In this episode, Nicole shared three commitments she made in her classroom as she transitioned back into the classroom this fall -- as well as strategies that she utilized to keep those commitments. "I’m not working [much] outside contract hours.""I’m not rushing through my curriculum to get it covered.""I’m not relying on grades as motivation."She also shared a life update as she takes on a new role in her school and what's ahead for Erin, Nicole, and the Teaching Science In 3D Pod...

In this episode, Nicole shares an aha moment she recently experienced as she was prompted to reflect on her thinking about the strategies and approaches she utilizes in her classroom. So often we seek out the "one right way" to do something, hoping it to be a "fix" for whatever challenge we are experiencing in the classroom. But the reality is, all of our strategies, approaches, materials, tricks... they're all just *tools* -- not fixes. Explore this idea more in this thought-provoking episod...

The anchor phenomenon routine plays an important role in science classes as students develop their abilities to figure out the questions they need to answer to meet their learning goals. In a perfect world, students work through an anchor experience, ask exactly the right questions, and all together identify and decide the most important question to investigate first... but we know these things don’t always (ever?) happen. So how can we get our students where they need to be? An anchor phenom...

In this episode, Nicole (iExploreScience) shares a few ideas for moving from whole-group instruction to stations-style, small-group learning. Small group activities create the opportunity to work with students individually, scaffolding and extending learning as needed. Because you can interact on a more personal level, it's a great way to meet students' needs academically while also strengthening student-teacher relationships. Moreover, small group learning keeps all students actively engaged...

What is your start-of-class routine? Is it working? In this episode, Nicole shares her bell-ringer routine -- a transition time that can make-or-break a smooth class experience. She digs into the actual structure of her routine, how she holds students accountable for the tasks, and how she integrates curiosity-building, student-empowering, three-dimensional activities into those first few minutes of class.More Resources: 109 Improving Your Classroom Culture After a Break111 Rethink...

We win any time we can incorporate literacy in science into our daily lessons and activities. One low-prep strategy that I love to use is to ask students to analyze authentic science texts… but let’s be real, those are HARD to understand. Luckily, there are several organizations who do the amazing work at adapting real science work to a student reading level.More Resources: Three Easy Ways To Support NGSS-Aligned Literacy (iExploreScience)Text Annotation Strategy Guide: Student Key &...

In this episode, Nicole shares how she teaches students to annotate texts, a strategy they can pair with any reading task in the science classroom. Text annotations increase student engagement and comprehension when working with science texts, and they provide the educator a better peek into student understanding of text-based tasks. Plus, text annotations make for a simple, low-prep substitute plan. But of course, you have to teach students the art of annotating texts, and in this episode, y...

In this episode, Nicole shares her personal reflections on the "labels" we may (inadvertently) assign to classes and how that can impact our relationships, classroom culture, and teaching practice. She shares how this label developed with student block in her own classroom and what she is doing to "rethink and reset" her experiences with this group of students in order to bring more joy and ease back into their work of learning. More Resources: Join The iExploreScience Weekly Newsletter9...

In this episode, Nicole (iExploreScience) shares how she has used respect agreements to establish a positive classroom culture and prevent (and address) behavior challenges within her classroom.What are respect agreements? In short, respect agreements are an effective classroom management strategy that create a stronger community culture than top-down rules and consequences. Through the agreement development process, all students are given a voice in the establishment of our classroom norms a...

Incorporating informal writing opportunities in your classroom can improve student understanding of the scientific content while building student confidence in their ability to communicate in writing. This episode explores some ways to support student writing and some quick and easy task formats to bring more writing into your science classroom.Additional ResourcesAre you looking for a quick, easy and FREE way to improve your lessons? Download Erin's 3D Lesson Planner. Then,...

Way back in episode 19, Nicole discussed why you shouldn't front-load science vocabulary. This is one of our most popular episodes. So, we decided to bring you more practical strategies and activities for teaching Science Vocabulary. If you haven't already, check out episode 19 first. You're invited to check out Bring Wonder Back, an on-demand video series designed to help you take your first steps to transforming your students into scientists with 3D teac...

In this episode, Nicole VanTassel of iExploreScience interviews Sarah Suloff, a life science/biology teacher with a passion for and expertise in using nature journaling in the classroom. She shares why you may want to consider bringing nature journaling into your classes, her experience doing so, and some practical tips and tricks to get started.If you would like to follow up with Sarah, you can find her at https://www.instagram.com/sarah.lynn.science/ --- and please share your experiences wi...

Have you noticed your students' observation skills aren't what you'd like them to be? You aren't alone. In this episode, we answer a listener's question about how to improve students' observation skills. This episode s full of easy-to-implement ideas for the first few weeks of school. Click here to read the episode recap. Other Episodes to Check Out Incorporating Student-Centered Science StationsAll About Anchoring PhenomenaUsing Student Questions to Build StorylinesOth...

Let's talk about those back to school activities. Despite the many shifts we've seen teachers making in their classroom, we've seen several teachers continuing to use old practices. Even if they've ditched the scientific method, many teachers are still teaching an intro to science unit. In this episode, Erin discusses some of the reasons why you should skip this intro unit. Instead, teach skills in context.Check out the full episode recap here. Other resources: Is it time to ditch ...

This episode comes from a listener's question about science notebooks. Lindsay from New Mexico asked the following question. "I would love to learn more about incorporating interactive notebooks into the NGSS classroom. Do you follow [the] left/right side [structure]? How do you grade them? Do you use them as a lab notebook as well?"This is a simple question with lots of parts. So, we'll answer. them one at a time. Click here for the episode recap. Other Episodes to Lis...

Your district adopted a science curriculum. You hoped it would be well aligned with the NGSS. But, after reviewing it, you realized it wasn't built for 3D learning. You aren't alone. This week we answer this question from Kim in California. The name of the publisher she mention has been removed because we believe the problems she is discussing are not unique to this particular publisher. Kim says "I am a 7th and 8th-grade science teacher. Our district adopted [an integrated curricul...

While traditional classrooms put teachers as tellers front and center, transitioning to the Next Generation Science Standards and a more student-driven approach to science instruction understandably moves the work of students to the main stage. Incorporating science stations is one way to create a classroom that values and emphasizes active learning, shifts ownership and responsibility for student work where it belongs (to your students!), and creates an environment where teachers can more ea...

The CER is a framework that was created to help students with the practice of engaging in an argument using evidence. It helps them understand the difference between parts of an argument. However, it is often confusing for them to distinguish between evidence and reasoning. We received this question from Ben in Michigan. "The difference between evidence and reasoning gets very blurry. I don't understand the difference." Don't worry Ben! We are here to help. In this episode, Erin exp...

Most often, we think of the back-to-school time as the best time to rethink your classroom management plan. However, it's never a bad time to rethink your strategy in the classroom. Arguably, this school year was the most difficult one for teachers. If you struggled with classroom management, you weren't alone. In this episode, we discuss what traditional strategies to keep. Then, we let you know which strategies are better left in the past. To read the full episode recap, click here.Oth...

Teaching science in a three-dimensional learning environment often feels overwhelming. Many teachers ask us where to start. Here's our answer: It depends.Each teaching situation is unique. There are differences in time constraints, demographics, resources and so much more. Therefore, your strategy for approaching 3D teaching and learning also needs to be unique. In this episode, Nicole and Erin discuss two main strategies for getting started. And, they list several episodes that yo...