K12Science

I was recently reading the May/June 2022 issue of "Science Scope" a publication of the National Science Teaching Association. In this issue, I read the "From the Editor's Desk" column, written by Patty McGinnis. She wrote an article entitled, "Equity in the Science Classroom."

Despite advances in science education, there remains an opportunity gap; historically underperforming populations often opt out of advanced courses and are not equitably represented in the STEM fields. As teachers, we are tasked with closing this gap through practices that allow all students to succeed and thrive.

I was recently reading the March/April 2022 issue of "Science & Children" a publication of the National Science Teaching Association. In this issue, I read the Science 101 column, written by Matt Bobrowsky. He wrote an article entitled, "What's Cool About Water?"

Water is a good example to use when discussing how matter can be in different states — solid, liquid, or gas. Students are quite familiar with solid water and liquid water but gaseous water is a bit more abstract. Bubbles in boiling water are made of water vapor (gaseous water). They are not empty, they are not air bubbles, and they are not made of separate hydrogen and oxygen gases.

I was recently reading the March/April 2022 issue of "Science & Children" a publication of the National Science Teaching Association. In this issue, I read the Formative Assessment column, written by Page Keeley. She wrote an article entitled, "Uncovering Student Ideas About Earth's Defining Feature: The Ocean."

Earth's ocean is the defining feature of our planet. Principle #1 of the "Ocean Literacy Framework" states the Earth has one big ocean with many features. But research shows that both children and adults believe a common misconception that the oceans are not connected and act alone.

I was recently reading the March/April 2022 issue of "Science & Children" a publication of the National Science Teaching Association. In this issue, I read the Editor's Note column, written by Elizabeth Barrett-Zahn. She wrote an article entitled, "Water In Our World."

Water is critical whether we are floating in canoes, learning about waterfowl habitats, saving a local swamp, or building weather models. With over 2 billion people struggling to find safe drinking water access, the topic remains one of the most critical issues of this century.

I was recently reading the March/April 2022 issue of "Science Scope" a publication of the National Science Teaching Association. In this issue, the National Science Teaching Association in collaboration with the Children's Book Council, selected the best STEM books for 2022.

In this podcast, we look at the nine middle school STEM books that were featured:

A Shot in the Arm: Big Ideas that Changed the World #3 — by Don Brown

Bones Unearthed (Creepy and True #3) — by Kerrie Logan Hollihan

Eat Bugs! #1: Project Startup — by Laura D'Asaro, Rose Wang, and Heather Alexander

Molly the Mathematical Mysteries: Ten Interactive Adventures in Mathematical Wonderland — by Eugenia Cheng

Race to the Bottom of the Earth: Surviving Antarctica — by Rebecca E. F. Barone

Scene of the Crime: Tracking Down Criminals with Forensic Science — by Hp Newquist

Upstream, Downstream: Exploring Watershed Connections — by Rowena Rae

What is Nintendo? (What Was?) — by Gina Shaw

Wonder Women of Science: Twelve Geniuses Who Are Currently Rocking Science, Technology, and the World — by Tiera Fletcher and Ginger Rue

I was recently reading the March/April 2022 issue of "Science Scope" a publication of the National Science Teaching Association. In this issue, I read the section, "Citizen Science," written by Jill Nugent. She wrote an article entitled, "The Land Loss Lookout Project."

Land Loss Lookout is a citizen science project from Healthy Gulf and Northeastern University designed to monitor land loss in the Mississippi River Delta region. Students can help categorize wetland impact patterns by looking at color infrared aerial images online. For more information, please visit the project's website at: https://healthygulf.org/get-involved/contact

I was recently reading the March/April 2022 issue of "Science Scope" a publication of the National Science Teaching Association. In this issue, I read the section, "Interdisciplinary Ideas," written by Katie Coppens. She wrote an article entitled, "Creating Confidence and Community Through Nature Journals."

Nature journals are a great tool for teaching students how to think about and express science in a way that's individualized to their needs, while also connecting them to their classmates, teacher, and nature. Nature journaling also allows students to grow in their ability to observe, reflect, and document their own scientific understanding.

I was recently reading the March/April 2022 issue of "Science Scope" a publication of the National Science Teaching Association. In this issue, I read the section, "From the Editor's Desk," written by Patty McGinnis. She wrote an article entitled, "Implicit Bias Has No Room in the Classroom."

The tendency for stereotype-confirming thoughts to pass spontaneously through our minds is what psychologists call implicit bias. One way to cultivate an awareness of our own implicit biases is to participate in Harvard University's Project Implicit:

https://bit.ly/3rpscjM

The project website contains numerous tests designed for individuals to uncover their biases.

I was recently reading the January/February 2022 issue of "The Science Teacher" a publication of the National Science Teaching Association. In this issue, I read the section, "Focus on Physics," written by Paul G. Hewitt. He wrote an article entitled, "A Personal Journey to Classroom Success."

There are some central rules to heed, in order to be, an appreciated and effective science teacher:

1. Attitude

2. Do Less professing and more questioning and listening

3. Not knowing everything is okay

4. Pace your class well

5. Exam coverage

6. Don't frown on the notion of "teaching to the test"

7. Exam fairness

8. Grade exams in a timely manner and post scores quickly

9. Respect is a two-way street

I was recently reading the January/February 2022 issue of "Science & Children" a publication of the National Science Teaching Association. In this issue, I read the section, "Formative Assessment Probes," written by Page Keeley. She wrote an article entitled, "Uncovering Students' Ideas About Using Designs From Nature."

Scientists seek to understand the natural world, while engineers solve problems in a human-designed world. While there are similarities and differences between the work of scientists and engineers, some students may think the natural world applies only to science.