by Laura Henriques

It’s that time of year when students start to think about which high school classes they will take next year, and teachers and professional organizations are joining in the effort to help recruit students to take physics. Dean Baird, an award winning physics teacher from the Sacramento area, has put together some fliers and the AAPT has created a poster, “Top 10 Reasons to Take Physics,” which can be useful for recruiting students. For those students who are already thinking about college admission and college readiness, the A-G requirements help guide their planning and guidance counselors, teachers and parents also play a role in helping students decide whether to take a fourth year of math or a third (or fourth) year of science. Intuitively we already know that taking more math or science will help students be successful, and there is much data to support this idea. More high school math and science correlate with increased success in college, regardless of major, and STEM fields are employing candidates at higher rates (and the pay is pretty good!). These can be strong selling points when trying to convince students and their parents that a year of physics or another year of math really will be good for them. (more…)

by Laura Henriques

Learning Physics by Doing Physics

As California science teachers we’ve all heard of the Exploratorium, and I am hoping that most of us have had the pleasure of spending some time there. The Exploratorium is the Grand Dame of hands-on science museums. In addition to the wonderful facility, The Exploratorium hosts workshops for teachers, and publishes books. Their vision includes a focus on learners exploring and making sense of their world through inquiry. A key contributor to that exciting edifice of science education is 2012 California Science Education Conference Focus Speaker Paul Doherty. (more…)

by Jeff Orlinsky

It is the start of a new year and you are looking for new way to start your class.  How about introducing the scientific method with this simple (more…)

by Laura Henriques and Meredith Ashbran

What is a flipped or inverted classroom?

Classrooms at the K-12 and college level normally include the direct instruction portion of the instructional sequence. Students listen to a lecture, take notes, and may participate in discussions. There might be some demonstrations or lab activities, but the bulk of classroom time is often spent with the teacher doing lots of work and the students passively receiving the information. Students then go home to solve problems, answer homework questions, and try to apply the information they “learned” during class. It is often at this point where the lessons, which seemed to make so much sense during school hours, seem confusing and the students need help from us. Sadly for them, we aren’t there to help! (more…)

by Donna Ross

In the last installment of Technology for the Classroom, I considered the value of TED-Ed for classroom use.  This issue will examine several uses of YouTube.  Among people with computers and smart-phones, YouTube has become ubiquitous. Even late-night comics mine YouTube videos for humorous gems.  Most students, including those at the elementary grades, have searched for YouTube videos and many have posted their own creations.  However, as I watch those funny cat videos I inevitably seem to be bombarded with material that makes me question the appropriateness for a school setting.   For example, I searched for a video on DNA replication and I was faced with thousands of videos, many with comments that definitely were not school-friendly. Along with some reasonable choices, I also was presented with “popular videos” that, based on the content and the number of views, caused me to despair for the future of our society. But, before despair takes over, let me share some ways to make better use of YouTube for educational purposes. (more…)

by Heather Wygant

I found a cool website that teachers can use as a tool in any subject review for exams.  This site can help you make Jeopardy, Who Wants to be a Millionaire?, and Are You Smarter than a 5^th Grader? games that can be used for reviewing content. Just before STAR testing, I used the Jeopardy game to review the kids on material that would be covered on the STAR test. They loved the game, and it made them feel prepared and confident going into the STAR testing. I am going to try this method again for final exam reviews next week!

Using games is great not only as a review tool to re-teach and remind, but it can also be used as an extension tool, to go beyond the basics with students who have mastered the material. I ask students who have mastered the material to generate questions for the games for extra credit. There are several sites that allow you to generate games for free.  The one I am using is: http://www.wolfescience.com/byojeopardy/#. Here is the Jeopardy game I created for my high school geology class: http://jeopardylabs.com/play/chs-geology-review-jeopardy  Check it out and make your own versions for your students!  Or browse the games already created, you might find one already made covering the subject you want!

Heather Wygant  teaches CP geology at Sobrato High School in Morgan Hill and is CSTA’s high school director.

by Donna Ross

Technology has become a central component of the science classroom, but it can be overwhelming to consider the vast array of resources. During the next few months I will review a few of my favorite free or low-cost options for teachers. This month I am starting with TED-Ed. In case you haven’t used TED talks, I will start with a brief overview before exploring their new educational initiative.

