A Publication of the California Science Teachers Association
CA Legislature Passes Race
to the Top Bills
After substantial wrangling among
lawmakers, the California legislature passed
bills in January designed to make the state
eligible to apply for up to $700 million
under the federal Race to the Top (RTTT)
grant program.
A huge bill put forward by state Sen.
Gloria Romero (D-Los Angeles), along
with Senate co-authors Mark Wyland (REscondido), Bob Huff (R-Diamond Bar),
and Elaine Alquist (D-Santa Clara), was
hotly debated before passing out of the
Senate but was eventually rejected by the
Assembly Education Committee. Likewise,
an Assembly bill put forward by Rep. Julia
Brownley (D-Santa Monica) made it out
of the Assembly but was pulled from the
Senate’s agenda when it became clear that
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger would have
vetoed it had it passed the Senate.
In the end, the two houses came
together and passed two bills, SBX5 1, authored by Sen. Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento), and SBX5 4, authored by senators
Romero, Wyland, Huff, and Alquist, which,
together, are supposed to make California
not only eligible but, according to the Governor, “competitive” in winning part of the
$4.35 billion Race to the Top money.
Provisions of the two bills include:
• the establishment of an Academic
Content Standards Commission to
develop academic content standards
in math and language arts by July 15,
and for the state board to adopt them
by August 2;
• a requirement that California participate in the common core standards
initiative, an effort on the part of 48
states to arrive at common academic
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standards in math and language arts;
a clause establishing the “Science,
Technology, Engineering, Math, and
Career Technical Education Educator
Credentialing Program” to provide
alternative routes to credentialing for
teachers in those subjects;
a requirement that the state identify
“low-achieving schools and persistently lowest-achieving schools” and that
those schools undertake one of four
interventions, which might include
closing the school;
a clause allowing student performance
data to be used by LEAs in evaluating
teachers and administrators;
a clause allowing CDE, UC, CSU, and
community colleges to obtain quarterly wage data on students, this, presumably, to determine at some point how
important or useful a college degree is
to one’s earning potential;
an “Open Enrollment Act” that allows
parents in a low-achieving school
to apply to send their students to a
school in another district;
a “Parent Empowerment” clause that
allows parents in schools with an API
of less than 800, and where at least
half of the parents sign, to petition the
school district to take specific intervention strategies, including potentially closing the school.
The last two of these provisions
are not required by RTTT, but Gov.
Schwarzenegger desperately wanted them,
saying that they would be the points that
would take California over the top on the
race for funding. The parent empowerment issues also drew the largest and most
March 2010 Volume 21 No. 4
California Science Teachers Association
California Classroom Science
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vocal proponents for the bills during the
many legislative hearings, with many parents and representatives from Parent Revolution, a charter school advocacy group,
attending and testifying at both Senate and
Assembly committee hearings.
The California Teachers Association, the Association of California School
Administrators (ACSA), the California
School Boards Association (CSBA), and the
state PTA all opposed the two bills. They
appeared to have had particular problems
with the provisions that were not required
by RTTT but were thrown in for good measure. CSTA did not support the bills
Simultaneously with this activity, the
Department of Education and the Secretary
of Education’s office were busily writing
the massive RTTT application, and Superintendent Jack O’Connell sought the support of local school districts to sign onto
the application. The state’s ability to be
awarded a grant will hinge on the amount
of local district support the application
has. At the application deadline, January
8, 410 school districts, or roughly 30 percent of the total number of districts in the
state, and 304 charter schools had signed
Memoranda of Understanding in support
of the state’s application.
Nominations for
CSTA
Awards
Future Science
Teacher Award
and
Margaret Nicholson
Distinguished Service
Award
See pages 18–19
for more information.
Features
Ask-A-Scientist . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Child Developement . . . . . . . . . 9
Classroom Management . . . . . 10
Earth Science . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Field Trips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
News from Region 1 . . . . . . . . . 5
News from Region 2 . . . . . . . . . 6
News from Region 3 . . . . . . . . . 7
News from Region 4 . . . . . . . . . 8
Physcial Science . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
“New” Standards for Math and English?
Science Tidbits . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Technology Integration . . . . . . 14
In This Issue
The large Senate bill, SBX5 1, that is
intended to make California eligible for
federal Race to the Top money (see article
above) includes a provision that a new Academic Standards Commission be appointed
to “develop academic content standards in
language arts and mathematics” that are
“internationally benchmarked and build
toward college and career readiness by the
time of high school graduation.”
The bill also requires state education
leaders to participate in the development
of common core standards currently being
undertaken by the National Governors
Association and the Council of Chief State
School Officers. At least 85 percent of the
new California standards must be comprised
of the common core standards developed
by the national consortium.
The new commission will consist of 21
members, 11 appointed by the governor,
five by the Senate Rules Committee, and
five by the Speaker of the Assembly. The
commission is to have its new recommended math and language arts standards ready
by July 15, 2010, and the State Board of Education must either approve or reject them
by August 2, 2010. Not addressed in the
legislation is how, if at all, the state’s current
academic standards are to be considered in
the development of the new standards.
Considering that it took a similarlyappointed standards commission over a
year to develop and have approved the
current content standards when they were
passed in 1997, the legislation’s timeline for
approval seems ambitious, particularly when
the national common core standards have
not yet been finalized. All meetings of the
new standards commission will be open to
the public.
The Curriculum Commission, which
has been inactive since the governor halted
development of curriculum frameworks and
put textbook adoptions on hold, will be convened in May to work on new frameworks
for math and language arts.
Awards Forms . . . . . . . . . . 18–19
Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5, 20
Free Resources . . . . . . . . . 20–21
Student Resources . . . . . . . . . 21
Teacher Resources . . . . . . . . . 21
Additional Resources . . . . . . . 21
Field Trips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Student Opportunities . . . . . . 22
Teacher Opportunities . . . . . . 22
Websites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

2
March 2010
California Science
Teachers Association
2009–2010 Board of Directors
President
by Tim Williamson
You Should Be Teaching
B.A.D. Science!
Now that I have your attention, let
me explain.
B.A.D. Science is an acronym (yes,
another one of those pesky acronyms)
that stands for a science program that
is Balanced, Articulated, and Developmentally-appropriate. I have been
using this tongue-in-cheek acronym in
my CSULB science methods classes for
well over 10 years and it seems to stick
with my students. I’ve visited many
of my preservice students when they
get their own classrooms, and many of
them can’t wait to inform me they are
still teaching B.A.D. science! The origin of this fun acronym is a bit sketchy,
but I’ve traced it back to my personal
involvement as a staff developer with
CSIN and Kathy DiRanna’s K–12 Alliance organization way back in the early
days of its existence. Regardless, the
acronym is eye-catching (it probably
made you read this article) and it is as
relevant today as it was 25 years ago.
So what does all of this mean?
The “B” stands for balanced. A
balanced science curriculum is one that
covers all aspects of the science curriculum, including physical, earth, and life
science, as well as the related investigation and experimentation process
skills. All too often, especially in the
elementary classroom, teachers only
teach in their “science comfort” zone.
This is usually in the area of life science, as that is where they tend to have
more real-life experiences and personal understandings of the content.
Secondary science educators need to
remember to include all of the science
genres when presenting new content,
emphasizing the interactions of earth,
life, and physical science whenever
possible. Remember, in middle school
science, the standards cover “science
with an emphasis on” life science or
earth science or physical science. You
are not to teach them in isolation.
The “A” in B.A.D. stands for
articulated. According to the Encarta
Dictionary: English, the word articulate is
a transitive verb meaning to communicate something or to express thoughts,
ideas, or feelings coherently. This “coherent communication” is extremely
important when building a mastery
of science concepts from grades K–12.
The K–12 Alliance refers to this conceptual organization as a storyline. We all
know that “matter” is basically taught
in grades K, 1, 3, 5, 8, and 12 and that
there are appropriate science standards
related to matter in each of these
grades. An effective science educator
not only tells the “story of matter” to
his or her grade level by rearranging
and appropriately presenting these
standards in the form of a story, but
they also incorporate their grade level
matter story into the overall K–12 matter storyline. This conceptual articulation is also know as conceptual flow or
having each new science lesson build
on the facts, concepts, and vocabulary
introduced in the preceding lesson. To
put it more simply, they continue the
matter story with each new lesson.
As educators, we must strive to
make sure that all of the concepts/
content presented to our children is
developmentally appropriate. This is
the third and final letter in our acronym, “D.” A Kindergarten child is not
developmentally able to understand
most abstract concepts. Most of them
cannot mentally understand things
like planetary motion. They basically
comprehend what they can hear or
what they can see in front of them;
the tangible. Unfortunately, many
science educators feel that some of our
continued on page 15
First and Second Year Teachers
Attention!
Special Two-for-One Offer
If you are a teacher in your first or second year of teaching, CSTA is offering two years’ membership for the price of one year! You get all
the great benefits of CSTA membership—including the California Journal of
Science Education, California Classroom Science delivered to your home, and
reduced conference registration fee—for two years for only $39. This is
an offer too good to pass up.
Complete the CSTA Membership Form in this issue of California Classroom
Science and forward it, with your membership fee of $39.00 and a letter
from your principal or BTSA provider certifying that you are a
first- or second-year teacher, to CSTA, 3800 Watt Ave., Suite 100, Sacramento, CA 95821. You can download a principal verification form online
at www.cascience.org/csta/pdf/first-second year teacher.pdf. Or call the
CSTA office at (916) 979-7004 for a membership application. Do it today!
President: Tim Williamson
Signal Hill, [email protected]
President-Elect: Rick Pomeroy
Woodland, [email protected]
Past President: Susan M. Pritchard
La Habra, [email protected]
Secretary: Marian Murphy-Shaw
Mt. Shasta, [email protected]
Treasurer: Greg Schultz
Richmond, [email protected]
Primary Director: Michelle French
Visalia, [email protected]
Intermediate Director: Jim Jones
Indio, [email protected]
Middle/Junior High School Director:
Bonny Ralston
Rohnert Park, [email protected]
High School Director: Heather Marshall
Elverta, [email protected]
California Science
Teachers Association
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California Classroom Science (ISSN 1532-6721),
published five times a year, is CSTA’s source of
news and information for and about teachers
of science. It includes science education news,
information about CSTA activities, and resources
for science teachers.
CCS welcomes contributions, suggestions and
stories from its readers. CCS welcomes, but is
not responsible for, unsolicited manuscripts and
artwork. CCS reserves the right to edit all materials
submitted for length and content. All submissions
must be typed (double-spaced) or submitted on
disk or electronically. Opinions expressed and
advertisements in CCS are those of the authors/
advertisers and not of the publishers.Articles may
be reprinted with permission from CCS.
4-Year College Director: Donna Ross
San Diego, [email protected]
CCS welcomes your comments on items published
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Greenbrae, [email protected]
publisher:
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Region 1 Director: Valerie Joyner
Petaluma, [email protected]
editors:
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Region 2 Director: Deborah Farkas
San Francisco, [email protected]
Christine Bertrand
Region 3 Director: Dean Gilbert
Huntington Beach, [email protected]
Diane Wilde
2-Year College Director: Jeff Bradbury
Fullerton, [email protected]
Region 4 Director: Karen Withey-Smith
Chino Hills, [email protected]
Executive Director: Christine Bertrand
Sacramento, (916) 979-7004, [email protected]
contributing editor:
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California Classroom Science
C S TA B O O K S H E L F
GET BACK ISSUES OF THE
Earth Science
by Heather Marshall
CSTA’s semi-annual scholarly journal
focuses on one or more critical issues in
California EARTH Science
Teachers Association is back!
I have recently learned that the
California Earth Science Teachers Association is back in action. Carol Barrett
and Wendy Van Norden are heading
up the reorganization of CalESTA. If
you are a CSTA member, a teacher of
earth sciences, and maybe a member of
NAGT or NESTA, this will be good news
for you!
The goals of CalESTA are to preserve and promote earth science education in California, disseminate information to earth science K–12 teachers,
provide field trips and professional
development opportunities for K–12
earth science teachers, and partner
with companies and corporations that
rely on geoscience college graduates to
populate their workforce.
California Journal of Science
Education ( the Journal )
science education to give readers a full
spectrum of thought-provoking and insightful information about the topic. Complete
your collection – Order back issues today!
ORDERING INFORMATION
Current projects of CalESTA include
getting the word out to earth science
teachers that they are back in action,
and working on a campaign to petition for acceptance of the earth science
course in high school to be a “D” lab
course under the UC A-G requirements.
If you are interested in these,
please visit their website at http://cestanet.org/home. Another project underway is working toward a CalESTA-CSTA
earth science field trip for the 2010
CSTA conference in Sacramento.
Scott Hays
California Public Schools Teacher (retired)
For the latest LEGISLATIVE NEWS visit
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Dear Editor:
Respectfully submitted,
Quantity
Controversy in the Classroom I - Environment
TOTAL ORDER
Letter to the Editor
In its November edition, CCS reported that political and educational
leaders in California were making efforts to get ahead of the Race to the Top
(RTTT) game. Their calculation, according to CCS, is that RTTT will become
the “bedrock” for federal funding under the reauthorized ESEA (commonly
referred to as “No Child Left Behind”) and everyone, everywhere, will eventually have to dance to its tune. It strikes me as being depressingly typical of
people who scramble after money that it appears no one is asking the fundamental question: After the disaster of NCLB, is more federal control really
the direction we want to go? Merit pay tied to student performance on the
California Standards Test (or any other high stakes test that is devised), as any
teacher can tell these leaders, is akin to asking a restaurant to prepare the exact same menu every day even though the available ingredients change daily.
I have deep reservations about the direction RTTT seems to be going.
In an era of change we can believe in, I see the exact same people who have
been issuing our marching orders at least since the administration of George
H.W. Bush lining up at the top, again, to tell us educators what to do.
Aren’t we getting just a little bit weary of jumping to their mandates, especially when they seem to represent objectives and methodologies contrary
to what we know actually work when it comes to teaching and learning?
Don’t get me wrong. I am a firm supporter of challenging content
standards and educational accountability. For those who do not know
me, I have worked tirelessly to identify what children in California
should know and be able to do in regards to not only science, but also
English/language arts, history, writing, and computer technologies…
how we should measure and interpret what they know and are able to
do, how best to hold schools and individual teachers accountable, and
how best to support teachers in their efforts to improve the quality and
effectiveness of their practice. But there are far better ways to do it than
to jump on board another bandwagon without first questioning the
direction it is going, or the price tag it is going to carry.
Our Fragile Oceans
California Science Teachers Association
Vision Statement
Science is an extension of everyone’s natural curiosity and permeates our
lives. Science has had a profound influence on human history and has implications for both positive and negative influence on the future. Therefore,
the CSTA seeks to
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Promote and support all aspects of effective science teaching, including
new technologies and instructional strategies;
•
Encourage the natural curiosity of learners at all levels;
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Increase scientific literacy and the application of science to everyday life;
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Promote science as a vehicle for lifelong learning for all citizens;
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Assume a leadership role in advocating for science education and creating an understanding of the value of science.
CSTA Endorsement Policy
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CSTA’s endorsement. It is the policy of the California Science Teachers
Association not to endorse, recommend, critique, or support any product, publication, program, or service that has not first been studied and/or
tested by the CSTA Board of Directors and approved of by that body.
Furthermore, views expressed in CSTA publications are those of the authors unless expressly specified as official CSTA policy. It is CSTA’s editorial policy to accept articles for publication, but selection for publication is
neither an explicit nor implicit endorsement by CSTA of views expressed
or programs promoted.

