It's time for a little science teacher reflection! We've been taught to use tools like Bloom's Taxonomy and Webb's Depth of Knowledge to think about and plan for how we'll require *our students* to make their learning visible. But, I bet you've rarely (if ever) been encouraged to demonstrate your own mastery of TEACHING & LEARNING using the same so…

Integrating *the right edtech tools* into your middle school or high school science curriculum and instruction -- everyday lesson plans for science -- can make active learning a realistic routine, enhance student-centered culture in your classroom, and make students' thinking visible by providing a means to collect regular, reliable evidence of lea…

Let's create a culture of curiosity in our classrooms by adding COMFORTABLE STRUGGLE to all the lesson plans in our science curriculum! This episode will refresh what you remember about depth of knowledge and why it's important to our instructional design. Then, I'll explain exactly how the scientific method -- especially observation and inferences…

The CROSS-CUTTING CONCEPTS listed in the Next Generation Science Standards aren’t our enemies! They make active learning possible because they create a list of basic scientific practice we can lean on to ensure our activities are designed to leverage and develop the skills related to scientific investigations and make thinking visible. When we incl…

By creating lesson plans for your science curriculum that focus on the beginning of all science practice -- observation and inferences -- you can increase engagement in a way that makes student thinking visible so that you know *exactly* how to support them. Don't believe the myth that we have to separate "lab" from "lecture" in our science classro…

Are you seeking innovative ways to ENGAGE STUDENTS in your science classroom and elevate your science curriculum? Join me as I share THE FIVE THINGS I NEED to plan daily, inquiry-based activities for my high school science students. These five things, when used to strategically design activities, form the foundation of dynamic lesson plans for scie…

!I took a loooong, 5-month break from posting new content here ... and everywhere. But, I'M BACK, and I promise you that it was worth the wait! In this episode, I'll share why you haven't heard from me, and I'll reveal some great new things I have planned in the VERY NEAR FUTURE. ----more---- Episode Highlights: 1. Plans make everything possible. N…

Are you a science teacher looking to inject more creativity into your classroom? You're in the right place! Join Lisa from Lab In Every Lesson in this enlightening podcast episode as she dives deep into the world of creativity in science education. In a world where it can sometimes feel like other teachers are more creative, Lisa is here to empower…

As a science teacher in virtual school, I have the unique opportunity to watch recordings of the classes I lead. This can be an excruciating activity for many reasons, not the least of which is realizing just how boring class can get and how slowly time passes. But, it's empowering to know that when we teach with enthusiasm, the students don't feel…

When pressed to share individualized input about specific students in your science classroom, can you? For years I struggled with this task because I led a teacher-centered classroom wherein I lectured on every day except "lab day". Now, that's not to say that I didn't ask questions and create discourse ... I did. I also gave them practice opportun…

Graham Nuthall, in his text "The Hidden Lives of Learners", suggests that students already know 60% of what we're going to teach them. 🤯 When we're talking about teaching science concepts and skills, this is so hard to believe and should be saved for another discussion entirely! But, if that statistic is remotely true, then how much might they poss…

Student-centered classrooms are action-oriented. It stands to reason, then, that the data we collect needs to be similarly action-oriented, rooted in what we've planned for students to do and what they've actually done during their time executing the lesson. In this episode, I discuss how my free Active Learning Lesson Plan can be used to ensure th…

Science Teachers! When it comes to setting learning goals for whole content units and individual lessons, you're THE BOSS!!! But, when it comes to setting goals for a science classroom makeover that can help YOU BANISH BURNOUT FOREVER, you might have hit a wall. Since you wear one million hats, the big goals you set -- the ones that align with your…

Continual improvement only comes from regular reflection. When science teachers lecture, the only aspects of their instruction upon which they can reflect include those dictated by the content ... what they say or how they say it. In a student-centered science classroom, teacher reflection can and should happen at all four stages in the teaching an…

Knowledge cannot be transferred. Yet, science teachers easily get stuck in the rut of teaching by telling. We sing our Lecture Hall Lullabies, and then complain about the lack of student engagement in our science classrooms! Creating a student-centered classroom environment requires more than just preparing and delivering activities for students to…

"Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end." Have you heard that one? It's a quote is by Seneca. Um .... Seneca?! I'm an 80s baby who lived her best life in the 90s so, to me, that's the famous final line of "Closing Time" by Semisonic! ⌚ Good thing it's a catchy tune, because I've needed to remind myself of that as every season of …

