Welcome to the spring 2022 edition of Science News and Updates. 

There are countless opportunities to wonder and make sense of real-world phenomena. Bringing curiosity and wonder to the classroom is a matter of equity. Leading with our own curiosity is an important first step. What do you notice? What do you think? What do you wonder? Don’t just ask students these important questions, ask yourself too! We hope this spring you choose joy and curiosity.

We continue our focus on the intersectional equity projects from STEM Teaching Tools Practice Brief 71, bringing the equity projects of Meaningful Phenomena and Supporting Diverse Sense-Making together as we think about why, what, and how of phenomena-based instruction. STEM Teaching Tools describes each of these equity projects as follow:

Think about the work you can do in your class, school, and district to engage students in the exploration of meaningful phenomena and support diverse sense-making. An emphasis on phenomena-driven instruction requires a significant shift in how science teachers approach planning, teaching, and assessment. It is up to each of us to ask the hard questions and do the work. If you’re not sure where to begin, here are some questions you can start with:

If yes, awesome! We would love to hear about science teaching and learning in your classroom, school, or district and feature the journey in the NGSS in Action sections of Science News and Updates and our San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE) Science Resource Center. 

Please share this newsletter sign-up link with others so they can receive future Science News and Updates.

Chelsea Cochrane, Crystal Howe, and John Spiegel

A new consensus study from the National Academies of Science Engineering and Medicine provides guidance on effective approaches to science and engineering instruction in prekindergarten through 5th grade that support the success of all students regardless of race, socioeconomic status, home language, learning ability and needs, or the community in which they live. The report includes considerations for policies and practices that enhance science and engineering experiences for all students. View the Science and Engineering in Preschool Through Elementary Grades: The Brilliance of Children and the Strengths of Educators report and webinar recording.

This new network will focus on student curiosity and using science as a lever for literacy and language development. Participants will continue to deepen their understanding of three-dimensional learning and phenomena-based instruction with an emphasis on student writing and productive talk. The network will meet on a monthly basis. Register to attend the Elementary Science Network.

The Science Leaders Network is offered monthly as an ongoing opportunity for science education leaders across San Diego to come together to share best practices and highlight current efforts to support science learning for all students. Target audience is district or site administrators, teachers on special assignment, lead teachers. Register for the Science Leaders Network.

Join language learning experts Diana Vélez, FOSS Development Team/UC Berkeley, and Claudio Vargas, Sci-Lingual Education, on March 29 from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. to explore processes and strategies for developing language through science during Designated English language development (ELD) instructional time. You will learn how active investigation using hands-on materials during science provides all students with opportunities to develop language skills, no matter their level of English proficiency. Register for the Designate Science Time for Multilingual Learners webinar to learn about the partnership between Santa Barbara Unified School District and the FOSS development team at Lawrence Hall of Science, which led to the development of 90 designated ELD lessons for each grade from TK-6, focused on California ELD standards and NGSS core ideas. 

Earn money while learning this summer. Participants in the hybrid SDNI Nanotechnology Summer Institute for Middle and High School Teachers will earn an $800 stipend while they learn how nanotechnology content can integrate with their current California K-12 NGSS science curricula. The institute will be offered online June 20-24. A one-day follow-up event will be in-person. Applicants must be available to attend the entire five-day summer program, write and implement a lesson that incorporates nanotechnology, and attend an event where participants will highlight their lesson and classroom implementation. Educators will receive an $800 stipend for participating ($500 at completion of the summer program; $300 after in-class implementation of the lesson plan and attending the one-day event). Materials for hands-on activities (up to $200 value) are also provided. The application period is open through March 30 or until all slots are filled.

To apply, please email Yves Theriault and provide the following information:

This section of Science News and Updates highlights districts and schools across San Diego County focused on bringing high-quality science learning experiences to all students. We know amazing work is happening throughout our county. We’d love to showcase you and your students. Please share with us. If you don’t have time to complete this short Google form, then we encourage you to email Chelsea Cochrane a quick note. We can come to your school and write the story. 