3

4
March 2010
Making Connections
Physical Science
A Guide for Implementing Science Standards
by Heather Marshall
If you’re a teacher, staff developer, or science
curriculum specialist and you’re trying to
incorporate the science content standards
into your curriculum,
Renewable Energy
Technology Improvements
This guide is for you!
A step-by-step approach to understanding what standards are—and what they
are not—and how to develop conceptual
instructional units that meet—and even
exceed—the standards.
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Making Integrations
Science and Math, Social Science, Language Arts—K–8
Looking for ways to put science in your
curriculum in a climate that emphasizes
reading and arithmetic?
Making Integrations: Science and Math, Social
Science, Language Arts—K–8, the companion
book to CSTA’s popular Making Connections,
contains 27 content standard tables highlighting integration possibilities for science,
history/social science, mathematics, and
language arts for grades K–8.
Get an honest look at where integration
works and doesn’t work, and acquire strategies for
making wise decisions about what is
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having lots of intense sun, water, and
a place to put all the energy to use. Many places that have good solar
energy (deserts) are very short on water.
The University of Luxembourg is
working on thin film solar cells made
from compound semiconductors,
already reaching 12 percent efficiency. These are based on a semiconductor
made of copper, indium, gallium,
and selenium (CIGS) and made by a
process with the potential for highest
performance. They are also working to
produce another solar cell based on a
new cheaper material, which does not
contain the costly indium, and made
by a low cost galvanic process. This
solar cell has reached an efficiency of
3.2 percent. This is already close to
the world record: The worldwide best
cell based on this new material and
prepared by a similar low cost process
shows an efficiency of 3.4 percent.
Sandia National Laboratories
scientists have developed tiny glittersized photovoltaic cells that could
revolutionize the way solar energy
is collected and used. Eventually,
units could be mass-produced and
wrapped around unusual shapes for
building-integrated solar tents and
maybe even clothing. This would
make it possible for hunters, hikers,
or military personnel in the field
to recharge batteries for phones,
cameras, and other electronic devices
as they walk or rest. Even better, such
microengineered panels could have
circuits imprinted that would help
perform other functions customarily
left to large-scale construction with its
attendant need for field construction
design and permits.
Maybe we will get affordable,
efficient, solar photovoltaics soon.
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In a time where we are all
concerned about the impacts of
global climate change and reducing
pollutants, renewable energy research
is slowly catching up. The primary
renewable energy resources that
seem to be biggest in research and
improvements are wind and solar
energies. Solar enrgy to date has been
the most readily available to most areas
and is completely harmless. However,
the technology required to harness
this energy is very expensive, so it
is not widely used. Recent research
in the solar energy field is looking at
ways to reduce the cost of equipment
to harness solar energy, improve the
efficiency of the equipment, and make
the equipment smaller—all at the same
time if possible!
There are three major leaps in
solar technology that are currently
underway. China is looking at using
mirrors to focus solar energy onto
water tanks. This will heat and boil
the water to produce steam to turn
turbines—similar to how coal plants
work, but without the pollutants of
the coal. Problems with this include
CSTA—“Making Integrations”
3800 Watt Avenue, Suite 100, Sacramento, CA 95821
DON’T MISS THE 2010
CALIFORNIA SCIENCE
EDUCATION CONFERENCE!
See pages 12–13 for details.
California Classroom Science
News
from

Region 1
by Valerie Joyner
Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, Del Norte, El Dorado, Glenn, Humboldt, Lake,
Lassen, Mendocino, Modoc, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Shasta,
Sierra, Siskiyou, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Tuolomne, Yolo, Yuba
News from Region 1
I am extremely excited to be joining
the CSTA board of directors as your new
director of Region 1. My career as a science educator has taken me on several
different paths, from formal, in-school
settings, to informal settings including
4-H, after-school child care, migrant
youth camps, and science museums.
While I currently teach second grade in
Petaluma, I am also actively involved
in several science education projects,
including the BaySci Project with the
Exploratorium and the Lawrence Hall of
Science (more on BaySci later).
Finding My Way to Science
Education
My science education experiences
go back to my early childhood. My
father loved science. He thrilled me on
many occasions with after-dinner science activities. He would light a match
inside a bottle to force a hard-boiled
egg into the bottle without the egg
breaking, or crush a can with boiling
water, all in an effort to help me understand air pressure and expose me to science. We would go on hikes to explore
the wonders of the local geology, flora,
and fauna. And perhaps the most daring and memorable science experience
was when my father and I dissected
a shark that had washed ashore on
the San Francisco Bay. While these
experiences provided me with a strong
experiential science background, they
also inspired me to emphasize science
and science education throughout my
life, in the lives of my children, and to
incorporate science into all aspects of
my teaching.
I mention my beginnings to encourage you to reflect on your own introduction to science education. Who
was it that first inspired you to take a
closer look at science as a career? What
experiences helped bring you to science
education? Where were you when you
had that “aha” moment about teaching science? I am certain that it was
not just one person, event, or time
that sent you off on your career but a
multitude of opportunities. As science
educators we all need to remember
these defining experiences and look
closely at our own practices to continually inspire our students, the future
citizens and scientists of the world!
What’s Going on in Region 1?
BaySci: A Partnership for Bay Area Science
Education—Year 2
The BaySci is an exciting science education project to further the
advancement of elementary science
education. BaySci brings together four
bay area and north bay school districts:
Petaluma City Schools, Newark Unified
School District, Novato Unified School
District, and Palo Alto Unified School
District, along with the Exploratorium
and the Lawrence Hall of Science to
increase the capacity for science leadership and to provide all students with
the opportunity to engage in high-quality, hands-on, inquiry-based instruction.
The project works with collaborative district teams (elementary teachers,
science resource teachers, and administrators), the Exploratorium, and the
CSTA Calendar
March 6, 2010
CSTA Board of Directors meeting
May 17, 2010
Deadline to submit nominations for CSTA awards
June 5, 2010
CSTA Board of Directors meeting
October 22–24, 2010
California Science Education Conference,
Sacramento
October 20–23, 2011
California Science Education Conference, Pasadena
October 18–21, 2012
California Science Education Conference, San Jose
continued on page 15
CSTA BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Visit CSTA online at
2009–2010 MEETING DATES
to learn about more events and opportunities in your area.
The Board of Directors of the California Science Teachers Association will
meet on the following dates for the 2009–2010 school year:
www.cascience.org
March 6, 2010
June 5, 2010
Locations to be announced.
Board of Directors meetings are open for attendance by members of the
public. Non-board member attendees are invited to observe the meeting at
their own expense. For further information on locations, please call the CSTA
office at (916) 979-7004 thirty days prior to each meeting.
Nominate an outstanding science teacher for
Margaret Nicholson
Distinguished Service Award
and
Future Science Teacher Award
See pages 18–19 for more information.
5
6
March 2010
Explorations Through Time
Involve your middle and high school students in the process of science with these
interactive CD modules focusing on the major science concepts of evolution.
News
CD includes 7 modules:
Life Has a History
Getting Into the Fossil Record
Understanding Geologic Time
What Did T. Rex Taste Like?
Stories From the Fossil Record
The Evolution of Flight
Adventures at Dry Creek
Region 2
Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Monterey, Napa, San Benito, San Francisco, San Mateo,
Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano
Developed by staff, students, and scientists at the UC Museum of Paleontology as
an interactive web experience, the modules are now available on CD, exclusively
through CSTA, for teachers and students without internet connection.
Order your copy today!
You can preview the modules on-line prior to ordering
at www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/museum/ucmp_news/
Ordering Information
Explorations Through Time
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Nominations for
Margaret Nicholson
Distinguished Service Award
and
Future Science Teacher Award
now being accepted!
See pages 18–19 for more information.
Spring/Summer Opportunities
Exploratorium
The application for the Exploratorium’s Classic Summer Teacher Institute
is now available. Institute dates are
June 21 – July 16. Go to http://www.
exploratorium.edu/ti/ to access the application for this summer.
California Academy of Sciences
California Academy of Sciences
is offering a variety of workshops for
teachers. If you are not enrolled in the
Teacher Institute, but would like to register for some of these workshops, please
call (415) 379-8000. You may also visit
www.calacademy.org/teachers/professional_development.php to view the
complete workshop schedule. All workshops listed are held at the Academy.
March 18 and May 20—FOSS Kit Practice,
4:00 pm – 6:00 pm.
Practice using your FOSS kits with
peers and California Academy staff.
March 10—Coral, CA Coast (K–12), 4:00
pm – 6:00 pm.
Dive into the world’s deepest living coral reef tank and then explore
an aquatic ecosystem very close to
home—all without getting wet! The
Academy’s California Coast tank showcases habitats in Northern California’s
Gulf of the Farallones National Marine
Sanctuary. The Philippine Coral Reef
tank displays hundreds of hard and soft
coral specimens and over 2,000 colorful reef fish. Compare and contrast
these two areas and learn how and why
they are different. March 20—Geology Workshop (2–8), 8:30
am – 12:30 pm.
When did you last feel an earthquake? Discover a beautiful rock?
Contemplate the structure of hills or
mountains? Evidence of geology is all
around us. In this workshop, you will
participate in hands-on activities that
illuminate the hidden processes of our
planet. Learn about Earth’s layers, the
rock cycle, minerals, fossils, plate tectonics, sand, and more. This workshop will
enhance your knowledge of geologic
topics and prepare you to use the Academy’s new geology kit in your classroom.
April 14—Water Planet Rainforest of the
World (K–12), 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm.
What does it take to live in water?
Can life exist without water? Find out
by exploring Water Planet, the innovative Academy exhibit that includes
more than 100 aquarium tanks filled
with fish, reptiles, amphibians, insects,
and other invertebrates and highlights
some of the many adaptations to living
in water. Take what you have learned
about water and apply it to the wettest
terrestrial ecosystem on the planet, the
tropical Rainforests of the World. April 17—BioForum: Adapting to Climate
Change: Challenges and Prospects (6–12),
9:00 am – 3:00 pm.
Climate change is a fact of our
present and our future. But there are
still unknowns about the magnitude of
its impacts, making continued climate
change research essential for scientists
to better understand the critical areas
of vulnerability. Join Academy staff
to hear about current research on the
effects of past and present climate
change and the projects that aim to
positively manage the impacts of climate change we are likely to face in the
future. Moderator: Peter Roopnarine,
Curator, Department of Invertebrate
Zoology & Geology. Be sure to reserve
your seat at BioForum. Space is limited
and fills up quickly. Call 1-800-7947576 to reserve your seat, or purchase
tickets online.
April 22—Ants Workshop (K–12), 4:00
pm – 6:00 pm.
Learn how you and your students
can become “citizen scientists” and
join the California Academy of Sciences in collecting data about native and
invasive ants right in your neighborhood by participating in the Bay Area
Ant Survey. Workshop participants will
learn ant anatomy and how to collect
and identify ants commonly found in
the Bay Area.
Free Teacher Membership Program
to the Tech Museum of Innovation
for California Educators.
Teacher memberships are available to all K–12 public, private, homeschool teachers, principals, district
and county certificated employees,
currently working in a California
school district. The Tech invites you
to become a member of their learning
community and find a professional
“home” at the Tech Museum in San
Jose. You will receive free year-round
admission, $2 IMAX tickets, membersonly events, discounts and priority
registration on special exhibits, a free
subscription to Tech publications, a
10 percent discount at the Tech Store
and Café, and more. To sign up as a
Teacher Member, visit the Tech Museum and go to the Membership Desk.
Please identify yourself as a California
teacher, and you will be given a form
to fill out. Once the form is submitted at the Tech, you will be issued a
membership. This offer is not available
online, by phone, or mail.
CSTA newsletter2010-Feb.ai
2/3/10
10:22:25 AM
California Classroom Science
News
from
Region 3
by Dean Gilbert

Inspire your
students today
Fresno, Kern, Kings, Los Angeles, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, San Luis Obispo, Santa
Barbara, Tulare, Ventura
Region 3 in the News
Professional Development
Opportunities
Gold Coast Science Network K–12
Conference—Growing with Science: A
Conference for K–12 Science Educators
Date: Saturday, April 24, 2010
Time: 8:00 am – 4:30 pm
Location: Oxnard College, 4000 South
Rose Avenue, Oxnard
Registration Fee (until April 1, 2010):
$30.00, includes continental breakfast
and lunch. (Registration at the door
will be $35.00.)
The conference, co-sponsored by
CSTA and Oxnard College, will feature
outstanding keynote speakers, over
30 informative breakout sessions, and
myriad vendors. Keynote speaker,
Steve Kutcher, will present a fun and
engaging talk on “Entertaining with Insects: Making Bugs Stars in the Movies.”
The conference planning committee is currently looking for presenters
Get
and exhibitors. For more information,
contact Debbie Bereki, (805) 524-2471;
Email: [email protected].
Additional information and online
registration can be accessed at goldcoastscience.org.
Kern County Regional Science Fair
Date: March 23, 2010
Time: 8:00 am – 6:30 pm
Location: Rabobank Convention Center, 1001 Truxtun Avenue, Bakersfield
URL/website: http://ci.kern.org/
sciencefoundation
Point-of-contact: Kathy Hill, (661)
636-4640, [email protected]
This event is for students grades
4–12 who have been selected from
their schools and districts to compete
at the county level. Approximately
150 schools, 700 students, and over
Habitats Alive! &
Cal Alive! Habitats CD-ROM
Habitats Alive! is brimming with tantalizing information about
our state’s natural areas, and it is the perfect resource for any
teacher interested in California’s natural diversity. Cal Alive!
Habitats CD-ROM explores 53 California habitats, from coast
ranges to the northwest, from forests to wetlands.
continued on page 15
THREE, Get One FREE
ATTENT I ON C STA M E M B ERS :
Recruit three new* CSTA members and get your next year’s membership FREE!
You recognize the benefits of belonging to a professional organization—now let your
friends and colleagues in on the experience. Recruit three new* members, and you’ll
receive your membership free for the following year.
Complete a membership enrollment form for each of your three (or more!) recruits
and submit them all at the same time, along with payment.
Copy this form for your three recruits, or if you need additional enrollment forms, write
the CSTA office at [email protected]. Questions? Call CSTA at (916) 979-7004.
*Applies only to new recruits and those who have not been CSTA members for at least 3 years.
Membership Enrollment Form
Sponsor ’ s Name
New M ember’ s Name
A ddress
C ity / State / Zip
H ome Phone
Work Phone
Types of Membership
r
r
r
r
r
r
Individual – 1 year . . . . . . . . . . . . $39
Individual – 3 years . . . . . . . . . . . $85
Lifetime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $365
Student Teacher . . . . . . . . . . . . . $25
(1 year only)
Retired . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $25
Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $140
(supporting)
Coast Alive! Teacher Guide &
Kelp/Otter CD-ROM
The Coast Alive! Teacher Guide is packed with 200 pages of
activities, lesson plans, and background information about California's
coast. The Kelp/Otter CD-ROM explores the physiology, behavior, and
habitats of California's beloved southern sea otter. Find out not only
how the otter is adapted to marine life, but also how factors such as
habitat decline and human activity affect this animal.
mentio
ad anndthis
Fa x
E -Mail
C ounty
Charge to my credit card:
#_________________________________
Exp. Date___________________________
Please make checks payable to CSTA and
mail to: 3800 Watt Avenue, Suite 100
Sacramento, CA 95821
Check only one for each.
Type of school
r
r
r
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Jr. High/Middle
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School Dist.
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Physical Sci.
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Integrated Sci.
Teacher Edu.
Other
r Please do not include my name on
mailing lists other than CSTA’s.
Both of these resources are
a valuable addition to any
science education program.
Call and order yours today!
888.325.3288
Get involved today by donating at
www.calalive.org/getInvolved.php
SAVE
25%
OFFE
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a non-profit organization bridging the gap in California Science Education
Knowledge Inspires Action
7

