Science teachers everywhere are encouraged to craft lessons that align with the 5E instructional model. The 5E centers on five instructional phases—usually called Engage, Explain, Explore, Elaborate (or Expand), and Evaluate. Follow the plan and your lessons will be “good.” Supposedly. The basic 5E model has predecessors dating back a remarkably long
Welcome to Mr. Patterson’s science classroom. Each day, Mr. Patterson establishes clear learning intentions and success criteria, and aligns a challenging science task that actively engages his learners in rigorous and relevant science content and process skills. As part of the science teaching and learning
Little by little, new science standards and expectations are sweeping the nation. Several states have chosen to make the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) their own. (Readers unfamiliar with NGSS can learn more at the official NGSS website.) The new standards are ambitious. They share some
As a science educator, I watched with great interest Elon Musk’s plan at a space science conference in Mexico to travel and start to colonize Mars as soon as six years from now. I was a young student myself in the 1960s when President Kennedy set
Everyday there’s so much talk about science. Think about it—you’re either hearing about a new cure for a dreaded disease, a new pill for weight loss, an astronaut planning to live for a year in space, or a car that can run without gas and