The California Environmental Literacy Initiative has launched a new Community-Based Partners Hub that promotes environmental literacy by building educator awareness of community-based partners (CBP) and their products and services and by fostering educator-CBP relationships for increased student enrichment and engagement. The goals of the hub are to increase the visibility and access to environmental education community-based partners and be a reliable central repository for districts, schools, and teachers to identify programs that align with their local needs and meet educational standards. Learn more about our San Diego partners.

EcoLogik STEM summer camp for girls (ages 9 - 16). Two weeks of STEM activities at the beautiful Cabrillo Monument, led by female scientists for young female scientists. Registration opens at noon on March 28. Registration will fill up fast and is offered free on a first come, first serve basis. 

Native plant art gallery walk in Cabrillo's Visitor Center. Experience an opportunity to be at Cabrillo after-hours (and watch the sunset), to learn about San Diego's native plants, to meet some local artists, to eat some tasty food, and to potentially bid on some plant art. This event takes place from 6 to 8 p.m. April 21 and registration is required.

24-hour BioBlitz in conjunction with the City Nature Challenge. Once again, San Diego will be competing with cities across the world to see who can catalog the most biodiversity in a short amount of time and Cabrillo is doing its part by holding a 24-hour event! Researchers, students, and the community at-large will be helping this community science project by enjoying nature at Cabrillo, including some guided biodiversity walks and other fun events. 

Parks Online Resources for Teachers and Students (PORTS) 

Check out free, interactive virtual field trips for K-12 students to stay connected to our state's natural, cultural, and historical resources. Visit the PORTS website to browse programs by location or topic and for booking details. Designed for in-person and virtual classrooms, the programs are customizable for all grade levels and include additional teacher resources built around the program. The fall calendar includes topics such as California's indigenous cultures, towering trees, marine protected areas, immigration stories, gold rush history, and desert ecology. 

In June, students take a field trip to the fair to bring their plants to be judged and all students receive ribbons for their hard work. Access the application form to enroll in the program and select a field trip date. The deadline to apply is April 1. For questions or more information, contact education@sdfair.com.

All presentations include a goody bag for the students and two prerecorded video presentations from the fire department. Teachers are asked to administer a short test before and after the presentation date to help measure learning outcomes. Learn more at firesafekid.org and visit the registration page to sign up for a session. Download an informational flyer. Email firesafekids@burninstitute.org with any questions.

SDCOE and San Diego Children and Nature are teaming up to offer the first Nature Journaling Club for educators. Connect with other educators from across San Diego County as you learn nature journaling techniques and practice your skills in the field. Improve your powers of observation, get outside, and try on the practice of nature journaling for yourself and your students. The Nature Journaling Club is just $25 for nine hours of professional learning. The club will meet via Zoom on Wednesday afternoons once a month, April through June, with outdoor locations throughout San Diego scheduled on Saturdays. Register today to reserve your spot.

Energy is Everything 

Energy is Everything is a comprehensive energy education program focused on serving TK-12 students in California. Energy is Everything gives Energy Educators high quality, flexible training and curriculum resources to help them teach energy and climate concepts with a STEM focus. The lessons are comprehensive, standards-aligned, and focused on science, technology, engineering, mathematics, energy, and the environment. Lessons are easy for educators to implement and fun for students, appealing to students’ creativity and curiosity.

Energy is Everything emphasizes hands-on investigation, collaboration and discovery through a “phenomena-based” approach. Energy is Everything is divided into 10 topic areas: climate literacy, electricity, electrification, circuits, air and transportation, water-energy nexus, renewable resources, nonrenewable resources, waste management, and agriculture and greening. We send enrolled educators the supplies needed to make lessons come alive, such as energy monitors, transformers, and sun-sensitive paper. Energy is Everything is for all educators including those in schools, after-school programs, and other local organizations such as YMCAs, libraries, Girl Scout troops, and others.

