The final episode of Science Teaching Tips has been posted. But don't despair! They've been given new life (and a new webhome) over at http://exploratorium.edu/ti/podcasts. Check out the new location, it's all spiffy and snazzy, and listen to all the great episodes of the compiled wisdom of the Exploratorium's Teacher Institute. Enjoy!
Dying to know whether something’s positively or negatively charged? TI staff educator Modesto Tamez explains an easy – and dirt cheap – way to probe the electric charge of the world.
Students really struggle with the metric system. TI staff educator Lori Lambertson tells us how she helps students get a handle on what the units really mean.
Teaching isn’t just work, it’s a lot of fun. Staff scientist Thomas Humphrey quickly figured out he didn’t have the answer to every question in the classroom, and that’s the fun of it.
TI staff biologist Karen Kalumuck describes how she tries not to answer every question that’s asked during a class. Instead, she guides her students to discover ideas for themselves. Karen Kalumuck’s Web site: philo.exploratorium.edu/karenk
What is indigo anyway? Staff physicist Paul Doherty tells the story behind ROYGBIV, and how he’d like to change that standard palette. Paul Doherty’s Web site: www.exo.net/~pauld
What coin would just barely cover the full moon? You may be surprised. TI director (and recovering astrophysicist) Linda Shore explains how our brains distort the actual size of the moon.
A veteran teacher describes her first year of teaching—in Guatamala. She faced many, many challenges, but she stuck it out and has been teaching for 20 years.
Take a little sound quiz with our host, Stephanie Chasteen, and learn something about how our brains locate sounds. Stereo Find That Sound activity: http://exploratorium.us/listen/activities/dean/localize/lg_dean_localize.php Stephanie Chasteen’s Web site: www.exo.net/~drsteph
Have you ever really listened to a ball bounce? Exploratorium staff physicist Thomas Humphrey describes the elegant mathematics of a bouncing ball.
Despite my better judgment, I invite TI staff educator Eric Muller to do one more set of activities—several things you can do with soda straws. Holding Charge activity: www.exo.net/~emuller/activities/Holding%20Charge.pdf More of Eric Muller’s activities: www.exo.net/~emuller
TI teacher coach Zeke Kossover explains how he uses short, focused lab activities to really get concepts across to his students.
Do your lessons sometimes fall flat? Staff educator Modesto Tamez explains how to be a good salesperson and get students engaged.
Exploratorium staff educator Tory Brady performs a bit of theater, demonstrating the roles of the star players in the immune system.
Newton wasn’t really ready to believe that light was a wave, and so he didn’t see what was in front of his eyes. Staff physicist Paul Doherty tells how to do the same experiment that Newton did back in the 1650s to see the wave nature of light. Paul Doherty’s Web site: www.exo.net/~pauld
Put kids’ skepticism to work! Children’s book author David Schwartz explains how a class disagreed with the numbers in one of his math books, and set out to prove him wrong! David Schwartz’s Web site: www.davidschwartz.com
Exploratorium staff educator Don Rathjen makes some noise with this activity about Newton’s laws. Whack-a-Stack activity: http://www.raft.net/ideas/Whack%20a%20Stack.pdf The Old Tablecloth Trick (related): http://www.raft.net/ideas/Old%20Tablecloth%20Trick.pdf More of Don Rathjen’s activities: www.exo.net/~donr
Exploratorium staff physicist Thomas Humphrey explains what temperature and color have to do with one another.
When this chemistry teacher entered her portable classroom as a new teacher, she was fresh from West Africa—and there was a lot she didn’t know.
Nobody can really teach you anything—rather, you have to learn it for yourself. So how can you help your students understand science? TI staff educator Modesto Tamez shares some thoughts about helping students make ideas their own.