• How Good is One Teacher Compared with Another?
• NSTA's Conference on Science Education, Baltimore
• Dept. of Education Announces Major Awards for New ELA and Math Assessments Based on Common Core Standards
• From the NSTA Calendar: Space Exploration Art Competition
• Visit Kansas City and Build Your PD Portfolio—Earlybird Deadline: 9/17
• ExploraVision Competition for K–12 Students Opens Registration
• MSU Announces Online Science Courses for Fall

How Good is One Teacher Compared with Another?

New York Times reporter Sam Dillon asks this question in his September 1 article on the use of value added modeling. “Use of value-added modeling is exploding nationwide,” writes Dillon. “Hundreds of school systems, including those in Chicago, New York and Washington, are already using it to measure the performance of schools or teachers. Many more are expected to join them, partly because the Obama administration has prodded states and districts to develop more effective teacher-evaluation systems than traditional classroom observation by administrators.”

• Read the New York Times article

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NSTA's Conference on Science Education, Baltimore

Join thousands of educators in Baltimore, Maryland, Nov. 11–13, to build your skills, expand your content knowledge and become inspired by leading experts in science education, including Bill Nye the Science Guy®. Whether you are a first-year teacher, veteran teacher, or administrator, hundreds of sessions and workshops, field trips, short courses, and special programs will prove to be relevant and informative. Don’t miss this opportunity to walk away with ready-to-use inquiry techniques, new teaching strategies, hands-on activities and lesson plans, exhibitor giveaways, and new contacts for your network. Use the online session browser to plan your agenda today. Save the most when you register by September 24!

K–16 Highlights:

• Bringing Literacy and Science Together (B.L.A.S.T.) for Grades 2–4: Linking Home and School ( Elem)
• Hot Warm-Ups—Capture your students' attention in the first few minutes of class using music, visuals, and games that focus their attention, review concepts, and challenge their thinking. CD included. (Elem–Middle)
• Using Real-World Science Investigations to Enhance Existing Science Curricula—Integrate an innovative science research class into your school curriculum. (Middle–High School/Supervisor)
• Forensic Spectroscopy—Use handheld digital spectrometer to analyze visible emission and absorbance spectra to identify evidence collected at a crime scene. (High–College)
• Hands-On Performance Assessment for K–12 Students: The Impetus for Inquiry in Our Classrooms (Supervisor)
• Physical Science on a Shoestring—Hands-on activities/demonstrations using on low-cost materials. (Elem–Middle)
• Implementing Open Inquiry: Ideas for Engaging Students (Elem–High)
• Creating K–6 Classrooms That Embrace Science Inquiry: Helping Students Think and Work Like Scientists (Elem–Middle)

Earn graduate credit for 12 hours of program attendance from Framingham State University. Don’t forget to visit the exhibit hall to stock up on freebies, and visit the NSTA Avenue (Booth No. 519) to learn about member benefits, products and services all designed with you in mind. Visit www.nsta.org/baltimore for details or to register.

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Dept. of Education Announces Major Awards for New ELA and Math Assessments Based on Common Core Standards

On September 2, the U.S. Department of Education announced more than $330 million in grant awards will go to two groups to develop a new generation of math and English language arts assessments that will be aligned to the common core standards in these subjects currently adopted by 36 states.

Funding will go to the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) and the SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC), in the amounts of approximately $170 million and $160 million, respectively.

The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) is a coalition of 26 states that includes: Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Mississippi, North Dakota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Tennessee. The PARCC coalition will test students’ ability to read complex text, complete research projects, excel at classroom speaking and listening assignments, and work with digital media, and will replace the one end-of-year high stakes accountability test with a series of assessments administered throughout the year.

The SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium is a coalition of 31 states including: Alabama, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and West Virginia. The SMARTER coalition will test students using computer adaptive technology that will ask students tailored questions based on their previous answers. SMARTER will continue to use one test at the end of the year for accountability purposes, but will create a series of interim tests used to inform students, parents, and teachers about whether students are on track.

For more information, visit the Department of Education website.

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From the NSTA Calendar: Space Exploration Art Competition

As part of the International Academy of Astronautics Humans in Space Symposium, students ages 10–17 can express their ideas about the future of human space exploration through visual, literary, musical, or digital art. The competition judges will look at creativity, skill, and demonstration of meaning relevant to expressing “What is the future of human space exploration, and why is it important?” They’ll award bonus points for artwork that does not break obvious scientific principles.

