Is there something we can do to start teaching STEM in a simple way? STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) is an increasingly popular way to teach science and math in a holistic, applied way by using the engineering design process. Teaching stem gives off the impression that it requires teachers to go well beyond…
Archive for: August, 2017
Using science videos is a great way to reinforce or illustrate a concept. But, making and marking the accompanying science video activity and/or worksheet is time consuming. Yes, there are tools out there that try to make this easier. Edpuzzle, Google Forms, and many other web apps allow teachers to embed questions into the videos…
Students are always looking for a “right answer” in science, which leads students to be myopic when it comes to analyzing data. “What am I supposed to get” or “What is supposed to happen?” are common lines I hear from students as a result of the quest for a right answer. In labs, the expectation…
Giving students retests is a popular practice now, but how do teachers run better retests? And by better, I don’t just mean having students do better. I also mean making it easier and worthwhile for teachers to even give a retest. One of the biggest problems when it comes to retesting is that students…
CER is an awesome format to teach science students, but CER examples are lacking. CER stands for Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning. It is a great format for writing explanations is it serves to tie together findings, data, and scientific principles. I am beginning to use CER with my classes and I love it. Unfortunately, while…
A periodic table lesson can be boring because it focuses on facts. We should focus on the application – it’s much more exciting! So, what’s the most amazing application with regards to the periodic table? It’s that it allowed Mendeleev (who first proposed a version of the periodic table that led to development of the…
What do we tend to focus on when we teach scientific method? Part of “doing” science is to come up with models that describe invisible phenomena. Bohr, Rutherford, and Thomson developed models of the atom. Watson and Crick developed the double-helix model of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). However, when we teach scientific method, we don’t always…
Teaching lab safety is – how shall I say it – extremely boring to teach. Lab safety is also a buzzkill – a wet blanket extinguishing the excitement we want to build at the beginning of the year. We start the year telling students how engaging, active and relevant science is in their life. Then,…
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