news & tips for teachers
The Science of Teaching
“Flipped” Classrooms: How Do They Work?
May 6th, 2013
by Jacquie McGregor In 2007, Jonathan Bergman and Aaron Sams, teachers at Woodland Park High School in Woodland Park, Colorado, came up with the idea of using PowerPoint to record their classroom lectures and post them online for students to review. Their …
Quiet in the Classroom: The Power of Introverts in Learning
March 5th, 2013
by Jacquie McGregor I came across a series of articles recently that made me rethink some of my philosophies as an educator. A great deal of my time as a teacher has been spent in music classrooms. Band, choir, orchestra, jazz band, …
No Taxation Without Representation
April 2nd, 2012
For Jeff Reed, a 4th grade teacher at Sag Harbor Elementary School, KIDS DISCOVER isn’t just a tool for reading and learning– it’s a catalyst for innovation in the classroom. When Jeff approached us with his idea to hold a classroom trial …
Clothes That Clean Themselves
January 27th, 2012
I just put a load of clothing in my washer. I used to add a cup of detergent now the new technology calls for a tablespoon. If some researchers in China can perfect a technique that allows clothing to clean itself in …
Girls In Science
January 9th, 2012
Several decades ago, the makers of the “Barbie” doll came out with a model that gave a recorded message (among several) that said, “Math is hard.” The company was flooded with letters about the message and the whole event helped to shed …
Doing Good
January 5th, 2012
This is the time of year for food bank drives and coat drives. In this season of good deeds, I have been thinking of science connections that might lead to some interesting collaborations with some of the social service providers in my …
Putting Students in the Driver’s Seat
November 30th, 2011
I have always been a fan of giving students owner rights in the classroom. I think if they share responsibility, they behave better and learn better. This week I am trying to give them more responsibility in generating driving questions for our …
New Standards Are Coming
November 22nd, 2011
There is a lot you can learn from reading state science standards. Mostly, you learn that there is little difference between the standards of the 1980’s and those of the new decade. There are some changes coming. They cannot come soon enough. …
Using Video in The Classroom
November 14th, 2011
The old video tape collection has been changed to DVD and now online streaming but the real richness of the media is not in the format. It is in the content and learning how to effectively use that content regardless of the …
The Periodic Table of Stuff
October 28th, 2011
Each year when my students encounter the periodic table I assign them to create a periodic table of “stuff”. They select and organize some category of items into a table that has trends both vertically and horizontally. It is not easy but …
Lab Supplies in Tight Times
October 13th, 2011
When budgets are tight a lot of the science equipment and supplies you may need to run labs cannot be purchased. That does not mean you cannot do many of those labs. It just requires a bit more creativity. Some lean times …
Earth Science Week
October 4th, 2011
As the leaves change and the weather turns cooler I am more aware of the need for kids to understand big ideas in earth science. That science is sometimes missing in secondary curricula but it could be the glue that connects all …
The Power of Percentages
September 19th, 2011
In math the “to die for” concept has to be percentages. I have not found the one concept in science yet but if I work in percentages there seems to be a huge pile of advantages for my students that follow. So, …
The Importance of the First Unit
September 8th, 2011
Teaching an elective is always a bit of a dance. You want your course to be attractive and full of good content, rigorous and challenging yet not too frightening for the student who is a bit afraid of a risk. The balance …
Getting Back in the Groove
August 19th, 2011
The first days back to school are always an interesting mix of kids who behave because they are not sure what kind of teacher you are and kids who misbehave because the summer norms of behavior do not go away quickly. In …
Oceans of Science
August 1st, 2011
The school year is starting for some of my colleagues and they are barely ready. I think I will take a lesson from that and get my introductory unit ready to go so I can relax a bit before the kids arrive. …
25 Things That Have Names You Will Probably Not Need to Know
July 12th, 2011
My kids love the obscure and the unusual. I can teach them the parts of the water cycle or carbon cycle till I am blue but if I mention one crazy name for an animal or phenomenon and they remember that even …
Summer Science Projects
July 4th, 2011
From July through the middle of August I am working on a variety of projects that mostly involve curriculum and lesson planning. Like my kids I need more activity. With a little creativity and some fun web sites I think I can …
Floods and Science
June 20th, 2011
The water in my part of the country is everywhere this year. The Mighty Missouri River has gone wild. My students are fascinated by the power of water and seem to be amazed at how much damage a flood can cause. This …
The Biology of Hair and Forensic Science
June 6th, 2011
I hate to admit that I have been following the Casey Anthony case on TV. There is method in my madness though. The discussion of the forensics of hair is a great way to teach some interesting inquiry, biology and chemistry. Fifteen …
Solar Summer Fun
June 1st, 2011
Many of us will be teaching or helping at science and math camps this summer. Most have their curriculum set but in case you need some good ideas or some ideas to test this summer and insert into your curriculum for next …
Ending the Year on a High Note
May 23rd, 2011
From early May on my students have senioritis and spring fever. There is no preventative medication but the cure is activity and to do lists. If I want to end the year on a high note I think I need a good …
Defending Opinions
May 10th, 2011
Science often is involved with reading and evaluating the research of others. Yet we rarely ask students to read and give informed opinions about current research materials. This is a huge missed opportunity for learning. In an article last year in the …
What is Your Car Made Of?
