Professional Learning

Science in Elementary Classrooms for Oregon Administrators

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This self-guided course is designed to guide administrators, particularly those in K-5 schools, in thinking about science education in their buildings and to provide background on and fundamentals regarding the Oregon Science Standards (also referred to as NGSS and Next Generation Science Standards). Additionally, this short course will inform participants about the instructional shifts required for Oregon Science Standards/NGSS three-dimensional teaching and learning, guide the development of a plan to support science teaching and learning, and highlight the essential role of equity and inclusion in Oregon's science standards.

Material Type: Module

Author: Jamie Rumage

Anchoring Phenomenon Routine - Storyline Tool

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Instructional sequences are more coherent when students investigate compelling natural phenomena (in science) or work on meaningful design problems (in engineering) by engaging in the science and engineering practices. We refer to these phenomena and design problems here as ‘anchors.’Here is a tool to assist in determining if the elements of the anchoring phenomenon are strong or could use some additional thinking. Original works can be found at NextGenStorylines.org

Material Type: Teaching/Learning Strategy

Author: Jamie Rumage

Qualities of a Good Anchoring Phenomenon

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Instructional sequences are more coherent when students investigate compelling natural phenomena (in science) or work on meaningful design problems (in engineering) by engaging in the science and engineering practices. We refer to these phenomena and design problems here as ‘anchors.’ What makes for a good phenomenon to anchor an investigation?

Material Type: Teaching/Learning Strategy

Authors: Jamie Rumage, STEMTeachingTools

ACESSE Resource A - Introduction to Formative Assessment to Support Equitable 3D Instruction

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In this professional development session, we will develop a shared understanding of how formative assessment works and different approaches that have been developed. The material for this resource come from a series of PD sessions on formative assessment developed by the ACESSE team: Philip Bell, Shelley Stromholt, Bill Penuel, Katie Van Horne, Tiffany Neill, and Sam Shaw.We will be updating this Facilitator's Guide for ACESSE Resource A with the most up-to-date information about this resource over time. If you encounter problems with this resource, you can contact us at: STEMteachingtools@uw.edu

Material Type: Module

Authors: Sarah Evans, Philip Bell, Shelley Stromholt, WILLIAM PENUEL, Sam Shaw, Tiffany Neill, Katie Van Horne, Abby Rhinehart

ACESSE Resource E: Selecting Anchoring Phenomena for Equitable 3D Teaching and Assessment

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This pair of workshops is designed to introduce you to the process of selecting phenomena that can anchor an entire unit that supports students’ 3D science learning or that can serve as a basis for a multi-component assessment task. This resource can also be used by individuals wanting to refine their teaching practice around phenomena based instruction. You may have heard a lot about phenomena, but you may also be wondering what exactly they are, and whether using phenomena is any different from how teachers teach today already.This learning experience will help you:Explain to a peer the role of phenomena and design challenges in science teaching, with a particular focus on equity and justice. Generate working definitions of phenomena, design challenges, and disciplinary core ideas. Identify phenomena related to a bundle of three-dimensional standards. Experience how phenomena can be introduced at the start of a unit, in order to launch a student-driven series of questions.

Material Type: Module

Authors: Hank Clark, WILLIAM PENUEL, Philip Bell, Deb Morrison, Abby Rhinehart

ACESSE Resource B - How to Assess Three-Dimensional Learning in Your Classroom

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The NRC Framework for K-12 Science Education and the resulting Next Generation Science Standards focus on an integrated three-dimensional view of science learning in which students develop understanding of core ideas of science and crosscutting concepts in the context of engaging in science and engineering practices.How is assessing three-dimensional science learning different than how we have thought of science learning in the past? How can we design assessment tasks that elicit student’s current understanding of specific aspects of the disciplinary core ideas, science and engineering practices, and crosscutting concepts in order to shape future instruction? In this workshop, participants will learn how to interpret and design cognitive formative assessment to fit a three-dimensional view of learning.This resource originates from a series of PD sessions on 3D formative assessment developed and provided by Katie Van Horne, Shelley Stromholt, Bill Penuel, and Philip Bell. It has been improved through a collaboration in the ACESSE project with science education experts from 13 states. Please cite this resource as follows:Stromholt, S., Van Horne, K., Bell, P., Penuel, W. R., Neill, T. & Shaw, S. (2017). How to Assess Three-Dimensional Learning in Your Classroom: Building Assessment Tasks that Work. [OER Professional Development Session from the ACESSE Project] Retrieved from http://stemteachingtools.org/pd/SessionB