TED is a nonprofit that began nearly 30 years ago as a conference. The underlying goal was that there are some ideas so important that they are worth sharing. People were invited to come and give a brief talk that would be shared with others. Since then, the conferences have continued, generally two per year with up to 100 presenters sharing talks that last from six to eighteen minutes. Eventually, the goal became even bigger. It seemed that if the ideas were worth sharing, they were worth sharing even more widely. For the past five years, many of the talks have been shared with the world on the TED website http://www.ted.com/talks. (more…)

by Heather A. Wygant

Here is a virtual lab I found to use in my AP Environmental Class this year.  (more…)

by Heather Wygant

• You can find an Honors Earth Science course that was accepted by the University of California as a “d” lab course at honorsearthscience.com.  Also included is some information about Honors Geology and offering a dual-credit course by partnering with a neighboring university.
• High school teachers!  We need your input!  Please go to the following link and take the short survey about your experiences with CSTA.  Please pass on this survey to non-CSTA members as well.  We would like to know what high school science teachers need and want in a professional organization!  So please go here: http://goo.gl/9W8yB to complete the survey!

Summer Opportunities for Secondary School Teachers:

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by Heather A. Wygant

I read two blog articles over Thanksgiving break that struck a chord with me so I had to share them with fellow CSTA members. (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…)

by Heather Marshall

While setting up my schedule for the California Science Education Conference (October 21-23), I was looking at the variety of high school workshops being offered this year.  I was impressed by how many different categories there were!  This year, there are workshops geared toward every major science taught in secondary schools, plus environmental science, marine biology, technology, biotechnology, and even classroom organization. Some of these workshops will provide new ideas for experienced teachers and others will offer experienced ideas for new teachers. What ever your level if experience, there is something here for you. A few of the workshops or sessions that caught my eye are. (more…)

For middle and high school students, ages 13-18, who attend school in the San Francisco/Bay area-the NSTA/Applied Materials Clean Tech Competition offers a real-world problem to solve that demonstrates the powerful potential of clean technology. The inaugural year’s challenge will involve students in two of the world’s most historic centers of innovation-the San Francisco/Bay Area and Xi’an, China. The competition will engage youth of all skill, ability and interest levels in a common challenge to highlight the roles that science and technology and the strategy of design play in solving problems that transcend national boundaries and to help prepare students for success in life.  Teams in each region will compete for $17,000 in cash prizes. (more…)

The University of California Curriculum Integration (UCCI) Institute is seeking motivated and talented high school teachers and administrators from across the state to apply for the fall institute on November 6-9, 2011 in Santa Barbara. This institute will focus on developing innovative “green” curricula in the subject areas of History/Social Science or Laboratory Science with any of the following Career Technical Education (CTE) industry sectors: Energy and Utilities; Engineering and Design; Hospitality, Tourism and Recreation; Public Services; Transportation.
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by Heather Marshall

It is the start of a new school year.  Already?  I typically begin the new school year by reviewing some science basics. I go over lab safety, measurement and dimensional analysis regardless of the course I am teaching. Another aspect I review is graphing. It always surprises me how many upperclassmen in high school still do not know which type of graph to use for different data. So I do a graphing scientific data notes and lab activity within the first week of school. It can be used anytime to review the basics of graphing, and can be used for middle or high school students. (more…)

by: Heather A. Marshall

I recently found this rubric for grading attitude and effort in the classroom (link below). This rubric enables teachers of any subject and any grade level to evaluate students not only on content, but their attitude and behavior. This may not be as useful in lower grade levels, but in high-school, there are many kids who have an “I don’t care” or “I can’t do this” attitude toward learning. I am hoping to use this rubric to help the kids that don’t understand how their attitude affects learning. If they can see what they are doing, and the resulting consequences, maybe it will help them more. This would be used in conjunction with assistance during class to help to show them they can succeed. (more…)

Each year thousands of California high-school students apply for their first driver’s license or identification card (ID). They are presented with the opportunity to join the organ and tissue donor registry through Donate Life California. Many students are unaware of what being a donor means, and how they can greatly help their communities by checking “yes” to donation when applying for their license. Providing information to students prior to going to the DMV allows them to make an educated decision. (more…)

by Edward Wright

In the summer of 2011, Teachers in Space will offer a series of professional-development workshops for high-school science, technology, engineering, and math teachers. Developed in cooperation with NASA, the workshops will give teachers opportunities to fly in an unpowered aircraft with a former NASA Shuttle commander, (more…)

by Heather Marshall

I feel that all students should be required to take an earth sciences course as a high school graduation requirement. (more…)

by Heather A Marshall

In many schools, teachers are blessed with administrators who understand the difficulty of ensuring safety in a science classroom, and they back teachers in any way they can to help support teachers in their safety  requirements.  However, when the “referral to the office” strategy doesn’t work because students don’t see any consequences for their actions, teachers are required to devise other means of dealing with disruptive and potentially unsafe behaviors in the lab.  (This is assuming the teacher has already conferenced with the student, and with the parents before any referral to the office.)

