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Many schools across the country are trying to appeal to women and minority students by focusing on projects with strong real-world connections – biomedical engineers building health care devices for low-income communities, for instance, or computer science students addressing environmental concerns through innovative software or apps.

Innovation Through Teacher Leadership Summit
May 5-7, 2017
Columbus, Ohio

Calling all educators! Submit an idea for our next Teacher Leadership Summit! As a supporting organization, we are pleased to announce that Teach to Lead will host its 12th Teacher Leadership Summit in Columbus, OH on May 5-7, 2017. This Innovation through Teacher Leadership Summit is open to applications with a deadline of Thursday, March 30, 2017.

March 29, 2017

The Smithsonian Science Education Center is honored to announce that Good Thinking!: The Science of Teaching Science was named a REVERE Awards finalist in CLASSROOM- Professional Resources- Innovation. In the company of a diverse group of innovative and rich educational resources, Good Thinking!’s achievement shows the exceptional quality of the product which was designed to support K-12 science educators through targeted short-format videos that explore common student ideas and misconceptions.   

April 4, 2017

The Smithsonian Science Education Center (SSEC) and Teach For America (TFA) will collaborate on a series of projects that promote increasing the equity and excellence in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education, provide novice teachers with robust, research-based resources and pedagogical training, retain and develop excellent science teachers in the profession, provide a support system for TFA corps members who enter the teaching profession and provide the TFA network with tools for developing excellence in STEM education.

Each project incorporates cutting-edge initiatives and educational tools that are developed to transform the teaching and learning of science and align with Next Generation Science Standards. TFA corps members and alumni will have access to a variety of SSEC’s signature resources and services. Professional and leadership development opportunities as well as researched-based curriculum materials and digital educational tools will be available to support TFA corps members and alumni at all levels of expertise to improve student achievement in the STEM disciplines while helping students to develop and master critical 21st-century skills.

April 5, 2017

The second volume of the Anthology "Theories and Fundamentals of Inquiry Based Science Teaching" is now available. This Spanish version of the compendium was produced by "Innovation in Science Education (INNOVEC)", which is a science education program that promotes the use of Experiential Education Systems and Investigative Science (SEVIC) among elementary school teachers who teach in public schools in Mexico. Mexico bases their nationwide-reform on the Smithsonian Science Education Center's LASER model. Roger Bybee (NGSS Lead Writer); Bruce Alberts, former President of the US National Academy of Sciences; as well as Carol O'Donnell and Amy D'Amico of the Smithsonian Science Education Center (SSEC) and the LASER i3 evaluators from the University of Memphis, all contributed chapters to this compendium. If you are interested in the English version of the SSEC chapter, please contact us at: ssecinfo@si.edu.

When you get hungry, you grab a snack from your fridge or pantry. But what can plants do when they get hungry? You are probably aware that plants need sunlight, water, and a home (like soil) to grow, but where do they get their food? They make it themselves!

Plants are called autotrophs because they can use energy from light to synthesize, or make, their own food source. Many people believe they are “feeding” a plant when they put it in soil, water it, or place it outside in the Sun, but none of these things are considered food. Rather, plants use sunlight, water, and the gases in the air to make glucose, which is a form of sugar that plants need to survive. This process is called photosynthesis and is performed by all plants, algae, and even some microorganisms. To perform photosynthesis, plants need three things: carbon dioxide, water, and sunlight.

By taking in water (H2O) through the roots, carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air, and light energy from the Sun, plants can perform photosynthesis to make glucose (sugars) and oxygen (O2). CREDIT: mapichai/Shutterstock.com 

April 26, 2017

How can education prepare students for the future? While we do not know what the future of education will look like in 2050, we do know that concepts such as critical thinking, creativity, resilience, and productive failure need to be taught and encouraged in students to prepare for them for a world of uncertainty. In this 2017 report, the Diplomatic Courier summarizes the highlights from the 2017 Global Talent Summit's invited Education Panel, which included Dr. Carol O'Donnell, Director of the Smithsonian Science Education Center.

April 28, 2017

In 1999, the Ocean Studies Board (OSB) launched the Roger Revelle Commemorative Lecture to highlight the important links between ocean science and public policy. The series was named in honor of the late Roger Revelle, a leader in the field of oceanography for over 50 years who spearheaded efforts to investigate the mechanisms and consequences of climate change. In recognition of the critical importance of education in linking science and public policy, the OSB has partnered with the Smithsonian Science Education Center and the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History to bring the Revelle Lecture to a broader audience. The lecture is held annually in conjunction with the OSB meeting in Washington, DC.

April 28, 2017

The Houston Independent School District has 48 schools that have been named to the 2016 Texas Honor Roll by the Educational Results Partnership – 6 of which are former LASER i3 schools and 2 of which attended the Teacher Leadership Summit in February 2017.

Read more at http://blogs.houstonisd.org/news/2017/04/28/48-hisd-schools-...

May 3, 2017

Kristin Richardson, Chair of the Smithsonian Science Education Center Advisory Board, and her husband, Blair, were honored at Imagine 2017, a gala celebrating the 45 anniversary of the Kempe Center for Prevention and Treatment of Child Abuse and Neglect. Blair and Kristin Richardson are recipients of the 2017 Imhoff Family Community Award which recognizes their 22 years of service to, among other things, the Denver Public School Foundation. Kristin Richardson has been instrumental in supporting the SSEC's Colorado LASER project, which provides the five pillars of LASER—curriculum, professional development, materials support, assessment, and community support through the Denver Museum of Nature and Science—to multiple school districts in the Denver region, including Denver Public Schools, Aurora Public Schools, and Fort Collins.