Material Type: Module

Authors: Sarah Evans, Philip Bell, Shelley Stromholt, Katie Van Horne, WILLIAM PENUEL, Sam Shaw, Tiffany Neill, Abby Rhinehart

ACESSE Resource C - Making Science Instruction Compelling for All Students

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How can science instruction be meaningfullyconnected to the out-of-school lives of students? In this professional development, we will consider how to design formative assessments that build on learners’ interest and knowledge, promoting equity and social justice in the process. The material for this resource comes from a series of PD sessions on formative assessment originally developed by Philip Bell and Shelley Stromholt.We will be updating this Facilitator's Guide for ACESSE Resource C with the most up to date information about this resource over time. If you encounter problesm with this resources, you can contact us at STEMteachingtools@uw.eduThis resource was refined through a 13-state collaboration to make the resource more broadly useful. If you choose to adapt these materials, please attribute the source and that it was work funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Material Type: Module

Authors: Sarah Evans, Philip Bell, Abby Rhinehart

ACESSE Resource D - How to Craft 3D Classroom Science Assessments

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Abstract: This session provides a step-by-step process to support participants as they design a 3D assessment task for the science classroom. Along the way, they learn how to define 3D learning performances for specific lessons—and how to use a range of tools to support their assessment design work. A key goal of the session activity is to improve the connection of intended learning goals to assessment practices. Participants build their 3D assessment design capacity by designing and workshopping tasks—before piloting them in their classrooms. The approaches learned in this workshop can be used with any curricula, at any grade level, and across all subjects of science. 

Material Type: Module

Authors: Hank Clark, Philip Bell, Abby Rhinehart, Deb Morrison

ACESSE Resource G - Learning to See the Resources Students Bring to Sense-Making

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Overview: In this workshop, we will build our capacity to identify the range of intellectual resources students use as they make sense of phenomena. We will first explore how equity and justice relate to culture-based approaches to pedagogy—and then focus on how to identify and leverage the resources students use in moments of sensemaking. This resource can also be used by individuals wanting to learn how equity involves promoting the rightful presence of all students across scales of justice, desettling inequities, and supporting expansive learning pathways. This workshop provides participants with an opportunity to explore important theoretical ideas by exploring examples of how learners engage in diverse sense-making. Participants will learn about some of the challenges that less expansive learning environments can cause for learners from non-dominant communities. This resource is estimated to take between 161-268 minutes (2 ⅔ - 4 ¾ hours), depending on the choices of the facilitator in scenario selection.

Material Type: Module

Authors: Hank Clark, Philip Bell, Deb Morrison, Gina Tesoriero, Abby Rhinehart

Using Phenomena in NGSS-Designed Lessons and Units

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WHAT ARE PHENOMENA IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING? Natural phenomena are observable events that occur in the universe and that we can use our science knowledge to explain or predict. The goal of building knowledge in science is to develop general ideas, based on evidence, that can explain and predict phenomena. Engineering involves designing solutions to problems that arise from phenomena, and using explanations of phenomena to design solutions. In this way, phenomena are the context for the work of both the scientist and the engineer.

Material Type: Teaching/Learning Strategy

Authors: Achieve, Jamie Rumage, NextGenStorylines, STEMTeachingTools

Oregon Science Project Hybrid Module #2 - Talk & Equity

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The Oregon Science Project Module #2 is designed for K-12 and nonformal educators who want to learn more about NGSS, with an emphasis on the central role student discourse and talk play in the K-12 NGSS classroom. It is designed to provide 3-4 hours of work and asks learners to create something new to contribute to the work.Who talks and why?Engaging All Students 

