by Laura Henriques

CSTA has two different awards that honor individuals. The CSTA Future Science Teacher Award recognizes promising college students with potential to be an outstanding science educator. (more…)

The 2013 Award Season is now open! One of the benefits of being a CSTA member is your eligibility for awards as well as your eligibility to nominate someone for an award. CSTA offers two awards the Future Science Teacher Award and the prestigious Margaret Nicholson Distinguished Service Award. May 16 is the deadline for nominations for these two awards. CSTA believes that the importance of science education cannot be overstated. Given the essential presence of the sciences in understanding the past and planning for the future, science education remains, and will increasingly be one of the most important disciplines in education. CSTA is committed to recognizing and encouraging excellence in science teaching through the presentation of awards to science educators who have made outstanding contributions in science education in the state and who are poised to continue the momentum of providing high quality, relevant science education into the future. (more…)

eCYBERMISSION is a web-based Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) competition free for students in grades six through nine (more…)

by Laura Henriques

The holiday season is here! For many of us, that means gift giving. If you are like me, you want to avoid the parking lots and lines at the mall and do your shopping online. We have a really simple way for you to do your online purchases and help CSTA at the same time! GoodSearch/GoodShop is an online program that will donate a percentage of your online purchase price to the non-profit of your choice, including CSTA. There is no additional cost to you, you merely need to search and shop through the GoodSearch/GoodShop portal. Not only will CSTA get a donation for each purchase you make, there are online coupons for many vendors so you may even save money in the process. There is a search box associated with the site and each time you search the web CSTA gets a penny. Doesn’t sound like much but it does add up! (more…)

by Minda Berbeco

As the newest Programs and Policy Director here at the National Center for Science Education, I am constantly asked where educators can find good lesson plans and classroom activities to teach about climate change.

• Is there something for 2nd graders?
• Can it involve water resources?
• How about a chemistry focus?
• Will it fit into already established statewide science standards?
• Can it involve students in the search for practical solutions?

(more…)

The California State Board of Education will hear a report on the potential future of assessments on a state-wide level in California during its November 7-8, 2013 meeting. The agenda item is scheduled to be presented on Thursday, November 8. With the sunset of STAR scheduled for July, 2014 and the timeline for instituting new assessments for Common Core standards outlined in AB250, the State is under a great deal of pressure to develop its future assessment system. Superintendent Torlakson will present his final recommendations for the future state-wide assessment to legislature sometime in November.

Sample Items and Performance Tasks Released on October 9
Starting October 9, the sample items and performance tasks can be accessed from the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) Sample Items and Performance Tasks Web site. Help desk support will be provided through November 2, during the hours of 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. eastern time, Monday through Friday. Sample items and performance tasks will provide the first look at next-generation assessments. The samples illustrate the rigor and complexity of the English language arts/literacy and mathematics items and performance tasks students will encounter on the SBAC assessments. They will also signal to educators the shifts in instruction that will be required to help students meet the demands of the CCSS and the new assessments. (more…)

The annual meeting of the members of the California Science Teachers Association will be held on Friday, October 19, 2012, 9:15 am  in Salon I/II/III of the Marriott San Jose Hotel, located at 301 S. Market Street, San Jose, CA 95113. Please join CSTA for an update on the business of the association followed by a keynote presentation by Helen Quinn!

CSTA Annual Report to Members:

WASHINGTON, DC — Today, the Obama Administration will announce the President’s plan for the creation of a new, national Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Master Teacher Corps comprised of some of the nation’s finest educators in STEM subjects. The STEM Master Teacher Corps will begin with 50 exceptional STEM teachers established in 50 sites and will be expanded over 4 years to reach 10,000 Master Teachers. These selected teachers will make a multi-year commitment to the Corps and, in exchange for their expertise, leadership and service, will receive an annual stipend of up to $20,000 on top of their base salary. The Administration will launch this Teacher Corps with the $1 billion from the President’s 2013 budget request currently before Congress. (more…)

There have been a lot of questions circulating around the future of science assessments and what they will look like in the near future of Common Core assessment and the Next Generation Science Standards. The short answer to most of the questions is, no one knows. Last year, AB 250 (Brownley) authorized the Superintendent (SSPI) to put forward a plan for “transitioning to a system of high-quality assessments.” However, the law only offered an authorization for assessing the Common Core standards specifically. The law did require that the planning process include, among other things,  a discussion around the assessment of science in all grade levels at or above grade 4. The law directs the SSPI to report the recommendations to the fiscal and appropriate policy committees of both houses of the Legislature on or before November 1, 2012. (more…)

CSTA is pleased to announce the results of the 2012-14 Board of Director elections. The winners of the election are below. CSTA thanks all candidates and members for their participation in the elections. The board members terms will be July 1, 2012 – June 30, 2014. (more…)

2012 Competition Proposal Available for Public Comment Until June 8

The U.S. Department of Education announced today proposed criteria for the 2012 Race to the Top program—a nearly $400 million competition that invites school districts to create plans for individualized classroom instruction aimed at closing achievement gaps and preparing each student for college and career.

