Kids Love Science, Teens Less So
Posted on August 30th, 2010 by Jaimie Schock
Young students are fascinated by science and very open to learning. But as they age, that interest and curiosity tends to wane — a fact too often reflected in test scores. In Texas, only 67 percent of students pass the science portion of the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills exam, while 90 percent pass the English component.
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Tags: Research, Research on Learning, Science Education, Science Teachers, Teacher Training
Last year, Brittany Hinyard’s eighth graders became astronomers. Students built models of the solar system, used software to make planets gravitate toward or apart from each other, and sought out information on satellites. Teaching this way, emphasizing inquiry, multiple science disciplines, and team learning, requires an extra commitment. But for Hinyard, there have been rewards in prestige and professional satisfaction. 
Teachers and students across the country have been writing in with comments on eGFI — telling us what they most enjoy, and how they put the magazine and Website to use. We’re delighted with the feedback.
President Barack Obama recently announced the names of 103 science and math teachers selected as this year’s recipients of the prestigious Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. Each teacher will pocket a $10,000 award from the National Science Foundation. Obama noted that the scientists and engineers who have helped to make America great all shared one thing: “science and math teachers who brought these critical subjects to life.”
Too many science teachers in the U.S. — especially at the elementary and middle school levels — aren’t fully qualified to teach the subject. For instance, more than 70 percent of middle school science teachers in Chicago schools do not have a degree or endorsement in science. To address that problem, Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry and the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) have teamed up to offer what they say is a first of its kind program to bolster the skills of middle school science teachers.
The National Science Teacher’s Association annual National Conference on Science Education is scheduled for March 18–21 in Philadelphia, PA. Their workshops, seminars, and presentations promise to inspire, fine tune your content knowledge, test your strategies and techniques to build student performance, and tackle critical education issues of the day.
The Washington Science Teachers’ Association (WSTA) will hold its annual conference, March 12 – 14, 2010. The conference offers opportunities to explore the new science standards revisions and science instructional materials that support the science standards, and to engage with science professionals through workshops, informal networking opportunities, and vendor exhibits.
Hawaiian students are going nuts over a new biofuel. At Seabury Hall school on the island of Maui, teachers Kathleen Ireland and Martin Emde have enlisted the entire freshman and sophomore classes and 35 seniors in a uniquely Hawaiian energy solution using kukui nuts.
