Washington State Adopts NGSS
Congratulations to Washington State, which last week joined Delaware, California, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Rhode Island, and Vermont and became the eighth state to adopt the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Governor Jay Inslee and state superintendent Randy Dorn were on hand at Cascades Middle School last Friday to announce the news; read more about NGSS in Washington and how students are using fat kittens, skateboards, and BMX bikes to learn science.
NGSS Webinar on Energy This Tuesday
Even if your state hasn’t adopted NGSS yet, join us for NSTA’s continuing web seminar series focusing on NGSS core ideas. On Tuesday, October 8, at 6:30 pm ET, presenters Jeff Nordine and Ramon Lopez will explore the disciplinary core idea of Energy and address concepts such as energy transfer between objects or systems and conservation of energy. Register for this web seminar now. Plan ahead and participate in the entire series. Register for the series. The archive of the entire series of eight web seminars on the Framework awaits you online.
Save Energy and Win Up to $10,000 for Your School with America’s Home Energy Education Challenge
Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, and administered by the National Science Teachers Association, America’s Home Energy Education Challenge gives students in grades 3–8 the chance to learn about energy, develop techniques for reducing energy consumption, and save money in their own homes by reducing household energy use. Regional and national prizes will be awarded, and the top school or organization will earn $10,000. To help you get started, check out the short informational video that summarizes the competition process and walks you through the 10 easy steps on how to compete. Click here to learn more about the challenge. The deadline to register is November 15.
Call for Sessions for 2014 STEM Forum & Expo and 2014–2015 Conferences
Share your know-how and good ideas…submit a session proposal for our upcoming 2014 STEM Forum & Expo and/or an NSTA conference. We are now accepting session proposals for the following conferences.
- 2014 STEM Forum & Expo, May 14–17 (Proposal deadline December 2, 2013, for STEM Forum only.)
Proposal Deadline for Richmond, VA; Orlando, FL; and Long Beach, CA is January 15, 2014.
- NSTA Richmond Area Conference, October 16–18, 2014 (conference on non-formal or informal science education)
- NSTA Orlando Area Conference, November 6–8, 2014
- NSTA Long Beach Area Conference in Collaboration with CSTA, December 4–6, 2014
Proposal Deadline for Chicago is April 15, 2014.
- NSTA Chicago National Conference, March 26–29, 2015
Click here for strand information and to submit a proposal.
NSTA: Your NGSS Resource Hub
Now is the ideal time to prepare for the Next Generation Science Standards by taking advantage of the rich professional development resources, publications, and online training available from NSTA.
From outstanding books written by NGSS writers to FREE web seminars, and from conference sessions to short courses, NSTA’s growing list of resources provides plenty of opportunities to begin your professional learning around the NGSS. NSTA helps science educators build understanding of the NGSS and provides a pathway for incorporating them into classroom instruction. Click here for a full list of our products and services, and check out more information here.
Coming Soon on NSTA’s Live Web Seminar Site
October is a great month to enhance your own professional learning by logging on to a free web seminar via the NSTA Learning Center. Experts in science content and instruction will be sharing information and resources that you can use right away in the classroom. Each 90-minute web seminar gives you the opportunity to interact with the presenters and get ideas from other science educators. And don’t forget: Every web seminar is archived in the Learning Center along with related resources. Choose from more than 500 archived web seminar archives, available at your convenience!
Highlights from the upcoming web seminar calendar include:
- October 7: Introduction to Biology—The Secret of Life: Pedagogical Implications Discussion
- October 8: NGSS Core Ideas: Energy
- October 9: Preparing for the 2014 STEM Forum & Expo
- October 15: Developing a Competitive Teacher Award Application
- October 21: Teach STEM Skills in Your Classroom Through eCYBERMISSION
See the full web seminar calendar and access archives in the NSTA Learning Center.
From the NSTA Calendar: Bring the Excitement of Robotics to Your Students!
Teachers of grades 5–12: Want to get your students interested in science, technology, engineering, and math using robotics? Check out the Youth Rover Challenge (YRC), a multi-tier robotics education development program hosted, sponsored, and operated by The Mars Society. Students participating in YRC get to build and compete globally with a LEGO Mindstorms NXT 2.0–based robotic rover and competition arena intended to simulate the surface of Mars. The sandbox where the robotic rover operates is intended to be replicated, so you can run the competition locally at your school or club.
Winners of the best place times will be invited to one of four events held in each region. Click here for a team region map.
You and your students will videotape the final operation of the robots’ field tasks under a time limit, then send the videos to YRC. Teams who have submitted videos are then ranked against other teams.
College-bound students who enjoy robotics may be interested to know that YRC is designed to prepare them for The Mars Society’s University Rover Challenge. Learn more about YRC and register before the January 31 deadline at http://youthrover.com/.
Looking for other programs to boost your students’ STEM skills? Visit the NSTA Calendar.
Get Ready for Earth Science Week: Free Activities and Posters for New NESTA Members
In honor of Earth Science Week (October 13–19), the National Earth Science Teachers Association (NESTA) is offering a special opportunity to join NESTA and select four past print issues of The Earth Scientist (TES) to be mailed to you at no cost—a $40 value! Go to NESTA’s TES archive page to see contents of past issues of TES, including the posters available in each issue, and instructions for selecting your free issues. Remember, NESTA has a limited supply, and once they’re gone in print, they’re gone! When you’re a member, you have online access to all TES issues.
Online Courses from the Museum of Natural History
Are you interested in learning about evolution? Do you want to know more about climate change or genetics? Are you looking for graduate or professional development credit? If so, check out the Seminars on Science program from the American Museum of Natural History! Online courses run from October 28 to December 8 and include: Earth: Inside and Out; Evolution; The Solar System; Climate Change; and Genetics, Genomics, Genethics. Each course is available for graduate credit and is co-taught by an experienced educator and a scientist. For more information, or to register, visit http://www.amnh.org/learn/ or contact AMNH directly. Registration deadline: October 14 Registration: http://www.amnh.org/learn/Register Phone: 800-649-6715 E-mail: seminfo@amnh.org