Should California STEM conference focus on Science4Us?

I just saw this press release about the STEM conference in CA this week. I would have liked to attend both to schmooze and get to know the foundations as well as the educators.

Science4Us aspires to be THE Solution for providing students a solid science foundation via an online solution that works in any school irrespective of the STEM sophistication of the early education teachers.  For more info on the curriculum:

• Kindergarten Science Program
• 1st Grade Science Program
• 2nd Grade Science Program

California STEM Symposium

First Annual California STEM Symposium Continues Commitment to College and Career Readiness for All

SACRAMENTO—As school districts across California implement both Common Core State Standards and Next Generation Science Standards in their classrooms, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson, the Californians Dedicated to Education Foundation , and the Commission on the Status of Women and Girls  today convened the 2013 Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Symposium at the Sacramento Convention Center.

The two-day event is attracting 2,000 California teachers, administrators, students, STEM program providers, and philanthropic and business leaders from around the state. The goal of the Symposium is to equip educators with the best practices, ideas, and strategies to bring high-quality STEM education to life in the classroom with two days of keynotes, hands-on workshops, student/teacher STEM demonstrations, and unique women in STEM programming. Most of the job growth in the coming years will be in the STEM fields.

"From the White House to local business support, there is more and more recognition of the importance of the STEM fields if we want to maintain California's—and the nation's—status as an economic powerhouse fueled by innovation," said Torlakson, who is delivering this morning's welcoming remarks before visiting student exhibits. "And if we're going to make good on our promise of career and college readiness for every student, we must improve and expand their access to STEM education."

"Science, technology, engineering, and math are where today's jobs are, and students who excel in STEM will be the superstars of the future," said Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who is serves as California's After School STEM Ambassador. "Providing first-class STEM education is the way to ‘give kids a shot that can't be blocked .'"

The Symposium features a special track on increasing and supporting the participation of women and girls—as well as other underrepresented groups—in STEM fields, as well as a "Share Fair" where students and teachers will demonstrate STEM teaching and learning innovations ranging from building LEGO® robots and extracting DNA to underwater robotics, and the health benefits of chocolate.

STEM Symposium speakers include:

• State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson;
• NBA legend and California's After-School STEM Ambassador Kareem Abdul-Jabbar;
• Academy Award-winning actor Geena Davis, founder of the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media and chair of the California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls;
• Education scientist and 2013 TED Prize winner luminary Dr. Sugata Mitra;
• NASA astronaut and Reaching for the Stars! Foundation founder José Hernández; and
• 12-year-old iPhone app developer Thomas Suarez.

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Tom Torlakson — State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Communications Division, Room 5206, 916-319-0818, Fax 916-319-0100

Science Vocabulary from VocabularyCity

Vocabulary study is effective as a way of engaging prior knowledge. It's part of mastering a new subject area.  And of course, science vocabulary is a simple way to assess whether students have learned their new material.

Able to explain a MOLE? Then you understand a bit about chemistry. Think it's a small critter, you don't.

I was just admiring VocabularySpellingCity's comprehensive grade-by-grade science vocabulary lists. They cover the key science content areas for each grade from kindergarten through high school. The lists can be used with all thrity of VocabularySpellingCity's learning activities. Here, for instance, is a second grade list of words from the scientific inquiry section: 

1.	thermometer
2.	observe
3.	phase
4.	magnify
5.	centimeter
6.	classify
7.	magnetic
8.	kilogram
9.	characteristics
10.	data

Science Vocabulary Lists
By Grade
Kindergarten Science Words
1st Grade Science Words
2nd Grade Science Words
3rd Grade Science Words
4th Grade Science Words
5th Grade Science Words
6th Grade Science Words
7th Grade Science Words
8th Grade Science Words
High School Science Words

The sentences and definitions of the words on these lists are written for use in the academic study of science.  When a term is used at several different grade levels, grade-appropriate definitions and examples are used.   Below is an example of VocabularySpellingCity's differentiated treatment of science vocabulary words for the word SUN:

SUN	definition	sentence
K - 2	the Earth's source of heat and light	The sun is bright on a cloudless day.
3 - 5	the star at the center of our planetary system	The sun is highest in the sky at noon.
6 - 8	a medium-sized, main -sequence star orbited by planets and emitting light and heat	As the basis of our solar system, the sun sustains life on Earth.
9 - 12	a gaseous body emitting heat and visible light by thermonuclear reactions and around which a planetary system revolves	Energy is produced at the sun's core via a nuclear fusion reaction called the proton-proton chain.

Simple Machines

Early elementary students are fascinated when they first learn about simple machines.  I remember myself, learning in kindergarten or first grade about the basic mechanical machines:
- level
- wheel
- pulley
- Inclined Plane  
While it's fun to to get hands on, most people teach this also in a virtual style.  The Science4Us people have a great song that teaches about the basic machines, and I quote:

Work Smarter

This three-minute animated music video illustrates how simple machines are used daily to make work easier and smarter, not harder. Following the video, students use their digital Notebooks to fill in song lyrics with the correct simple machine, then identify non-examples of the correct answer.

BTW, this Simple Machines song has been put up on Youtube and  has 22K views already.  

Texas Science Adoptions

Science4Us just participated in it's first adoption. It was the Texas State Science Adoption. They did it via a third party that put together a coalition.  This has me thinking about the adoption buying process and how Texas issues its proclamation of science K8 curriculum adoption.

The adoption process by states and school districts is a high-stakes way of buying and selling.  Many states, primarily in the SE of the US, do a periodic (every 6 years for instance) adoption of curriculum for the state.  A rotation might be:
Year 1 - Reading
Year 2 - Language Arts & Writing
Year 3 - Math
Year 4 - Science
Year 5 - Social Studies
Year 6 - Other
And repeat...

What the adoption means varies by state. Sometimes they select one curriculum and all the districts and schools must adopt it. Or they pick several and let the schools and districts decide among the short-list. Sometimes they allow the schools to buy from the adopted curriculum with state funding assistance but not if they buy outside of the adopted.

Science Education

I started this blog in February of 2009 with a colleague as a way to explore the needs and possibilities for upgrading science education for elementary school students in the US.  As it turns out, I saw a huge need for a better education for the kids in K-2nd to build science knowledge, interest, and confidence.

It seemed a national disaster that in 4th grade, most of our students were:

• Below grade level in science knowledge and skills
• Saying that they were not interested in science
• Believing that they were bad in science

To make matters were, it was the disproportionately the minorities (except the Asians) and girls who fell into the self-defeating category. Frankly, STEM careers are a growth area and we should be steering far more of our students into it.

So, I put my money were my mouth was and started development of a curriculum that I felt could address the problem. I spent a great deal of money. I just counted on my fingers and I can say that I spent "well into seven figures."  (Most specifically, the company that I own spent the money).  We funded it from cash flow.  

The product is now available and we are beginning to take it to market.  We've already been through four phases of field testing:  two were considered alpha, two beta.  During our development, the NGSS standards were released and we cover them thoroughly.  Cover means we introduce concepts, we teach them, we practice them, we reinforce them, and we assess on them. It's a full curriculum:  teacher materials and student materials. It's 100% digital. I hope you like it.  Here's some ways to get into the heart of it:

• Science in the Classroom
• Kindergarten Science Curriculum
• 1st Grade Science Curriculum
• 2nd Grade Science Curriculum
• 2nd Grade Science Curriculum Review
• Review for 3rd-5th Grade Science
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