Winning art will be displayed in an online gallery, and winners will be invited to attend the symposium in person in April 2011. Click here to learn more about how your students can enter the competition. The deadline is October 13.

Visit the NSTA online calendar for more ways to get your students engaged in science.

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Visit Kansas City and Build Your PD Portfolio—Earlybird Deadline: 9/17

Science teachers planning for professional development should consider the first of NSTA’s fall conferences on science education to be held in Kansas City, Missouri, Oct. 28–30. For all disciplines and every grade bands, PreK–16, including preservice teachers, this event provides performance-enhancing teaching skills and strategies. Workshops and seminars, presentations, and short courses offer wide topical and issue studies along with hands-on activities to use in the classroom. Check out some of more than 400 sessions scheduled:

• Tackling the Global Warming Challenge in a Rapidly Changing World ( Middle–High School)
• Wind Energy Science for the Classroom—Hands-on, standards-based lessons bring wind energy science into the classroom. (Informal Education)
• Process-oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL) in High School Chemistry and Biology Classrooms (ticketed short course)
• Strategies for Teaching and Assessing the Nature of Science (ticketed short course)
• Featured Presenter—Jeff Goldstein (Director, National Center for Earth and Space Science Education: Science Education: Conceptual Understanding at an Emotional Level
• Free Science Matters Community Event with Bill Nye, the Science Guy, and hands-on activities for the family.
• Engineering Modeling—Using scale models of airplanes, students learn the applications of scaling using ratios and proportions. (Elem–High)
• Science + Writing + Learning—Learn to implement science notebooks in your classrooms with math integration, supporting data, and assessments. (Elem–Middle)
• STEM in Action: The Bridge to the Real World—Instructional technology helps engage students in the learning process by providing authentic science experiences through design projects, competitions, and live-data analysis. (Elem–High)
• Shawnee Mission West Public Schools ’ Biotechnology, Wind and Solar Energy, Robotics, and Fine Arts in the Science Department (ticketed field trip)
• Exhibit Hall—View and test new products and services for cutting edge science education from top companies across the nation.
• Networking with your peers and the experts—Hang out with those who have a passion for science education, make new friends and contacts.
• Science Bookstore—It’s more than you imagined. Gifts, T-shirts, I Love Science mugs and the finest collection of science education books published. Check out our new titles!

For more information, visit www.nsta.org/kansascity. To save the most, register by Sept. 17.

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ExploraVision Competition for K–12 Students Opens Registration

September 15 marks the kickoff of the Toshiba/NSTA ExploraVision Competition, celebrating its 19th year. Designed for K–12 students of all interest, skill and ability levels, ExploraVision encourages its participants to create and explore a vision of future technology by developing new ways to apply current science. Teachers who want to learn more about the program are invited to participate in a free web seminar. Register at NSTA’s Learning Center to learn the details and have all of your questions answered. “What is ExploraVision and How Can I Use It?” is scheduled for Wednesday, September 15, at 6:30 pm ET. To view the application and read about past winning teams, go to www.exploravision.org. For more information, contact us at 1-800-EXPLOR9 or e-mail us at exploravision@nsta.org.

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MSU Announces Online Science Courses for Fall

A series of Montana State University online graduate courses for science teachers will cover topics, including space flight, physics, nutrition, and microbiology.

The courses are delivered through NTEN, the National Teachers Enhancement Network, which has offered MSU courses fully online since 1993. Some of the fall 2010 courses are designed specifically for elementary teachers, including Using Local Ecosystems to Implement Elementary Biology Activities (BIOL 580) and K-14 Earth System Science (ERTH 580), both of which offer one and two graduate credits respectively.

Other fall courses include Nutrition for Fitness and Performance (HDFN 526), Special Relativity (PHSX 405), Astronomy for Teachers (PHSX 511), and more.

Also, a graduate course focused on spaceflight and space technology taught by the award-winning author and historian, Andrew Chaikin is offered. His books include the best-selling chronicle of the Apollo moon missions, A Man on the Moon, the main basis for Tom Hanks's Emmy-winning HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon. The course, entitled History of Spaceflight and Space Technology, is offered for 3 graduate credits in science education.

