Conference Blog

Tying Your Conference Experience Together

Lynn Petrinjak — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:35:00 GMT

Strands of silk woven into a tapestry. Single strands of thread twined into rope. Strands can be a simple foundation for something greater—more beautiful, stronger, or useful. Following a strand at an NSTA regional conference can have a similar result, combining several sessions into a comprehensive professional development experience.

Three strands run through the Phoenix conference. Conference attendees can focus their professional development experience by following a particular strand such as "Relationships: Building Professional Relationships for Transformative Learning." Thirteen sessions over three days (only two presentations overlap) explore how educators working together can enhance their students’ learning experiences, as well as their own. Each session offers a different view on professional relationships: some focus on peer outreach, one on professional organizations membership, another on participation in summer internships. The featured presentation from Page Keeley, retiring president of NSTA, will focus on professional learning communities and their potential to change science teaching and learning.

Whether you opt to follow a strand, or weave your own schedule, you’ll leave the conference a stronger educator, equipped with useful ideas (and perhaps samples!) to share with your colleagues and students at home.

—Lynn Petrinjak

Bill Robertson Helps One Teacher Explain "Why"

Tyson Brown — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:06:00 GMT

When I was in Minneapolis last week, I ran into Patrine Turnbloom just outside the exhibit hall. Patrine recently changed grades, and she wanted some help with a few content areas, so she could explain the "why" behind certain concepts. Here are her thoughts on how Bill Robertson's books help her do that (via Teacher Tube).

--Tyson Brown

Using SciLinks

Tyson Brown — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:15:00 GMT

At the NSTA conference in Minneapolis, last week, I asked a number of teachers how they use SciLinks. Here's Fran Weber's response via Teacher Tube.

How do you use SciLinks? What could we do to make it better? Please let us know via comment to this post, or zip me a note -- tbrown@nsta.org.

--Tyson Brown

Science for the Younger Set

Tyson Brown — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 21:22:00 GMT

http://www.flickr.com/photos/
cambodia4kidsorg
// CC BY 2.0

You’re a preschool teacher who wants to come to NSTA’s conference in Fort Lauderdale, but you don’t want your principal to think you’ll be spending your time playing Beach Blanket Bingo.

No worries—you can tell him/her the conference offers nine different sessions for preschool teachers that won’t be held on the beach or at the pool.

Tell him/her that on Thursday, November 12, you’ll be busy doing 12 simple science activities for primary students that take 30 minutes or less...exploring weather-related investigations…discovering how storylines, discrepant events, and magic develop concepts in both physical and biological sciences…and hearing what author Marianne Berkes has to say about expanding students' reading experiences in science and other core subjects.

On Friday, at the Preschool Science Education presentation, you’ll be absorbed in learning how to create fun environmental science lessons based on early childhood development theory. And far from goofing off on Saturday, you’ll be finding out about P.A.S.S.© (Portable Affordable Simple Science)…engaging in activities from Project WILD's Early Childhood program…getting over your fears about having animals in the classroom…and picking up some new ideas for using science notebooks to teach energy.

Tell your principal you’ll also be bringing back all kinds of materials to share with your colleagues. You can even invite him/her to help you plan your schedule. Use the Fort Lauderdale session browser/scheduler and select “preschool” in the “browse by grade level” option to get the scoop on science for the younger set.

—Debra Shapiro

Science Matters to Minnesota!

Tyson Brown — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 22:38:00 GMT

What does SciGirls, Bonsais, wind turbines, pasta bridges have in common? They all are aspects of the science rich community of Minneapolis, MN. The first Science Matters community event was held on Saturday morning for elementary science teachers and parents. It was a great success. There were 200 + people, stations to do science, lots free materials and great community resources and ideas for teachers and parents. The participants interacted with at least 15 community organizations.

The need to reach parents is critical for all of us. A recent survey conducted by Intel indicated parents felt better prepared to talk with their child about drugs than science or mathematics. We need to provide them with the examples, ideas, and information for them to support their child.

