by Valerie Joyner

Congratulations to CSTA member and STEM Educator,  Katherine Schenkelberg, of West High School, in Torrance, CA! Katherine was recently awarded one of the 2013 Vernier/NSTA Technology Awards. An appointed panel of experts selected her for her innovative use of data-collection technology.  “The use of data-collection technology in the classroom helps foster students’ interest in STEM education and provides them with engaging, hands-on opportunities for scientific investigation,” said David Vernier, co-founder of Vernier and a former physics teacher. “For ten years Vernier and NSTA have recognized innovative STEM educators through this award and this year’s winners are no exception – their projects and programs truly utilize the power of data-collection technology as part of the teaching and learning process.” (more…)

by Tim Williamson

Members of the California Science Teachers Association are now in the process of voting for qualified CSTA members to fill the seven openings on the CSTA Board of Directors for the 2013-2015 term.

The election is being conducted electronically and opened for voting on April 16, 2013. Voting will close on May 16, 2013.  All CSTA members were sent links to the online ballot. Members for whom we do not have current email addresses or who request a paper ballot have been mailed a ballot and candidate statements. (more…)

The slate of candidates for the 2013 – 2015 CSTA Board of Directors election was approved by the CSTA Board of Directors at its March board meeting. The elections will open on April 16, 2013. CSTA members who have a membership valid as of April 1, 2013 are eligible to vote in the election. An email will be sent to those members with an email address on file to vote online. For those members who have opt-ed out of email or don’t have an address on file, they will be sent a ballot in the mail.

Please take a moment to learn more about the candidates for the positions of President-Elect, Two-Year College Director, Middle/Jr. High Director, Primary Director, Region 1 Director, Region 3 Director, and Informal Science Director.

Please be sure to participate in the elections, every vote counts!

The American Nuclear Society, Northern California Section is announcing our annual scholarship for graduating high school seniors in the Northern California Area. The award of this scholarship is $1000.00 which will be applied toward the student’s first year of study at a four year accredited college or university of the student’s choice. In order to be eligible for this scholarship, the student applicant must enroll in a technical course of study in the field of engineering, physical science, or mathematics and must submit the following documents along with the completed application: (more…)

Zovig Minassian, a teacher at Herbert Hoover High School in Glendale, and CSTA member, will serve at the Department of Energy’s Office of Science under the guidance of Patricia Dehmer. The complete press release and information regarding the Einstein Fellowship is below. CSTA congratulates Zovig on this incredible accomplishment!

Triangle Coalition Announces 2013-2014 Einstein Fellowships

Twenty-seven distinguished STEM educators selected to serve next school-year at four federal agencies
(more…)

Join KQED and CSTA for one of three area specific science webinars and learn the ropes around PBS LearningMedia, a collection of thousands of digital media resources from KQED and other public media stations for the K-12 science classroom. Experienced science educators give an example of a media-rich lesson and present strategies for successfully incorporating multimedia into the classroom.

NOTE: Each webinar is subject area specific (Environmental Science, K-5, Physics, Biology). Click on webinar titles to register for a free online training session.

Thursday, March 7th from 4-5pm
Science in K-5 Classroom with PBS LearningMedia

Thursday, March 28th from 4-5pm
PBS LearningMedia for the Physics Classroom

Thursday, April 18th from 4-5pm
Multimedia for the Biology Classroom with PBS LearningMedia

Click here for more information.

Our names are Kimberly Howard, Ph.D. and Amy Wendt, Ph.D. and we are currently faculty members at the Boston University and University of  Wisconsin – Madison. We are requesting your participation in a research study focusing on teachers’ attitudes and beliefs about science, technology, engineering, and math.  If you currently teach in the elementary, middle, of high school level(s), you are eligible to participate in this study. (more…)

Volunteers still very much needed!

We’re still in need of  a great many volunteers to make this year’s event the very best ever. More than 60,000 students, parents and teachers will be various Festival events as well as the ever popular EXPO Day on March 23 at PETCO Park. They will see first hand how Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics impact our everyday lives. It will certainly engage and excite young people to consider pursuing studies and even a career in these fields!

But it can’t happen without you. Sign up to assist for the Festival at http://www.volunteerspot.com/login/entry/614055956061and for EXPO day at http://www.volunteerspot.com/login/entry/1094224722026.

Thank you so much for making a difference to so many!

It’s your turn to change the world.

The Google Science Fair 2013 has now launched. In partnership with CERN, National Geographic, LEGO and Scientific American, the third annual Google Science Fair is an international competition which encourages students between the ages of 13 to 18 from all over the world to perform science experiments or create engineering projects to submit online in order to compete for prizes, scholarships and once-in-a-lifetime experiences. Previous winners have tackled cancer diagnosis and treatment, figured out more efficient ways to farm and explored the natural world around them.

The competition is accepting entries from now until April 30 2013. In early June, 90 regional winners will be announced, representing the best projects from the Americas, Europe/Middle East/Africa and Asia/pacific. From this pool, 15 global finalists will be chosen in late June to come to Google headquarters in Mountain View, California, in September to present their projects in front of a panel of esteemed judges. From these 15 finalists, we will select a winner in each category (13-14, 15-16, 17-18), as well as a grand-prize winner. (more…)

Contest Now Underway For Students to Guess When She Will Emerge!

