Jan28

Year of Science 2009

As mentioned in NSTA Reports, the new year has been designated Year of Science 2009 The website has many suggestions for YoS events and ideas for building interest in science.

January's theme is the Process and Nature of Science. But get ready for February – February 12 is the 200th anniversary of Darwin's birth with events being planned around the world. So it's fitting that the YoS theme for the month is Evolution.

The January 2009 edition of Scientific American (which you can read online) has an Evolution theme. And NSTA's Evolution Toolkit is a comprehensive resource on the subject.

Several websites have been added to the SciLinks sites on Evolution: rEvolution, Evidence: How Do We Know What We Know?, Explorations Through Time, and The Missing Link

Although it's not about science per se, the National Science Foundation has just published a resource entitled Math - What's the Problem that you should look at yourself and share with your colleagues in mathematics. This special report incorporates video clips and other resources.
Published: Jan-28-09 | 0 Comments | 0 Links to this post

Jan21

Change

Science Scope Cover I've worked with several schools that are framing their curriculum and units of instruction around big ideas, key understandings, generative topics, or themes (the terminology depends on which model is being used). The rationale for using an overarching concept is that it helps to pull together a disjointed set of topics, provides a focus for instruction, and helps students see connections among concepts.

If you’re struggling to find a "big idea" in science, look no further than this month's issue of Science Scope. for resources on the concept of Change. Think of how many science topics include changes: plant and animal life cycles, the seasons, acceleration, the rock cycle, climate change, weather, the night sky, motion, chemical and physical changes, reflection and refraction, evolution, and the list goes on (feel free to add more). If there's a constant in science, it's the idea of change (discuss that over a cup of coffee some time!).

If you enter the word "change" as a SciLinks keyword, you'll see a list of topics. Among them are the ones highlighted in the journal: Wikis, Moodles, blogs, Face Book, podcasts, Smart Boards – just look at the changes in technology applications and resources that are available to teachers and students to access and share information. Whether it's a fact-to-face or online, professional development is changing, too, from one-shot "sit and git" presentations to more focused and intensive projects that are related to and embedded in actual practice.

The overemphasis that some are placing on standardized tests and changes in the economy that are forcing schools to make hard decisions illustrate that not every change is positive, of course. And there are those who lament that students aren't the same as they used to be. I've heard this comment for a zillion years. I'd be curious to know when there was a time when students were not changing!

Published: Jan-21-09 | 0 Comments | 128 Links to this post

Jan18

Record Keeping in Science

Science and Children Cover With the theme of "record keeping," we might have expected the cover photo to show children writing in a notebook or typing on a computer. Instead, the editor chose a photo of a child looking through binoculars with an "Oh Wow!" expression. As teachers, we live for these Oh Wow! or Aha! events. But if we're not careful, these can easily become a series of unconnected events that can lead to Ho Hum or So What attitudes toward science. According to many of the articles in this issue, having students discuss, share, write, and record data makes the difference.

For example, in Just Like Real Scientists students used a copy of records kept by Ian Gilby (Jane Goodall's counterpart) as an inspiration to create a way to observe, record, and discuss the behaviors of their own pets. If you're planning a field trip, check out A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words for an alternative to the traditional scavenger hunt. Note how the teacher guides students through asking questions before a trip to the zoo, shows them how to collect both written and visual data, and then facilitates their sharing their observations afterward. (Note: the author refers to the 5E Learning Cycle. Click here for more information.)

Sometimes we spend so much time on organizing data that we run out of steam when it comes to doing anything with the data! Organizing Weather Data has ideas for incorporating weather data into morning meeting time. Older students can get ideas for organizing their weather data from websites such as NOAA's National Climatic Data Center or the National Weather Service.

If the student in the photo has just spotted an interesting bird, this interest may have been sparked by activities such as What Sort of Feather? To learn more about birds so that you can spark a similar interest, SciLinks has a collection of links on birds for younger students. For students in grades 5-8, go to SciLinks and type in "birds" as a keyword. You'll find websites for several concepts related to birds. One of my new favorites is an online Bird Guide with photos, maps, sounds, and "cool facts."

An O-fish-al Research Project shows how to structure online research and real-time observations to help students create both written and PowerPoint documentation (a rubric is provided). First Grade Record Keepers (with the guidance of their teacher) charted the growth of salamanders and discussed what they had in their journals. SciLinks can help you find more information on salamanders and other amphibians.

I noticed that most of the articles here dealt with observing and documenting animal behaviors. For more ideas, you can check out the SciLinks websites on the topic Animal Behaviors. But I wonder what if the child's "O Wow" came from looking at big machines, cloud formations, mountains, a waterfall, airplanes, or a rainbow? How can we help students with record-keeping or journaling on these topics?
Published: Jan-18-09 | 0 Comments | 33 Links to this post

Jan10

Polar Science

The Science Teacher Cover It used to be that a unit on the polar regions focused on historical explorations or cute stories about polar bears and penguins. But with the Internet, students can get involved themselves in real-time explorations and studies, such as the ones featured in this month's issue. In case you erased your copy of NSTA's Science Class, this month's issue had a list of links for On the Web: Polar Science and the International Polar Year . Other resources are available from the organizations such as the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution: Polar Research and Polar Discovery. Other relevant website can be found on the SciLinks site with the keyword polar marine ecosystems.

A colleague tuned me in to Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears, an online magazine designed for K-5 teachers. But don't scoff at this – there are no dancing cartoons here, and when I looked at the online versions for grades 4-5, this could be perfect for older students who have challenges reading high school level materials. These nonfiction books are serious science in them and the site itself is not childish.

It seems that just about every topic in science has engaging projects and resources for the classroom. But one refrain keeps coming up: "I'd love to do these, but I have too much to cover." If we assume that "cover" means to transmit information, the lecture is how this is often accomplished. The latest issue of Learning and Leading with Technology has an interesting point/counterpoint discussion on the topic Should Podcasts Replace Lectures? One of the participants makes a strong case for the value of interactive lectures, while the other notes that if a lecture is simply a one-way transmission of information, why not take advantage of the medium that has become an integral part of our students' lives.

Our students are already wired for sound! I had to stop for a school bus recently, and just about every student who got off had a cell phone and/or an iPod attached to his or her ears. I wonder if the students who frequently forget their homework or textbooks ever leave home without their electronics? This same issue of Learning and Leading also had an article Remixing Chemistry Class that describes how two chemistry teachers make "vodcasts" (videos with lectures and demonstrations) to free up class time for lab investigations and other activities. Unfortunately, the article is available online only to members of ISTE, but your school's technology coordinator may be a member and can get you the article.

If you're not as familiar with podcasts as you'd like to be, many organizations have daily or weekly podcasts (which you can also listen to on your computer – you don't need to walk around with earbuds). Scientific American and AAAS have brief podcasts on a variety of topics. If you Google science + podcast,, you get a lengthy list. And don't forget NSTA's Lab Out Loud (check out episode 23 on the Period Table of Videos).

If you'd like to take the plunge and try to create a podcast, your students can probably show you how, or you can check out the Resources section of the EdTech Innovators website. These two science teachers have embraced the way current technologies can engage students. Their resources include free downloads of the software and step-by-step directions for creating a podcast. Wouldn't it be interesting to have students create podcasts – for review or make-up work or for younger students?
Published: Jan-10-09 | 0 Comments | 115 Links to this post