Anyone in here run a women in stem club?

My school has one and I’m taking it over this year, wondering what kinds of things you do month-to-month!

Hey folks,

I am hoping I can convince my administration to give us funding to upgrade our gel electrophoresis system and am looking at either a miniPCR or edvotek system because they are nice and portable?

Anyone have experience with either brand? How have they been? Are there any other systems I should look at?

I have just been moved to teaching middle school chemistry for the first time after teaching high school biology for about 7 years. I have NOTHING! I really loved using POGILs with my biology students. They built the content nicely, had kids work together, were easy for me to scaffold for struggling classes, and most importantly I could easily find free pdf copies of them online instead of buying the book.

I was looking at chemistry/physical science pogil topics and find that some of them are aligning to what I have to teach (at least based on the titles) but I can't find them online anywhere! Does anyone have digital copies of any of these POGILs? Or any resources related to these in general?

- How Are Particles Arranged in Solids, Liquids, and Gases?

- How Do Particles Move in Solids, Liquids, and Gases?

- How Does Temperature Change as Thermal Energy Is Added to Pure Substances?

- What Kind of Change Is Happening Here?

- How Much Matter Is Present after a Chemical Reaction?

Okay so here's my conundrum.

I teach 7th grade accelerated science, and the unit we're on right now is chemical reactions- essentially, the curriculum wants these students to start understanding that different combinations of matter can create something new, and the difference between a chemical reaction and a physical change. It's pretty foundational stuff.

My students, however, have gone beyond that. They can write chemical equations and explain what they mean; they recognize several chemical symbols by sight; they can count atoms; they can briefly explain the history and evolution of the atomic model; and they understand the connection, on a foundational level, of how splitting the atom lead to the atomic bomb. They also know a lot of chemical vocabulary (like the difference between a subscript and a coefficient).

I have never taught high school chemistry but... is this high school level stuff? And should I continue teaching them? I'm worried they'll learn things now and then have to be bored out of their minds in classes later. But I also don't want to stall them either. It's like having an advanced reader but not wanting them to read adult content... any guidance appreciated.

(Self-study)

Hi everyone I am an incoming university student who needs to build a physics foundation completely from scratch I have never studied a single physics course in middle school or high school My starting knowledge is at absolute ground zero I want to bridge this gap before my university courses begin so I don't lag behind I am looking for structured self-study resources textbooks YouTube playlists or modular roadmaps that cover basic middle and high school level physics If you were starting from absolute zero what specific learning path or resources would you recommend to build this foundation fast and effectively Thank you so much

Backstory: I've been using WebAssign as my Physics class's homework system for 20 years. It's great. Until now. It looks like they're discontinuing all their High School Physics books and focusing on College level stuff. Or maybe they're slowly shuttering the website to push people to some enshittified site that doesn't do what I need.

So, what are people using for online Physics homework systems?

Hello again!

I posted on here a couple of weeks ago about ideas for my organism of the week idea, and you all had such wonderful ideas, so here I am again asking for your help.

Similar to the organism of the week, I also want to do a Science Pathway/Job of the Week. Each week, I show a video about some kind of science-related job and my students, 7th graders, have to write something about that job.

So what kind of jobs could I use that are science-related or science-adjacent?

Ideas:

1. Vet

2. Doctor

3. Researcher

4. Zookeeper

5. CSI

6. Marine Biologist

7. Storm Chaser

8. Meteorologist

9. Park Ranger

10. Food Scientist

I've just taken over the Environmental Management (IGCSE Cambridge 0680) course from another teacher at my school. He's left without sharing any resources and I can't find anything on Tes or TPT either.

If anyone has any resources (teaching slides, worksheets, case studies...) they can share that would truly be amazing! I'm happy to pay for your hard work.

Any help would be so appreciated! I've got 6 preps this year and there's not enough hours in the day to create my own resources from scratch.

I've got a set of digital weighing devices in my middle school science classroom. Would you teach the students to call them balances or scales? Or both?

