• National Science Foundation Seeks PAEMST Applicants
• NSTA Legislative Update: Congress Passes FY2008 Budget
• Define Yourself, Refine Your Skills
• A Conversation with the Author of Stop Faking It: Chemistry Basics
• Boston Conference to Provide a Variety of Workshops, Presentations
• Publish in NSTA's Journals

National Science Foundation Seeks PAEMST Applicants

Nominate outstanding teachers for the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST). This award honors exemplary K-12 mathematics and science teachers for their contributions to improving teaching and learning. This year elementary teachers are invited to apply (secondary teachers will be honored next year). The application deadline is May 1, 2008. For information about the online nomination and application, visit www.paemst.org or e-mail info@paemst.org.

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NSTA Legislative Update: Congress Passes FY2008 Budget

Congress has passed, and President Bush is expected to sign, the giant omnibus budget bill that reconciles the House and Senate appropriations packages to provide funding for FY2008 federal programs. Read more about the levels of funding key STEM education programs at the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Education can expect next year.

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Define Yourself, Refine Your Skills

Join NSTA at the 56th Annual National Conference on Science Education, March 27-30, 2008, “Science: Bridge to the Future.”

Improve upon your assessment skills with sessions such as Organizing, Analyzing, Interpreting and Reporting Science Assessment Data: What Every Science Teacher Should Know.

Attend Opening Your Classroom to the World to learn skills and strategies to successfully integrate technology into your teaching environment.

Hear oceanographer Chris Linder’s firsthand account of scientific expeditions throughout the polar regions.

Enjoy giveaways from over 400 exhibitors, including the chance to win a well-equipped science classroom (one for each grade band) provided by top exhibitors in the Ultimate Science Classroom Giveaway.

Earn graduate credit for a minimum of 12 hours of programs through Framingham State College in Framingham, MA. For teachers who need recertification, this opportunity is not to be missed.

For more information or to register, visit www.nsta.org/boston.

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A Conversation with the Author of Stop Faking It: Chemistry Basics

In NSTA’s seventh Behind the Books podcast, listen in as Stop Faking It: Chemistry Basics author Bill Robertson shares his approach to learning chemistry, with a hands-on approach that uses chemicals you can find under your kitchen sink, assuming it's equipped with more than a stack of dirty sponges. The emphasis is on why things happen in a certain way, not on memorizing chemistry principles. You will learn not just how to balance chemical equations but why in the world you would want to! More of these special interviews with Tyson Brown, NSTA’s Director-New Products and Services, are in the works. Whether or not you’ve read the featured books, we hope you’ll find these podcasts interesting, thought-provoking, and helpful. To listen, visit Behind the Books.

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Boston Conference to Provide a Variety of Workshops, Presentations

Imagine taking a workshop to learn the chemistry behind making perfume. Consider listening to a presentation on how to teach physics through sports. These workshops and presentations will be among the hundreds of sessions science educators can participate in at NSTA’s 56th National Conference on Science Education in Boston.

For a sampling of workshops and presentations scheduled for Boston, see this NSTA Reports story.

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Publish in NSTA's Journals

Considering publishing, but don't know how to start? Let our editors help you, and share your valuable experience with your peers. Publishing in NSTA journals is your opportunity to make a significant contribution to science programs at your level of practice. For helpful writing tips from NSTA's journal editors, please read Right from the Start. With these suggestions in mind, you may soon be among NSTA's published authors. To read calls for papers from each journal, please click on the following:

• Science and Children (elementary level)
• Science Scope (middle level)
• The Science Teacher (high school)
• Journal of College Science Teaching (college)

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And Don’t Forget…

Membership Means You Belong! Join NSTA for these essential benefits that will enhance your marketability in the teaching profession and build your professional knowledge. Being a member of NSTA means you’re part of an international community of practitioners dedicated to improving science education.

Visit the NSTA Science Store for an outstanding array of bestselling books and teaching resources. Receive 30% off of the December featured book, Teaching High School Science Through Inquiry: A Case Study Approach.

Visit our member services web page to ensure that NSTA has your current contact information.