Getting teachers ready for the total solar eclipse

With great care, Paul Markovits unravels a child-sized t-shirt and dangles it before a packed room of teachers. It reads “ECLIPSE ’79,” and was worn by his 4-year-old daughter when Markovits’ young family witnessed the last total solar eclipse visible in the continental United States. That was nearly 40 years ago on February 26, 1979, and […]

The evolution of David Kirk

When David Kirk was leaving for college, his father had some parting words for him – professors would try and teach him about evolution and he wasn’t to believe a word they said. The advice wasn’t completely unexpected. Kirk’s dad was religiously ultraconservative. Kirk, professor emeritus in the Department of Biology in Arts & Sciences at […]

Connecting K-12 students with the arts

For Joanna Das, sharing her love of the arts with high school students and encouraging their creativity has always been important. As a graduate student, she went against her professor’s advice and decided to teach a Saturday dance class to high school students at the Museum of the City of New York. Her professor thought […]

Being smart is cool

“It’s OK to be smart, and it’s actually really cool,” Jeanne Norris says. The curriculum coordinator with the Institute for School Partnership at Washington University is sitting at a table typing away on her laptop adorned with a sticker that says, “Be The Nerd.” “I consider myself a standards wonk,” she says. “Nothing makes me […]

ISP receives Boeing grant for STEM education initiative

The Boeing Company has long understood the importance of improving STEM education in the St. Louis region with its continued support of the Institute for School Partnership at Washington University in St. Louis. The Boeing Company recently awarded the ISP a grant for STEMpact, a unique collaboration of the St. Louis area’s top STEM companies, […]

Encouraging University City High School students to think deep

“I think there’s more diversity now,” said one student.  “Oh, I don’t think so at all,” another quickly countered. It’s mid-morning on November 17, and these ninth-graders from University City High School are at Washington University having a robust discussion on the book “Between the World and Me,” by Ta-Nehisi Coates. Written as a letter […]

Pinteresting Thanksgiving classroom activities

Gobble, gobble! We’ve put together a feast of Thanksgiving activities and crafts for your classroom. Thanksgiving scienceCollaborative, hands-on activities.[see pin here]Thanksgiving STEM challengesChallenges follow the path of Pilgrims settling in America.[see pin here]Thirsty ThanksgivingAmount of water used to produce Thanksgiving foods.[see pin here]Thanksgiving for older kidsTips for Thanksgiving learning in the upper grades.[see pin here]Letters from the […]

mySci educator honored as outstanding teacher

The lights are dim and Karis Jackson is buzzing around her classroom. It’s her planning period, but she’s not slowing her step. Watching her zip around her room, it’s easy to see how she racks up 13,000 to 15,000 steps a day. The lights are dim and Karis Jackson is buzzing around her classroom. It’s […]

Bridging education research and practice

Great strides are being made in education research. Despite those great efforts by great people challenges persist. In particular, effectively scaling up or replicating successful educational programs proves difficult. The solution to bridging the gap between research and practice is Design-Based Implementation Research (DBIR). William Penuel, a professor at the University of Colorado Boulder and […]

‘Eye-opening’ STEM Leadership workshop

Admittedly spending most of his time in his “little world of the classroom” means Marvin Kopf doesn’t have a lot of time to be up on the newest STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) practices. Hopefully, that’s about to change for Kopf, an eighth grade science teacher with the St. Louis Public School District. He was […]