One such strategy I have used is to exclude a student from the activity by sending him or her to the office to sit (suspend from class for the day), and the student receives a zero for the lab activity.

Another method I have used is to keep disruptive students in the class into the passing period if they waste my class time.  I tell them the amount of time they waste for me in class they can make up during their passing time.  Students are very possessive about their passing time; they like to hang with friends, so this threat often works well.  However, you do have to actually hold them to prove you will do what you say.  I have found this very effective with my constant chatterers and disruptors.

The send-out-with-a zero-for-the-day strategy I have used with students not following laboratory directions, so the “kick out” is for the safety of everyone in the room.  Typically I only have to do this once as well; from then on, the students know I will not deal with inappropriate behavior in the lab.

So even if you are in a district or site where referrals to the office, in terms of discipline, doesn’t work, you can use some of these strategies to take control again.

Heather Marshall teaches CP geology at Sobrato High School in Morgan Hill and is CSTA’s high school director.

by Heather A. Marshall

I recently found a website that offers free interactive simulations for teacher use focusing on science topics.  This website: http://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulations/category/new, through the University of Colorado at Boulder, has the sims available for free download.  You can browse by category, by new sims, or by grade level.  They are sponsored by NSF, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and others.  The PhET program is interested in providing research-based simulations of physical phenomena for free to teachers.  These simulations can help students visualize some of the concepts we teach in high school in an engaging way, and help students grasp difficult concepts.  PhET hopes that teachers will use these sims within lectures, as extensions of classroom activities, integrated into homework assignments, and as additions to more traditional laboratory experiments.

One of the simulations is for glaciers.  It allows the user (student) to adjust sea-level and air temperatures and observe the effects on glacier growth and retreat.  It also allows students to measure the thickness of the glacier, create multiple fractures with a drill and observe how the fractures move and stretch through the glacier, and other nifty tools.  The advanced feature allows students to view graphs associated with the data.  Another simulation is for the greenhouse effect, allowing the user to see the differences in temperatures with more or less greenhouse gases, observe photon interactions, and even model the greenhouse effect using glass plates.  Simulations include: Natural Selection, Gravity Force, Buoyancy, a Radioactive Dating Game, and many more.

Another big find of the new year is an interactive flashcard set with terms for a high school earth science class.  The flashcards can be shuffled or not and cover the introductory topics in an earth science class (such as chemical structure, minerals and rocks).  The cards can be manipulated online, printed, downloaded, added to, and more.  The earth science cards are posted here: http://www.proprofs.com/flashcards/story.php?title=earth-science-11-vocabulary-2010, and you can even create your own set by clicking the Create Flashcard button on the right-hand side of the screen.  Looks like an excellent tool to share with students or use as a classroom tool for test reviews.  The ProProfs Flashcard site also has links to an online quiz maker, online brain games, and even SAT preparatory tools.

I use another online site for online testing: www.ClassMarker.com.  For $25.00 a year, I can generate and save all of my unit tests and administer them online (in a computer lab or at home) for all of my 180 students.  It automatically grades the tests for me, and does a great item analysis breakdown.  You create your own standards, so you can completely align the test to your course.  The first test I gave on ClassMarker saved me hours in grading and analysis time.  I have found that short answer tests are incredibly difficult to do, however.  This works best with multiple choice or matching type questions.  I am currently looking for better options to be able to administer online tests with greater variety but still able to do the item analysis.  If you have ideas, please email me and I will gladly report on them here!  geofaultline@gmail.com.

Heather Marshall teaches CP geology at Sobrato High School in Morgan Hill and is CSTA’s high school director.

by Heather A. Marshall

This year I started teaching at a new school in Morgan Hill.  Our school has a great culture of RESPECT as our overriding principle.  Students remove their hats and hoodies and turn off their cell phones and iPods as they walk into a classroom.  Administrators and teachers work together to cultivate the idea of respect as a standard for any classroom.  Respect is modeled by the administration to the teachers and by the teachers to the students, so that students see this culture everywhere.  If a student momentarily forgets, a teacher can remind him or her simply that this is a matter of respect, and the student typically quickly corrects the issue. (more…)

by Rick Pomeroy

This is a simple scenario-type lab that addresses the same concepts and processes that the traditional “e” microscope lab addresses but in a way that engages students in using evidence to solve a simple problem.  (more…)