www.nsta.org April 2020 Vol. 31 No. 8 REIDAR HAHN, CREATIVE SERVICES CREATIVE HAHN, REIDAR LABS FERMI AT Life Skills, Literacy, STEM Career Expos and STEM 6 Expose Potential Paths 9 CONTENTS Teaching the Science of Honeybees 3 Transforming to a Most students know “honeybees are Successful STEM School important pollinators that provide some of the foods they like to eat. Additionally, students may also recall 6 Life Skills, Literacy, and hearing news stories about honey- STEM bees not doing well or even dying off. [O]thers are…terrified of anything that 9 STEM Career Expos has a stinger…Bringing an observation Expose Potential Paths hive into the classroom where students can see the real-time activities and life cycle of honeybees can provide a signif- GRAB BAG icant life-changing learning experience for them,” asserts Phil Kahler, a science Pull-Out Section! teacher at Tualatin Valley Academy G1 Freebies in Hillsboro, Oregon, who once had G3 News Bits a beekeeping program at his school. G4 What’s New “[S]tudents will learn to appreciate BETH GUZZETTA G6 In Your Pocket the work [bees do] to store pollen, make Middle school students at Allendale Columbia School in Rochester, New York, prepare G8 Summer Programs honey, and raise their young. If students their honeybee colony for the winter. can make a personal connection to honeybees, they will begin to under- an apiary with her seventh-grade life be run, the risks versus the benefits… 13 Ask a Mentor: Strategies stand them and will be more likely to science students in 2018. They [presented their proposal to the for Enhancing Science do what they can to protect these and “Honeybees aren’t aggressive, not school superintendent and the princi- Learning and Teaching other pollinators,” Kahler maintains. like yellow jackets are. [Studying them] pal], and it was approved” for funding. Beekeeping fits in “with many units gave students a different perspective on “There have been numerous benefits 15 NSTA Press Excerpt: I teach in my Advanced Placement bees,” observes Jacqueline Cappiano, a to our students,” says Malloy, including Physics in Motion, STEM Biology curriculum,” such as “animal science teacher at Amity Regional High “team building, problem solving, and Road Map for Elementary behavior, ecology, and conservation,” School in Woodbridge, Connecticut. fulfillment via activities that fall outside School says Jamie Holbrook of Saint Mary’s Cappiano, English teacher Sean expectations of the traditional class- Hall in San Antonio, Texas. Beekeep- Malloy, and a social studies colleague room setting, as we have maintained 16 Blick on Flicks: Science ing “gives students an opportunity to helped establish their school’s bee- four hives on the roof of our school.” Podcasts in the Classroom connect with nature that they wouldn’t keeping program, which is part of the Plans call for the hives to be moved from get otherwise, an experience that might curriculum for an alternative program the roof to inside the school because influence [their] future decisions [such within the school for students who “we want to make the apiary part of 19 Mark Your Calendar; as] voting on [environmental] policies.” need more individualized learning. In the school community and have more #ICYMI “All bees aren’t equal; they serve dif- this program, “we take a nontraditional students be able to see it,” says Malloy. ferent purposes within their hive and approach to teaching [and wanted to Guzzetta’s seventh graders planned 20 2020 NSTA Board and the environment. This appreciation of have] a program that would be special and designed a pollinator garden with Council Elected differences translates to other animals for [these students]. Our school psychol- help from a local beekeeper and nurs- as well as to plants, [helping students] ogist, Linda Descesare, is a beekeeper ery. “They even give tours and teach develop a greater respect for all living and encouraged us,” Cappiano relates. the elementary students about the things,” maintains Beth Guzzetta, “The students were really enthusias- importance of honeybees, our garden, Lucius and Marie Gordon Chair in tic,” Malloy recalls. “They developed a and other pollinators,” she relates, Science at Allendale Columbia School proposal [explaining] why beekeeping in Rochester, New York, who started is important, how the program would See Honeybees, pg 4 NSTA Science Supply Guide Guiding you to an even smarter search The NSTA Science Supply Guide is the most connected resource for science educators. With enhanced features and upgraded technology, there’s no easier way to source products for your lab or classroom. Suppliers: Interested in connecting with science educators through our targeted search engine? Call 1-800-816-6710 or send an inquiry to [email