This approach to engage elementary teachers and parents will be offered at other NSTA conferences in Phoenix and Ft. Lauderdale in cooperation with local PBS stations. Local hosts and sponsors in Minneapolis included Twin Cities Public Television and 3M. It was really great to see the enthusiasm for Science Matters in MN. We think this will be the case elsewhere, too.

--Francis Eberle

Urban Science Educators Share Strategies

Tyson Brown — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 09:52:00 GMT

October 30-It is Friday but I must tell you about the Urban Science Education Leaders (USEL) event. It was very exciting! Why? The participants were so engaging and really were looking for information and answers and just wanted to learn and see more. They began with the chair of the Urban Science Education Leaders presentation. Dr. Bobby Jean-Pierre has amassed research over the last 10 years on how to better engagement between administrators and teachers. Her studies and survey showed that allowing teachers a stake in the process was the most effective approach. She spoke passionately as an educator and as a parent who wanted to see all children succeed.

Dr. Jean-Pierre also challenged the participants to look at this whole process of teaching inquiry. What does inquiry look like in the classroom? One teacher from a small area in Minnesota asked about the time it takes to teach inquiry, which is a technique that has been found to be most effective in teaching science to students. Basically, the students are guided to ask questions, find evidence, and make deductions. It is an engaging way to involve students and make science interesting because it allows the students natural curiosity to lead them in the process. This sparked a lot of discussion and led to our tour of two schools that have some innovative approaches to teaching science.

The first school Battle Creek Middle School uses the single gender approach and with great success. They have common time for the boys and girls to mingle but the classes are all single gender. The premise is that girls and boys process information differently, so their teachers prepare the lessons in science using inquiry and the natural strengths of the gender they are teaching. The girls classes are more ‘chatty’ and the boys classes a bit calmer. The USEL participants were able to talk with the students and watch the classes and make observations.

The second school, Washington Technology Magnet Middle School, uses the BioSmart model and introduces the students to three strands, Bio Medical and Health Services, Bio Engineering and Technology, and Bio Communication (Business and Marketing). It is a high-tech approach with practical applications and allows students to follow a path in one of those areas more intensely in high school if they so choose. This gives them practical skills and promotes critical thinking and analysis.

As an example, they have a shop class, but it is not like the wood shop class of old. The students design their projects using AutoCAD, a design program used in industry. They then take their design and build it in the wood shop studio and test it.

When we returned from the tour the principals of the two schools came and answered questions. The discussion was lively and interactive and the participants really grilled the principals on every aspect of their programs. Then the science coordinator and the STEM coordinator presented an education overview of Minnesota, focusing on urban challenges. It was insightful to see how they had and continue to make the adjustment to address the changing demographics and the new challenges that come from a diverse demographic.

For the first time in the history of the state, they are getting an influx of very diverse populations looking for a new life. Language barriers as well as cultural and economic barriers are difficult, but the state of Minnesota educational system has implemented many steps and programs to assist their educators in handling the transition, so students are not lost in the system. It was an inspiring, informative and instructional day. This is a wonderful program; the participants appreciated the dialogue, the information and most of all the sharing with colleagues. We had three teachers from Canada and their system is different but they saw a lot of informative approaches and shared with other teachers. They were really excited. We look forward to more from this program.

--Tanya Radford

Dark Matter, Dark Socks

Tyson Brown — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 10:05:00 GMT

Seeing might be believing, but sometimes it’s what can’t be seen that’s most interesting. Since the 1930s, researchers have theorized that dark matter—which can’t be perceived by our eyes—is responsible for anomalies in the rotation of galaxies and other phenomena. Maybe it can account for socks vanishing from the dryer, or would that be a black hole? At the NSTA Conference on Thursday, conference attendees got a chance to see how they can make dark matter work in their high school classes when Nancy Bynum shared tips on Using Dark Matter to Teach Physics Concepts. “Dark Matter can be used to teach uniform circular motion, universal gravitation, two dimensional collisions, nature of science and technology as well as Newton's second law,” says Bynum. Although there isn’t any direct evidence that dark matter exists, many physicists think it does. Bynum didn't offer conclusive evidence of dark matter, but during the session, she shed light on a topic that leaves many students in the dark. Let me know if you find any stray socks. --Lynn Petrinjak