8
March 2010
Eugenie C. Scott to Receive National
Academy's Most Prestigious Award
The National Academy of Sciences Council has selected
Eugenie C. Scott to receive its most prestigious award, the Public Welfare Medal. Established in 1914, the medal is presented
annually to honor extraordinary use of science for the public
good. The Council chose Scott for championing the teaching
of evolution in the United States and for providing leadership
to the National Center for Science Education (NCSE).
Scott, a physical anthropologist by training, became the
first executive director of the National Center for Science Education in 1987. Beginning with a loose network of supporters scattered around the country and a few private grants, she has developed NCSE into
the nation’s leading advocate for the teaching of evolution in public schools. Through
lectures, television appearances, and articles, she has explained the process of scientific
inquiry and defended science education against creationist challenges. Scott and the
NCSE have served as pro bono consultants in state and federal court cases on science
standards, including the 2005 Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District trial in which the
teaching of intelligent design was held by a federal court to be unconstitutional.
"Eugenie Scott has worked tirelessly and very effectively to improve public understanding of both the nature of science and the science of evolution,” said Ralph
J. Cicerone, president of the National Academy of Sciences. "She makes the case for
science again and again."
Scott holds six honorary degrees and has received numerous awards from scientific and civil liberties organizations. She has served on the board of directors of the
Biological Sciences Curriculum Study and on the advisory councils of several organizations defending the separation of church and state. Scott, a fellow at the American Association for the Advancement of Science, has also held elected offices in the American
Anthropological Association and the American Association of Physical Anthropologists.
She is also a past recipient of CSTA's Margaret Nicholson Distinguished Service Award.
The Public Welfare Medal will be presented to Scott on April 25 during the Academy's 147th annual meeting. Previous recipients of the medal include Neal Lane, Norman Borlaug, William T. Golden, Maxine F. Singer, C. Everett Koop, and Carl Sagan.
The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit institution that was
established under a congressional charter signed by President Abraham Lincoln in
1863. It recognizes achievement in science by election to membership, and—with
the National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, and National Research
Council—provides science, technology, and health policy advice to the federal government and other organizations.
News
from
Region 4
by Karen Withey-Smith
Imperial, Inyo, Mono, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego
Look What’s Happening
for Us!
Opportunities for Professional
Development
There are some very good earth
science experiences for you at the next
GSA Convention hosted by the Dept. of
Geological Sciences at CSU Fullerton.
The convention will be held at the
Anaheim Marriott May 27 – 30. Go
to: http://www.geosociety.org/sectdiv/
cord/2010mtg/ (click on “trips” and
“courses” for more info). Special rates
are available for teachers. Consider
one of the following exciting options:
Exploring the Whittier and San Andreas
Faults.
Sunday, May 30, 7:30 am – 5:30 pm
Galen R. Carlson, Kris WeaverBowman.
This field trip is specifically
designed for 6th–12th-grade science
teachers but is open to anyone. Visit
several locations along the San Andreas
and Whittier faults where participants
will see and interpret features produced
by active faulting. Each field trip stop
is bus-accessible and would make a
great addition to classroom lessons on
earthquakes and their impacts. This
trip is a companion to the teacher
workshop, “When the Classroom
Shakes: Tools for Teaching K–12 Students about Earthquakes in their Front
Yard,” on Saturday, May 29; however,
these are two different events covering
slightly different material, and one is
not a prerequisite for the other.
Cost: $55, includes transportation in
vans and a guidebook.
When the Classroom Shakes: Tools
for Teaching K–12 Students about
Earthquakes in Their Front Yard.
Saturday, May 29, 9:00 am – 3:00 pm
Kristin Weaver Bowman, Becca Walker,
Annie Scott, Robert de Groot.
Designed for middle and high
school science teachers. Participants in
this workshop will learn how to bring
local earthquake geology and hazards
into their classrooms and explore
standards-based classroom activities for
teaching earthquakes. All K–12 and
preservice teachers are welcome.
Cost: $25, includes some course materials; does not include lunch, so please
bring a bag lunch or plan to purchase
your lunch at (or near) the hotel.
Less Talk, More Action: Strategies that
Improve Learning by Engaging Students.
Saturday, May 29, 3:30 pm – 4:30 pm
David Steer, The University of Akron.
This workshop capitalizes on the
growing trend toward introducing
active learning into geoscience-related
classes. Many teachers and faculty are
interested in such methods but do not
know how or where to begin. This
workshop will introduce participants
to a schema for developing their own
materials and provide an opportunity
continued on page 17
Recommended Lab
Equipment Lists Available
CSTA has developed lists of the minimum recommended science laboratory equipment needed to support and deliver standards-based instruction
in science.
Science teachers know that students learn science best by doing science.
The California Science Content Standards require teachers to engage their students in extensive investigation and experimentation as a means to teach science content. In addition, a recent court decision, Williams v. California, and
heightened concern for equal access for all students require that all students
have the resources they need to receive a quality education, including access
to appropriate and adequate science laboratory equipment. However, teachers
and their administrators often do not know what type and quantities of equipment are needed to deliver a quality standards-based laboratory experience.
CSTA has developed lists representing the recommended minimum
laboratory equipment, supplies, and related inventory required in order for
a district to support and deliver standards-based science instruction, grades
K–12. The recommended inventories represent the materials that would be
required to teach the Investigation and Experimentation standards of the
California Science Content Standards, broken down by grade level for grades
K–8 and by subject for grades 9–12.
The lists can be downloaded from the CSTA website at http://www.
cascience.org/csta/res_equipmentlists.asp. Comments and suggestions for
enhancing the lists are appreciated and can be sent from a link on the web
page. We anticipate that the lists will be updated periodically.
California Classroom Science
Ask-A-Scientist
by Jim Jones

9
Child Development
by Bonny Ralston
Dr. Stuart Sumida
A Case in Point
One of the dynamic Focus Speakers
at the 2009 California Science Education Conference in Palm Springs was
Dr. Stuart Sumida, professor of biology, California State University, San
Bernardino. I was very impressed by
his presentation and wanted to know
more. What follows is an interview
with Dr. Sumida.
As with all individuals entering the
teaching profession, we are interested
in certain subject matter that we are,
hopefully, passionate about. We quickly find out that there is much more we
need to know about the students we
will be working with. Therefore we
find ourselves in classes where we have
to deal with child behavior.
As I go back to refresh myself on
current articles in childhood development, I find a section entitled “The
Developing Person So Far; Adolescence,
Ages 10 through 20.” This title took
me by surprise, but being a parent of
a 15- and a 20-something-year-old, it
made perfect sense. We as teachers
learn on the job every day. We hear
stories about students with divorcing
parents, or living with another relative,
or with a “basic family unit” (whatever it is). We watch our students on
“good” days and “bad.” As teachers,
we step in as we can to help students
get through a high or a low in their
day. Sometimes we take on more and
get involved with a specific student
because s/he has asked or reached out
for help.
I selected a particular section from
the article discussed below because
it discussed the adolescent as being a
range from 10 to 20 years of age. This
range is used to describe maturation
and development of school-age children. Our students go through a lot of
changes during these years. I think we
as adults forget all the changes we experienced at this time. Times are faster,
and we as parents and teachers forget
how much our children are expected
to do.
After reading through these
articles, I realized the obvious about
what parents and teachers have been
battling all this time: a busy life!
Whatever the reasons for all the activities students have in their lives, it has
become the norm for many families.
Here are some excerpts from:
Parents and Teachers, South Carolina
Department of Mental Health Division
of Children, Adolescents, and Their
Families, School-Based Services Mental
Health Professional Guidebook. (http://
www.state.sc.us/dmh/schoolbased/
school_resources.htm#school17)
Is your teen having trouble sleeping at night? One would think that
teenagers have enough to deal with
without having sleep problems too. Yet
many teenagers suffer from a variety
of sleep disorders, many of which are
exacerbated by early-morning school
schedules and late night social lives.
Not being able to fall asleep after
going to bed at night, or even waking
up after falling asleep or waking up too
early in the morning, is usually referred
to as insomnia. In teenagers, insomnia
is so frequent that it is almost “normal.” For some reason teens fall asleep
Why is being a paleontologist
important?
Well, it isn’t like I’m finding the
cure for cancer or AIDS is it? And, I
feel that those of my colleagues who
are working on those questions are doing profoundly important work. That
being said, I feel that paleontology
is important because it is an accessible and popular part of evolutionary
biology. And the study of evolution is
central to all of biology, and paleontology really helps to bring it alive.
What advice do you have for a
young student who might be
interested in entering the field?
As a modern science, paleontology now articulates and overlaps with
anatomy, biomechanics, geology, and
developmental biology. In fact, the
integration of evolutionary paleontology and development has been so
significant as to be dubbed “evo-devo”
by the biological community. So, my
strongest advice to young students is
to be integrative in your approach to
paleontology (or any branch of biology
or science you choose). See how you
can combine it with other subsets of
biology and geology, and that will position you to have a much better chance
of getting into the field.
Who were/are your role models?
I can cite an important role model
at each stage of my education. You
might be surprised to hear that my theology instructor at Notre Dame High
School (Sherman Oaks) was profoundly
influential. He was a brilliant mind
and it was he who taught me about
critical thinking and how to construct
both a hypothesis and an argument. In
college and graduate school (at UCLA),
my thesis advisor, Dr. Peter Vaughn,
was both patient and impatient as
the need arose. He was always fair,
and his curiosities matched mine in
enthusiasm. And, he was a profoundly
dedicated and engaging teacher. At
the University of Chicago, my postdoctoral advisor, Dr. Eric Lombard, was a
wonderful colleague and also showed
me that even at an institution where
research and grants were paramount,
excellence in teaching could be cultivated. Eric remains one of the most
thoughtful people I know. Throughout
that entire process, my closest and
greatest instructor and mentor was my
first martial arts instructor, Sensei/Master Bill Ryusaki. He taught me to teach
and was and is with everyone patient
and nonjudgmental. He taught me
to be a precise practitioner and yet to
take, not myself, but what I do seriously. Critical thinking, thoughtfulness,
patience, and being nonjudgmental—
continued on page 18
California State University, Long Beach
Department of Science Education
Need a new direction?
The CSULB Science Education Department can guide you on your path
to becoming NCLB compliant, adding a middle school authorization
to your existing credential, or earning a Master’s Degree in Science
Education. We know that our exceptional faculty and programs can
help further your career and increase your knowledge and skills.
Consider applying for the Fall, 2010 semester.
To learn more about our programs,
please visit us at:
www.scienceteaching.org
or call (562) 985-4801
Go Beach!
later than they did as children. For
example, if a child was used to going to
bed at 8:00 pm, a teen probably is not
ready for sleep until l0:00 or 11:00 pm.
(No wonder so many teenagers complain of not being able to fall asleep,
and then feeling tired at school the
next morning.)
The most common cause of insomnia, other that just being a teenager, is
stress. Many teenagers have anxiety
about a lot of things going on in their
lives. For example, family problems,
worrying about being popular with
friends, fear of flunking a subject, and
a bad social experience can all cause
trouble with sleep. A schedule that’s
just too hectic and busy can cause difficulty in falling asleep. Insomnia with
early morning wakening is one of the
most common features of depression
in teenagers. Therefore, a teen with
insomnia should be evaluated by his or
her physician to make sure everything
is okay.
Stimulants such as caffeine—from
coffee, tea, chocolate, or colas—can
interfere with sleep for many hours
after consumption. Sleep can be interrupted either by making it difficult
to fall asleep or by wakening later in
the night. Similarly, nicotine is also a
stimulant and can disturb sleep. Some
medicines including tablets used to
treat asthma and weight loss have
stimulant effects.
Should your teen find him- or herself in bed turning and tossing, it is best
for them to sit up, go into another room,
and read something that might make
them sleepy (like geometry!), and then
try to go to sleep when they get drowsy.
Here are some helpful hints for
those night owl teens who suffer from
insomnia. (There are many more,
please checkout the site):
• Have them to bed at the same time
each day, seven days a week
• A light bedtime snack can promote
sleep; hunger is a sleep disrupter.
• Set the alarm and have them get
up at the same time every morning, regardless of how much they
have slept through the night
• Have your teen spend 20 minutes
in a hot tub or shower a few hours
before going to bed
• Encourage your teen to get regular exercise each day in the late
afternoon or early evening but
not within three hours of going to
sleep
• Keep their bedroom quiet when
sleeping
• Keep their bedroom dark. Avoid
illuminated bedroom clocks
• Remember the saying “Early to
bed, early to rise, makes a man
healthy, wealthy, and wise.”

