Secondary Science Simplified™

It’s the beginning of April, and with the spring air around us, it reminds me of something fresh and new, so I decided to start a new series about teaching different AP sciences. Even though in my podcast episodes, I share ideas and strategies that will benefit all classes, I get a lot of questions targeted specifically toward teaching an AP class. So, in my first episode of the series, I have guest Laura Preiser, who shares how she prepares her students for the AP exam and what changes she’s made that have positively impacted them. For those who don’t know, AP stands for Advanced Placement and is a course through the College Board that offers the opportunity to earn college credit if students pass the exam at the end of the year. Since that’s the ultimate goal of students, Laura really relies on the various College Board resources to teach her students and prepare them for the exam. She made a new change this year with those resources that gave more time for practice and questions during class, extra review time before the exam, and increased test scores. Teaching an AP class can be intimidating, but Laura shares great advice for taking it one unit at a time and being honest with your students about where you’re at. Additionally, she shares how, while preparing her students for the AP exam, she also prepares them with life skills and finding strategies that work best for them. I thoroughly enjoyed my conversation with Laura about all things AP Physics and know you, too, will gain perspective, knowledge, and ideas you can implement in your own classroom.  Resources Mentioned: Teach the Class ProjectFiveableNational AP Physics Teachers Facebook GroupDownload your FREE Classroom Reset ChallengeSend me a DM on Instagram: @its.not.rocket.scienceSend me an email: rebecca@itsnotrocketscienceclassroom.comFollow, rate, and review on Apple Podcasts Show Notes: https://itsnotrocketscienceclassroom.com/episode124

As educators, we decided to make this our career because we love to help people and care about students and their success. However, just because that’s our personality and mission, unfortunately, doesn’t mean that’s how our students feel. One of the resounding themes from the survey I sent out was how do I get my students to care as much as I do? I’ve heard this a lot, so I wanted to address it on the podcast. So, in today’s episode, I’m sharing why this seems to be the case and what you can practically do to move forward and keep serving your students. It’s no secret that we seem to care more about our students’ success and learning of the content. Due to this, we need to always be reminded of the reality of our situation and how this impacts the disparity in how much our students care. But truly, what can we practically do? There are three things both you and your students need to implement and realize. While some might seem harsh, it’s what students need to realize or experience in order to change their outlook and work ethic in the future. Our students not caring as much as we do is a tale as old as time, but the disparity seems to be greater in recent years. This has sparked concern from teachers and required a need to take action in order to best serve students. So, if you’re looking for ways to get your students to care as much as you do or change your perspective on it, this episode is for you! Resources Mentioned: Download your FREE Classroom Reset ChallengeSend me a DM on Instagram: @its.not.rocket.scienceSend me an email: rebecca@itsnotrocketscienceclassroom.comFollow, rate, and review on Apple PodcastsShow Notes: https://itsnotrocketscienceclassroom.com/episode123

In last week’s episode, I asked you to examine your current job situation to see if there were more things causing you stress than things that brought you joy. One solution might be changing your scenery, such as switching schools or even districts, which would mean a teacher interview is in your future. Or even if you’re a beginning teacher looking for their first teaching job, this episode is for you! One request I get a lot is to share my teacher interview tips, which is exactly what I’m going to share in today’s episode. To help get you ready and confident to nail your job interview, I’m sharing four tips and giving specific examples of what each of these four tips entails and how to impress the interview team. Additionally, teacher interviews are moving towards interviewing candidates performing mock lessons as part of their interview process. If this is a new concept for you, I share what these mock lessons look like and the different components you should display in your lesson. I also give you three mock lesson ideas that show your skills as a science educator that will also engage students. Interviewing for a job can make you nervous and anxious, but I want you to feel confident and ready to tackle your next teacher interview. So whether you’re a new teacher looking for their first job or a veteran teacher looking to try out a new school or district, these job interview tips and mock lesson ideas will help you land the job! Resources Mentioned: Biology Mock Lesson - Characteristics of Life Inquiry Chemistry Mock Lesson - Free Chemistry Inquiry ActivityPhysics Mock Lesson - Motion and Force Lab Station Activity Anatomy of a Class Period Cheat SheetDownload your FREE Classroom Reset ChallengeSend me a DM on Instagram: @its.not.rocket.scienceSend me an email: rebecca@itsnotrocketscienceclassroom.comFollow, rate, and review on Apple PodcastsShow Notes: https://itsnotrocketscienceclassroom.com/episode122