protected] for more information on staying visible to your customers year round. nstasciencesupplyguide.com APRIL 2020 NSTA Reports 3 COMMENTARY: Jo Anne Vasquez, Michael Comer, and Jen Gutierrez Transforming to a Successful STEM School By Jo Anne Vasquez, Michael Comer, and Jen Gutierrez our students with an expected scope or relevancy. After each unit, the level of academic knowledge and teachers review its execution and make skills, but what was missing was adaptations based on its success and the application of that knowl- student engagement for the next time. edge to the real world.” By 2008, • Incorporating Community they had raised and have since Collaboration maintained student performance STEM-related community partnerships levels to a “Performing Plus” give students access to experts who benchmark, in part by including model employable skills. These skills real-world applications in the then are nurtured within the integrated classroom learning experiences. STEM units. Building sustainable part- The Killip leadership team im- nerships with community businesses Jo Anne Vasquez Michael Comer Jen Guttierez plemented a cycle of continuous and organizations promotes the success Creating a successful culture of sci- and enrich the community in which it improvement to monitor and evaluate of the STEM units to the community ence, technology, engineering, and exists? W.F. Killip Elementary School in the processes used to determine the and demonstrates how the education mathematics (STEM) teaching and Flagstaff, Arizona, took a systematic ap- effectiveness of their practices. system operates, creating a culture of learning in any school requires com- proach to implementing STEM teach- To maintain such a large-scale, sys- community collaboration. mitment from the various educational ing and learning, transforming itself temic change, a sustained implemen- Educational transformation of this partners to a common goal: a unified into a successful STEM school, and in tation plan is critical. Consider these magnitude requires a three- to five-year vision of what students need to achieve the process, found willing community four elements as you make transitions plan that includes activities that embed success, regardless of how success is partners eager to participate. in your learning environments. STEM into the school’s culture and defined beyond the classroom. Re- In 2005, Killip Elementary School • Assessment and Data climate. Instructional resources need to search described in STEM Integration was labeled an underperforming school, Without a reliable assessment and align with proven professional learning in K−12 Education, a joint report from as measured by the school accountabil- data collection system, it is difficult to support at all levels. Community and the National Academy of Engineering ity system of No Child Left Behind. balance STEM integration with the business partnerships allow students to and the Board on Science Education, Principal Joe Gutierrez and his team core standards in English language arts discover the relevance of what they are is clear and supports the proverb “It analyzed the data to uncover what im- and mathematics. Administrators and learning and how it applies in different takes a village to raise a child.” provements could be made to address teachers frequently reviewed student work and career paths. They make the Many individuals and factors within these deficiencies. They discovered testing data and used those analyses to learning come alive for the students. and without a school building influence a need to better align the curricula, identify students at risk of falling behind Evaluating the plan, the framework, the daily life of the school’s “ecosys- instruction, assessments, and inter- earlier and followed up with targeted the process, the instructional units, the tem,” leading us to wonder how more ventions with the Arizona College and interventions more quickly to keep teaching, and the students’ achieve- holistic STEM education experiences Career Ready Standards and the Next them on a positive learning trajectory. ment is critical. This cycle of contin- could support all students. Can learn- Generation Science Standards. According • Common Planning Time for uous monitoring and adjusting of the ing experiences in the school engage to Gutierrez, “The standards provided Teachers instruction based on the evaluations Weekly collaborative planning time is and feedback from all team members crucial to implement STEM education works to ensure success. Lynn Petrinjak ............................. Managing Editor successfully. The school community Gutierrez has said if she had to Debra Shapiro .............................Associate Editor Will Thomas, Jr. ....................................