10
March 2010
Classroom Management
by Jeff Bradbury
by Donna Ross
“Wasted Time” Management
This week is the beginning of
a new semester and so I am in a
somewhat reflective mood as I think
hopefully about the new beginnings
and things I would like to accomplish through my students. Although
this is supposed to be a column on
“classroom management,” I am going
to broaden it a little to “life management.” For me, if my life is managed
well, it spills over into my classroom.
We live in interesting times. We
are supposed to have all of this free
time and leisure due to all of our “time
saving devices” like cell phones, email,
and computers. In the classroom, we
have ready-made lesson plans and access to the whole world of information.
But it seems that instead of having the
intended time-saving effect, the result
is just the opposite. I am always in a
hurry, never quite getting done what
I really need to. I think of the era of
my grandparents. They were farmers
in the Midwest. In many ways their
life was about survival: survival of the
crops, survival of the animals, survival
of the family. Yet, without all the
freedom of choice I have, they seemed
to have an inner freedom that I do not.
Why is this?
We are creatures of our culture.
As I look at the world around me, I
see that we have fallen into the trap
of trying to do too much, to accomplish more than we are capable of. I
set out on my day with good intentions. I want to teach and care for my
students. I want to improve myself
as an educator. I want to be a good
husband. I need to drive my kids to
Field Trips
practice. That volunteer organization
needs my help…the dishwasher just
broke…John called with tickets to the
Angels game…my phone rang; it’s
Chris, whom I have not talked to in
so long…my kids are fighting again…
oooh, Apple just came out with a
new…and I am on this cycle, and it is
wearing me out.
What is the solution? This is going
to sound strange in the midst of our
“culture of doing” and in the midst of
an article on time management. But
after seeking the counsel of much older
and wiser writers, I believe the answer
is to temporarily walk away from it
all. I will call this the paradox of time
management. To get our time back, we
need to “waste” some of it. Turning off
the cell phone, the computer, the TV,
leaving my house full of chores and demanding children and stacks of papers
to grade, and going to a quiet place of
solitude for a couple of hours a week
shows me that I am not as important
as I thought. I realize that many of
my tasks, and trying to keep everyone
happy, are really, at root, about my ego.
No catastrophe is going to occur if I do
not carry a phone or answer an email
within two minutes. Alone I learn not
to be controlled by an electronic piece
of plastic and learn to be controlled
from inside myself. Alone I learn that
my strength and identity do not come
from a list of tasks that I have done or
need to do, but from the kind of person I am. If I am empty I have nothing
to give away.
continued on page 19
Back issues of the California Journal of Science Education
can be ordered from the CSTA website
www.cascience.org/csta/pub_cstajournal.asp
Integrated Science Instructional Sequences
Now Available
The intangible rewards of field trips
I can’t see any buildings!
Field trips remind me of how much
I take for granted in my life and how
easy it is to make assumptions about
students’ prior knowledge. On a recent
field trip with a group of urban high
school students, a boy started looking out
the windows with some apprehension.
I asked what he was looking for and he
said “buildings.” I smiled and commented that we were already out of town.
He replied that he had been out of our
town before, but never to a place without
buildings. I paused and realized that for
many students living in southern California, they can travel to visit friends and
family without leaving the urban area.
Later, when we did drive past a house in
a fairly remote area, the students agreed
it would be much too scary to live out in
the woods. I chose not to mention that
the residents probably felt safer in their
home than they would in the inner-city
neighborhood where most of the students lived. It reminded me, though, of
the value of having time to talk with my
students about their views of the world.
Field trips, although not without
work and expense, can be extremely
effective methods for increasing background knowledge, sharing cultural
experiences, developing mutual respect,
and making school science more relevant.
However, without prior planning and
preparation, field trips serve as little more
than a break from the routine.
When you plan, tour the site or
museum in the same manner the students will. Identify connections with the
science content you have been teaching, seek out knowledgeable guides or
museum educators, and plan meaningful
activities to involve the students during
the field trip. Also, look for opportunities for student choice, either in planning
the trip or during the activities. If you
are interested in reading research on the
benefits of field trips and informal science
education, you might start with books
and scholarly articles by John H. Falk,
Doug Knapp, or Lynn Dierking.
At a local urban high school, a team
of teachers (science, English, technology) collaborated on a project that
included an all-day field trip for over 100
students. They went to the zoo and to
parks with several different habitats. The
trip had a specific agenda that built on
content from all three classes. Working
in groups, the students used their cell
phones to take digital pictures to illustrate particular criteria related to behaviors and habitats of endangered animals.
When they returned to school, the
students worked in their groups to create
electronic portfolios with pictures and
text. Student involvement was heightened by linking it tightly with classroom
instruction prior to the field trip and
by providing students with tasks that
included clear goals but allowed elements
of choice, too. The integration of disciplines made the project more relevant,
the scheduling easier, and the proposal
for funding more compelling.
I was reminded recently, as well, that
field trips provide a better venue than
the classroom for having adults describe
their science careers. After 4th grade
students made visits to local science
museums, a colleague and I asked ten of
the children, individually, to describe the
jobs available at a science museum. As
we repeatedly heard “cashier, guard, and
custodian,” we realized we had missed
an opportunity to use these field trips to
introduce students to careers in science.
As outlined in the November 2009 issue
of CCS, it is important to clearly communicate your goals with the employees
at your field trip destination before you
arrive on the day of the field trip. If you
have planned well, the students will
meet some employees who are passionate
about their science-related careers. For
example, seeing the special collection
naturalist with her nets, boots, and specimen, while hearing how much she loves
her job, is very motivational.
I have been thinking again about
my student who was worried because he
could not see any buildings. During that
trip I had time to talk about nature with
a group of students near me on the bus.
I learned that these high school seniors
have never slept outside. They have
never seen snow. Considering that the
“streams” near our school are all lined
with concrete, it isn’t too surprising the
students have limited experience with nature. It appears I need to start planning
some more field trips.
CSTA, in collaboration with the Department of Education, has developed
sets of instructional models for integrated science which are aligned to the
test blueprints adopted by the state last year. Models are available for each
of the blueprints, Integrated Science levels 1, 2, 3 and 4.
The models include narratives on the science concepts presented and possible units for each of the Integrated Science levels. While there is no one
best way to structure an Integrated Science program, the instructional sequences developed by CSTA provide one possible organizational structure
and are meant to assist teachers in designing integrated science courses
aligned with the state’s blueprints.
The instructional models can be downloaded from the CSTA website at
www.cascience.org/csta/pub_ISmodels.asp.
Check out the latest issue of CSTA’s
California Journal of Science Education:
Celebrating Science
Visit the CSTA website http://www.cascience.org/csta/pub_celebratescience.asp
California Classroom Science
Science Tidbits
by Susan Pritchard
Tidbits Lead to “Life-bits”
Our brains work in amazing ways.
One thing mentioned by someone can
lead our brains to think of something
else related which then leads to something else, and so on. It happens all
of the time, and we are often not even
aware of the connections being made. I
found this happening when I was reading some interesting science tidbits.
Some science tidbits can be very
amusing, where others can inform and
still others can stimulate our brains.
For the purpose of this article, I have
taken several examples of science tidbits
from the website Science News Review,
whose url is http://www.sciencenewsreview.com/50-weird-science-tidbits, and
offer parallel thoughts to consider.
If you want to be totally entertained, read all fifty tidbits from the
website. For now, let’s begin with
tidbit number fifty which states that
“97 percent of the water on earth is
undrinkable. An estimated 20 percent of the world’s surface fresh water
supply is contained in Lake Baikal in
southern Siberia (the world’s deepest lake at more than mile in depth).”
Reading this poignant piece of news
certainly puts our California drought
difficulties into a different perspective.
With rainfall amounts a certain uncertainty, perhaps there are things all of
us should do to help with the drought.
You probably already know you can
save as much as three gallons per day
if you simply turn off the water when
you brush your teeth, or five gallons
per day by shortening shower lengths
by only one or two minutes. Read
more about what you can do at www.
bewaterwise.com, my web resource for
this part of the article. Okay, just one
more helpful hint: If you use mulch
you can save hundreds of gallons a year
by reducing the evaporation around
your plants! Now that gives “mulch,”
ahem, for us to consider!
Did you know that a “solar panel
array covering an area of 100 by 100
miles in the Mojave Desert would produce enough electricity to replace all
the coal fired power plants in America,
or that “the human body is about 60
percent water, which is 2/3 hydrogen.
All the hydrogen—in our bodies and
everywhere else in the universe—was
created ~12 billion years ago in the Big
Bang?” As a science teacher I have to
admit I was aware of the body’s water
content, but the solar panels tidbit was
quite enlightening.
Can’t you just imagine our future…solar energy and hydrogen fuel
replacing petroleum resources? I have
heard experts give opposing viewpoints
on the pros and cons of solar and
hydrogen power, so let your students
decide for themselves. Try www.need.
org, which is often a one-stop shop for
energy resource information.
I think my favorite of all of the 50
tidbits is number 30 titled, “Accident as
the Mother of Invention.” It states that
“The kitchen appliance staple known
as the microwave oven was invented
after a researcher happened to walk by
a high-powered radar tube one day and
a chocolate bar in his pocket melted.”
Now perhaps you thought this
would inspire me to locate some interesting and timely articles on microwave ovens and their energy consumption. Au contraire. This little science
tidbit caught my attention because of
one word…CHOCOLATE! Those who
know me well are nodding their heads
up and down with agreement. I was so
intrigued by this lovely gem of knowledge that I was inspired to research
some fascinating information on chocolate at http://www.randomreviewcrew.
com/10-facts-about-chocolate-just-intime-for-valentines-day/. Here are a
few of the facts I gleaned from this site:
• The Mayans and Aztecs believed
that cocoa beans originated from
paradise and would bring wisdom
and power to anyone consuming
them.
• Even though chocolate is high
in fat, it does not appear to raise
blood cholesterol.
• Chocolate was such as a prestigious luxury that the French ruler,
Louis XIV, also known as the “Sun
King,” established a court position
entitled Royal Chocolate Maker to
the King. (I would have applied for
that job!)
• Placebo-controlled trials suggest
chocolate consumption may subtly
enhance cognitive performance.
As reported by Dr. Bryan Raudenbush (2006), scores for verbal and
visual memory are raised by eating
chocolate. Impulse-control and
reaction-time are also improved.
(Years ago, I was told to eat a
chocolate bar before completing
the SAT test…and I believe that
just might have helped!)

Scotchmoor Named
AAAS Fellow
Longtime CSTA lifetime member Judy
Scotchmoor was named an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Fellow. She received the prestigious award “for
leadership in defending teaching of evolution
and quality science education through nationally recognized websites on these issues and
through leadership in the Coalition on the
Public Understanding of Science.”
Judy is assistant director for education and public programs at the
University of California Museum of Paleontology in Berkeley. Among
her other contributions, she is project coordinator of UCMP’s Paleontology Portal, Understanding Evolution, and Understanding Science
websites. The websites have been nationally recognized by scientific
and education organizations. She is also a founder of the Coalition
on the Public Understanding of Science (COPUS), a grassroots network
of science organizations which were instrumental in the 2009 Year of
Science recognitions.
Judy served on the CSTA board of directors, as four-year college director and then as treasurer, from 1998 to 2006.
“We are so proud of Judy’s accomplishments and to claim her as one
of our own,” said CSTA president Tim Williamson. “I can think of no
one who deserves this honor more than Judy Scotchmoor.”
Judy will receive her award in February 2010 at the AAAS Annual
Meeting, in San Diego.
Before I forget, I am going to
nibble some more chocolate…purely
for memory purposes, of course.
I hope I have both entertained and
enlightened you with some science tidbits and a few interesting parallel pieces of pertinent information. As always,
if you find some great resources, please
email either me or your region director at CSTA, and share your finds and
how you use them with your students.
Continue to enjoy your school year…
and keep science in the forefront. All
of our students…all of society, deserve
it. Enjoy these tiny morsels of knowledge and share them frequently! It
is good for you…it is good for your
students…and it is good for science.
Visit our website at
www.cascience.org
11
2010 California
Science Education Conference
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Ch ew 2 nce
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fer le!
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Co hedu
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Presented by: California Science Teachers Association
T
October 22 – 24, 2010
Sacramento
Convention Center
he new decade is bringing a newly revamped and streamlined California Science Education
Conference. In response to the changing needs and resources of California’s science teachers,
the schedule for the 2010 California Science Education Conference allows for less time out of
the classroom and more time in the exhibit hall without sacrificing professional development hours. The
2010 conference will feature 14 hours of workshops over three days, two general sessions, six focus
speakers, six Field Courses, 16 Short Courses, five hours of exclusive exhibit time, and more!
Breaking News!
Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage will be the
headline speakers and will address the California Science
Education Conference audience on Sunday, October 24.
Don’t miss this fantastic opportunity to hear from the hosts of
Discovery Channel’s television series, MythBusters. You’ll enjoy excerpts from the series that illustrate a key
point most science teachers know from experience: That scientific investigations rarely go where we think
they will. You’ll also enjoy an entertaining interview with these two fascinating television personalities and
learn how they’ve used their more than thirty years of experience in feature film special effects, animatronics, and toy prototyping to design and execute experiments that validate—and sometimes disprove—key
aspects of modern misconceptions and urban myths. They’ll talk about the importance of inquiry in everyday life and how they get kids excited about the science that’s all around them. After the interview, audience members will be able to ask Jamie and Adam their own questions during an exclusive Q&A session.
Be sure to make your plans to take full advantage of your time at the conference by attending on
Sunday. The newly beefed-up Sunday schedule will feature three hours of workshops in the morning,
with the Jamie and Adam wrapping up the conference from 11:45 am – 1:00 pm. Jamie and Adam
are proud honorary members of CSTA; take a listen to a recent feature on them and their role in generating interest in science among students and the public in general on National Public Radio: http://
www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=121146862&sc=emaf. A report of this interview is
available on page 14 in this issue of CCS. This keynote session is proudly sponsored by Chevron.
Focus Speaker Lectures
(topics to include)
Water on the Moon: What It Means for Us and Our
The Invisible Majority (Ants)
Understanding of the Solar System
The Galapagos Islands: Treasures and Threats
Top 10 Creationist Arguments and Their Flaws
Major Evolutionary Transitions
Short Courses
(preliminary schedule)
Friday, October 22, 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Shaking Out in California—Quake Catchers, Forecasts,
What Goes Around—A Biochemical Investigation of
and Other High Tech Tools for Studying Earthquakes in
Water Resources
the Twenty-First Century
21st Century Integrated Curriculum Focused on Science,
Can’t Stand the Pressure?
Art, and Literacy
Exploring Hydroelectricity
Saturday, October 23, 9:00 am – 12:00 pm
Survival Skills for New Science Teachers
Science Matters!
Deepening Students’ Thinking Through Science Notebooks
Putting Science on the Map
Our Solar System Through the Eyes of Scientists
Students As Willing Learners: Motivating Students in
Teaching Bioenergetics: Finally It Makes Sense
Science
Saturday, October 23, 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm
The Education and the Environment Initiative (EEI)—
Plasma: The Fourth State of Matter and First Step
Coming in 2010!
Toward Fusion
Did You See What I Think I Saw?
The Write Stuff: Launching Student Writing
Field Courses
(preliminary schedule)
Friday, October 22
Center for Biophotonics Science and Technology Tour
Sweet Science: A Visit to the Jelly Belly Factory
and Workshop
Saturday, October 23
A Morning at the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area
Sustainability and Renewable Energy Tour
CSI Forensics
CSTA thanks the sponsors of
the 2010 California Science
Education Conference
Karen and Christopher
Payne Family Foundation
It’s not too early to secure funding.
Don’t delay. Request funding for your participation in the conference today! On the next page you
will find prices for registration and hotel rooms provided to help you budget for your participation.
With the conference beginning on Friday, that now means only one day away from the classroom.
By securing your funding and/or making your plans early, you and your district can take advantage of deep discounts on registration rates. Registration for the 2010 California Science Education
Conference will open in May. Please be sure to check the CSTA website for program updates and
registration information. Visit us at www.cascience.org.
It’s important to note that NCLB monies can be used to fund your
participation in the California Science Education Conference.
Several provisions of the act specify the funding available for teacher professional development.
• Title I, Part A, of the act requires school districts to use at least five percent of their Title
I funds for professional development activities to ensure that teachers who are not currently certified as highly qualified meet that standard. Schools identified as not having
met their adequate yearly progress (AYP) goals must spend ten percent of their Title I,
Part A funds on teacher professional development.
• Title II, Part A, of the act provides funding for professional development in subject
matter knowledge, improving teaching skills, assisting teachers to use the state content
standards, and assessment. All of these activities are available to teachers at the
California Science Education Conference, presented in a cohesive, coherent strand specifically designed to qualify for Title II funding.* Teachers participating in the No Child
Left Behind/Title II Professional Development Strand receive the kind of knowledge and
skills defined in the act and can earn university professional development credit as well.
• Districts which have applied for and been awarded state Title II, Part B, Math and
Science Partnership grants may have additional professional development funds for teachers. Check with your district’s NCLB coordinator to find out the availability of MSP funds.
• Attendance at technology sessions at the conference can be paid for with Title II,
Part D monies, and attendance at sessions addressing the needs of EL and immigrant
students can be paid for with Title III monies.
• Additionally, your district may have other grants, such as NSF-funded programs, which
provide funds for professional development. Check with your district’s curriculum and
instruction or professional development coordinator.
• BTSA (Beginning Teachers Support and Assessment) programs may have funds for
new teachers’ professional development. Check with your district’s or county’s BTSA
coordinator.
• Other possible sources of funding: School Site Council (SIP), PTA, school foundation
funds, and site funds.
Conference Schedule*
Thursday,
October 21
Friday,
October 22
Saturday,
October 23
Sunday,
October 24
Registration
4:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Registration
7:00 am – 6:00 pm
Workshops and Focus Speaker
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Registration
7:00 am – 6:00 pm
Workshops and Focus Speaker
11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Registration
7:00 am – 1:00 pm
Exhibit Hall Sneak Preview
(For those arriving early.)
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Workshops
8:00 am – 9:00 am
Short Courses and Mini-University
1:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Awards Breakfast—
Healy Hamilton
7:30 am – 9:00 am
Workshops and Focus Speaker
12:30 pm – 1:30 pm
Workshops
8:00 am – 9:00 am
Field Courses
8:00 am – 2:00 pm
Workshops and Focus Speaker
2:30 pm – 3:30 pm
Short Courses and Pedagogical
Focus Seminars
1:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Workshops and Focus Speaker
9:20 am – 10:20 am
Exhibit Hall Open
9:00 am – 6:00 pm
Workshops
4:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Opening Session
9:15 am – 10:45 am
Exclusive Exhibit Time
5:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Workshops and Focus Speaker
11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Dine About Sacramento
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Exclusive Exhibit Time
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Workshops
8:00 am – 9:00 am
Field Courses
8:00 am – 5:00 pm
Workshops
10:40 am – 11:40 am
Exclusive Exhibit Time &
Prize Drawing
1:30 pm – 3:00 pm
Exhibit Hall Open
9:00 am – 3:00 pm
Workshops and Focus Speaker
3:15 pm – 4:15 pm
Short Courses and MiniUniversity
9:00 am – 12:00 pm
Workshops
9:30 am – 10:30 am
Keynote Address—
Jamie Hyneman and
Adam Savage
11:45 am – 1:00 pm
Workshops
4:35 pm – 5:35 pm
Evening at the IMAX—
Private Film Screening
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
*Many elements of the conference program have not yet been finalized. CSTA reserves the right to cancel or modify the events listed here. For the most up-to-date program of events, please visit www.cascience.org.
Housing Information
Registration Information
Hotel reservations are being starting of February, 2010. Please visit the CSTA housing website for hotel
details: www.conferencehousing.com/csta.
Registration fees include access to over 200 workshops, the General Sessions, Focus Speaker Sessions,
and the Exhibit Hall.
Conference Hotel Rates*
Registration will open in May, 2010
SHERATON GRAND HOTEL
Across the Street from the Convention Center
1230 J Street, Sacramento, CA
$159
Single/Double
$184
Triple
Hotel Guest Parking
(subject to change)
$209
Quad
Self: $18/day
Valet: $25/day
On or before July 2
July 3 – October 8
On or after October 9
Current/New CSTA Member
$98
$123
$138
Saturday-Only
$88
$98
$113
Student Member
$68
$83
$98
Student Member Saturday-Only
$35
$35
$35
Member Registration
Hyatt Regency at Capitol Park
Across the Street and ½ Block from the Convention Center
1209 L Street, Sacramento, CA
Hotel Guest Parking
(subject to change)
$159
Single/Double
Self: $17/day
Valet: $25/day
Non-Member
$148
$173
$188
Saturday-Only Non-Member
$138
$148
$163
MARRIOTT RESIDENCE INN
2 Blocks from the Convention Center
1121 15th Street, Sacramento, CA
Hotel Guest Parking
(subject to change)
Other Rates
Group > 20
$73
$83
n/a
$129 Single/Double/Triple
Three people maximum. All rooms are studio suites with one king bed and
pull-out sofa.
$17/day
Partner/Spouse/Child
$68
$83
$98
Holiday Inn Express Sacramento Convention Center
4 Blocks from the Convention Center
728 16th Street, Sacramento, CA
Hotel Guest Parking
(subject to change)
$99
Single/Double
Free
$184
Triple
$109
Triple
$119
Quad
Clarion Hotel
4 Blocks from the Convention Center
700 16th Street, Sacramento, CA
$89
Single/Double
$99
Triple
Non-Member Registration
$209
Quad
Hotel Guest Parking
(subject to change)
$109
Quad
Free
Ticketed events such as Short Courses, Field Courses, other professional development programs, and the
Saturday Evening Event will range in price from $10 – $70 (prices subject to change). Courses and ticket prices will be posted online as information becomes available as well as in the registration brochure.
Non-members!
Join CSTA when you register for the conference before July 3 and
save $11 over non-member registration alone!
1-year membership: $39 + Early bird registration: $98 =
$137
*Rates are exclusive of all taxes, currently 12% +$1.50 city tax, subject to change
ABOUT DOWNTOWN SACRAMENTO
The past ten years have brought stunning changes to downtown Sacramento, highlighted by a
dramatically changed skyline, from that of a sleepy government town to that of a dynamic, modern
city. Surrounded by unparalleled agricultural bounty, Sacramento’s restaurants showcase the region’s best products, from juicy tomatoes to lush old-vine Zinfandel, from nutty almonds to succulent
lamb. That cornucopia inspires Sacramento’s talented chefs year-round, and the city’s downtown
dining scene has boomed in recent years. The city’s hip new dining venues and its longtime
favorite haunts alike offer top-notch, inventive fare and high style, together with the welcoming vibe
that characterizes this friendly city. Nightlife options abound, from wine bars and dance clubs, to
movie houses and comedy clubs. There is plenty to see and do while in downtown Sacramento.
The art lover will be in heaven in downtown Sacramento. Art galleries and museums are scattered
throughout the downtown area. For the tree lover, take a stroll through the 40-acre Capitol Park,
just one block from the Convention Center. The park features just under 300 species of trees as
well as a rose garden and many memorials. For the history buff, the Old Sacramento historic area
is the perfect destination. Accessible by foot or public transportation from the convention center
area, Old Sacramento is a registered national landmark and state historic park off the banks of
the Sacramento River. The nostalgic appeal of early American history is reflected perfectly by
the wooden sidewalks, horse-drawn carriages, old-fashioned candy shops, and Mississippi-style
riverboats. Rich in history, Old Sacramento is home to many free attractions.