It’s no secret that teachers are constantly overwhelmed and stressed and often don’t feel appreciated for their work. Especially during this time of year, it can be hard to determine if the exhaustion you’re feeling is just temporary or a feeling that won’t go away. Trust me, I’ve been exactly where you’re at and want to help. So, in today’s episode, I’m sharing my process to see if the burnout you’re feeling is fixable or if it’s time to make a change. Make no mistake: deciding to make a career change is a big decision. That’s why the process I share provides you with the opportunity to assess where you are and make changes accordingly. After making a list and labeling your priorities, it will make it easier to see what’s making you happy and what’s holding you back. Additionally, I give a list of things to consider before making a change in your career that will show you a different perspective and help you be sustainable in where you want to be professionally. Teaching is a mentally tough job. We’re juggling a lot of plates, and our responsibilities are endless at school, let alone when we go home. So it’s no wonder teachers are feeling exhausted and experiencing burnout. By sharing this process, I hope it clears up whether the feelings you’re experiencing are just in season or time for a permanent change. Resources Mentioned: Download your FREE Classroom Reset ChallengeSend me a DM on Instagram: @its.not.rocket.scienceSend me an email: rebecca@itsnotrocketscienceclassroom.comFollow, rate, and review on Apple PodcastsShow Notes: https://itsnotrocketscienceclassroom.com/episode121

Everyone is trying to achieve a work-life balance, but for teachers, that simple concept is actually very complicated. One of the reasons teachers struggle so much with having a life outside of school is the amount of grading that we have to do. While I’m biased, I believe secondary science teachers have the most grading, especially with the labs and having multiple preps. I want you to be able to manage and achieve this, so in today’s episode, I’m sharing four tips that will cut your grading time in half. Now, some of these ideas may seem drastic to you, but I encourage and challenge you to listen with an open mind if you really want to cut down on your grading. Each of my four tips includes limiting what you collect, which items you grade for accuracy, and trying batching when you grade. A lot of the pushback I get when I suggest ways to cut down your grading, are teachers’ concerns of not checking in or assessing students based on their work. But don’t you worry! I’ve thought of a way you can check in daily with your students to ease your concerns. Grading student work is part of teaching and we’re made to believe we should be spending hours a day on this one task of teaching. However, if we want to achieve a work-life balance, we need to find a better solution. And while the four tips I share in this episode might seem extreme, they will help cut your grading time in half and allow you to have a life outside of school while also checking in with your students daily. Resources Mentioned: Bell Ringers & Exit SlipsSend me a DM on Instagram: @its.not.rocket.scienceSend me an email: rebecca@itsnotrocketscienceclassroom.comFollow, rate, and review on Apple PodcastsShow Notes: https://itsnotrocketscienceclassroom.com/episode120

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again - the reason I do this podcast is for you! I love sharing ideas, strategies, activities, and curriculum with you that help make your science classrooms more successful. This is why I reached out to you to hear what questions you had for me or for your science classrooms. So, for the next few months, I’ll be answering all your questions, starting today. This important question that was mentioned a lot revolved around increasing retention and how to get students to remember dense topics in your science curriculum. Instead of thinking this is your fault, I first want you to know it’s not. I share my own personal reasons why students have worse retention than ever before. But really, I share very practical tips that you can begin implementing in your classroom. Although they’re most effectively introduced at the beginning of the school year, there are still ideas you can start using today. Each tip requires you to reflect on your current practices, sequence, and instructional activities in order for students to increase their retention of dense topics. Sometimes, students struggle to retain information in general, let alone difficult content, so it’s important to find ways to increase that retention in any way possible. Whether you start using these tips now or get a jump start on how to structure your science course for next year, these practical ideas will increase the retention of dense science topics in your students! Resources Mentioned: Biology Curriculum Chemistry CurriculumSend me a DM on Instagram: @its.not.rocket.scienceSend me an email: rebecca@itsnotrocketscienceclassroom.comFollow, rate, and review on Apple PodcastsShow Notes: https://itsnotrocketscienceclassroom.com/episode119

If you’ve been in education long enough, you know that new acronyms and ideas are constantly being tossed out there. Once these ideas are presented, schools and districts want them implemented, which results in teachers stressing about incorporating them into their lessons. But in reality, teachers are already doing a lot of these ideas; they’re just called something different. This is exactly what happened with CER. So, in today’s episode, I’m explaining what CER is and why you’re already doing this in your science classroom. For those that don’t know, CER is an acronym for claim evidence reasoning. When this came onto the scene a few years ago, my inbox was flooded with questions on how to implement this and if it was incorporated into my curriculum resources. My response has always been the same - you’re already implementing this in your classroom because science is all about making claims and backing them up with evidence and reasoning. With that being said, I’m sharing how to be more intentional about using the language so your students learn to expect this type of response to any question. Although the term CER is new, the structure for how students construct an explanation is not. I know the stress and pressure of implementing something new in your classroom that your school is promoting, but I hope that this episode encourages and reinforces that you’re already doing this in your science classrooms despite it having a new name. Resources Mentioned: It’s Not Rocket Science Complete UnitsSend me a DM on Instagram: @its.not.rocket.scienceSend me an email: rebecca@itsnotrocketscienceclassroom.comFollow, rate, and review on Apple PodcastsShow Notes: https://itsnotrocketscienceclassroom.com/episode118