May 2nd, 2011
In the days of the Model T (your great-great Grandfather’s car) human hands assembled cars on an assembly line piece by piece. Cars were made of steel and rubber. I was looking at my car and asking the question, what is my …
Easter Egg Science
April 25th, 2011
OK, it is time to head to the local store and pick up some of those plastic Easter eggs on clearance. There are a thousand uses for them in the spring science world. One of my favorite second grade teachers is busy …
The Flu and You
April 20th, 2011
It is flu season and if you have not had a significant number of your kids out with the virus consider yourself lucky. To help next year it would be a great time for a lesson on what a virus is and …
Twenty Questions
April 11th, 2011
I remember playing twenty questions in my classroom. I would select an animal, location, current event or science concept. The students would listen to the rules then begin asking me questions. As I answered the questions they would think through my answers …
Sticky Tape = Sticky Learning
March 31st, 2011
Imagine trying to get by in your classroom for a year without any tape, post it notes or any adhesives at all. That would be difficult. Yet, I never thought until now of how interesting that simple substance, adhesive, is to my …
Micro Motivational Moments
March 18th, 2011
In my online chemistry class there is a student who has fallen behind. She is bright, capable and tied to a host of medical problems. School and learning is her way out but helping her take advantage of the micro motivational opportunities …
Amazing Glass
March 1st, 2011
A friend sent me a You Tube video on the future applications of glass that sent my head spinning. From the touch screens of the new tablets to walls that adjust to light to tables that interact the future of this material …
Providing Good Feedback
February 21st, 2011
We have always known that what you write on papers gets read more than the local paper in may houses. The era of “good job” as feedback is long gone and more specific feedback is necessary. My feedback has changed over the …
How Much Snow?
February 7th, 2011
I was watching the news and a video of a roof collapsing caught my attention. There is some amazing physics in that one video. How do engineers determine how much snow a roof can hold and how do they make sure buildings …
Science as a Soap Opera
January 19th, 2011
We can learn a lot from the way they package TV shows. People are hard wired to pay attention to new things in packets that do not take eons of time. I think we try to package too much into our introductory …
High & Low Number Sense
January 11th, 2011
All my students are fascinated with records, highs and lows. I think this would be an engaging way to teach some number sense in science. I am amazed at the flooding in Australia this week. The human toll that a month of …
Memory Work
January 5th, 2011
Kids are hardwired to remember some things (the color of their favorite toy or the number of days till the next vacation) but in teaching we do not often use the same brain based strategies to help them remember important science ideas. …
The Nuts and Bolts of PISA
December 28th, 2010
As promised this post will get into the nuts and bolts of how to use the PISA assessment items to improve instruction. These test questions are rich with ideas that will extend student learning. The first stop on the tour of these …
What is the Good News In PISA?
December 20th, 2010
PISA, Program for International Student Assessment, is a hot topic right now because our students in the United States generally score at or below average. Why that might be important to a classroom teacher is a good place to start letting these …
How Are We Doing in Science?
December 15th, 2010
Every so often students around the world take assessments that are designed to show how each country is doing in terms of student achievement. The assessment that seems to give the most interesting results in PISA (the Program for International Student Assessment). …
Seedling Questions
December 8th, 2010
There are questions that are directly connected to big ideas and your standards, questions that just come up in class and questions that arise from another question. All are valuable but we tend to not pay as much attention to the most …
Celebrating Holidays
December 2nd, 2010
Many teachers in public schools have had to put away the holiday decorations and face a celebration free December. I know that it is not possible to celebrate Christmas, Kwanza, Chanukah, and a host of other faith based traditions in the classroom. …
Thanksgiving Science
November 23rd, 2010
Every holiday is full of great opportunities to tie in science but in the past I have not made good use of the connections with Thanksgiving. This year I intend to dig into Thanksgiving with gusto (and some great science). The turkey …
The Science of Cheese
November 16th, 2010
We had a brown bag lunch in my room a while ago and one student who was eating lunch with me to make up for some violation of the class rules finished his detention duty and came over when I offered him …
Good Teeth
November 9th, 2010
A student in my class came in and told me that he and his brother drink about one full 2 liter bottle of pop each day. The class decided that this is a good place to begin an investigation on pop, nutrition …
Science with Halloween Leftovers
November 4th, 2010
With the ghost and goblin costumes put away for another year I am left with a rather large bowl of Halloween candy. I think there must be some great classroom ideas in there….and there are. First, know that if I do not …
Brown Bag Science
October 19th, 2010
A friend and I have been working on ways to help kids to adopt healthier eating habits. Short of following them around or inserting a nutrition unit into an already crowded curriculum what should we do? Well, we decided on twice a …
Post It Note Science
October 19th, 2010
The old question goes, “which came first…the chicken or the egg”. This is always good for an interesting discussion in biology. But, buried in the thinking that surrounds that question is the idea that we need to spend some time teaching students …
The Science of Soda Pop
October 6th, 2010
In my school we have just begun to restrict student access to pop machines throughout the day. The students were a bit unhappy about this change and that provides a teachable moment where we can dig into what is in soda and …
Lab Reports 101
September 28th, 2010
It is that time of year when the leaves turn colors and science teacher’s hair turns gray over lab reports that are not up to standards.The kids work hard in labs and often, in my classes, the lab reports did not reflect …
Sleep Tight and Don’t let the Bed Bugs Bite
September 22nd, 2010
The news is filled with news that the United States is under assault from bed bugs. If that isn’t enough to peak kids’ interest and make their skin itch then they have not been watching the news. The good news is that …
Photo Science
September 15th, 2010
Most schools have a few digital cameras sitting around the media center and lots of students have them at home. These can become exceptionally powerful tools for teaching science especially when the seasons change. Around your school there are interesting places that …
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