14
March 2010
Move Over MacGyver
Other Shows Make Science Fun
Technology Integration
by Deborah Farkas
VoiceThread
A Fun and Powerful Collaborative Tool
VoiceThread is an excellent collaborative online tool for sharing images,
documents, and videos with a group.
Once media is posted to VoiceThread,
community members may comment
on what they see via microphone,
text entry, webcam, telephone, or by
uploading a file. You may comment
on VoiceThreads that have been created by other users who allow universal
access to their entries. Creators of
VoiceThread entries may limit who
may view them and moderate any
commentary left.
VoiceThreads can be easily linked
and shared with friends. You can
invite friends directly, send the link
to your VoiceThread in an email, or
embed your VoiceThread on your
own website.
There are many ways to use VoiceThread in a science classroom. For
example, a teacher could post a video
or a series of still images representing a
scientific concept or process and record
commentary related to the video or images. Students could then visit that entry and comment on what they see. As
a comment is made, the user may draw
while talking to illustrate what part
of the image they are referring to in
their commentary. Students could post
their own VoiceThreads in response to
a homework assignment or work on a
long-term collaborative project. A
teacher could post photos, maps, etc.,
from a recent field trip and ask for students to comment on different parts of
the trip. A student who misses the trip
would still receive a virtual experience.
Signing up for and using VoiceThread is free. When choosing the
free option as an educator, storage is
limited to 2 GB and there is no ability to create and manage student
accounts. However, for a very reasonable price, just $60 per year for up to
100 students, a teacher can purchase
a class subscription to Ed.VoiceThread
(ed.voicethread.com), that allows the
creation and management of student
accounts, the ability to work in an
accountable K–12 environment where
all users on the network are known,
content is created and vetted by chosen
community members, with up to 10 G
plus 1 GB per student storage, unlimited teacher voice threads, and 50
student voice threads.
School subscriptions, at a price of
$1 per user per year, are also available
within a secure collaborative network.
With a custom web address provided
by VoiceThread, your school gets a location where work can be collected and
shown. A simple admin tool allows
you to easily manage accounts and create classrooms.
Ed.VoiceThread requires a webbrowser equipped with Adobe Flash
7+, presently installed in 99 percent of
personal computers, and a broadband
connection. There is no software to
download, install, manage, or upgrade,
and all data is redundantly backed up
by the VoiceThread infrastructure.
VoiceThread is a really powerful
and fun classroom tool, and I encourage you to check it out!
Don’t Wait to
Fund Conference Attendance
It’s only March, right? Too early to think about attending a conference in October, right? WRONG! If you plan to attend the California
Science Education Conference in Sacramento this October, you might
need to act now to secure funding from your school or district. Districts
are formulating their 2010-2011 budgets now, so you need to make sure
your administrator includes funds for your attendance at the 2010 California Science Education Conference, October 22-24. Additionally, some
districts may have funds remaining in their 2009-2010 budgets which
you can earmark or use to register early for the conference. Remember,
early registrations receive a significant price reduction!
See pages 12–13 of this issue of California Classroom Science for conference information, including registration fees, or visit the CSTA website
at www.cascience.org/csta/conf_home.asp for funding ideas.
Plan early! You won’t regret it!
Here's a way to make the kids' eyes glaze over: Tell them they have to watch an
educational science program on TV.
But plenty of children—and adults—have made science-based shows like MythBusters into hits. Turns out there is a place for TV in science education.
And there's a need, too: The "hard truth," as President Obama recently said, is that
Americans have "been losing ground" when it comes to math and science education.
"One assessment shows American 15-year-olds now rank 21st in science and 25th
in math when compared to their peers around the world," Obama said.
The president was speaking at the recent launch of Educate To Innovate, a nationwide
effort to move the U.S. "to the top in science and math education in the next decade."
Prominent scientists from NASA and the National Science Foundation were invited to the White House event. So were a couple of cable TV stars: MythBusters creators
Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman.
“I hope you guys left the explosives at home,” Obama joked. And not without
cause: The MythBusters love to blow stuff up.
It's not a science show per se, but scientists are some of its biggest fans. Since
launching the series eight years ago, Savage and Hyneman have been inducted into Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research Society. The California Science Teachers Association made
them honorary members. They've been asked to speak at numerous schools, including
MIT and Georgia Tech. Savage says they get the rock-star treatment when they visit.
Recent episodes of MythBusters include "Can a sonic shock wave shatter glass?"
and "Does double dipping cause germ warfare?" They go to great lengths to get to the
bottom of these popular beliefs.
And their experiments are highly dramatic. In one episode, Savage and Hyneman
visited the world's largest portable hurricane simulator—nicknamed Medusa—at the
University of Florida to test whether it's better to keep the windows of a house open or
closed during a hurricane.
Savage and Hyneman are quick to point out that they are not scientists—in fact,
they're former Hollywood special-effects guys—and they didn't create the show to educate.
"We don't have pretensions to be teaching," says Savage. "We're still very much in
touch with the 14-year-old pyromaniacs inside us."
But high-school science teachers approve. Mindy Bedrossian, of Strongsville,
Ohio, says her students turned her on to MythBusters, and she thinks what the guys do
on the show is "raw science at its best." She even wants her students to test hypotheses
the way they do on MythBusters: They study. They measure. They build high-tech
props. They test—over and over again.
"We don't want [students] to blow up buildings and things like that," Bedrossian
laughs. "But we would like for them to do science in exactly the same way."
Bedrossian says she pays close attention to what science TV shows are out there.
She's concluded there's a lot of garbage. But her real problem is that schools themselves are offering so little science education in the younger grades.
That's where TV can help. There are a number of new science shows aimed at the
very young: Dinosaur Train, Zula Patrol, and Sid the Science Kid. The latter premiered on
PBS last year, partly because Linda Simensky, the head of programming, was frustrated
there weren't many science shows for the pre-school set. So she commissioned the Jim
Henson Company to create one.
"I really wanted daily science that you encounter every day in life," says Simensky.
"And something that models asking questions."
Sid asks plenty of questions. In fact Sid can be—how to put this nicely?—a little
annoying. He's an extremely happy extrovert who loves his toy microphone, and
who's hugely curious about how stuff works.
Will the show actually impart any knowledge to little viewers? The producers
aren't making any guarantees. But they do hope Sid will get kids excited about science.
According to Bill Nye, that shouldn't be too hard. Nye stopped producing his
show Bill Nye The Science Guy in the late 1990s, but teachers around the country still
show it to their students.
"Everybody loves science when he or she is young," says Nye. "You cannot find
a kid that doesn't want to taste the kitchen floor, or that doesn't want to know how
houseflies make a living."
He says the U.S. needs young scientists—so why not start with this willing audience?
As first appeared in www.npr.org, December 7, 2009. Reprinted with permission.
Meet Adam and Jamie, in person at
CSTA’s California Science Education Conference
in October!
See pages 12–13 for more information.
California Classroom Science

