When Shakespeare warned about the ides of March, he didn't have college basketball in mind. But hoops fans know all about the season's twists of fate. Cinderella teams, humbled heroes -- the NCAA's annual "March Madness" tournament beats even the Bard for drama. The game is as much science as art, however, as your Air Jordans will learn in this week's activity. Extra credit: Have them figure their hot teams' free-throw percentages in this year's Big Dance.
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Lesson: The Physics of Basketball
 Basketball not only is fun to play or watch--it packs a lot of math and science in each move. What forces are acting on the ball? How does spin or pivoting affect accuracy? In this lesson, developed by NPR's Talking Science with U.S. Naval Academy physicist John Fontanella, students will learn how physics affects the game.
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Feature: An Engineer on England's Court
 What does basketball have in common with engineering? Plenty, if you're Rhodes Scholar Reed Doucette, 25, a former University of Southern California player now pursuing a doctorate in mechanical engineering at Oxford University in England. For both, says the 6-foot-6 forward, a solid grasp of basic skills and hard work are part of the game, but so is the chance to learn from failure.
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K-12 News: Suspect Test Scores
 A USA Today examination of test scores in six states and the District of Columbia uncovered 1,610 examples of gains on state test scores that were so striking as to be questionable.
To follow the Elementary and Secondary Education Act's overhaul, visit ESEA Watch.
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Coming in June: ASEE's K-12 Teachers' Workshop  Saturday, June 25, 2011 in Vancouver, B.C., Canada. This day-long program for teachers and engineering educators from Canada and the United States offers a fast-paced and exciting overview of engineering education resources for the classroom. You'll discover valuable best practices, new contacts for collaboration, and the latest take-away tools for effective teaching about engineering education. Count on a full, fun and motivating day!
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Our Facebook page for teachers is a great way to learn about contests, web resources, K-12 education news and lesson plans. It also offers a great way to interact with other STEM teachers across the nation--and around the world. Whether you're looking for a cool activity to engage your students or wrestling with rubrics, our Facebook community can help.
So, become a fan now!
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