Material Type: Module

Author: Cristina Trecha

Remix

Oregon Science Project Hybrid Module #3: Formative Assessment for Equity

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Oregon Science Project Module #3 Facilitator Video OverviewThis is the third in a series of Hybrid NGSS Modules curated by the Oregon Science Project in 2017 using already created, research-based NGSS professional development resources. This module focuses on formative assessment and how it can help educators to make student thinking visible and also how to use student ideas and models for teaching in the NGSS classroom.  It builds on the work of the first two: Module #1 Phenomena & Equity, Module #2 Talk & Equity.All Oregon Science Project Hybrid NGSS PD Modules are designed to be done together with other educators in real time either online or face-to-face. The Oregon Science Project utilizes the videoconferencing tools of Zoom to run small teams of K-12 educators through these modules online in real time. Some Oregon Science Project Learning Facilitators are able to meet with their teams in person and still use these modules on computers during face-to-face work.It was built using the OER Commons Module builder so it is broken into units as Tasks. Some are meant to be done individually, while others are designed for group dialogue and interaction. Dialogue in this case is used as way to build shared understanding. This is compared to discussion where a group is working on making a decision or choice. This difference is based upon the Adaptive School Work of Garmston and Wellman. You can read more about this in Chapter 4 of the Adaptive School: A Sourcebook for Developing Collaborative Groups. The design of the modules and overall framework is also informed by the research about professional development from A Facilitator's Guide to Online Professional Development: Establishing Communities of Learning and Cultures of Thinking by Carol Brooks Simoneau and Gerald Bailey.Instructor DescriptionsAccompanying each task is a backend "Instructor Description." Each Instructor Description is only intended for the instructor or facilitator of the module and not the educator participating as a learner in the module. Each Instructor Description includesbakckground informationinstructions for facilitator preparationtips/ideas for facilitators working with a group onlinetips/ideas for face-to-face facilitationlinks to other resources when appropriateRemixing and Using this Module for Professional DevelopmentIf you would like to use this module, simply select REMIX and then edit your own copy so that it represents your facilitation style, local context, and professional development needs. This module was developed based upon the assumption that all participants have completed Oregon Science Project Hybrid NGSS Modules #1 and 2 and are studying the NGSS.Module #3 Components:Task #1 - Module #3 OverviewTask #2 - What is formative assessment? Individual WorkTask #3 - What is formative assessment? Group Reflection and DialogueTask #4- What are some high leverage practices for formative assessment in the NGSS classroom?  Individual WorkTask #5 - What are some high leverage practices for formative assessment in the NGSS classroom?  Group Reflection and DialogueTask #6 - How can we develop and use culturally responsive formative assessments for NGSS? Individual WorkTask #7 - How can we develop and use culturally responsive formative assessments for NGSS? Group Reflection and DialogueTask #8 - How can we integrate the NGSS practices into assessment tasks? Individual WorkTask #9 - How can we integrate the NGSS practices into assessment tasks? Group Reflection and Dialogue

Material Type: Module

Author: Cristina Trecha

NGSS Toolkit

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This Wakelet is a collection of links to free online resources that address all areas of teaching the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). The resources are grouped together in smaller, topic-based collections. A range of resources are provided for K-12, and additional links will be continually added to the collection. 

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Data Set, Game, Homework/Assignment, Interactive, Lesson, Reading, Simulation, Unit of Study

Author: Kimberley Astle

K-5 NGSS Resource Sets for Teaching Science and Integrating with ELA

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This OSPI resource provides curated collections of free activities, lessons, units, and informational "texts" (articles, passages, e-books, videos, podcasts) to support every NGSS Performance Expectation (standard) in grades K-5.  This resource is intended to support teachers with teaching science while also integrating science and ELA to grow student knowledge, thinking, application, and skills in both content areas.  Materials are organized into units based on the topics and essential questions in each grade. Resources listed are all freely available online, with some requiring teachers to create free accounts to access.  Some trade books are also listed that might be accessed through a library system. Gratitude is expressed to the Washington State Science Fellows, Science Fellows Emeriti, and ELA Fellows who contributed to curating the informational texts.  For questions or comments contact OSPI Elementary Science at Kimberley.Astle@k12.wa.us. 

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Assessment, Diagram/Illustration, Full Course, Homework/Assignment, Interactive, Lesson, Lesson Plan, Primary Source, Reading, Simulation, Teaching/Learning Strategy, Textbook

Author: Kimberley Astle

Climate Learning Resources

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Global climate change is rapidly impacting all life on earth. But impacts of climate change are complex, uneven, and worsening, with people from poverty-impacted and BIPOC communities often experiencing impacts most sharply. We must be prepared to understand and respond to climate science. Education is a vital context for building capacity for just, community-driven adaptation and resilience efforts as well as for promoting the enactment of equitable mitigation efforts around the world. Justice-centered climate change learning is complex, but urgent. To support educators to build capacity for this work, we are creating a suite of resources focused on different aspects of this work. Climate science learning has to happen across PK-12 classroom, in informal education and outdoor contexts, and in community-based learning settings.

Material Type: Teaching/Learning Strategy

Authors: Jamie Rumage, STEM Teaching Tools