15
Obama Unveils Projects to Bolster STEM Teaching
by Erik W. Robelen
President Barack Obama in January
announced more than $250 million in
private investments to help attract and
prepare new teachers for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics,
collectively known as the “STEM” field,
and to help improve instruction in
those areas by practicing teachers.
The new commitments roughly
double the amount the president first
announced in November as part of
his “Educate to Innovate” campaign
for excellence in STEM education.
(“Obama Backing STEM Education,”
Dec. 2, 2009.)
The campaign is described by the
White House as a partnership that involves efforts not only from the federal
government, but also from leading
companies, foundations, nonprofit
groups, and science and engineering
societies to work with young people
across the nation to excel in science
and math.
The largest single commitment in
the announcement comes from the
Intel Corp. of Santa Clara, Calif., and
the Intel Foundation, which are planning a 10-year, $200 million effort to
expand on work under way to improve
math and science education, including
through increased professional-development opportunities for teachers.
Other efforts the president announced include growth of the
“UTeach” program, which aims to
produce teachers with deep content
knowledge in math and science, and
an expansion of work by the nonprofit
Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship
Foundation, based in Princeton, N.J.,
to revamp teacher-education programs
and bring new talent into classrooms
to address significant shortages in math
and science.
“Our future depends on reaffirming America’s role as the world’s engine
of scientific discovery and technology
innovation,” President Obama said
during an East Room ceremony. “And
that leadership tomorrow depends on
how we educate our students today,
especially in math, science, technology,
and engineering.”
At the event, Mr. Obama highlighted some of the U.S. Department
of Education’s work during his administration to improve STEM education,
but said government alone can’t meet
the challenge, and he highlighted a
number of public-private partnerships.
One of those partnerships is leading to the expansion of the “UTeach”
program, which began at the University of Texas at Austin in 1997. The
program has already been replicated at
13 universities in nine states, and plans
are now under way to add six more
universities. The replication effort—
which is being directed by the UTeach
Institute at the University of Texas
at Austin in conjunction with the
National Math and Science Initiative,
a Dallas-based nonprofit—is expected
to prepare 7,000 undergraduates in
STEM subjects to become new math
and science teachers by 2018. Support
and funding for the new replication
work comes from private foundations
and the business community as well as
state agencies.
Increasing the Pool
The Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation effort will expand
from Indiana to include Michigan and
Ohio.
Arthur Levine, the president of the
Woodrow Wilson foundation, said the
effort is already making an important
impact on the teacher pool in Indiana.
“For example, in Indiana, with
80 teachers, we were able to increase
the number certified annually in
STEM subjects by 20 percent,” said
Mr. Levine, who previously was the
President continued from page 2
own state’s science standards are not
developmentally appropriate for their
intended grade level, including a third
grader’s ability to understand basic
atomic structure and the related periodic table of the elements. But that’s
another topic for another column at
another time. Remember, it is very
important to present science content
to our students that they are mentally
able to comprehend and master.
Special Recognition from the Field
The Science and Math Departments at Arroyo High School in the El
Monte Union High School District of
Los Angeles County have implemented
major reforms to benefit all students.
The staff from both departments
has been a leading force for district
‘Summer of Innovation’
President Obama also announced
several other public-private partnerships to improve STEM education.
NASA, in partnership with companies, nonprofit groups, and states,
will launch a pilot program to enhance
STEM learning opportunities for stu-
dents during the summer. The “Summer of Innovation” program will work
with thousands of middle school teachers and students during multiweek programs this summer to engage students
in stimulating math and science-based
education programs.
Meanwhile, the Public Broadcasting Service and its 356 partner stations,
in collaboration with the National Science Teachers Association, will launch
a multiyear STEM initiative to expand
the PBS teacher community, provide a
platform for sharing effective teaching
practices, and inspire the next generation of teacher-leaders.
The Obama administration has
also sought to use the $4 billion Race
to the Top Fund, part of the federal economic-stimulus program, as a
mechanism to bolster its STEM agenda.
In awarding the competitive grants, the
U.S. Department of Education will look
in part at whether states are committing to improve STEM education.
Beyond that, the federal government across a variety of agencies provides more than $3 billion annually to
improve STEM education at all levels.
(“Federal Projects’ Impact on STEM
Remains Unclear,” March 27, 2008.)
At the White House event, Mr.
Obama praised the educators assembled to receive awards for their excellence in teaching math and science.
“In the end, the work that you do,
and the difference that you make, are
what all these reforms are all about,”
he said
As first appeared in Education Week, January
11, 2010. Reprinted with permission from
Editorial Projects in Education.
Region 1 continued from page 5
So, the bottom line to all of this
is that if you are not teaching B.A.D.
Science, you should be! Teaching a balanced, articulated, and developmentally appropriate science curriculum will
ensure that your students master the
necessary grade level science standards
that enable them to become scientifically literate citizens and productive
members of tomorrow’s society.
Region 3 continued from page 7
200 volunteer judges generally attend
the event.
president and a professor of education
at Teachers College, Columbia University. “In Michigan, we would prepare
enough STEM teachers to fill all the
vacancies in Detroit, Grand Rapids, and
Kalamazoo,” though he added that the
program would not necessarily target
those particular cities.
Altogether, over the course of the
three-year programs, the Woodrow
Wilson fellowships will prepare more
than 700 math and science teachers at
14 institutions, with a total of nearly
$40 million in public and private funding, according to the foundation.
Mr. Levine also emphasized the
efforts to overhaul teacher-preparation
programs at participating universities.
“We’re basically asking them to
throw out their program and start over
again in many cases,” he said.
To help expand the work, the W.K.
Kellogg Foundation will provide $16.7
million over two years in Michigan,
and in Ohio several foundations jointly
will provide some $10 million.
The Intel effort will provide training to more than 100,000 U.S. math
and science teachers over the next
three years, including an intensive, 80hour professional-development course
in math for elementary school teachers.
“With the president shining a
light, you get a whole new level of
attention and excitement” for STEM
education, said Shelly M. Esque, the
vice president for corporate affairs at
Intel and the president of the Intel
Foundation.
change, with students as the primary
focus. Adhering to all state standards
and placing into effect new grading
policies, new Advanced Placement
classes, and district-wide benchmarks,
as well as an in-depth evaluation of
Arroyo High, accomplished this exemplary change.
Lawrence Hall of Science through
workshops, professional development
seminars, and district level technical support to address the specific
needs expressed by each district. This
provides the benefits of cross-district
conversations and collaborations, and
at the same time adapts to the particular conditions of each district.
As a result of the work with BaySci,
the elementary teachers in Petaluma
participated in two full days of professional development in science. The
Petaluma BaySci team, in collaboration with the Exploratorium and the
Lawrence Hall of Science, offered all
K–6 teachers instruction in hands-on,
inquiry-based instruction techniques
and activities along with professional
development in their newly adopted
science materials. The Petaluma BaySci
team will continue to offer professional
development opportunities this spring
in high-quality science instruction.
Petaluma High School Offers Students
Unique Science Education Opportunity:
Wildlife Museum at Petaluma High School
The Petaluma Wildlife Museum is
the largest student-run wildlife museum
in the world. The museum, also a high
school science classroom, is completely
run by student docents who care for the
dozens of live animals and hundreds of
taxidermied animals, and run all of the
field trips through the museum. The student docents have many responsibilities
beyond their science curriculum. They
provide for the basic maintenance of the
museum and are involved in animal husbandry, fundraising, feeding, and tours
to hundreds of school children each year.
The museum also offers summer
programs for students and a limited
number of weekend tours for families. For questions, information about
scheduling a field trip, or summer
programs contact: Petaluma Wildlife
Museum, 201 Fair St., Petaluma, CA
94952, (707) 778-4787.
Wa nt a g reat oppor tu n ity to teach s t udent s
a bout ener g y and to receive
c l a ssro o m materials an d han ds - on kit s ?
The Pacific Gas and
Electric Company
Solar Schools Program
continues in 2010 with over $250,000 in
Bright Ideas Grants and exciting
PG&E Solar Schools workshops across
the PG&E ser vice area.
T h e 2 0 1 0 w o rk s ho p s in clu d e win d , so lar, an d hyd ropower works hops —
e a ch i n cl ud in g a f o cu s o n en ergy ef f icien cy an d c limate c hange.
Workshops are open to K–12 teachers in the PG&E Se r v i c e A re a .
Par ticipants receive over $800 of curriculum materials and cla s s ro o m k i t s t h a t m e e t
Calif o rnia Depar tment of Education s tandards . Breakfas t and lu n c h a re p rov i d e d .
R
Br i g h t Id e as Grants are for K-12 schools, Tech nical S chools,
C o m m u n it y Co lleges an d Ju n io r Co lleges .
Bright Ideas Grant applications are due by March 20 f o r s p r i n g a n d
Sept em ber 19 for fall for $2,500, $5,000, or $10,000 for yo u r Bri g h t Id e a s !
To l earn mor e abou t th e p rog r am visit
www.n eed .org/ pgesol ar sch ool s or
emai l P ro g r am Co or din ator B ar ry Scott at [email protected] .
DON’T FORGET!
Appl ic a t io n s a re be ing acce pte d NOW fo r th e 2010 Bri ght Idea s Gra nts!
California Classroom Science

17
Experts Urge Earlier Start to Teaching Science
Play-based approaches also develop language skills.
by Debra Viadero
The sand-and-water table in Barry
Hoff’s classroom in the Southampton Head
Start program on New York’s Long Island,
used to be filled with sand on two sides.
But water was restored to the table
last month as 16 preschoolers stood
around it, dipping and pouring water
through tubes and funnels, squeezing it
through turkey basters, and learning, in
the process, something of what it’s like to
think like scientists.
The change in Mr. Hoff’s room, and
in a handful of other classrooms like it
around the country, stems from growing
interest among academic experts and educators in teaching science to preschoolers.
“I think a lot of preschool teachers
aren’t aware of the fact that preschoolers can figure out things like they do, or
make predictions as they do,” said Mr.
Hoff, who’s been teaching preschool for
four years. “But some of the things we’re
doing now are things that children find a
lot of wonder with.”
Three years ago, when a task force of
the congressionally chartered National
Research Council issued influential recommendations for improving K-8 science
education, it also made a pitch for introducing scientific study even before the
start of formal schooling, with children as
young as 4.
“The commonly held view that
young children are concrete and simplistic thinkers,” the report said, “is outmoded.” It is refuted, some experts added, by
decades of research in cognitive science
and developmental psychology.
Concerns about American students’
performance on international science
tests and the supply of students pursuing
careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, or STEM, fields,
combined with the expansion of federal
testing requirements to include science,
have served in recent years only to
heighten that call.
Shells and Magnets
Yet, as University of Miami research-
er Daryl B. Greenfield found in a Florida
study testing the school-readiness skills
of more than 5,000 Head Start graduates, science is one of the areas in which
children show the least learning growth
during their preschool years.
“Most teachers will have a science
area in their classroom,…and if you look
on plans, you would see something listed
as science but, in reality, there would be
some shells, some magnets, and maybe
a pumpkin, or a book about animals in
winter,” said Nancy Clark-Chiarelli, a
principal research scientist at the Education Development Center, a research
group based in Newton, Mass. “But those
items are not conceptually related, and
they don’t promote children’s independent exploration of them.”
If preschool teachers had water tables
in their classrooms, Ms. Clark-Chiarelli
and her EDC research partners found in
their work, they were often turned into
bathing areas for plastic dolls rather than
used as science-teaching tools.
Ms. Clark-Chiarelli and her colleagues sought to improve preschool science teaching by crafting a “Young Scientist” curriculum series with support from
the National Science Foundation. The
guides focus on teaching children about
the natural world and developing their
knowledge of physical science through
building structures and water play.
Because preschool teachers are often
uneasy about teaching scientific concepts,
the research team also developed an accredited professional-development program
for them, and assessments to determine
whether teachers and their pupils were
benefiting from the added instruction.
The EDC researchers field-tested the
program with 50 Massachusetts teachers working in Head Start, the federal
preschool program for disadvantaged
children, and found “dramatic” learning
gains for teachers, coupled with “promising” improvements for their young students in two of the three science content
areas on which the guides focus.
Beyond ‘Amazing’
Now, with funding from the U.S.
Department of Education’s Institute of
Education Sciences, the researchers are
engaged in a larger study testing the
curriculum’s efficacy in Mr. Hoff’s class
and dozens of other New York Head Start
classrooms in Westchester County and
on Long Island. Halfway into the sixmonth training program, Mr. Hoff said
the knowledge he has gained is already
transforming his teaching.
“I do consider myself scientifically
minded, but before it was more or less
‘Let’s see this,’ or ‘This is amazing,’ and
I’d kind of explain what was occurring
and move on,” he said in an interview.
“This is something to guide [students] on
to exploring, and it seems to have more
lasting impact on their learning.”
When his students play with the water, for instance, he makes notes of what
they’re doing and uses the notes later on,
during discussion time, to coax children
to share their discoveries. What did you
do with the funnel, he might ask, or how
did you get the water in the tubes? Did
you notice any bubbles?
“Because kids can parrot back what
they hear, teachers think they know more
than they do,” said Cindy Hoisington,
who is working with Ms. Clark-Chiarelli
as a lead instructor and teacher mentor
on the project. “Kids don’t know bubbles
are full of air, and teachers are kind of
shocked because they thought their kids
knew that.”
the area. Their website is available 24/7
with many more resources and information online at http://www.iasta.org/.
ing careers in science and mathematics. This unique opportunity allows
STEM students to complete a bachelor’s
degree in science, mathematics, or engineering while gaining foundational
training in STEM education. Considerable financial resources are available to help STEM majors accomplish
their aspirations to be competitive
candidates for teacher credentialing
programs and later becoming science/
mathematics teachers. These resources
include grants and scholarships, along
with programs that will allow specified student loans to be forgiven for
students who earn their credential
and then teach in K–12 schools. Although the programs vary among the
individual UC campuses, they share a
common mission to increase annually
the number of highly qualified teachers who enter science and mathematics
classrooms in California. This common mission is achieved by:
• Encouraging and creating multiple
‘Guided Play’
New efforts to teach more science in
preschool come at a time when earlychildhood educators worry that a growing emphasis on academics during those
years is crowding out the playtime that
children need for healthy development.
Kathy Hirsh-Pacek, a psychology
professor at Temple University, in Philadelphia, counts herself as one of those
advocates. But she says efforts to expand
preschool science teaching need not
necessarily conflict with young children’s
need for playtime. Science can be taught
in the context of play.
“The people who are pure play
people suggest that you need to have
free play for young children, and I think
the evidence is pretty clear on that,” Ms.
Hirsh-Pacek said. “But I also think the
evidence is pretty clear that you don’t
just need to have free play for children.
There’s free play, and there’s guided play.”
“You just have to be careful,” she added, “because sometimes adults can become
too intrusive and the play just stops.”
The EDC researchers say their efforts
also go hand in hand with the growing
emphasis in preschool programs on developing children’s language skills.
“We believe in order to have good
discussions, you have to have something
to talk about,” Ms. Clark-Chiarelli said.
Research and development efforts
aimed at improving preschool science instruction are also under way at the Center
for Math and Science Education at the
University of Texas and the University of
Miami, where Mr. Greenfield is developing an assessment of preschoolers’ science
readiness, as well as at other locations.
In September, meanwhile, a team of
researchers led by Rochel Gelman, a cognitive psychologist from Rutgers University’s Busch campus in Piscataway, N.J.,
published a book on the subject called
Preschool Pathways to Science: Facilitating
Scientific Ways of Thinking, Talking, Doing,
and Understanding.
“In preschool, you find that kids are
natural scientists, whether it’s life science, earth science, or physics,” said Mr.
Greenfield. “Young kids are interested in
changes in the weather or whether something is hard or soft. They have a natural
curiosity about the world.”
As first appeared in Education Week, January
19, 2010. Reprinted with permission from
Editorial Projects in Education.
Region 4 continued from page 8
to develop one or more of their own
activities. Participants will leave the
workshop with the pedagogical foundation and in-class learning resources they
need to better engage their students.
Handouts will be provided that guide
participants through an evaluation-level exercise for designing teaching and
learning activities and for constructing
their own classroom activities.
Free, must register to attend.
Chapter News
IASTA (Inland Area Science Teachers
Association)
Annual dues are currently due and
can be paid at the meeting. ($40 for
regular members and $20 for preservice
and retired teachers.) Please keep in
mind all that you get from IASTA when
considering paying your dues: seven or
eight meetings a year with informative
speakers, and dinner, too! Plus all of the
great interaction you get from talking to
other hard-pressed science teachers in
Showcase of Programs
Where is the new generation of
California science teachers going to
come from? It’s never too early to
bring them into the fold! In fact, at
the University of California, Riverside,
the pipeline is already being primed
and filled with undergraduates in an
attempt to meet the demand.
Through a compact drawn between the University of California
and the State of California, California Teach—Science and Mathematics
Initiative (Cal-TEACH/SMI) was created
in response to a demand for teachers in
mathematics and science classrooms. This is the largest initiative of its kind
in the nation, providing unmatched
opportunities for STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics)
students who are preparing for teach-
•
•
•
•
pathways for STEM majors to consider teaching as a career;
Advising and facilitating student
progress towards increasing eligibility for a teaching credential
program while succeeding in their
STEM major curriculum;
Providing mentorship opportunities to develop and enrich professional networking;
Providing courses that include
an introduction to teaching as a
profession, including the content
areas of pedagogy, cultural diversity, and educational psychology;
Providing field experiences in K–12
classrooms with supervised “mentor teachers.”
Further information about the
Cal-Teach program on each UC
campus can be found at: http://
www.universityofcalifornia.edu/
academics/1000teachers/.

