In 2013, my mother handed me an issue of USA Today. In it was an article titled ‘U.S. Students Still Only Average on Tests.’ I had been teaching sixth and seventh grade science for fourteen years at this point, and remember feeling frustrated as I…

[Originally published on December 12, 2022] During the Omicron chapter of COVID-19, teachers faced the difficulty of increased absenteeism and decreased motivation. While this situation may hopefully be a thing of the past, student learning is still…

Our first article in the series explored student voice on DEI through reflections on their pre undergraduate STEM experiences. For this second series current high school STEM student voices are amplified, speaking to the notion of marginalized voices…

Infusing culture into today’s teaching makes a big impact on students. It’s a way to easily draw connections between the curriculum and a student’s everyday life. This connectivity makes interpreting new information easier, quicker, and more…

Engaging students in argumentation is one of the scientific practices essential to helping students develop their ability to participate productively in scientific sensemaking. Scientific argumentation involves students in generating and responding…

In spite of the many challenges presented to educators by the recent COVID-19 pandemic, science teachers have been presented with a rare opportunity to talk with their students about the remarkable way in which science responded to this challenge,…

Many are dependent on rote learning, which can make it difficult to keep students engaged. Gamification can help! One way gamification enhances learning is by increasing student motivation—after all, who doesn’t like a little competition? Students…

Did you attend high school when chemistry instruction focused on isolated facts and procedures without any real-world context? This traditional form of instruction left students without the tools to think conceptually like a chemist. However, in…

Over the past 30 years, there has been a decline in the number of U.S. college graduates seeking careers in science and engineering. Teaching Opportunities for Partners in Science (TOPS) of Santa Clara Valley is a volunteer program affiliated with…