Before -- or after -- listening to this episode, you'll want to check out an episode of Cesar Milan's "Better Human, Better Dog" show currently airing on National Geographic. Caesar is an accomplished dog trainer and is able to, essentially, tame some wild, out of control dogs. There are also instances where he encounters dogs who exist in a state …

Currently, the most-downloaded episode of the Student-Centered Science Teacher Podcast is Episode #12, "What Students Say About Student-Centered Learning In Science". In a way, this makes perfect sense to me. As a teacher seeking to transform my instructional practice, I was most concerned about how the students would receive it, what they would do…

Technology is a cornerstone of student-centered learning in science in our modern society. In this episode, I’ll give you some examples of which technology I love for my own student-centered science classroom, but this isn't going to be an episode focused on examples of technologies that work or those that may be among the best. In fact, there's no…

Three years ago I made the switch to student-centered learning for my virtual chemistry classroom. When I did, I felt as discouraged by fear as I did invigorated by a change toward what I deeply believed was something better, something so much more meaningful and impactful to the lives of my students. I did not believe my students would cooperate. …

You may have heard, seen, read, or assumed that making the switch to a student-centered classroom will create more time for you, provide you with more freedom, or that you’ll work less hard. With teachers continuing to leave the profession for a laundry list of reasons related to overwork, under-appreciation, unreasonable expectations, and the gene…

Mastering the art of creating unique, engaging and effective lesson plans is only part of the challenge we face in making the switch to student centered learning in our classrooms. While I believe that an effective lesson plan is the cornerstone of student centered learning, its delivery will ultimately determine its worth. This episode begins a se…

YOU are someone’s favorite teacher! That’s right … you brighten that kids’ day, make them smile, or pick them up when they’re feeling down. We’re all drawn to different people for some reason we sometimes can’t quite articulate. But, are you someone’s favorite teacher because of the lessons you’ve planned? Have you’ve helped them overcome some huge…

Do you think student centered learning only works in a traditional classroom with four walls? If so, think again. This was a limiting belief that I had for probably 9 of my 11 years as a cyber school science teacher. No one had ever suggested that I could be more than a talking head or provide more for students to work with than a set of guided not…

In this 5-Element series, I’ve been reviewing each of the elements of my lesson planning framework in the order of how I present them to students throughout the progression of a lesson. In this episode, I discuss the fifth and final component of my lessons: skill practice. For me, skill practice is included on the heels of data dependent analysis o…

In the Data-Dependent Analysis portion of my student centered lessons, I teach students how to use data they collect during their interactive Learning Experience. We pull back and reflect on what they’ve collected to consider what they’ve learned. In the planning, it’s nothing more than a series of questions – sometimes scaffolded questions -- lead…

The phrases, “learning experience” and “student exploration” are some I’d use to describe what I learned from my study of the Visible Learning for Science text if I had to explain it in a sentence or two. I emerged from my reflection on it with three main professional goals for the 2019-2020 school year, my worst-ever year for student engagement: t…

In my student centered classroom, my role is the same as a variety show host! My job is to plan it out, introduce the cast of characters, and provide some context, but I am not the star of the show. I might as well shout, “Students! Take it away!”. But without knowing what they need to do, why they need to do it, or how they'll demonstrate that the…

This marks the start of a 5-week series where I’ll share details of the framework I use to create interactive science lessons for student centered learning in my very on virtual high school chemistry class! Today's topic is “Review & Preview”. In this episode, I'll share with you the research that inspired me to make it so much more than busy work …

My interpretation and understanding of student centered learning may not be textbook. But, then again, is anything that happens in our classroom really "textbook"?! I've spent the last several weeks detailing for you the most impactful research-based concepts from the Visible Learning text that transformed my practice. In this episode, I'll explain…

Today, we’re talking about DIFFERENTIATION. In my 11 years of participating in professional development, I've learned that we should be able to differentiate content, process, and product. But, no one ever described how we should accomplish that! The authors of Visible Learning get it done, though! So, we'll discuss differentiation, Visible Learnin…

In our tour through the text, Visible Learning: What Works Best to Optimize Student Learning, we consider the effectiveness of various instructional strategies and something the authors refer to as “effect size". The effect size of common strategies are discussed, but we reveal that those strategies with the highest effect size values, those that a…

We begin our study of the text, Visible Learning for Science, by considering some nuances presented by the authors in the introduction which have formed the foundation of the Lab In Every Lesson approach for preparing and delivering interactive science lessons.By Lisa at Lab In Every Lesson

Welcome to my new podcast! In this episode, I invite you to learn more about my credentials and begin a book study with me as you seek to explore options for making your classroom more active and your students more capable.By Lisa Karosas from Lab In Every Lesson