by Eric Lewis

“It’s just that time of the year again.”  I hear that all the time as I travel from school to school and from teacher to teacher.  Between state testing, APs, finals and projects, teachers and students alike are moving at a swifter pace than all year.  My experience is that this pace is only going to continue into the summer and next year.  I hope that folks will all find interesting things to do in your area – we’re lucky to have so much great science in our region.  Also, there are many great summer opportunities for work/professional development for us, too.  Of course, many of us just need some time to recharge over the summer – enjoying family, traveling and reading the stack of books that built up over the school year.  I do hope that you all have a great end-of-year and fantastic summer vacation. (more…)

by Eric Lewis

Happy Spring everyone!  I hope that you have had a restful Spring Break (or will have one shortly) and that you’re ready for the last bit of the school year.  Incredibly, we are into the last stretch!  I’ve already started planning out my summer – between trips, work and PD, it’s turning out to be pretty full!

I hope that some of you were able to submit your ideas for workshops for this year’s Education Conference in Palm Springs in October!  And, please let me know if there are things that you’d like to add to our Region’s offerings.  Don’t forget to encourage your colleagues to join CSTA.  I’m hoping that we’ll have the opportunity to grow our organization and expand to meet your needs and your colleague’s needs.  To that end, please feel free to email me directly so that I can represent your questions and concerns to the CSTA Board of Directors. (more…)

by Eric Lewis

Happy February everyone!  Things are looking pretty good for science right now.  Finally, we have a balanced budget for our state and education is NOT on the chopping block.  And, the requirement for two years of science for high school graduation will be maintained.

I hope you had a chance to review the Next Generation Science Standards during the three-week review window.  I am excited about the new standards, but I’m also surprised each time that I review them how challenging they are to navigate.  They are SO very different from our current standards, but I keep thinking about new teachers who will never know any other sets of standards.  Certainly, there are many changes coming our way! (more…)

by Eric Lewis

After a long wait,  the Next Generation Science Standards will be released on January 8, 2013!  It will be important for as many of us as possible to review them and provide feedback.

In general, I’m excited about the new standards though I’ve grown quite fond of our old standards.  Well, perhaps “fond” isn’t the right word… it’s more like I have grown comfortable with them.  I’ve been teaching with our current standards for my whole career.  I’ve never had to teach anything else and I’m excited and nervous about the changes that are coming to our science standards. (more…)

by Eric Lewis

I hope that you take the opportunity to attend the California Science Education Conference in San Jose this year, and don’t forget to encourage your colleagues to join CSTA. I’m hoping that we’ll have the opportunity to grow our organization and expand to meet your needs and your colleague’s needs. To that end, please feel free to email me directly so that I can represent your questions and concerns with the CSTA board as a whole, and let me know if there are things that you’d like to add to our Region’s offerings.

Check out the events calendar to see all that is happening in our region this month: http://www.classroomscience.org/events.

by Eric Lewis

Welcome back to school everyone!  I hope that you had a great summer and had a chance to do some valuable professional development.  I also trust that like me, you’re re-energized for another school year and that you’re excited to meet your new students and families.

This summer I took part in many worthwhile professional development opportunities.  While I really enjoyed building my skills for my English Language Learners through QTEL from WestEd and learning about (and creating!) digital curriculum resources at the Exploratorium, my favorite was as Educator-at-Sea on E/V Nautilus.  After a four day training in Rhode Island where I learned about the types of exploration happening this summer and fall on the ship, the types of resources that support Nautilus’ underwater explorations, and the ins and outs of using the Nautilus website, I was flown out to Turkey to start my work on the ship.  (more…)

by Eric Lewis

While summer has been on for nearly a month already, I am just starting to have a chance to relax.  I’m excited that I’ll be doing some science research over the next few weeks on the Nautilus.  In my role as Educator-at-Sea, I’ll be a part of the Corps of Explorers (scientists, teachers, shipmen, students, etc.) that will be investigating everything beneath the surface of the Southern Black Sea!  Be sure to see what we find by visiting Nautilus Live. (Click here for information on how interact with me and ask questions while I am at sea.)

As a part of my summer activities, I have been taking the time to reflect on science education and our role as teachers. I encourage you to read and comment on my editorial Summer Reflections.

I hope that you take the opportunity to attend the CA Science Education Conference in San Jose this year.  And, please let me know if there are things that you’d like to add to our Region’s offerings.  Don’t forget to encourage your colleagues to join CSTA.  I’m hoping that we’ll have the opportunity to grow our organization and expand to meet your needs and your colleague’s needs.  To that end, please feel free to email me directly so that I can represent your questions and concerns with the CSTA board as a whole.

Click here to view the event calendar full of great events in our region!