Great Science in Urban Middle Schools

Tyson Brown — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 09:07:00 GMT

If you’re an administrator in an urban middle school, come to the NSTA Conference in Minneapolis. You can spend a day with a group of dedicated urban science educators—the Urban Science Education Leaders (USEL)—who are working to change the way science is taught in urban schools. One neat thing about this workshop is it includes visits to Minneapolis/St. Paul middle schools where you can see best practices in action.

For example, Battle Creek Middle School has achieved success by organizing students into single-gender academies and using the latest research when developing lesson plans and activities. At Hazel Park Middle School Academy, the staff is implementing an innovative Professional Learning Community and grading system based on the work of author and educator Richard DuFour.

You have to preregister for this October 28 event, which will also feature presentations from the Minnesota Department of Education’s science and STEM directors.

—Debra Shapiro

Why Bill Robertson Goes to Conferences: Only 60 Shopping Days Until Christmas

Tyson Brown — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 09:48:00 GMT

We asked NSTA author what he gets out of going to NSTA conferences (he's going to all three: Minneapolis, Ft Lauderdale, and Phoenix). Here's what he had to say:

I work at home, so the thought of wearing something other than sweats to work isn’t something that generally gets me excited. When it comes to attending NSTA conferences, though, it’s worth the wardrobe change.

The main reason I attend the conferences is to promote my books, but there’s a lot more than that to look forward to. I connect with friends and colleagues I haven’t seen in a while, and when there are no conflicts with my own sessions, I get to learn a few new things from other presentations. Most important to me, however, is the ability to talk with teachers who use my books.

Some are new to what I have to offer and are willing to try something to shore up their content knowledge. Some, such as teachers who got thrust into a new science teaching field, thank me for keeping them sane. Some let me know about things that are wrong with my books. Some just want to talk, sometimes about science in the classroom and sometimes just cause it’s fun to get together with like-minded science geeks.

The best thing about all these conversations is that we’re all in it together. It’s a conference full of regular people trying to improve their ability to do their job. Very few people I see at NSTA conferences are full of themselves and out to impress others, something I can’t necessarily say about other professional meetings I’ve attended.

And then there’s the real reason I go to these things—I can stock up on Christmas presents with one trip through the exhibit hall.

Science is a Breeze

Tyson Brown — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 13:21:00 GMT

The average wind speed in Minneapolis is 10 miles per hour (mph), equal to the Windy City of Chicago, according to worldfactsandfigures.com. While that makes Minneapolis a less-than-ideal location for a wind turbine, it is still good setting for a wind turbine workshop!

Michael Arquin of the KidWind Project will offer his insight into a "Wind Turbine Challenge: How to Hold One in Your State or Region" on Oct. 29. A former sixth grade science teacher, Arquin promises to share lesson plans and practical guides. The workshop is targeted to middle and high school teachers and informal educators. The KidWind website promises the workshop will provide “an introduction to wind energy science and technology.”

Wind energy is one possible way to reduce America's reliance on fossil fuels. Did you know the average turbine on a wind farm generates 1.5 - 2 MW (Megawatts) of electricity? That’s enough to power 450-600 homes in the United States. In Germany, where homes consume less energy, that turbine could power up to 1,500 homes.

In case you were wondering, Fort Lauderdale and Phoenix, with average wind speeds of 10 and 6 mph respectively, wouldn’t be good locations for wind farms, either. To be efficient, turbines need to be located in areas with an average annual wind speed of at least 13 mph.

—Lynn Petrinjak