18
March 2010
Ask-A-Scientist continued from page 9
DON’T MISS THE 2010
CALIFORNIA SCIENCE
EDUCATION CONFERENCE!
See pages 12–13 for details.
what wonderful gifts I’ve received from
my mentors.
So as you can see, the entire
process is important, from K–12 to
postdoctoral studies. Now I like to joke
that the cliché, “Your record follows
you for the rest of your life,” is a myth.
Let’s face it; no one in college asked
you if you had detention in K–12, or
even asked after your high school GPA.
However, each step sets the stage for
the next, and our influences at each
step do so as well. Those role models
were a key part of those steps.
Between teaching at UCLA, the
University of Chicago, and CSU-San
Bernardino, I’ve had the opportunity
to send thousands of students on with
a new or enhanced perspective on how
important science is in society. That’s
incredibly gratifying and a feeling I
share with all teachers. A number of
my graduate students have gone on
to teach at high schools, community
colleges, and universities. I feel that
this ripple effect has been much more
profound than any individual publication I might have produced.
What do you think has been your
most important contribution to
your field?
I suppose I could cite the discovery
of any number of fossil discoveries.
However, I think my most important
contribution has been my students.
What has been the biggest
surprise in your career as a
paleontologist?
As an evolutionary biologist, I initially found it surprising (no, shocking!)
that my field is one of the few scientific
endeavors that much of the public (in-
cluding past presidents!) seem willing
to presume they know more about than
me! Lots of people don’t “believe” it’s
a valid science, even though they’ve
never actually studied it. Let’s face it,
you’d never question your doctor or
dentist in the same way and suggest
you knew better how they should conduct their work, yet people do presume
to do that to evolutionary biologists—
despite that many of us participate in
the education of those same health
care professionals. Fortunately, I feel
strongly that educating young people is
the key. If we continue to demonstrate
that science and spirituality address important but different questions, we will
eventually allow evolutionary biology
to more effectively help solve some of
the difficult problems of our day.
California Classroom Science

Classroom Management continued from page 10
“But there is not time for that!”
HA! The alternative is that after trying
to do so much, I lose motivation. My
fuel tank needle always pointing to the
“E,” I try to fill myself with another
venti at Starbucks or another new app
on my iPhone or reading emails from
somebody who forwarded the latest
political YouTube video, or fill myself
with “comfort food.” I lose focus.
And guess what? I have wasted all of
that time anyway. Instead of refocusing on what is really important, I am
now running ten minuets late to pick
up the kids…I am rushed, frustrated,
and exhausted. Our world is full of
distractions, and when we are tired
and empty, we become susceptible to
many of them. We have become slaves
to email and texting instead of those
technologies serving us.
I have a friend who is a high school
teacher and football coach. Who could
be busier than that? But several late
afternoons in the middle of the season,
I have found him alone on a quiet park
bench smoking a cigar and reading a
book that has nothing to do with X’s and
O’s. Shouldn’t he be somewhere else?
“No,” he says, “I am reading a book on
leadership. You see, I want to make leaders, not just football players.” Focus.
Well, we are scientists. So let’s try
a little experiment. I encourage you to
take a cell phone “fast” or email “fast.”
Don’t be too ambitious at first. I get the
shakes after a short time, which shows
me how much I am controlled by that
little thing. Then graduate to an hour
of wasted time walking the greenbelt.
Along the way you will discover the
best time-saving trick of all: inner peace.
CSTA Announces Call for
Awards Nominations
Nominations for the prestigious Margaret Nicholson Distinguished
Service Award and the Future Science Teacher Award, both sponsored by
CSTA, are now open.
CSTA believes that the importance of science education cannot be
overstated. Given the essential presence of the sciences in understanding
the past and planning for the future, science education remains and will
increasingly be one of the most important disciplines in education. CSTA
is committed to recognizing and encouraging excellence in science teaching through the presentation of awards to science educators who have
made outstanding contributions in science education in the state and
who are poised to continue the momentum of providing high quality,
relevant science education into the future.
Please review the nomination forms on this and the next page, and
consider nominating people who meet the awards criteria. Nomination
deadlines are May 17, 2010.
19
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20
March 2010
Free Resources
The Berkeley Lab has an online Video
Glossary for students and teachers.
Each 1-2 minute video clip highlights
a Berkeley Lab scientist or engineer
explaining a term that applies to their
research in lay language. Topics include antimatter, biofuels, carbon cycle,
climate change, genomics, nanotechnology, plasma, quarks, and smart windows,
along with 50+ others in a growing list
of terms that you and your students
may encounter all the time and want to
understand better. For the complete list,
visit http://videoglossary.lbl.gov/. Send
your suggestions for additional terms to
include—more are added every week.
The Laboratory Safety Institute (LSI)
promotes “Safety in Science Education.”
LSI offers the following free services: (i)
Webinars for all state science supervisors;
(ii) answering questions from around the
world on laboratory and occupational,
health, and safety issues; (iii) accessing and
participating in LSI’s internet discussion
list, Labsafety-L.; (iv) distributing more than
two million copies of LSI’s “Laboratory
Safety Guidelines.” Copies are available
upon request at LSG@LabSafetyInstitute.
org. More free resources can be found at
www.LabSafetyInstitute.org.
The National Institute of General
Medical Sciences has produced a collection of free science education materials. Printed and online resources focus
on medically relevant life sciences and
are described. They are not copyrighted;
teachers are free to excerpt content
from them to use in the classroom or on
a class Web site. For more information,
visit www.nigms.nih.gov or email Alisa
Machalek at [email protected].
Imagine it! is a multimedia educational campaign to ignite an “innovation
revolution.” Imagine it! illustrates the
convergence of science and engineering with education, political will, and
personal desire intersecting at a moment in time when a new generation
unleashes its creativity to solve global
challenges in ways we can only imagine.
This 55-minute film captures innovative
moments in history and inspires young
people today to solve global challenges.
To preview the film, visit http://www.
imagineitproject.com/START2preview/.
For free downloads and to purchase
DVDs contact: Richard Tavener, Producer,
at (435) 659-1822 or [email protected].
The National Institute of General
Medical Sciences (NIGMS), part of
the National Institutes of Health, has
new, free materials on biomedical topics. These printed and online resources
focus on medically relevant life sciences
and are free of charge. Printed materials
are available individually or in classroom
sets. For more information visit publications.nigms.nih.gov.
The California Water Awareness
Campaign has published five books on
California’s water for upper elementary
school grades, and the books are available free to teachers. All of the books
meet the upper elementary school
teaching standards for science. Only one
book is required for each classroom, and
lesson pages are easily copied for distribution to students. For more information, contact the CWAC office at (916)
325-2596 or [email protected].
Dana Press is extending a unique offer
on the book, The Bard on the Brain:
Understanding the Mind Through the
Art of Shakespeare and the Science
of Brain Imaging, for only the cost of
shipping. This full-color, illustrated book
explores the beauty and mystery of the
human mind and the workings of the
brain, following the paths of the Bard.
Currently offering new copies only in sets
of 28. Shipping costs are approximately
$30 per set of books. To request sets of
books, please contact [email protected].
Northern California Chapter of
the American Vacuum Society
(member group of the American Physics Society) has a free program that
includes a set of classroom experiments
or demos of vacuum science in physics and chemistry. One or more of our
members will bring in the vacuum apparatus to present the program in your
classroom, with full student participation. For more information, please call
(530) 896-0477, email [email protected] or
visit www.nccavs.org.
Teachers’ Domain is providing over
1,000 free digital resources in science,
math, language arts, and social studies
produced by public television partners.
Teachers’ Domain provides teachers an
easy way to engage students and incorporate technology in the classroom. For
more information and to register, visit
www.teachersdomain.org.
Space Agriculture in the Classroom
is offering free copies of the Growing
Space magazine series, written especially
for science and agriscience students and
teachers. Space Agriculture in the Classroom is a joint project of USDA, NASA,
and the University of Florida that is designed to boost student awareness of the
space program and the role of agriculture
in our economy and society. Visit spaceag.
org to request copies for your class. Lesson plans and other educational resources are also available at this website.
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management is offering California science educators a package of free material, including
CD, DVD, videos, and teachers’ guide on
energy use, production, conservation, and
the role of public lands in energy production. Contact Jan Bedrosian at [email protected]; mention you saw this
offer in CSTA’s publication. A brochure
entitled “A Teacher’s Guide to Energy on
Public Lands” produced by the NEED
(National Energy Education Development)
Project is also available online at http://
www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/prog/energy.html.
Each week, share with your students a free
thought-provoking science puzzler, drawn
from the award-winning Cogno science
board games. You’ll receive a weekly
e-mail with a fully illustrated one-page puzzler about astronomy, forces and motion,
and/or life sciences, ready to be photocopied for students. The e-mail message
includes the answer and explanation, allowing you to facilitate as much or as little
discussion as you like. Recommended for
grades 3-8. For information, samples, and
to register, see www.cogno.com/puzzlers.
JSH Education has numerous free interactive resources for science teachers to
download. The free resources are aimed
for use with interactive whiteboards and
virtual learning environments for ages
5-16. It includes numerous interactive
exercises and 3D animations (of buckyballs, nanotubes, molecules, etc), covering
physics, chemistry, and biology. Teachers
can download the resources without registering at http://www.jsheducation.com/
downloads.html and http://www.jsheducation.com/vledownloads.html.
Facing the Future has released Climate
Change: Connections and Solutions.
These two-week curriculum units, one for
middle and one for high school, encourage
students to think critically about climate
change and to collaborate to devise solutions. Students learn about climate change
within a systems framework, examining interconnections among environmental, social,
and economic issues. Thanks to generous
funding from Hewlett-Packard Company,
this curriculum, valued at $24.95, is available
for free at http://www.facingthefuture.org/.
The Consulting Engineers and Land
Surveyors of California (CELSOC)
have produced a five-minute DVD to introduce students to career opportunities in
engineering and land surveying. The video
describes the attributes of the profession
and demonstrates the many ways that
engineers and land surveyors improve the
world around us and why there is a great
need for people to choose these professions into the future. To view the video online and order copies for your classroom,
visit http://www.designourfuture.info, or
call Rebecca Nicholas at (916) 340-6308.
The NOAA National Marine Sanctuary
Program, in collaboration with National
Geographic Society, has launched a new
series of marine education lesson plans
highlighting cutting-edge research, maritime heritage, cultural resources, and environmental issues in our national marine
sanctuaries. Designed for K–12 teachers
and marine educators, the Oceans for
Life series of lessons and videos gives students an opportunity to explore the history, biology, and ecology of the National
Marine Sanctuary System. Learn more at
http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/education.
Science Education Calendar
Tsunami K-12 Education
California Geological Survey
Along with the fifth anniversary of the devastating Indian Ocean
tsunami (Dec. 26th, 2009), many recall the story of Tilly Smith, the 10year-old credited with saving over 100 people on a beach in Thailand
based on what she learned about tsunamis in school during a geography
lesson. California Geological Survey (CGS) is looking for ways to best
educate California students about tsunamis, tsunami hazards, and what
they should know if they are in an area at risk.
Tsunami inundation maps, produced by CGS, the California Emergency Management Agency, and the Tsunami Research Center at USC,
show the potential flooding hazard for all vulnerable populated areas
based on some of the worst-case tsunami scenarios for California. In addition to the maps, the state is making available new tsunami education
videos, a new CGS “Tsunami Note,” and other information that could
be useful when teaching students about tsunamis and tsunami hazards
in California. This information is posted at: http://www.conservation.
ca.gov/CGS/geologic_hazards/Tsunami/Pages/education.aspx.
Your feedback on any aspect of using these new tsunami maps in the
classroom will be a great value and will be shared with other educators
via our website. Please feel free to contact us for more information and/or
to forward us your ideas; [email protected].
March 24–27, 2010
San Jose, CA
2010 National Service-Learning
Conference. The conference focuses
on service-learning projects with local,
national, and global implications. For more
information, visit the website at www.nylc.
org/conference.
April 24, 2010
Oxnard, CA
Growing with Science. A conference
for K–12 science educators, sponsored
by Gold Coast Science Network. Qualifies for NCLB professional development.
At Oxnard College, 4000 Rose Ave., 8:00
am–4:30 pm.Visit http://goldcoastscience.
org/ for more information.
August 11–12, 2010
Los Angeles, CA
Generation Earth Teacher Summer
Institute. Free, two-day professional
development workshop, resource fair, and
field trip. Continuing Education Units
and salary points from some local school
districts are available to participants. For
more information visit: http://generationearth.com/calendar_registration.cfm.
October 22–24, 2010
Sacramento, CA
California Science Education Conference, sponsored by CSTA.
California Classroom Science
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21
Free Resources (continued)
The NOAA National Marine Sanctuary
Program has unveiled a new online resource that highlights the diverse marine life
of America’s ocean and Great Lakes treasures. The Encyclopedia of the Sanctuaries is available online and is part of a
continuing NOAA effort to enhance public
awareness, understanding, and appreciation
of the marine environment. This online field
guide provides photos, streaming video, and
important biological information for over
100 marine species. Visit http://marinelife.
noaa.gov to explore this online field guide.
A KWMR radio show called Ocean
Currents, with host Jennifer Stock of the
Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary,
will dive into the depths and reveal the
science and mysteries that marine biologists are discovering out, on, and in the
ocean, especially in our national marine
sanctuaries. Find out more about the
upcoming Ocean Currents radio shows on
http://kwmr.org and how you can listen
live over the Internet at http://cordellbank.noaa.gov/education/radioshow.html.
Student Resources
Science Buddies is a non-profit organization empowering students from all
walks of life to help themselves and each
other develop a love of science and an
understanding of the scientific method.
With the help of their mentors and
advisors, students improve their science skills and literacy and are inspired
to consider additional study or careers
in science. Check out Science Buddies’
how-to guides, teacher resources, ask an
expert, and more at http://www.sciencebuddies.org.
Additional Resources
LabQuest is an intuitive handheld device that puts data analysis at the fingertips of science students and educators,
whether in the lab or the field. Students
can plug in any of more than 50 Vernier
sensors to acquire real-time graphing
and analysis via the device’s color screen
for subjects such as physics, chemistry,
biology, and earth science. Visit http://
www.vernier.com/labquest/video.html for
more information or call (888) 837-6437.
Stay up-to-date on the
latest CSTA news and membership benefits at
www.cascience.org
Teacher Resources
Waves, Wetlands, and Watersheds is
a classroom activity guide for teachers
that addresses California’s critical coastal
and marine issues such as endangered
species, marine debris, coastal geology,
water use, and much more. It is aligned
to the California state science content
standards for grades 3 through 8, and includes community action lessons adaptable for all ages up to and beyond grade
12. The connection between inland areas
and the ocean is emphasized throughout,
so the lessons are relevant for students
living in all regions of California. For
more information, visit www.coastal.
ca.gov/publiced/waves/waves1.html.
Scientists at Stanford University and
the University of California, Riverside
want your help collecting earthquake
data. The Quake-Catcher Network
(QCN) provides easy-to-use sensors (free or $5) that connect to most
computers and mount to the floor. Free
QCN software displays recent earthquake information and current sensor
recordings in real time on the computer
screen. QCN provides classroom activities to use with these sensors. Learn
more at http://qcn.stanford.edu/K12/.
scientifically accurate, the film taps into
the groundswell of public concern about
climate change to present an emotional,
accurate picture of our children’s planet.
But the film goes beyond science and
consequences to provide hope via an array of solutions. The Great Warming can be
ordered at www.thegreatwarming.com or
(800) 493-9369. Two dollars of every sale
will be donated to the purchaser’s choice
of our non-profit supporting organizations.
The California Institute for Biodiversity
and Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Gardens
have announced their publication Habitats Alive!: An Ecological Guide to California’s Diverse Habitats. This 470-page
reference volume contains in-depth information on 53 California habitats, from
alkaline sink to yellow pine forest. Learn
about where they are located, key animals
in residence, human impact on the area,
and where you and your students can find
additional information. Visit www.calalive.
org for more information.
Iridescent is a STEM-oriented non-profit
that brings cutting edge math and science
topics to the classroom through engineering undergraduates, graduates, and professionals. We are offering access to a set of
lesson plans created by our engineers to
give students familiarity with the career
and the exciting topics it has to offer. The
topic of these lessons is fluid dynamics as
applied to animal locomotion. For more
information, visit iridescentlearning.org.
Screenscope, Inc. and Public Broadcasting
Service are pleased to announce that the
PBS environmental science series Journey
To Planet Earth is now on YouTube.
Join host/narrator Matt Damon as he
explores the fragile relationship between
people and the world they inhabit. Clips
of past shows as well as teasers from
their newest episode are available at
http://www.youtube.com/screenscope.
To receive information about a 30-day
free preview of the entire series, email
your mailing address and phone number
to [email protected]. For
more information, visit http://www.pbs.
org/journeytoplanetearth.
The film, The Great Warming, is now
available on DVD. Visually beautiful and
GreenWorks! is the service-learning
community action program of Project
Learning Tree (PLT). A guidebook with
practical pointers for getting a GreenWorks! project going and information on
how to apply for a GreenWorks! grant
can be found at www.plt.org. For more
information contact kay.antunez@fire.
ca.gov, or call (916)653-7958.
The Voyage scale model of the Solar
System was permanently installed on the
National Mall in Washington, D.C. between
the U.S. Capitol Building and the Washington Monument. The National Center for
Earth and Space Science Education is now
making replicas of the exhibition available
for permanent installation in communities
across the U.S. and internationally, along
with extensive resources and communitywide programming. For more information, visit www.voyagesolarsystem.org or
contact Stacy Hamel at (202) 689-1295,
[email protected].
Point of Return is a free 17-minute DVD
that illustrates what happens to recyclables
after they leave the curb, and explores
our resource management choices from
a local to international perspective. The
documentary encourages the viewer to
consider whether or not it is sustainable to
ship so much of our scrap material to Asia
for processing. The video is available for
viewing at www.ncrarecycles.org/video/video and can be requested in DVD format.
Find more great resources on
the CSTA website
www.cascience.org/
csta/resources.asp
Field Trips
The CNPRC (California National
Primate Research Center) Education
Outreach Program (EOP), at the University of California, Davis, was developed
to introduce K–6 students to non-human
primates, general science concepts, animals
in research, and biomedical research
programs and careers. It supports the
California science content standards. Using classroom-tested and age-appropriate
curriculum and manipulatives, children are
presented with a two-hour program. If you
are interested in finding out more about
the program, or to schedule a visit to your
classroom, you can click to www.cnprc.
ucdavis.edu/pages/eop/eop.html, or contact
the EOP at [email protected].
A new, free Outdoor Exploratorium
features a collection of 20 brand-new
outdoor interactive science exhibits and
artworks. Visitors can find the Outdoor
Exploratorium at Fort Mason between
San Francisco’s Aquatic Park and the
Marina District. These exhibits harness
the wind, the waves, marine life, and the
man-made and natural environments in
this urban waterfront site. The Outdoor
Exploratorium is for noticing and learning
about the natural world and provides
an opportunity to apply the scientific
principles of observation and experimentation to the outdoors.
Chabot Space & Science Center
For more information, call (510) 3367300 or visit www.chabotspace.org.
Exploratorium, the museum of science, art, and human perception. For
more information, call (415) 397-5673 or
visit http://www.exploratorium.edu/.
Forces That Shape the Bay
Play Mother Nature at 1,100 ft. above
sea level with a 180-degree view of San
Francisco Bay. Join in hands-on, facilitator-led bay lab fun activities. For more
information visit www.lawrencehallofscience.org/exhibits/forces.html.
Idea Lab offers an array of ever-changing activities that challenge the mind and
baffle the senses. Check out exhibits,
such as Nano Activities, Flow Tank, Rope
Puzzles, and mysterious Floating Magnets.
Visit www.lawrencehallofscience.org/
exhibits/idealab.html.
Oakland Museum of California
For more information, call (510) 2382200 or visit www.museumca.org.