“Today, we’re taking the next step forward. We’re announcing a new Race-to the Top competition for school districts that is aimed squarely at the classroom level and the all-important relationship among teachers and students,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. (more…)

SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson today announced the creation of a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Task Force to look at how to improve learning and engage more students in scientific and technical fields, widely considered a key to the state’s economic future.

“California has always led the way in science and technology—and our future success depends on fostering an interest in these fields among our students,” Torlakson said. “Our classrooms are filled with the leaders of tomorrow, and we need to give them every opportunity to reach their potential.” (more…)

On May 9, 2012 the California State Board of Education will hear its first formal presentation on the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). It is item number 2 on the agenda. The board meetings are available for viewing on-line, so if you can’t make it to Sacramento, you are encouraged to view the meeting online to get the most current information on the Next Generation Science Standards and when they will be released. In addition to a presentation from CDE staff, Stephen Pruitt of Achieve will make a presentation to the board. Achieve is the organization coordination the writing of the NGSS. (more…)

by Dean Gilbert 

The California Department of Education has released the 2012 edition of the Science Safety Handbook for California Public Schools.  Thanks to the efforts of representatives from various state agencies, educational and research institutions, the Science Safety Handbook, available in PDF format, has been thoroughly edited to provide updated information on:

• state and federal legislation affecting science instruction,
• first aid issues in the classroom,
• general laboratory safety precautions,
• safety in the biology, chemistry and physics laboratories,
• legal citations, safety agreements, laboratory safety checklists and tests, field trip permission forms, plus many other ancillary support documents.

An added feature in this 2012 edition is a chapter devoted entirely to Safety in the Elementary Science Classroom. (more…)

California’s middle schools have the potential to provide students with high quality science education, but significant challenges limit opportunities for science learning, leaving that potential unfulfilled, according to new research released on March 22, 2012  in Sacramento. (more…)

The Coalition for the Public Understanding of Science today announced this year’s winner of the Paul Shin Award – an annual award honoring individuals for their dedication to communicating science to the public.

The 2012 winner is William (Bill) Gomez, Docent at Fitzgerald Marine Preserve and Stanford University’s Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve. Bill was an executive with Syntex for many years and was fortunate to retire early at which point he turned his prodigious talents to teaching and volunteering with various ecology and environmental science groups in the greater San Francisco Bay Area. As a volunteer, his activities vary from speaking to a wide range of visitors about the ecology and biodiversity of the preserves, assisting with research projects, tidepooling for 3rd graders, scuba diving with marine biology students, to sharing science with students at a nearby alternative high school. (more…)

Project ASTRO is looking for amateur and professional astronomers to work with teachers and students in 3rd ¬ 9th grade classrooms. This is a great opportunity to share your love of astronomy with a receptive audience and help kids learn about science.

Bay Area Project ASTRO, part of a national program at the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, pairs you with a local teacher at a school convenient for you. Together, you and your teacher partner attend a 2-day summer workshop to learn hands-on, inquiry-based astronomy activities and then you “adopt” a class
for a year. (more…)

The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory will be broadcasting the coming Science on Saturday events live online:

• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/livermore.lab
• LiveStream: http://www.livestream.com/llnl

You are invited to tune in and submit questions online for the presenters to answer by using the chat box online, or with Twitter using the #ScienceOnSaturday hashtag. Video recordings of the events will be available online for on-demand viewing after the events.

Ever wonder what goes on behind the fences at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory? Here’s your ticket to take a virtual field trip to see exciting, state-of-the-art science, presented by world-class scientists…and you won’t need a security clearance to see it.

Here is how:  Watch a LIVE broadcast of the Science on Saturday lecture series starting Saturday, February 4 at 9:30 a.m. and again at 11:15 a.m. PST. (more…)

The Susan Loucks-Horsley Award honors the memory of Susan
Loucks-Horsley by recognizing an individual who exemplifies Loucks-Horsley’s commitment to instill efficacy in others, collaborate across boundaries, and sustain impact on the field of professional learning. This year Learning Forward is please to present this award to Kathy DiRanna (life member of CSTA), an individual known for her leadership and commitment to quality science and mathematics education.