Get your gears moving with Brain Balance of San Diego and the San Diego Automotive Museum by engineering your very own moving vehicle. How far can your vehicle go? Design, build, and compete! Free for all ages. Supplies included. Pick up your free kits at Brain Balance of San Diego or The San Diego Automotive Museum between April 11 to 30. Then register to join us May 1 at the San Diego Automotive Museum to race your vehicle for a chance to win prizes! Registration required. Registration available soon on the Brain Balance San Diego Events page.

ArtsBusXpress is a nonprofit organization that connects students with arts and science venues for field trip opportunities, and is preparing for in-person and virtual field trips to over 100 museums, theaters, discovery centers, and more to supplement teachers' STEAM lessons. K-12 teachers can visit the Places to Go page on the organization's website to see a list of field trip destinations, including options for virtual experiences. For more information, visit the ArtsBusXpress website.

After watching an EdPuzzle of our Motions of the Solar System planetarium show at a time that fits your schedule, join us for a question and answer livestream at 10:30 a.m. April 7 where astronomy experts from the Morrison Planetarium answer questions submitted in advance by students around the country.

On the student activities page, you'll find instructions on how to download the Stellarium software to do one's own explorations of the night sky from your computer! Register your class for free.

NOAA Ocean Service Education recently announced several new ocean literacy resources: Ocean Literacy Guide, The Handbook for Increasing Ocean Literacy, Ocean Literacy Scope and Sequence for Grades K–12, and the Alignment of Ocean Literacy to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). These materials were developed by the National Marine Educators Association (NMEA) with Support from NOAA, the North American Association for Environmental Education, the Lawrence Hall of Science, the College of Exploration, and innumerable scientists and educators.

You can access all of these resources as well as the Climate Literacy Essential Principles in English and in Spanish on the Ocean Service Education Literacy Resource webpage. The NMEA Ocean Literacy webpage has even more resources and information about Ocean Literacy efforts.

Free lesson bundle for grades 3-6 that highlight our California Coast. Compare different types of sand along the California coast, sketch sea stars and shells, learn about Snowy Plovers, and become a kelp community scientist from your computer. While the Science @ Home packets were originally designed for families, we've learned how valuable they've been for many educators. Visit the Cal Academy of Sciences educator page for additional resources.

Voya Financial awards full-time teachers, principals, paraprofessionals, and classified staff members for effective and innovative projects that improve student learning. Funding must be used to further creative projects that enhance student learning within the school or school system. A total of 50 finalists will receive an award of $2,000. Of these, three will be selected for additional awards of $5,000 to $25,000. Visit the Foya grant webpage. The deadline to apply is April 30.

Get complete details at the program webpage. Educators are encouraged to share this opportunity with school families as self-nominations are not accepted.

The STEM Teaching Tools site can help you teach science, technology, engineering, and math. Each tool is focused on a specific issue and leverages the best knowledge from research and practice. Newly released practice briefs include, Practice Brief 85 Principals! Here’s what you can do to foster equitable three-dimensional science learning, Practice Brief 86 How do race and racism connect with science learning in early childhood and elementary classrooms?, and Practice Brief 87 Identifying local environmental justice phenomena for science and engineering investigations.

SACNAS is an inclusive organization dedicated to fostering the success of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans, from college students to professionals, in attaining advanced degrees, careers, and positions of leadership in STEM. 

The Indigenous STEAM website is full of science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics resources for families, teachers, and communities that foreground Indigenous knowledge systems — roles, relations, responsibilities, and gifts between and within human and other-than-human communities — and intergenerational arrangements in teaching and learning. 

From the structure of a molecule to the design of a vehicle, your students can create a model using Google Sheets and Google Drawings with this new applied digital skills lesson, Develop a Model in Google Drawings, from Google for Education. Explore the growing Science collection and see how you can use Google tools to support and plan for instruction.

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