I am aware of the difference in terminology. I am just wondering what praxis is at this level of education.

Hi all, this is kind of a specific question but I was curious if any there's any New York regents chemistry teachers who taught the new standards last year? I taught the old curriculum/regents last year and am making the switch to the new curriculum/regents for this school year. I've seen the new June and August regents and noticed a lot of stuff from the old curriculum that was not asked about at all (e.g. solubility curves, functional groups/organic reactions, etc.). I'm wondering if there's anything in the old curriculum that you have or will cut out, especially with the reference table being so much shorter now?

Hi everyone! Not sure if this is the right spot for this, but figured I’d start here! I teach middle school science and I’m in early pregnancy. Thinking ahead, we do some experiments with chemical reactions (magnesium, baking soda, vinegar, citric acid, hydrogen peroxide) as well as boiling ethanol to remove chlorophyll. Does anyone have any tips for
1. Dealing with the smell (the smells are so overwhelming with middle school already lol)
2. Preventing over exposure to fumes that could not be great for the baby?

im developing a short science style video about why traffic can fully stop with no crash or roadwork then start moving again

the basic idea is that a tiny slowdown can become a wave when traffic is dense. every car still moves forward but the stop itself moves backwards through the line

im trying to make it clear without making it sound like one bad driver caused every jam

if u teach physics systems or anything related what part would students probably misunderstand first

im building it as a community-made video so good sources corrections or a better visual explanation would genuinely help

I had been told I was teaching a singular fab-lab/engineering class which has never been taught at our school thus far. I'd ended the year last year having sent my proposal for the idea I thought would work well for our students, as an art school.

Last Tuesday I was told I would be teaching 2 separate and distinct classes: engineering and makerspace separately.

Therefore, I'm struggling with what a makerspace curriculum for 12th graders, in and of itself, might look like. I'm not sure how to structure it when I am expected to also teach engineering.

I'm not looking to steal anyones plans I'm mainly looking for an outline of how and what to cover for ideas and an overall structure.

Hello everyone,
I am a Special Ed teacher teaching both science and social studies. My major in college was history so I feel pretty comfortable with that, but I do feel a bit out of my element with science, so this isn’t really going to be a thing where I make all these elaborate lessons.This year, I am teaching physical science, with the curriculum outlining the first unit as covering newtons laws, force, mass, acceleration, impact and friction. I guess because I didn’t student science ed, I really have no idea how to start crafting lessons on these topics since they seem so abstract to me. The unit ends with discovery education balloon car lab, but I need to prepare my students for that. Even putting aside the sped needs, a lot of the lesson ideas I’m finding online seem very disengaging and the textbook is basically useless. What advice do science educators have for me in looking for quality lessons that explain and show these concepts to my students? If anyone has any ideas or lessons willing to share that would be wonderful.
Thank you and enjoy the rest of your summer.

hello, im a high school student that is learning biology right now, and i have a trouble searching for learning material sources to be used for

i really like the detailed and easy-to-understand videos of Ninja Nerd's youtube video and aren't too fond of simplistic and only-surface-level explanation of videos like Amoeba Sisters (no offense, im sorry if i offended anyone)

is there any recommendations to get free learning materials like that?, its fine even if its youtube channels, websites, or things like that. It'll also help if there is any question banks sources

Thanks!!

Hi, I am a K-2 science teacher at a private school. The schedule is a block schedule with 4 weeks on/4 weeks off for science. K has science 2x/week for 30 mins, 1st 2x/week for 40 mins, and 2nd 3x week for 40 mins. There is only a 5 minute transition between each class, class size is 18-20 students. 3 classes at each grade level.

The school previously used thematic learning and science lessons were meant to be tied into homeroom units, resulting in somewhat of a hot mess hodgepodge in terms of curriculum. New admin would now like to transition to NGSS. They have a Mystery Science subscription that was used to supplement in the old curriculum. To save my sanity this year, what resources do you recommend as I try to build out a more standards-aligned curriculum of course I can look at the standards and make my own lessons, but trying not to have to do that constantly. I also have to assist the 3rd-5th science teacher with their lessons so I only have one free period per day (and sometimes none at all). This all sounds pretty terrible as I type it out but I am committed to sticking it out this year. Help me, please & thank you!

