Making Thinking Visible

Climate Justice

I was recently reading the March/April 2024 issue of “Science and Children,” a publication of the National Science Teaching Association.

In this issue, I read the “Editor’s Note” section written by Elizabeth Barrett-Zahn. She wrote an article entitled, “Climate Justice.”

Education is a critical agent in addressing the issue of climate change. The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change assigns responsibility to Parties of the Convention to undertake educational and public awareness campaigns on climate-change, and to ensure public participation in programs and information access on the issue.

Performance-Based Assessment

I was recently reading the March/April 2024 issue of “Science Scope,” a publication of the National Science Teaching Association.

In this issue, I read the “Interdisciplinary Ideas” section written by Katie Coppens. She wrote an article entitled, “Designing Performance-Based Assessments That Engage!”

Rather than stressful, an assessment should feel like a celebration of learning for students. Performance-based assessments allow students to demonstrate their understanding of one or more standards by accomplishing tasks that are engaging and flexible in how students approach them. In addition to seeing students’ scientific knowledge, teachers get a better sense of their students’ interests and strengths that they bring to each open-ended assignment. The author then shared an example of a performance-based assignment based on the Flint Water Crisis.

3D Assessment

I was recently reading the March/April 2024 issue of “Science Scope,” a publication of the National Science Teaching Association.

In this issue, I read the “From the Editor’s Desk” column written by Patty McGinnis. She wrote an article entitled, “3D Assessment.”

In the article she shared ideas about writing assessments aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards. The National Research Council recommends that teachers utilize a combination of constructed response, selected response, and projects to assess three-dimensional learning. She recommended two resources that provide tips for writing assessments. They are:

“STEM Teaching Tool #30: Integrating Science Practices in Assessment Tasks”

and

“The NGSS Evidence Statements”

Making Thinking Visible

I was recently reading the January/February 2024 issue of “The Science Teacher,” a publication of the National Science Teaching Association.

In this issue, I read the “Editor’s Corner” written by Ann Haley MacKenzie. She wrote an article entitled, “How Can We Make Our Students’ Thinking Visible?”

In the article she shared three strategies for making thinking visible. The strategies were taken from the books, “Making Thinking Visible” and “The Power of Making Thinking Visible.”

The strategies are:

“See-Think-Wonder”

“Connect-Extend-Challenge”

“CSI: Color, Symbol, Image”

Outstanding Science Trade Books for Early Elementary School Students - Part 2

I was recently reading the January/February 2024 issue of “Science and Children,” a publication of the National Science Teaching Association, for elementary school science teachers.

In this issue, I read the section on the “Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students.” The selections are a collaboration of the National Science Teaching Association and the Children’s Book Council.

In part 2 of this two-part podcast series, I share eight books that were selected for early elementary students. The books are:

“Whale Fall” by Melissa Stewart

“Find Out About Animal Camouflage” by Martin Jenkins

“The Bone Wars: The True Story of an Epic Battle to Find Dinosaur Fossils” by Jane Kurtz

“The Clues are in the Poo: The Story of Dinosaur Scientist Karen Chin” by Jane Kurtz and Karen Chin

“Masked Hero: Who Wu Lien-teh Invented the Mask that Ended an Epidemic” by Dr. Shan Woo Liu

“Tell Me About Space” by Lisa Varchol Perron

“If the Rivers Run Free” by Andrea Debink

“Zero Waste: How One Community is Leading a World Recycling Revolution” by Allan Drummond