When the lights in the movie theater dim and cell phones are muted, the movie is about to begin. In the dark, you can hear an occasional cough or the rustle of candy wrappers and smell the aroma of buttered popcorn. The screen begins to reflect light. Welcome to the world according to Hollywood, a world of make-believe made from moving images and digital sound. 

The following blog was written by DCPS teacher Jonte Lee. Mr. Lee teaches at Woodrow Wilson Senior High School in the District of Columbia and brought a team of fellow educators to the 2017 Teacher Leadership Summit sponsored by Shell Oil Company and hosted at Howard University in February. The summit guided teams in creating logic models for attracting, retaining, and developing a diverse STEM teaching workforce.

The following blog was written by Dr. Reagan Flowers. Dr. Flowers is CEO of C-STEM and a member of the "Steering Committee" of experts on minority participation in teaching careers. She both presented at and helped to recruit teams of educators for the 2017 Teacher Leadership Summit sponsored by Shell Oil Company and hosted at Howard University in February.

May 15, 2017

As part of a new five-year $1.5 million grant program at the George Washington University (GWU) being funded by the National Science Foundation and the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program, which begins Fall 2017, GWU will recruit students who are already studying STEM-based fields and offer them courses, workshops, seminars and service projects to prepare them to be teachers in high-need schools. It also will offer preparatory stipends and projects for freshmen and sophomores who are interested in applying to the program, in conjunction with activities offered by a new partnership between GWTeach and the Smithsonian Science Education Center under an Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed in April 2017 to, among other things, bring GWTeach students to SSEC through its internship program.

TEDxFoggyBottom 2017

On Saturday, April 22^nd Dr. Carol O’Donnell spoke at TEDxFoggyBottom 2017: In Metamorphosis!. TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience, and TEDxFoggyBottom has become one of the largest student-organized TEDx events in the United States and around the world. This year’s annual conference brought together brilliant innovators and unconventional change-makers in a full-day experience featuring live presenters, and interactive exhibits centered around the 2017 theme: In Metamorphosis, discussing the current changes in our world and the implications these changes have for our society. O’Donnell’s talk reflected on her past experiences with science education, and focused on the importance of tactile experiences with physical objects in a science classroom in an age where digital learning is rapidly taking over.

May 15, 2017

The Smithsonian Science Education Center's "Good Thinking!" webisode video series will be highlighted at the American Association of Publishers (AAP) PreK-12 Learning Group's 2017 "Content in Context" conference held in Philadelphia, PA May 24-26, 2017. This year's conference discusses the impact that technology has had on publishing—from content development to assessment development. FableVision, who teamed up with the SSEC to develop the online professional development series, "Good Thinking!", will discuss the trends in education publishing, including the increasing use of games, growing interest in augmented reality and virtual reality, reporting of learning data from interactives, and integrating of media into student-centered resources. The Golden Lamp Awards, for which "Good Thinking!" is a finalist, will be held in advance of the conference.

May 18, 2017

For #InternationalMuseumDay, the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, a Smithsonian Affiliate Museum, hosted special guests from the Smithsonian! NCMNS Director Emlyn Koster, PhD, and Chief of School and Lifelong Education Elizabeth Baird joined with officials from Smithsonian for the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on achieving high standards for science education and collaboration in North Carolina schools along with the North Carolina Science, Mathematics, and Technology (SMT) Center. NCMNS staff heard about the future of conservation biology from Smithsonian scientist Pierre Cmoizzoli, and Carol O'Donnell shared the work of the Smithsonian Science Education Center. 

May 22, 2017

Northshore School District Curriculum Materials Adoption Committee votes to adopt the Smithsonian's STCMS curriculum, which is aligned with the new Washington State standards. Implementation will occur over three years with a gradual rollout of one grade per year to support teacher professional development.

May 24, 2017

Dr. Frazier Wilson–Vice President of Shell Oil Company Foundation, Manager of Social Investment of Shell Oil Company, and Co-Chair of the Smithsonian Science Education Center's Advisory Board–received the honorary "STEMing the Tide Corporate Leadership Award" from Dr. Regan Flowers, Director of C-STEM.

May 24, 2017

Director of the Smithsonain Science Education Center, Dr. Carol O'Donnell, talks to Dr. Reagan Flowers of C-STEM in Houston, TX about the power of STEM as a form of interdisciplinary learning, and the impact that LASER had on student learning in Houston, not only in science, but in reading and math, particularly for students who are typically underrepresented in science--those who are economically disadvantaged, English Learners, females, and students with disabilities.

May 24, 2017

Since 2007, Dow has partnered with the Smithsonian Science Education Center to bridge the connection between the classroom and the real world through the Dow Smithsonian Teacher Scholars professional development program. Dow has reached approximately 300 teachers through the program, and in 2016 began co-sponsoring with business partner CH2M to bring DOW employee volunteers—known as STEM Ambassadors—into the classroom to share their knowledge and enthusiasm about science with students, and to build real-world connections with what is being learned in the classroom.

June 6, 2017

"Education Dive," an online news outlet for educators, cited facts from the Smithsonian Science Education Center website in its June 2017 article on improving STEM education.