We’ve all had someone who isn’t trained in our subject area be a substitute in our class before, but only for just a day or two, and we survived. But when it’s for an extended period of time, that’s when planning can get challenging. This episode is more than for those going on maternity leave. Most of us don’t anticipate when we need to go on extended leave, but it’s critical to think about and plan for it. So, in today’s episode, I’m sharing how you can effectively plan for a long-term substitute who isn’t trained to teach science.  In my years of teaching, I’ve encountered this situation twice in my career, so I’m familiar with the plans you need to make. Because, in reality, you need to prep for students to learn for an extended period of time without someone in the room to help them with the content. With this in mind, I have six tips on what you can do to prepare for a long-term sub who doesn’t teach your content. Each idea asks you to examine your plans, find alternative ways for students to learn content, and how to have your substitute grade assignments. It’s difficult to find substitutes who are trained in what we teach, especially in the subject of science. So when you need to be gone for an extended period of time, planning needs to go into it. In order to give yourself peace of mind and your students the best learning experience possible, implement my six tips for when your long-term substitute doesn’t teach science. Resources Mentioned: It’s Not Rocket Science Complete UnitsIt’s Not Rocket Science ProjectsIt’s Not Rocket Science YouTube ChannelDownload your FREE Classroom Reset ChallengeSend me a DM on Instagram: @its.not.rocket.scienceSend me an email: rebecca@itsnotrocketscienceclassroom.comFollow, rate, and review on Apple PodcastsShow Notes: https://itsnotrocketscienceclassroom.com/episode117

No matter what subject or grade you teach or how long you’ve been teaching, you have been behind schedule at least at one point in your career. Trust me, I’ve been there, and it is stressful! Especially if you have an end-of-year test that you’re preparing for. But instead of feeling overwhelmed, in today’s episode, I’m sharing ways to assess why you’re behind schedule and providing practical ways to prevent it from happening in the future. When we start to get behind schedule, our natural reaction is to either rush students or cut instructional resources. However, I caution you to do either of those, for it can bring down student enthusiasm and change your demeanor as a teacher. Instead, I give you four questions to ask yourself where you can begin to assess why you’re behind, which can be eye-opening to what you find important and how much instructional time you actually have. Then, after assessing, I share practical ways you can get back on track or prevent you from being behind schedule in the future. It’s natural to get behind schedule when you have so much science content to teach, but it’s so important to learn where it’s coming from and how to fix it. So, if you’re struggling to fit all of your content in before a big test or the end of the year, this episode is for you! Resources Mentioned: Free Lab AuditAnatomy of a Class PeriodDownload your FREE Classroom Reset ChallengeSend me a DM on Instagram: @its.not.rocket.scienceSend me an email: rebecca@itsnotrocketscienceclassroom.comFollow, rate, and review on Apple PodcastsShow Notes: https://itsnotrocketscienceclassroom.com/episode116

If you’re a beginning teacher or teaching a new prep for the first time, everyone’s advice is always to fake it till you make it! We’re conditioned to believe that you need to project confidence to show your students that you’re qualified to be their teacher. But is that narrative what’s best for your students? I’ve had many conversations with teachers about how to act confident when you don’t feel that way, and my answer may surprise you. It’s normal to want to display a sense of confidence towards your students when you’re in charge of the classroom. But I want you to think about the benefits of being honest and humble with your students instead. Being able to humanize yourself, show your flaws, and share your mistakes with them lets them know it’s okay for them to do so as well. However, I do share the two things you should feel confident about and how to stay firm in those beliefs. It can be intimidating to stand in front of students for the first time and act like you’ve been there before. Although my answer on how to project confidence when that’s not how you feel may not be the answer you were looking for, I promise it’s exactly what you’ll need to be confident for your students. Resources Mentioned: Download your FREE Classroom Reset ChallengeSend me a DM on Instagram: @its.not.rocket.scienceSend me an email: rebecca@itsnotrocketscienceclassroom.comFollow, rate, and review on Apple PodcastsShow Notes: https://itsnotrocketscienceclassroom.com/episode115