22
March 2010
Student Opportunities
The purpose of the NOAA National
Marine Sanctuaries Ocean Guardian Programs are to encourage
teachers and students to explore their
natural surroundings to form a sense of
personal connection to the ocean and/or
watersheds in which they live. For more
information, visit sanctuaries.noaa.gov/
education/ocean_guardian_prog.html.
Long-term Monitoring Program
and Experiential Training for Students (LiMPETS) is an environmental
monitoring and education program for
students, educators, and volunteer groups
throughout California. This hands-on
program was developed to monitor the
ocean and coastal ecosystems of California’s national marine sanctuaries to
increase awareness and stewardship of
these important areas. For more information, visit limpetsmonitoring.org.
The UC Davis Young Scholars Program is a summer residential research
program designed to expose 40 highachieving high school sophomores and
juniors to the world of original research
in the natural sciences with emphases on
the biological, environmental, and agricul-
tural sciences. Participants will work oneon-one with research faculty and research
groups in state-of-the-art laboratories for
six weeks. Each student will work on an
individual project and prepare a journalquality paper and symposium presentation about their work. Information can
be found at http://ysp.ucdavis.edu, or
contact J. Richard Pomeroy, Director,
(530) 752-0622, [email protected].
Application deadline: March 31, 2010.
for students across the nation. The
contest, entitled “Survival Design Challenge,” offers cash prizes and is open to
students in three grade categories: 3rd
to 5th grade, 6th to 8th grade, and 9th to
12th grade. The announcement, guidelines, and related information about the
contest is on the EngineerGirl website:
http://www.engineergirl.org/CMS/Contest.aspx. The deadline is March 1, 2010.
The National Academy of Engineering is sponsoring an engineering essay
contest on their EngineerGirl website
Teacher Opportunities
Vernier Software & Technology is offering a free, 4-hour, hands-on workshop
to learn how to integrate computers and
handheld data-collection technology into
chemistry, biology, physics, middle school
science, physical science, and earth science curriculum. The workshops include
lunch or dinner and lab handouts. For
more information, visit www.vernier.
com/workshop/.
The 22nd Annual State Scientist
Day will be held on Wednesday, May
19, 2010 on the west steps of the State
Capitol. The California Association of
Professional Scientists (CAPS) designates
this day to increase public awareness and
recognition of the significant contributions made by scientists who work for
state government. Third through sixth
grade aspiring scientists and teachers are
invited to view the exhibits and participate in experiments from 10:00 a.m. to
1:00 p.m.
The NOAA Office of National
Marine Sanctuaries has launched an
online multimedia library offering public
access to thousands of high-resolution,
ocean-related photos and videos taken
by NOAA scientists, educators, divers,
and archaeologists. The database is fully
searchable by keyword, category, and location, and all the images are tagged with
relevant information including resolution
and usage rights. For more information,
visit http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/photos.
The Office of National Marine Sanctuar-
ies announces the availability of funding
for the California Bay Watershed
Education and Training (B-WET)
Program. This grant opportunity is a
competitively-based program that supports existing environmental education
programs, fosters the growth of new
programs, and encourages the development of partnerships among environmental education programs throughout
the San Francisco Bay, Monterey Bay, and
Santa Barbara Channel watersheds. For
more information, visit sanctuaries.noaa.
gov/news/bwet.
TEACH California seeks great science, math, and special ed. teachers to
feature on their “Distinguished Teachers”
website. Featuring vignettes of California
teachers, the site honors the thousands
of great teachers in the state and allows
them to share their thoughts on teaching. Requirements of the nominated
teachers are: 1: they are GREAT teachers; 2: they are fully credentialed; and 3.
they teach special education, mathematics, or science (the highest shortage
areas). Get more information and find
out how to nominate someone at http://
www.teachcalifornia.org/.
ASSET, a science and curriculum
institute for high school science teachers, will be held July 18–24, 2010, in San
Francisco, CA. The ASSET experience
will be intense and exciting, interactive
and content-rich, with presentations by
leading astrobiology researchers from
the SETI Institute, NASA, and California Academy of Sciences. Participants
receive the Voyages Through Time curriculum. All expenses covered by grant
funds. Details at http://www.seti.org/
ASSET. Applications accepted January
4–February 12, 2010.
population, and must be able to attend
the Fellows Institute in Washington DC,
July 26 through July 30, 2010. For eligibility and application requirements, visit
http://outreach.societyforscience.org.
National Lab Day is a nationwide
initiative to build local communities of
support (hubs) that will foster ongoing
collaborations among volunteers, students, educators, scientists, engineers, and
other STEM professionals who work together to promote and improve labs and
discovery-based science experiences for
students in grades 6–12. National Lab
Day will be celebrated during the first
week of May, 2010. For more information and to request support for a project,
visit http://www.nationallabday.org/.
The National Association of Biology
Teachers (NABT) attempts to recognize an outstanding grades 7–12 biology
educator in each of the 50 states, Washington, DC, Canada, Puerto Rico, and
overseas territories with the Outstanding Biology Teacher Award (OBTA).
Candidates for this award do not have to
be NABT members, but they must have
at least three years’ public, private, or parochial school teaching experience. The
nomination deadline is February 14 and
application deadline is May 10. For more
information, email [email protected]
or visit www.science.room.net/calobta/.
Society for Science & the Public
(SSP) is pleased to announce the second year of its Fellows Program, which
provides funds and training to selected
U.S. science and math teachers who
serve under-resourced students, to enable interested and motivated students
to perform high-quality independent
scientific research. The goal is to enable
Fellows to guide students to produce
project-based research of the highest
quality, such as the Intel Science Talent
Search. Fellows receive a stipend of up
to $8500/year depending on proposed
budget, demonstrated need, support of
the school, and needs of the student
WestEd needs your help in studying the
effectiveness of Quantum Chemistry
Tutors. These 12 artificial intelligence
web-based chemistry tutors, designed
to assist students with high school
chemistry, have been pilot-tested with
promising results and are now ready for
field-testing in California schools. The
study will take place over the course of
the 2009–10 and 2010–11 school years.
Take a virtual tour of the Quantum
Chemistry Tutors at http://quantumeservices.com/virtual_demo/quantum/
menu.html. For questions, contact
Kathleen Lepori, at [email protected]
or (650) 381-6424.
Websites
The ocean is a vital resource that provides food, water, commerce, recreation,
medicine, and even the air we breathe.
Today, our ocean faces unprecedented
threats from pollution, trash, declining fisheries and multiple impacts from
climate change. Jump-start your daily
conservation efforts with an inspiring
video on the Thank You Ocean Web
site, thankyouocean.org.
Find out how teachers and students can
help shape the outcome of the climate
change negotiations. Visit Save The Rainforest, Inc. website at www.saverfn.org.
Microdocs—Short Attention Span
Science Theater website presents web
technology and environmental science,
the main topic being ecological sustainability. The website has over 30 two-to
four-minute micro-documentaries. Each
microdoc has been written by leading scientists. Supporting each microdoc is text
expanding on the concepts introduced by
each film and links to further reference
material. The viewer can control the
content flow and the sequence of topics
explored. Visit microdocs.stanford.edu.
The American Institute of Biological
Sciences hosts Actionbioscience.
org, a website that promotes bioscience
education and literacy. Actionbioscience.
org features teacher-written lesson plans
and peer-reviewed articles that focus on
important current issues in areas such as
biodiversity, the environment, genomics,
biotechnology, and evolution. Select articles are translated into Spanish, suitable
for ESL students. See for yourself why
Scientific American named Actionbioscience.org one of the top five biology
websites.
DonorsChoose.org provides students
with the books, technology, and supplies
that they need to learn. At DonorsChoose.
org, teachers propose ideas for needed
resources, such as “Magical Math Centers”
and “Big Book Bonanza.” Individuals around
the nation can search student projects by
areas of interest, learn about classroom
needs, and choose to fund the project
idea(s) they find most compelling. For
more information, visit donorschoose.org.
Facing the Future is an online resource
that provides free lessons and can be
downloaded at http://www.facingthefuture.
org. In-depth student textbooks are also
available. Professional development and
consulting is offered at http://www.facingthefuture.org/ProfessionalDevelopment/
ProfessionalDevelopmentHome/tabid/119/
Default.aspx.
Explorations is a new free monthly
online magazine by Scripps Institution
of Oceanography. It provides a plethora
of ocean and earth science news and
information for the public. This dynamic
online publication is a resource for
educators and can be viewed online at
http://explorations.ucsd.edu/.
For the most
up-to-date resources, visit
www.cascience.org
California Classroom Science
The State of High School Astronomy
Three years ago, then-doctoral candidate Larry Krumenaker, of
Atlanta, conducted a survey of high school astronomy courses. Around
400 teachers took the survey, which was the first large scale survey of the
field since the 1980s when Philip Sadler conducted a similar survey. The
survey looked at:
• who was teaching high school astronomy—the teacher’s background
and training and courses they teach and took, and how many are in
the school teaching the class;
• who takes astronomy—the demographics of the students in these
courses, the average class size and grade levels involved;
• the courses themselves—what is covered, their purpose, prerequisites,
• what curriculum materials are used, from textbooks to planetariums,
from telescopes to budget;
• how the teachers would advise persons who wanted to create an astronomy course in a high school, including how to keep up—which
magazines and websites they use, which conferences are helpful;
• what effects has No Child Left Behind (NCLB) had on the astronomy
course;
• and questions about the teachers’ views of the future of astronomy
courses and why such courses should be taken.
Many of Sadler’s numbers are unchanged in 22 years. However, the
ratio of male to female teachers has gone from 88:12 to 67:33. Many
teachers now come from the bioscience and geoscience majors, not physics. Significant conclusions of the survey include:
• the number of regular classes are about 3200, totaling up to 4000
when a ‘hidden’ single-digit-sized classes population is added in
• fully 20 percent of all classes may be with 10 or fewer students
• a course is found in 2500 schools, 12–13 percent of all U.S. high
schools
• schools with astronomy are more often “Passing” in Adequate Yearly
Progress (AYP) than the national norm
• classes generally reflect racial, gender, and ethnic demographics of
their schools and the nation
• more than half of all teachers claim no direct effects from NCLB on
their courses, most of the rest seeing negative effects, generally dependent on how other science, math, and language courses fare
• a growing number supplant conventional planetariums with computer “planetarium” software, currently at the same rate as portables
ownership
• twenty-eight percent of teachers do not meet the “highly qualified
teacher” criteria, in that they have never had an astronomy course,
let alone an astronomy degree
• teachers are generally more optimistic than pessimistic but their optimism is mostly for their school, not for the fate of courses around
the nation
There has been one direct effect of NCLB: Teachers, including some
decades-long veterans of teaching astronomy, have lost their positions
because they were no longer “highly qualified,” which is difficult to be
because not one state offers teacher certification in astronomy. Some of
the surveyed teachers in planetariums had their facilities closed for reasons of not being pertinent to a school’s Adequate Yearly Progress score.
Some of those things needed to improve the situation for high
school astronomy include:
• putting more astronomy into state standards, and into standardized
testing
• show that astronomy needs to be in schools because of its multidimensional and interdisciplinary nature as well as life-long and
hands-on experiences
• more teachers are needed—not only the willing and enthusiastic
ones but more who are trained in astronomy and in how to teach it
• perceptions of the value of astronomy among all levels of administrators—from school principals to state and federal departments of
education—must be raised
For more detailed results of the surey, visit Dr. Krumenaker’s website
at http://www.hermograph.com/highschool/highschoolastronomy.htm.
A new quarterly magazine for teachers of astronomy, The Classroom Astronomer, can be found at http://classroomastronomer.toteachthestars.
net. Contributions are welcome.
Dr. Krumenaker, gratefully thanks all those who answered his 2007
survey. He can be contacted at 404 702 8147, Larryk@ToTeachTheStars.
Net; www.ToTeachTheStars.Net.

Welcome New CSTA Members
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CSTA Salutes Our
Lifetime Members
Thank you for your commitment to science education!
Deb Farkas
Y Phan
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