PALM DESERT/INDIAN WELLS, CA (Jan. 29, 2013) …  It’s that time of year again when the desert tortoise Mojave Maxine, sleeping in her underground burrow at The Living Desert, begins to stir in anticipation of desert springtime and fresh flowers to eat. This also means it’s time for students to enter the annual Mojave Maxine emergence contest and guess when she will emerge!

The east coast has Punxsutawney Phil and Groundhog Day to let them know when they can expect spring. The Living Desert has Mojave Maxine to signify that warmer weather is on the way!

Mojave Maxine is a 35-year old desert tortoise who lives at The Living Desert.  Each year, she retires for the winter to her underground burrow. She stays there in a state of “brumation” (reptilian hibernation) for several months. (more…)

By Minda Barbeco

Engaging students in science can be tricky. Time is limited, the material can be stifling, and students are not always the most willing participants. Moreover, running students through the same experiments with known results doesn’t really demonstrate what science is like in the real world; often, when researchers conduct scientific experiments, the organismsdon’t behave, the chemicals don’t react, the balls don’t roll down the inclined plane at the right speeds. The fact that in actual laboratory work the results don’t always support the hypotheses no doubt comes as a sad realization to many a new researcher – “But my experiments always worked in high school science classes!” (more…)

by Tim Williamson

For Election to Board of Directors of CSTA, 2013-2015 Term.

Nominations for the following positions on the CSTA Board of Directors are now being accepted:

• President-Elect • Secretary • Primary Director • Middle School/Jr. High Director • 2-Year College Director • Informal Science Education Director • Region 1 Director* • Region 3 Director*

Directors will serve a two-year term beginning July 1, 2013, and ending June 30, 2015. All current members of CSTA are encouraged to participate in the nomination process.

Step 1: Complete the Nomination Form on the CSTA website.

Step 2: Submit the Nomination Form along with your resume by January 31, 2013. (more…)

Are you interested in bringing a school group to your park, recreation area, or site for FREE? National Park Trust is hosting the second annual Kids to Parks Day School Contest. Each class can receive funding to visit your facilities. Funds can be used for bus transportation, healthy snacks, park related fees or supplies. If your interest has peaked, please forward this contest information to schools in your community and encourage them to apply.  (more…)

The CSTA Board of Directors is seeking input from you, California science teachers, so we can learn what we can do to best help you. We anticipate that 2014-15 will be a big year for California – new science standards will be implemented, we will be partnering with our non-science colleagues as we implement Common Core and the state will have a new assessment program in place. All of us are going to need some help as we figure out how to meaningfully and successfully adapt to all these changes.

Please help us to help you. Take this short survey and let us know what you most want in terms of your science professional learning and development. Are the CSTA conferences meeting your needs? Would you prefer shorter meetings? More frequent meetings? On-line workshops or seminars? What topics are of most interest to you? Please spend a few minutes to complete this survey. (more…)

by Jeanine Wulfenstein

California has a rich and vigorous STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) culture.  However, the existing trend is that girls and other underserved populations appear to be under-represented in these disciplines.  For this reason, there is a lack of diversity and equality in higher STEM educational fields and in the current STEM workforce.  (more…)

Taylor among Twelve Recipients of the “Women in STEM” Award at California STEM Summit

Nancy Taylor, executive director of The San Diego Science Alliance and long-time CSTA member,  was one of a dozen “Leading Women in STEM” honored on Oct. 16 at the 2012 California STEM Summit held in San Diego. The award recognized honorees for their achievements in advancing innovative and effective STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education initiatives across the state. The awardees were also commended for being exemplary role models for women and girls in California.  (more…)

by Eric Lewis

Eric:  What exactly is IISME?

Shari:  IISME is a non-profit organization founded in 1985 that seeks to transform teaching and learning through industry-education partnerships. IISME exists to address the critical need for a strong, highly skilled workforce in math, science and technological fields. This industry-education partnership focuses on teachers as the primary agents for effecting meaningful change in mathematics and science education.  (more…)

The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) has officially launched a new EngineerGirl website along with the 13^th annual EngineerGirl Essay Contest. The contest is entitled, “Engineering: Essential to Our Health,” and it can be found on the new website (EngineerGirl.org). Students are encouraged to write about the role of engineering in helping to prevent and treat the most deadly conditions in the world today. Details and rules can be found on the contest page.  (more…)

It’s time for schools to register to win at www.cancentral.com/roundup for the 3^rd annual Great American Can Roundup School Challenge from America Recycles Day (Nov. 15) to Earth Day (April 22), 2013.  Registration is required.  At cancentral.com/roundup, you will find virtually everything to run a successful Roundup from a tool kit to posters even curriculum.     (more…)

The California Department of Education (CDE) is pleased to announce that the first of several professional learning modules designed to support California educators in delivering curriculum aligned to the CCSS is now available online on the Brokers of Expertise California Common Core State Standards Professional Learning Modules Web page. This first module was developed by the Sacramento County Office of Education and is titled, Overview of the Common Core State Standards for California Educators. The module is available in two formats: independent online use and on-site blended group facilitation.

