r/ScienceTeachers

It’s been a few years since I’ve taught MBER Biology, as I’ve been strictly working with OpenSciEd. So. I’m feeling like I want to return to MBER and give this a go. How does this science teaching community feel about one and/or the other?

I’m looking to get into teaching because I love STEM education.

I have an unusual trajectory: a Harvard PhD in biomedical science research in 2019, and have also tutored nonscientists in my government job for a couple years (2022-2025), taught basic biology concepts to grad students at Harvard (2015-2016), and tutored math at community college (2009-2012).

On one hand I feel super qualified, but also I feel out of practice. And not super familiar with high school science (I never took a science class in high school! Haha).

But I fell in love with math & science due to amazing instructors in community college, and I want to be one of those inspirations & guides for some other young people.

I just spent 1 year sailing 4500 miles and I’m in Guatemala, looking to get into STEM. My expenses are currently super low. The goal/idea is to teach high school science but not quite ready to get back to the U.S.

I’d like to make some money getting my feet wet, likely with tutoring, before going & applying for high school science teaching jobs in the early new year.

If anyone has any advice on how to get my foothold teaching/tutoring remotely, I’d love to hear it!

Hello Science Teachers,

I am a junior at High School. I have noticed that the Science Fair sometimes has a negative perception at the Middle School level. I was wondering if there are any ways I could help to alleviate this view.

I believe that the middle school years are an important time for fostering students' interest in science, research, and inquiry, and I would love the opportunity to contribute in any way that would be helpful.

If you have any ideas or think there is an area where I could contribute over this Summer, I would appreciate hearing them!

Recently accepted an upper school science job at a local private school. I haven't been able to go through the room yet (turning in contract tomorrow and should get keys).

Going to be teaching:

AP Bio

Pre-AP Bio

Regular Bio

Honors Anatomy & Physiology

For general supplies, what would y'all say are the basics I would need to get rolling early? Planning starts the first week of August, so I have time to plan.

My district, for whatever reason, has reassigned me to chem and physics. I have taught chemistry before but it has been years. I've never taught physics but had it in college about 20 years ago. I'm pretty sure they will not provide any books or resources, just put me in a room and say teach the most difficult subjects we offer. What are the best online resources for chem and physics? I am very rusty with these subjects and will need some time to relearn them.

Hey everyone, I’m just curious as to what licensure is needed to teach Environmental Science in high school in Arkansas. I have licensure covering 6-8 and Biology. I’ve been told that Biology covers it, but I wanna just do my due dilligence.

I am my third year in to a new district (19 years teaching) and have been asked to host a 3 hour meeting with two High School Science groups: New to district teachers and new to teaching teachers. This will be part of their new hire prep. These will be two separate meetings-I think new teachers in the am and transfer teachers in the pm.

I have a list from the district of things to cover with the new teachers. I have my own experience and memories of being a new hire in the district (though honestly I was writing curriculum for a subject I had never taught in my first year and was mostly focused on that).

I come to you both new and experienced teachers of reddit to help me get my thoughts in line.

1. What tips would you give a new teacher?
2. What would you want to know the most from a teacher in your district?
3. If you are a new teacher-what concerns are you most worried about heading in?

I plan on making a presentation with as many details and tips as I can-I do not plan on going over it during the meeting but mainly using it for talking points and a resource to share with them as a reference point if that makes sense? As to the meeting it will be going over the things admin wants covered and giving them as many chances to ask their pressing questions and discuss as I can.

I am just a bit worried as this is something I have not done before and want to be as through as I can be.

I will be teaching AP chem not this year, but the next. I want to start prepping for it now though. There is a lot of content I'm not fully comfortable with or even remember. What is the best way for me to learn the content? I don't even need the teaching materials yet, I just want to feel good with the content myself first/ actually learn the material, but I'm overwhelmed with where to start. Idk if I would do better with going through a textbook, youtube videos, or if going through lesson plans from other teachers is the best way to do it. Any advice is much appreciated!

We don’t have time to calibrate thermometers before labs with our 50 minute periods, and many of the ones provided with our curriculum (SEPUP) are “secured” on their backing in all different places so the same temp will give different readings for different thermometers (I say “secured” because sometimes it’s a little twist tie that comes loose and allows the thermometer to slide up and down, or a little dab of glue that breaks off).

I don’t want the long glass ones because they fall off the table easily or are too top heavy for some experiments. I’ve even broken one while trying to demonstrate responsible handling, which was embarrassing….