Eric Lewis, lewise2@sfusd.edu

Eris Lewis is high school area science support in the San Francisco Unified School District LEAD office and is CSTA region 2 director.

by Eric Lewis

As I’m starting to write this, it’s officially the last week of work in my school district.  I’ve been attending graduations every day and it’s not even June yet.  When I grew up, summer was more of a July and August affair; now it seems like summer is starting earlier and earlier (not to mention summer weather, but that’s a whole other story).

This summer is the first time in a while that I decided to take some time off.  No IISME this year, even though I had an amazing time last year working at KQED thanks to IISME’s summer program.  Of course, like most teachers, I spend a lot of time over the summer thinking about my practice, changing up my labs, adding new activities and projects to my curriculum, and seeking out professional development (short and paid, please) to help me to improve my practice.   (more…)

by Eric Lewis

I have always loved science. And, I like to think that I’m pretty good at science, too.  So, I was pretty rocked to my core while attending a professional development recently and finding giant holes in my knowledge.

The topic we were covering in the PD was energy.  And, I’ve taught about energy.  Maybe I have haven’t taught a lot about potential energy or kinetic energy, but I’ve taught about the energy from fusion, the energy from photosynthesis, and the energy from metabolism.  At this PD, we were discussing energy that I had not named in quite some time:  gravitational potential energy, chemical potential energy, heat energy…I had a vague recollection of connecting calories and joules and how kinetic and potential energy were connected. (more…)

by Eric Lewis

How incredible is it that we’re already in April. Testing will soon be upon and not long after that it will be summer time! I know that this is a tough time of year; especially with so many budgets so impacted. I hope that you all are focusing on being the best teachers that you can, regardless of the challenges that are put before you. It’s likely that you have either just had a Spring Break or will have one shortly; hopefully you’ll have a chance to get reenergized about your teaching. If possible, take advantage of some of the amazing science events going on in our region.

I hope that you will have the opportunity to attend the CA Science Education Conference in San Jose this year. I’m thrilled that so many of you have provided workshop proposals for our upcoming conference. I look forward to seeing you there!

Please let me know if there are things that you’d like to add to our Region’s offerings. Also, encourage your colleagues to join CSTA. I’m hoping that we’ll have the opportunity to grow our organization and expand to meet your needs and your colleague’s needs. To that end, please feel free to email me directly so that I can represent your questions and concerns with the CSTA board as a whole.

Eric Lewis, lewise2@sfusd.edu.

Click here to view the updated event calendar with a wealth of science learning opportunities in April.

by Eric Lewis

Spring is in the air; a time to start getting excited about longer days and warmer weather.  It’s also a wonderful time to be thinking about all that you’ve accomplished this year with your students and to reflect upon what you’d like to do different (or the same) in your next year of teaching.

It’s been a few years since my first year of teaching.  I remember thinking that I was doing OK my first year.  Sure, I had plenty of students failing my class, but that was because they were absent too much and didn’t do any homework or study for exams.  I had pretty good classroom management and had a handle on what I wanted to teach when.  (more…)

by Eric Lewis

Please let me know if there are things that you’d like to add to our Region’s offerings!  Also, encourage your colleagues to join CSTA.  I’m hoping that we’ll have the opportunity to grow our organization and expand to meet your needs and your colleague’s needs.  To that end, please feel free to email me directly so that I can represent your questions and concerns with the CSTA board as a whole.

You may also want to consider leading a workshop at our San Jose 2012 Education Conference.  For more information and to submit a workshop proposal, click here!  Proposals are due by March 6, 2012.

Eric Lewis, lewise2@sfusd.edu

SETI Institute Colloquium Series: Dispersal of Protoplanetary Disks
1/4/12, 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
189 Bernardo Avenue, Mountain View, CA
Protoplanetary disks originate during star formation and evolve rapidly, to form planetary systems before they disperse in a few million years. Dr. Gorti will describe disk evolution and discuss disk dispersal mechanisms in the context of recent theoretical models. Theory will be compared with observations to summarize our current understanding of how disks evolve and the constraints they set on the time available for planet formation.
Speaker: Uma Gorti, SETI Institute
For more information visit http://www.seti.org/talks, email info@seti.org,or call 650.961.6633 (more…)

by Eric Lewis

Begin the new year with resolve to get personal and professional development in 2011.  Build your experiences in science education at NSTA’s National Conference on Science Education in San Francisco.  Scheduled for March 10-13, more than 2000 sessions will be offered-hands-on workshops, seminars, and symposia will increase your content knowledge, performance strategies, and techniques in the classroom.  Nationally-known presenters will inspire and inform.  Thousands of your peers will share ideas, experiences, and challenges. Invest in yourself, your career, and your future.  Register before Jan. 14 to save the most. http://www.nsta.org/conferences/2011SAN/

More Events in Region 2
(more…)

by Eric Lewis

Registration for the Sunday, May 1, 2011 Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour is now open. Register now at http://bringingbackthenatives.net/ to receive your garden guide in the first mailing.  This event is expected to fill; registering at this time will reserve your place on the tour.