REACHING
THE HARD TO REACH
Anyone who has spent any amount of time in a classroom
realizes and understands that some students are harder to reach
than others. The reasons for this are many; students may be difficult
to reach because of cultural, socioeconomic, physiological, or linguistic
reasons. Consequently, today's teachers have to use a range of different
approaches to connect with these students. This issue presents some
solutions and approaches that fellow teachers of science are successfully
employing in their classrooms.
Reaching
the Hard to Reach in the News
Article summaries provided by the NSTA WebNews Digest (visit
http://www.nsta.org/mainnews
for national news for science educators).
This month’s news stories provide examples of various groups
of students that can be hard to reach.
Visit http://science.nsta.org/enewsletter/2006-01/news_stories_elementary.htm
to learn more.
Reaching
the Hard to Reach on the Web
In this month's elementary journal, Science and Children,
NSTA members can read "Taking Inventory." The link to
that article is http://www.nsta.org/gateway&j=sc&n=51331.
NSTA
Journal Articles on Reaching the Hard to Reach
The archives of Science and Children provide several articles
with strategies for Reaching the Hard to Reach.
Click here to read more:
http://science.nsta.org/enewsletter/2006-01/elementary.htm
Books,
Books, Books
To read about Reaching
the Hard to Reach in NSTA Press® books, visit
http://science.nsta.org/enewsletter/2006-01/books_elementary.htm.
To read about the newest titles available from NSTA Press, visit
http://science.nsta.org/enewsletter/2006-01/newbookselem.htm.
To receive the latest NSTA catalog for your specific grade level,
visit
http://ecommerce.nsta.org/catalog_signup.
Professional
Development
Whole-Class
Learning
The December 28 issue of eSchool News featured
an article that points out that "while the importance of
whole-class learning is hardly new to education, it is more significant
than ever… [Today,] an educator failing to reach one student
can hurt a school's reputation as much as one who fails to reach
the entire class." Visit http://www.eschoolnews.com/resources/reports/wholeclasslearning/index.cfm
to read a collection of articles, web links, and other resources
related to how technology can facilitate whole-class learning.
NSTA
Web Seminars
Three exciting free Web Seminars are being offered
in January, 2006:
Picture-Perfect Science: January 11
Preparing for the Journey to Space: January 19
Investigating Safely: January 25
These 90-minute live professional development experiences
use online learning technologies to allow participants to interact
with nationally acclaimed experts; NSTA Press authors; and scientists,
engineers, and education specialists from NSTA government partners,
such as NASA and NOAA—all from the convenience of your desktop!
Educators use online tools that allow them to markup
and annotate presenters' slides, share desktop applications, or
engage in chat, survey, and poll questions with others online.
Seminars may be archived and are available for viewing after the
live event has occurred. For a full schedule of seminar topics,
dates and times for January and February, and to register, visit
http://institute.nsta.org/web_seminars.asp.
Registration is free, but the number of participants is limited,
so register early.
Global
Science Teaching
China
Seeks Elite University Status
China wants to transform its top universities into
the world’s best within a decade, and the country is spending
billions of dollars to attract big-name scholars and build first-class
research laboratories to accomplish this effort. China is focusing
on science and technology, areas that not only reflect its development
needs, but also mirror the preferences of an authoritarian system
that restricts speech. Many Chinese academics note that the biggest
drawback to this effort is the lack of academic freedom. To read
the article by Howard French that first appeared in The New
York Times, visit the Register-Guard at http://www.registerguard.com/news/2005/12/13/a1.chinauniversities.1213.p1.php?section=nation_world.
NSTA
Opportunities
The
Early Years
 Science
and Children (S&C) and NSTA have established a
blog devoted to early childhood science (see http://science.nsta.org/earlyyearsblog).
Here you’ll find teaching advice, management tips, favorite
resources, and activity ideas specifically for teachers of grades
preK–2. The blog accompanies Science and Children’s
column The Early Years. To view the first column, visit http://www.nsta.org/main/news/stories/science_and_children.php?category_ID=86&news_story_ID=50933.
Highlights from the online conversations will appear in the print
column. Teachers who post a comment that gets chosen for publication
in S&C will receive one free book
from a select group of NSTA Press publications.
Call
for Papers
Science and Children (grades preK–5) has issued a Call
for Papers on specific topics. Click here to find out more:
http://www.nsta.org/177
Looking
for Evening Skies?
Regrettably, Science and Children will no longer include
the Evening Skies Monthly Star Map and Sky Calendar. However, yearly
subscriptions to the map and calendar are available from the Abrams
Planetarium for $11 and can begin at any point in the year. To subscribe,
visit http://www.pa.msu.edu/abrams/SkyCalendar/Index.html.
Subscribers will be mailed hard copies of three star maps and calendars
four times a year to cover the entire calendar year. Or check out
http://skymaps.com/downloads.html
for free star map downloads from StarMaps.com (permission
is required for multiple copies for classroom or science club use).
In addition, Skywatcher's Diary at http://www.pa.msu.edu/abrams/diary.html
posts a monthly detailing of sky happenings. Happy stargazing!
Next
Month's Theme
Mixing and Matter
If your colleagues would like to subscribe to Science Class,
please direct them to http://www.nsta.org/newsletters.
THE FINE PRINT
This
e-newsletter is brought to you by the National Science Teachers
Association
1840 Wilson Boulevard
Arlington, VA 22201-3092
Phone: 703-243-7100
http://www.nsta.org
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