Courses begin in early to late September and offer a discount to members of the National Science Teachers Association.

Visit Extended University to see all the NTEN Fall 2010 courses, or call (800) 282-6062 for more information.

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• What Research Says to the Science Teacher
• Teachers Fly for Science
• ExploraVision Returns
• Siemens Foundation, Discovery Education Conclude Two Elite Professional Development Programs Empowering Educators Nationwide to Improve STEM Achievement
• From the NSTA Calendar: Free Webinar on Using Text in K–5 Classrooms
• Earth Science Week 2010
• New School Year, New Journal Content

What Research Says to the Science Teacher

NSTA is bringing back the series What Research Says to the Science Teacher. The original series, published in the 1980s, was popular among science teachers because it synthesized research and offered practical suggestions for how to apply research in the classroom. The books in the new series will have these same qualities and more! The publications will be relatively short (15–20 pages), will offer research-based suggestions, and will be reviewed by teachers before they are published to ensure relevancy and readability. More importantly, the contents and themes of the books will be selected by the NSTA community.

In order to identify pertinent What Research Says book topics, we need your input. We’re asking members of the NSTA community to spend 10–15 minutes selecting and ranking your 10 most important topics from a list of 25. We’ll conduct a Rasch analysis of the survey returns and will report on the results and the top 10 selected topics in a future article in NSTA Reports.

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Teachers Fly for Science

Two teachers from Greensboro Day School work on their experiment Hooke’s Law Orbits.

In late July, 11 teams of teachers from across the country participated in a zero-gravity flight at NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, and conducted hands-on research aboard a modified Boeing 727 jetliner.

Prior to the flight, the teams designed experiments with their students that included capturing carbon from fossil fuels, kicking a field goal in microgravity, and measuring the distances.

The teams of teachers were part of a joint NASA/NSTA/TFS Reduced Gravity Education Flight Week pilot project to include classroom lessons and professional development as part of the flight experience. They utilized the NSTA Learning Center to prepare for the flight experience and will continue to use the resources in their classroom lessons. The teachers will also present their findings in a series of free web seminars planned for this December. The web seminars are free and all are welcome to share in the experience and see the results of the research. To register, go to the NSTA Learning Center.

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ExploraVision Returns

The Toshiba/NSTA ExploraVision Awards program is back for its 19th year, and the application to participate will be available online August 30, 2010, at www.exploravision.org. The ExploraVision program is open to K–12 students who could win up to $10,000 in savings bonds and other valuable prizes. To start the year off right, NSTA will host the first in a series of free web seminars designed to answer questions and assist teachers in using the ExploraVision program in their classrooms. “What is ExploraVision and How Can I Use It?” is scheduled for Wednesday, September 15, 2010, at 6:30 pm ET. Coaches of prior winning teams will share their experiences, give tips, and answer questions. To register, visit the NSTA Learning Center. If you have questions, contact us at 1-800-EXPLOR9 or e-mail us at exploravision@nsta.org.

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Siemens Foundation, Discovery Education Conclude Two Elite Professional Development Programs Empowering Educators Nationwide to Improve STEM Achievement

This summer, select educators were given the unique opportunity to further develop their teaching skills through two professional development programs sponsored by the Siemens Foundation, in conjunction with Discovery Education, College Board and Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU). Components of the Siemens STEM Academy, these programs—Siemens Teachers as Researchers (STARs) and Siemens STEM Institute—provided educators tools and best practices needed to foster student achievement in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).

The Siemens Teachers as Researchers (STARs) program, a two-week program administered by ORAU, at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Oak Ridge, Tenn., gave twenty middle and high school teachers the opportunity to work with top scientists on projects related to energy efficiency and renewable resources.

The Siemens STEM Institute, a weeklong professional development experience at Discovery Education’s global headquarters, gave fifty teachers the opportunity to meet with government officials, leading scientists, and respected educational leaders. Teachers also formed groups and used digital tools to work on STEM-related research projects on topics such as biodiversity and energy. Participants will continue work on their project throughout the school year and present their projects next spring via a live webinar.

For more information visit: www.siemensstemacademy.com.