As statewide director of WestEd’s K-12 Alliance, DiRanna oversees grant-funded programs such as the California Math and Science Partnership and the California Postsecondary Education Commission. DiRanna has shaped the quality of science teaching over the past 25 years through her extensive work in systemic reform. In addition to working on numerous state committees and programs, she has co-developed several national projects and co-authored two books. (more…)

WASHINGTON, D.C. November 29, 2011 – The initiative to develop K–12 science standards is expanding with the addition of 6 more states. In September, 20 states were announced as lead state partners.

Now, 26 states will lead the development of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), a shared effort that will clearly define the content and practices all students will need to learn from kindergarten through high school graduation. Partnering with the states are the National Research Council, the National Science Teachers Association, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and Achieve, who is facilitating the collaboration. (more…)

by Wendy Van Norden, Tom Traeger, Ray Ingersoll, Bruce Luyendyk, and Eldridge Moores.

Dear Earth Science Educators:

We are pleased to announce that the UC Academic Senate Board on Admissions and Relations with Schools (BOARS), and the UC Office of the President have approved a high school course entitled Honors Earth Science that will meet the UC Area “d” Laboratory Science admissions requirement. The course was designed principally by high school teacher Wendy Van Norden with help from the rest of us.  It is listed on https://doorways.ucop.edu/list/, under the listings for Harvard-Westlake School, North Hollywood, CA.  The  Honors Earth Science course outline, appears on the Honors Geology website of Harvard Westlake School, at http://www.hwscience.com/Geology/Honors/index.html. (more…)

The California Council for Science and Technology (CCST) and the California Teacher Advisory Council (Cal TAC) request nominations for new members of Cal TAC.

Cal TAC is one of several activities of CCST intended to assist the state of California with the tools and knowledge that will lead to more and better evidence-based decisions, priorities, and investments on the part of the state in addressing the wide range of issues involving science, engineering, technology, and education. (more…)

by Donna Ross

During the recent annual CSTA conference in Pasadena I had the opportunity to participate in the field course to NASA’s Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility in Palmdale.  We learned about SOFIA, a joint project between NASA and the German Aerospace Center (DLR).  Perhaps most importantly, we learned that the deadline for the next round of educators to partner with scientists on SOFIA flights is November 15. (more…)

From October 17-18, the Green California Schools Summit and the Green California Community Colleges Summit will be held concurrently at the Pasadena Convention Center. Green Technology, which organizes the events, has announced that Carl Pope, Sierra Club executive chairman and co-chair of the newly-formed BlueGreen Alliance, will be the keynote speaker. (more…)

The annual meeting of the members of the California Science Teachers Association will be held on Friday, October 21, 2011 in Ballroom D/E of the Pasadena Convention Center. Located at 300 E. Green Street, Pasadena, CA 91101. Please join CSTA for an update on the business of the association followed by an interactive keynote presentation on the future of science education in America. (more…)

Symposium on Human Evolution to be Webcast Live from NABT Conference in Anaheim on Friday, October 14, 2011

Would you and your students like to learn more about the dynamic interplay between the ecological forces that shaped the distinctive traits that make us human, and human actions that are changing the environment around us?  If so, you will be excited to learn that the annual NABT Evolution Symposium will be accessible via a free, live webcast on Friday, October 14^th from 1:30 pm to 5:30 pm, Pacific time.

Teachers and students are encouraged to tune in to all or part of the free webcast for an opportunity to hear internationally renowned researchers discuss their fascinating, cutting-edge work in human evolution.  Classrooms all over the world will even be able to submit their questions online and have the speakers respond in real time! (more…)

SACRAMENTO—Demonstrating the state’s leadership in science, technology, and its commitment to 21st century learning, California has been chosen as one of 20 states to lead a nationwide effort to develop the next generation of science standards for public schools, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson announced today. (more…)

by Arthur Beauchamp

You can help answer some important questions about the use of science notebooks and can win a $50 gift card!

In what ways are teachers and students using science notebooks in California?  Are there widespread common practices in the use of science notebooks?  Where does the impetus for the use of science notebooks come from and in what ways is the use of science notebooks supported?  These are potentially important questions for California teachers of science, researchers and education policy makers. (more…)

CSTA is pleased to announce the appointment of Carolyn Holcroft to the position of two-year college director. Carolyn is a biology professor at Foothill College in Los Altos Hills, CA. She holds a PhD in Molecular Genetics/Microbiology from the University of Kansas and a BSN from the University of Kansas Medical Center. In addition to her teaching responsibilities, Carolyn serves as an Academic Senate for the California Community Colleges (ASCCC) Statewide Curriculum Committee member.  Prior to Foothill College, Carolyn was an assistant professor at the University of Kansas School of Nursing. She worked for several years as a Level II RN in a neonatal intensive care unit. (more…)