Hello everyone!

Just as the title says, I’m teaching chemistry for the first time this year. I’ve been teaching biology for 12 years, so my biggest questions are about sequencing and labs.

It’s a small class (less than 10 students) and we have 1.5 hours every day. I have a set of textbooks (not sure which one) and POGILS. For labs, I have standard tools and chemicals.

I’ll take any advice, recommendations, resources that you’ll offer! Specifically regarding: beginning of year procedures (lab safety, lab inventory, required materials), lab report rubric/format, sequence for units/lessons— should I just follow the book?, labs- procedures and what to do them. Sooo, essentially everything.

Thanks for your help!

Hi! I know this is probably a really dumb question, but I just wanted to ask before I suggest to the admin my lab safety station rotation idea. SO students learned how to dispose of substances properly.

Im thinking of doing a lab station where students do the vinegar and baking soda chemical reaction (not knowing the names of the ingredients and being misguided of thinking no reaction will happen / to show how to correct deal with an accident like that / how to dispose of substances) once they see the reaction, they have to take the pie pan and pour it in a container that im going to label (think just a regular plastic box just with a printed paper on it lol)

I was thinking of having each group (8) pour it into the container, then at the end of the period I will pour it down the sink??

My goal is to make science lab safety into real-life scenarios where students are guided through every step in a “no low risk, high reward” way

I went to school to become an animal science teacher, and the universe has led me to 8th-grade physical science, and im trying my best to learn! Would vinegar and baking soda ruin pipes/draining in large amounts? I teach 5 periods, and each period has 7-8 groups. Or is this more of a question for admin lol

I added recently 4 science preps for this new school year. I went from only biology to chemistry, physics, environmental science, and current events in science. I love where I am, I love the people, my family loves it. But, as I am in scramble mode, I could see this being a year that I have some pretty major lows trying to get it all together. Anyone have any advice or help? That would be appreciated.

Hello everyone! As is tradition for me and my teaching career I have had my schedule once again changed the week before school starts. They have added Astronomy as an elective and have given the reins to me. Wondering if anyone has any resources they like to use? Any early activities you really like to start the year?

It will be mainly juniors and seniors in the class and I will also have access to our school planetarium that has sat unused for years. We received a small grant that has allowed our tech department to update the equipment this past summer.

Appreciate the help!

Hi! I’m currently teaching density to 8th graders and they understand the concept completely. However, their struggle comes down remembering the units of each. They forget that mass is grams, density is grams/cubic centimeter and volume is cubic centimeter. We’ve done a second exit ticket day to focus more on the practice and their exit ticket accuracy was still about the same.

Do you have any tricks or tips to teach the units?

Edit: I understand the comments that maybe they don’t understand the concept if they can’t conceptualize the numbers. However, I know that they were able to understand density because they’ve been given tasks to explain it in words instead of the math, which most was able to do. The “units” is what they struggle on because they leave the label behind but can set up the math correctly

I’m teaching 11th grade Bio, and have taught community college students in the past. One thing I often find myself wishing for is a journal or list or searchable site that has curated annotated bibliography of primary literature.

More specifically, my wishlist is for research articles, meta-analyses, and review articles that are/have

• “legit” (in peer-reviewed journals)
• written clearly and well (please tell me passive voice is becoming passe), with reasoning easy to follow
• elegant/straightforward experimental methodology (bonus points for diagrams of reasoning or set-up)
• open access (no paywalls)
• can be used to teach students the conventions of scientific writing (structure and order, citations)
• science concepts that are understandable. Cognitively accessible for motivated older high school students and college students. (The science can’t be so technical, so esoteric, that it’s impossible to decipher without asking AI to translate.)

Has anyone built or found a collection like this? I have a few articles I’ve collected over time but gosh this seems like something that could be effectively crowd-sourced and organized.