I don’t want metal-backed ones that allow thermal energy from the environment to conduct to the bulb. There are a couple labs where the thermometers are set up in direct sunlight.

Some labs require each group to use four at a time to compare different treatments/substances, so I want them to get good data to understand the concept properly.

I talk with students about thermometer issues being a common source of error, but I hate constantly having to explain what their results SHOULD have been.

Our district common assessments often require students to support their arguments with evidence from labs, which is hard to do when they get bad data.

Thank you for any help!

I prefer something secular or at least that doesn't teach a young earth model. The problem I'm having while looking online is so much of the curriculum doesn't give you a "sneak peek" ie there's no way for me to see exactly what the lessons, etc will look like to know if it will be a good fit for my child. TIA

Hi science teachers of Reddit! I’m a first year PhD student in cancer biology and immunology and I’m passionate about education and outreach that’s accessible for both children and adults, especially since it’s needed to combat what’s going on with HHS and all the new wellness pseudoscience. I don’t really know where to start so I thought I would ask the experts: what’s the best way to try to enact helpful change from the scientist side of things? Have most of you guys ever done research in a lab, and would the opportunity to spend some time in the lab be something you’re interested in? What struggles do you face as science teachers? Do you need volunteers for anything? How can myself and my friends in my cohort engage in meaningful conversation with others outside of the lab and our field?

My mother is a teacher and I’ve seen how hard she works and how little she’s provided with to support her students and classroom. I have so much respect for you guys!

TLDR - how could a career research scientist help with scientific outreach and education?

Hi everyone,

I'm a physicist at CERN and a mother of twins living in France.

A few months ago, I started a small project called The Stardust Collective because I kept wondering what it would have felt like if, as a child, I'd had a scientist write to me every month.

So I began sending postcards to children, each exploring one big scientific idea. They write back with questions, thoughts, or drawings, and I reply to every child personally. It has genuinely become one of the most meaningful things I do outside of research.

We recently finished a pilot of 4 months with 42 children from over 30 families, and reading the children's letters has been such a joy.

I'm opening a small new cohort (20 families) in September, and I thought this community might appreciate the idea. If you're looking for a screen-free way to nurture curiosity and conversations about science at home, this may be something your family would enjoy.

The child in my mind that I write to is my niece who is 7, but I think this will be enjoyed by 5-12 year olds :)

I'm happy to answer any questions in the comments. ❤️

I’m interested in running a plant club or environment club, and was wondering if any of y’all habe any experience? I get paid per session and want to be a good influence on kids but cant lie I also want to look good for admin before I get tenure

Hello - I am curious what the pass and mastery rates were at your schools? When I saw my classes' scores I wasn't thrilled but honestly I thought it was going to be way worse given I have standard Regents sections (non-honors), and I have atleast half the ELL population thats in 10th grade. However, some of the teachers seems to be freaking out and now I am wondering if I am underreacting?

Class 1 - average of 66%, 17 students, 5 ELLs, 2 IEPs

Class 2 - average of 69% , 18 students, 1 ELL, 1 IEP

The mastery rate for all sections overall was 13% (honors, regents, and inclusion). We are a public high school on Long Island.

Hi!

I would love some thoughts on how difficult it would be for me to get a job teaching high school physics full time at a high school in Boston or a Boston suburb.

Degree: I have a PhD in Physics from an Ivy League

Certification: I would plan to take the Physics MTEL for a provisional license

Experience: This is my biggest concern - I have no full time teaching experience, but I’d be willing to sub for a semester to get high school classroom management experience. Teaching has always been a passion of mine though - I taught undergrad physics for 2 years in grad school, tutored incarcerated youth in undergrad, and studied physics education research in grad school.

What are your thoughts? How competitive is it for a position teaching high school physics

Teaching A&P for the first time.

We have no physical models of anything, not even a skeleton. We also have basically no budget.

Which models are the best bang for our buck? The ones that students really get the most out of being able to be hands on with?

So my im in my second year at culinary-based vocational school. It usually has very low scores on the state test for chemistry, and always had hard time with comprehension as they have a hard time visualizing it. Any advice to bring in culinary based activities to really engage them with chem concepts, or any other hard aspects of chemistry (they have especially struggled with redox, stoichometry, and really anything math related.)

What’s it mean if you are explaining physics variables to students in a dream halfway into summer break? I guess I need to start thinking about what I want to improve next semester?