Teachers often look for new ways to incorporate digital technologies into their classrooms. One way to do this is through gamification, which means adapting elements of game-play to learning activities. Gamification has not only become very popular, it is also a proven method of enhancing student knowledge. According to Matthew Lynch with The Tech Edvocate, though many subjects can be gamified, games can beContinue reading “Quizizz, Kahoot! or Something Else? Making Assessments Fun”
Author Archives: Brian Swarthout
Teaching Newton’s Laws of Motion
Along with Albert Einstein, Sir Isaac Newton is probably one of the best known scientists in the world. Everyone knows his name, but few people can state his three laws of motion and even fewer can explain their application in the real world. Did you know Newton first presented his three laws of motion in 1686? ManyContinue reading “Teaching Newton’s Laws of Motion”
More to Reading a Graph than Meets the Eye
Are you a visual learner, someone who learns best by seeing concepts or ideas? If so, you probably like using pictures, graphs and charts to learn new things. But what about auditory and kinesthetic learners, those who learn better by hearing, doing, and touching? Physical science relies heavily on conceptual images to illustrate concepts likeContinue reading “More to Reading a Graph than Meets the Eye”
Light Up Your Classroom With The Flame Test Lab
As this year comes to an end and those of us in the Northern Hemisphere approach the darkest time of our endless journey around our humble central star, what better way to light up your classroom than with the brilliant colors of the flame test lab. This activity combines everything that students love: lab work,Continue reading “Light Up Your Classroom With The Flame Test Lab”
Why I Switched to PhET Interactive Simulation Labs
Picture this: It’s Friday afternoon and you have just finished a great week of teaching. Everyone is getting ready to leave, but you are already thinking about Monday. You don’t want to spend the weekend preparing for next week’s classes so you stay until you have the first day of the week planned. Double whammy,Continue reading “Why I Switched to PhET Interactive Simulation Labs”
Step by Step Science Teaching Materials
Finding the right resources to help students learn a topic can be one of the most frustrating and time-consuming parts of a teacher’s job. For every hour of class time, teachers commonly invest many hours to prepare an instructive and engaging session for their students. I found this material to be extremely helpful and veryContinue reading “Step by Step Science Teaching Materials”
Step by Step Science YouTube Channel: How It Began
Every story has a beginning. My YouTube story begins in 2008 when I was teaching science at Bozeman High School in Bozeman, Montana. Too many textbooks had complicated or unclear explanations of the topics I needed to teach. I wanted to break down the concepts into simpler steps, not just for my students but forContinue reading “Step by Step Science YouTube Channel: How It Began”
Step by Step Science 