this issue describe inquiry as happening along a continuum, from “teacher-directed low-inquiry activities to open-inquiry investigations in which students generate their [...]
I’ve used some of your suggestions on class participation, but this year I have several fifth-graders who try to monopolize class discussions and often ask questions that are off-topic or beyond the scope of the lesson. Sometimes, I don’t know the answer to their questions. I hate to squelch their enthusiasm for science, but I [...]
The on-site Science Store at the Kansas City Area Conference has been bustling. Books and gear items garnering a lot of attention include John Haysom and Michael Bowen’s new NSTA Press book Predict, Observe, Explain: Activities Enhancing Scientific Understanding and Michael Klentschy’s Using Science Notebooks in Middle School. Susan Koba and Anne Tweed’s Hard-to-Teach Biology [...]
In journals, websites, or workshops we hear about new ideas or strategies and ask “Would that work in my classroom?” We read about student research projects, but this issue looks at teacher research—specifically on action research in the classroom. Action research is inquiry or research focused on efforts to improve student learning. It is usually [...]
We’ve added to the list of chapters you can download for free from NSTA Press books! Visit the free chapters page on the NSTA website to browse the newest additions, including selections from Uncovering Student Ideas in Physical Science, Volume 1: Force and Motion, Using Science Notebooks in Middle School, and More Chemistry Basics: Stop [...]
This summer, I attended the Space Academy for Educators at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama. I am a K–5 reading specialist, and I also am the Science Power Hour instructor in our afterschool program. Obviously, we will be learning lots and lots about space this year! What concepts should I expect my [...]
What’s New for June 14 on NSTA’s various online outposts Highlights of stimulating conversations taking place right now on our listservs: Biology—Science Olympiad and online high school biology courses; Chemistry—“gag” lab gift ideas, like stink-bombs; Earth Science—Glacier activities, the Moh hardness scale, and an excellent mini-tutorial on how to find what you’re looking for on [...]