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From the NSTA Calendar: Free Webinar on Using Text in K–5 Classrooms

Using informational text in the elementary classroom is important. Creating and employing multigenre text sets can enhance your instruction. Spend an hour exploring this topic at 3:30 p.m. on August 26 during a free webinar hosted by the National Science Digital Library’s Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears project. Beyond Penguins provides elementary teachers with instructional resources and professional development opportunities.

This webinar is the first of a series on integrating science and literacy at the elementary level. No registration is required, and you can log on up to 30 minutes before the seminar. If you miss the live webinar, an archived version will be available the next day.

Visit the NSTA online calendar for more science education opportunities.

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Earth Science Week 2010

The American Geological Institute (AGI) is encouraging teachers and students to take part in Earth Science Week 2010 (October 10–16), which will encourage people everywhere to explore the natural world and learn about the geosciences. The theme for Earth Science Week 2010 is "Exploring Energy." AGI hosts Earth Science Week in cooperation with other sponsors as a service to the public and the geoscience community. Each year, local groups, educators, and interested individuals organize celebratory events. The program is supported by the U.S. Geological Survey, NASA, the National Park Service, the AAPG Foundation, the U.S. Department of Energy, ExxonMobil, ESRI, and other geoscience groups.

This year, AGI is sponsoring three national contests in conjunction with Earth Science Week 2010. Students, scientists and the general public are encouraged to enter the Earth Science Week photography contest, "We Depend on Energy." Students in grades K–5 are encouraged to enter the visual arts contest, "Energy on Earth." And an essay contest, "How Energy Powers the Planet," is open to students in grades 6–9. For more information on these contests and the full program, visit www.earthsciweek.org/contests. The American Geological Institute is a nonprofit federation of 47 geoscientific and professional associations that represents more than 120,000 geologists, geophysicists, and other earth scientists. More details are at www.agiweb.org.

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New School Year, New Journal Content

Two of NSTA’s award-winning journals are debuting new columns, just in time for the new school year. By constantly refreshing our content, we keep you up-to-date on what’s most important in science education today.

Science and Children Debuts “Formative Assessment Probes”

How do you determine what your students are learning? There are countless assessment alternatives, but what we like about formative assessment probes is their emphasis on assessment for learning—how their use informs teaching, whether used as preassessment or during a lesson. Science and Children, NSTA’s journal for elementary teachers, debuts a monthly column devoted to these tools in the September 2010 issue. “Formative Assessment Probes,” based on the best-selling NSTA Press series Uncovering Student Ideas in Science, features a probe and describes how it can be used and adapted in the classroom. More important, it suggests ways to address what probe results reveal about student understanding.

Each column’s accompanying probe will be available for download at the elementary school home page, under “NSTA Connections.” Read the debut column “Doing Science.” Read more about the Uncovering Student Ideas in Science series—and find free sample chapters. Listen to a podcast featuring author Page Keeley as she discusses the use of formative assessment probes.

The Science Teacher Launches “The New Teacher’s Toolbox!”

The first years of teaching can be tough: Getting to know a new school, new students, and what really works in the classroom can be a lot to handle! In “The New Teacher’s Toolbox”—a new column in The Science Teacher (TST), NSTA’s journal for high school teachers—one teacher shares some insight from his first years of teaching—and some tips to help new (and even veteran) teachers along the way. The debut column, on helping new teachers survive their first day of school , appears in the September 2010 issue of TST. Future columns will address teaching in the digital age and class participation.

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Up to 44% savings on your NSTA Conference registration

20% savings on more than 267 books in the NSTA Science Store

Unparalleled networking opportunities via our vibrant listserves, as well as our new online professional learning and networking communities! Here’s how your fellow members rave about how these resources benefit them:

"Wow, this group is amazing! By the time I'd driven into school I had five responses to take into my meeting, and eight more tonight!"

"Thanks for this listserve - you will never know how incredibly helpful it is to science teachers to have this lifeline to other science teachers!"

A one-year subscription to the grade-specific journal of your choice, plus a free subscription to our monthly newspaper, NSTA Reports;

Journal Article Downloads—Members have unlimited access and may download any journal article from the archives of their chosen grade-specific journal, and members save on downloads from other NSTA journals as well;

The NSTA Career Center—a database of jobs, career-planning advice, and success stories: http://careers.nsta.org

The NSTA Blog—all of our blogs combined on one easy-to-use platform: http://nstacommunities.org/blog