Blog

Rebecca Ellis, a staff writer for STEM Education Works, explores how the workforce of tomorrow requires a strong STEM foundation today. She showcases the work in the automotive industry stating, “robots have become common, performing risky or repetitive tasks and improving the production line. By 2019, there will be approximately 2.6 million industrial robots in… Read more »

New science standards adopted by a divided Colorado State Board of Education call on students to learn by puzzling through problems in the natural world rather than by listening to facts from a teacher. The Next Generation Science Standards, already in use in 38 states, represent the most significant change to what Colorado students will… Read more »

Five years after the NGSS rolled out, districts are sorting through a nascent, untested curriculum landscape that’s full of murky claims—leaving both students and teachers in a tough spot as they try to put standards into action. The challenge is accelerating, even as two developments promise to shake up the marketplace this fall. California, an… Read more »

Janet Carlson, Associate Professor and Director of the Center to Support Excellence in Teaching at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Education writes in Ed Week’s blog, Urban Education Reform: Bridging Research and Practice. The post is written from the researcher perspective. Later this week, Ed Week will share the practitioner’s perspective on this research. Why this Research? Five years ago,… Read more »

When it comes to teaching science in Arizona, Gov. Doug Ducey is apparently on a different page than School Superintendent Diane Douglas. Ducey said evolution should stay a part of the state’s science curriculum, while creationism should remain out of science class. “Evolution is part of the curriculum and will remain part of the curriculum,”… Read more »

  If you think back to your grade school science classes and Schoolhouse Rock episodes, you might remember memorizing a lot of vocabulary words. But science is more than words. It’s about wonder, curiosity and experimentation. The new Arizona Science Standards are meant to encourage a messy, hands-on approach to science. The Department of Education’s… Read more »

Amidst grumblings from Santa Clarita Valley (Calif.) teachers who say they lack proper educational materials, the Hart Union High School District is sharing an update on the overhaul of its science curriculum Wednesday. The William S. Hart Union High School District is expected to look at classroom support at Wednesday’s meeting of the Governing Board… Read more »

“It’s exciting to go into a classroom and see students not sitting in a row — but working together in groups, even sitting on the floor,” said Roseanne Haughton, K-5 science coordinator, at the Monroe Board of Education’s April 17 meeting. “It’s science … and it’s messy.” Haughton was giving the Monroe Board of Education… Read more »

Stephen Pruitt, a former chemistry teacher and a long-time champion of the science education community known for his outgoing personality and tireless work on NGSS adoption and implementation, was forced to resign his post on April 17. Check out the following news clips: EdWeek, April 18, 2018; Courier Journal, April 17, 2018

After past sparring over hot-button topics like evolution and climate change, Utah Board of Education gives go-ahead to draft new science standards The Utah State Board of Education greenlit plans Thursday (April 12) to begin drafting new school science standards, a process likely to touch on divisive issues like climate change and evolution. The state… Read more »