New evidence from the Lenovo 2011 Global Student Science and Technology Outlook, a survey of 4,800 students from around the world conducted by Red Shift Research, reveals some reasons why students are reluctant to enter science fields.Many students (89%) think that science is “cool,” but only about 50% of students are considering going into one of the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) fields. …more

Science is often taught as a separate subject in school. We treat it as something unique, discrete. But that is school, not life.

The students in front of you are a mixture of auditory (hearing) learners, visual (seeing) learners, and kinesthetic (hands-on) learners–or a combination of either two or three of these modalities.  Try reading aloud any article that you know would be great for your students.   Actually, perform it–pausing, inflecting your voice, and interacting with your students as you read. Kids love to be read to. …more

The first five minutes of class are critical to establishing a climate for learning.  Too often classes start with attendance and housekeeping chores rather than engaging students in thought related to the topic of the day.  Time is at a premium in most classes, so using that first five minutes wisely is important.

Here is what some teachers do to make the most of their start up time. …more

Science vocabulary can be difficult, sometimes even abstract, and this is one of the reasons students don’t connect when reading science texts or articles. If they don’t understand the vocabulary, then there is a very good chance that they won’t understand the underlying concepts.

There’s a lot to be said about using word games to anchor words in the brain while having fun at the same time. A load of positive feedback can work wonders.

Students love the competition, the stickers, the stars, and the candy. Teacher/student-made games, easily made from the internet provide a lot of practices: crossword puzzles work on spelling and meaning; …more

They are slimy, giggly, and overall scary creatures. They often are greeted with terms of endearment like “yuck” or “disgusting”.  Nevertheless, kids can’t resist poking them with clamshells when they wash up on the beach.

Everybody seems to love hating jellyfish. Too many of them can ruin a perfectly enjoyable day at the beach. Sometimes they can actually sting you. Nobody is quite sure what purpose these creatures serve. …more

Where were you at 1:51 EST today? Were you setting up your classroom? Preparing a lesson plan? Getting in the last of your summer vacation?

If you were somewhere on the east coast–say East Windsor, NJ, like me–chances are you felt what I felt. It was about 20 seconds of pure bewilderment.

The earthquake of 2011!

I was in my car eating a hamburger. I thought someone, like the cholesterol police, came up behind me and started jumping on the rear bumper. I got out of my car and continued to watch with amazement while my haunted shiny vehicle did its own little dance right there in the lot!

I even opened my trunk. Did I accidentally lock someone inside it? (I hate when that happens!). …more

The big push in science education now is STEM, that is, the integration of science, technology, engineering, and math. This push is good, because science doesn’t stand alone. Life isn’t experienced in separate disciplines, although we often treat it that way in schools. The good news is that STEM is changing all this. It is saying that science is connected to other subjects.

Of course, STEM doesn’t include all disciplines. Some groups would like to include the arts with STEM, so they are calling their work STEAM. …more

The National Research Council must have had Spigot Science in mind when they developed their recently issued framework for new national standards in science education.  Citing concern for a lower than needed level of US students pursuing science as a career, the NRC has set an objective that by 12th grade  “all students have some appreciation for the beauty and wonder of science”. (Don’t you love how they put that?!).

This is good news particularly because the new standards will promote not only scientific inquiry but also the very important …more