From the playground to the pool to the ballpark, science is all around us. Through Everyday MySci activities, the Institute for School Partnership at Washington University in St. Louis helps parents nurture their child’s natural sense of curiosity, wonder and discovery. The debut 30-second video, Everyday MySci: Introducing Plant Life, shows parents how a walk […]
How many times have you heard people say, “I’m not good at math!” It’s become such a common refrain that the statement usually draws laughs or nods of agreement. But why is it socially acceptable to say you’re bad at math but not to say that you’re bad at English or reading? Most people would […]
The Institute for School Partnership is taking its mySci program to the next level, introducing a new initiative aimed at building teacher leaders in school districts. The mySci Leader Certification Program will train mySci teacher leaders to support their colleagues in implementing the innovative mySci science curriculum. “We think this can be transformational for the […]
It’s the moment of reckoning exclaims an excited Kathleen Dwyer as she hands two Chinese youths the makings for s’mores. Turning the treat over in their fingers, the boys eye the dessert with some suspicion. “Ready?” asks Dwyer, a chemistry teacher at Maplewood–Richmond Heights High School. “Try it. It’s beautiful,” she says. Slowly the boys bring […]
The National Association of Biology Teachers has awarded Chuck McWilliams, co-director of the Master’s in Biology for Science Teachers Program at Washington University in St. Louis and a teacher-leader for the Maplewood Richmond Heights School District, the 2018 Outstanding Biology Teacher Award for Missouri. To read the entire article visit WUSTL’s The Source.
To help fill a pipeline of future scientists and engineers, many teachers in the St. Louis area are “stemitizing” — integrating science, technology, engineering and mathematics concepts into all school subjects. One such effort, STEMpact’s Teacher Quality program, trains 150 kindergarten through eighth-grade teachers on how to incorporate the concepts into their curriculum in hopes […]
Activity: The next time you are at the ballpark, notice if you are sitting in the shade at the beginning of the game. As the game goes on, notice which inning the batter is in the shade. Pick a part of the stadium, like the scoreboard, and see what inning or what time it gets […]
Activity: The next time you are at the pool or even the bathtub watch carefully the different waves you can make, depending on what you do with your hands. Try these different techniques to see which ones makes the most interesting wave: Push the water away from your body with your hands. Pull the water […]
Activity: See how many words you can think of that are about space. For example, stars or planets or the names of rocket ships that have explored space. Then look around the grocery store. How many items have space names? What about cars on the road? How many models have space names? Questions to Ask: […]
Activity: The next time you are at the ballpark, test out the wind factor. First, determine how much wind there is and what direction the wind is blowing. Hold up a paper napkin. Is there any wind? Can the napkin end fly up in the air? (A lot of wind!) What direction is the wind […]