Additional professional learning modules will become available in October 2012. For more information, please visit the CDE CCSS Professional Learning Modules for Educators Web page.

by Brendan O’Brien 

What is www.60secondscience.net?

60SecondScience is a fully online International Video Competition sponsored by the Department of Education (DEECD-Innovation Next Practice Division), Victoria, Australia. Since its first iteration in 2008, it has enjoyed continual growth and appeal, from 30 Victorian school-only participants, to well over 300 science videos uploaded in 2012, with over 1100 registering from 40 countries. The competition is Free to Enter and links directly to required student outcomes over a number of Science, Citizenship and ICT Learning Standards. $10,000 in cash prizes is distributed each year, as determined by a prestigious International panel of judges. There are Divisions which cater for students of different ages. (more…)

by Maria Simani

The Endless Summer of Learning

Summer has been a busy time for teachers and professional development providers all over California. This especially holds true for the California Science Project, (CSP), which this year engaged more than 800 K-12 teachers in professional learning institutes at 18 campus locations across the state.

As the Executive Director of the CSP network, I had the pleasure to visit most of these institutes and experience these professional opportunities as a learner as well as an observer. What I valued the most from these experiences was that for a few days I became part of a collaboration among science educators, scientists, and teacher participants in their efforts to build new knowledge around their practice of teaching science, and reflect how a new teaching practice may positively impact students’ understanding in the classroom. It is through these professional learning communities that participants are re-invigorated in their teaching career, and often exposed to ways of teaching that they may never have seen before.  (more…)

Eldridge Moores is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of California, Davis, where he has been a faculty member since 1966. His research has involved the tectonics of ophiolites in the Alpine-Himalayan and Western US Cordilleran mountain systems and has involved field work in about 30 countries.

For several decades, Moores has been working on raising general awareness of Earth Science. In particular, he has been working during the past decade to improve the status of Earth and Space Sciences instruction in California secondary schools. Moores holds that the field of Earth and Space Sciences has gone through two revolutions in the past fifty years. The first was the plate tectonic revolution, which lead to new insights into the nature of the Earth and natural processes active on and in it. The second was the planetary revolution, occasioned by exploration of neighboring planets and of their compositions and histories in comparison to that of the Earth. The products of these revolutions are exciting, integrate multiple science disciplines, and can an ideal way to get students interested in science. (more…)

CSTA is pleased to announce the winners of the 2012-2014 CSTA Elections and the appointment of a new Intermediate Director. Returning to his previous position is Eric Lewis as Region 2 Director. Returning to the board in a new capacity is Heather Wygant who will now serve as Treasurer. CSTA welcomes back to the board Gregory Potter in his new position as 4-Year College Director. New to the board are Jeff Orlinsky, High School Director, Sean Timmons, Intermediate Director, and Jeanine Wulfenstein, Region 4 Director. (more…)

The College of American Pathologists (CAP) will honor six San Diego high school students with the College’s 2012 “Path to a Future in Medicine” award.

The students will be invited to attend and display their winning projects at the College’s annual meeting, CAP ’12 – THE Pathologists’ Meeting™, on Sunday, September 9, at the Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego, CA.  (more…)

One of the most common questions CSTA has received from its members, and the science teacher community in general, when talking about the future of science education is: “what about science assessments?”.

The answer, in short, is that there is currently no answer, and the subject is currently under discussion. Well now there is an opportunity for you to weigh in on the future of science assessment in California!   (more…)

SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson has named six outstanding teachers as 2012 California State Finalists for the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST).

The science nominees are Nathan Richard Fairchild, a science teacher at North Woods Discovery Charter School in the Gateway Unified School District, Shasta County; Michelle French, a first grade teacher at Wilson Elementary School in the Tulare City Elementary School District, Tulare County (and CSTA’s Primary Director!); and Alma Suney Park, a sixth grade teacher at Eastside College Preparatory School, a private school in East Palo Alto, San Mateo County. (more…)

by Valerie Joyner

This is the beginning of some very exciting times in educational teaching standards! The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) have made one draft appearance earlier this year. A Framework for K-12 Science Education is also out in print and ready for implementation, as are our new California Common Core State Standards (CCCSS).  All three of these documents are going to have major impacts on the way we teach and prepare our students for their future. (more…)

Join in the historic landing of NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity at Gale Crater Aug.3-5, 2012, at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, CA.   Bring the excitement of Mars exploration to your classroom with standards-aligned, STEM-based, hands-on activities and take home image-rich learning materials.  (more…)

[San Francisco, CA] – Twelve educators from across the United States have been selected from a competitive pool of applicants by the Ocean Exploration Trust (OET) to participate in the 2012 Nautilus Exploration Program. The selected Educators at Sea hail from schools and museums in seven states and represent ten school districts, including San Francisco Unified School District. CSTA member and region 2 director Eric Lewis, the Secondary Science Content Specialist for the SFUSD, has been selected as a 2012 Nautilus Exploration Program Educator at Sea. (more…)