Welcome Back from Thanksgiving! I hope you all had your fill of turkey. It's been a busy week in Science. Benchmarks and performance tasks are well under way. We are in the final 2 weeks of these tests. YAY! On Wednesday, I assisted Hollencrest Middle School with a guest speaker for their 7th grade students. Dr. Nancy Shinno, a retired geneticist, spoke to the students about genetic mutations and deformities that occur in the craniofacial area. This was a great connection to STEM careers. On Thursday, I facilitated our first Science professional development at the district. In order to prepare for the transition to NGSS, it is important to revisit our instructional strategies and update them for 21st century learners. This professional development focused on inquiry-based labs. We discussed the BSCS 5E instructional model and used it to revamp a lab that will be taught in January. It was a wonderful day full of collaboration and innovation. I will meet with the same group of teachers in February to discuss how the inquiry lab worked out with the students and to continue redesigning future labs. I will continue offering training sessions of this nature in the future if you would like to participate in the next round. We will cover different instructional strategies each time we meet. Hopefully, these small changes in instruction will help prepare our students and fellow teachers for full implementation of NGSS in 2018. Thank you to my pilot group of teachers for actively participating and providing positive feedback for future sessions. The California Department of Education (CDE) is pleased to announce that the first draft of the 2016 Science Framework for California Public Schools, Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve (Science Framework) is available for its first 60-day period of review and comment. The Science Framework will provide guidance for implementing the Next Generation Science Standards for California Public Schools, Kindergarten through Grade Twelve.
The Science Framework will help teachers, district and county administrators, other educators, and publishers design instructional materials, curriculum, instruction, assessments, and professional learning. The Science Framework focuses on the three-dimensional learning in the science classroom and includes strategies for extending that focus into all subject areas. It also provides direction to educators to implement the standards in the context of California’s diversity and helps them teach the critical thinking skills students will need for 21st century jobs. The public has until January 19, 2016, to review the Science Framework online. The draft framework is on the CDE Science Framework Public Review and Comment Web page, where the public may leave comments at[email protected]. Interested parties may also visit one of the 23 Learning Resource Display Centers statewide to review hard copies of the draft framework. The public’s comments will be presented to the Instructional Quality Commission in February and March 2016 for review and possible inclusion into the final draft of the Science Framework. The final draft will be available for a second public review in late spring or early summer. The State Board of Education is scheduled to review and act on the Science Framework in September/November 2016. If you have any questions regarding the public comment review period or the Science Framework revision process, please contact Bryan D. Boyd, Education Programs Consultant, Curriculum Frameworks and Instructional Resources Division, by phone at 916-445-4910 or by e-mail at [email protected]. The 2015 STEM Symposium presented by Californians Dedicated to Education Foundation was a huge success! There was a phenomenal amount of information presented during breakout sessions, which ranged from STEM education in lower elementary to planning three-dimensional lessons in high school classes. A big emphasis with STEM education is project-based, interdisciplinary learning. Creating a climate of true collaboration is going to be essential as we move forward in the Next Generation of Science. Big changes are coming to the Science curriculum so now is the time to learn and pilot new instructional strategies and ideologies. For more information, check out the STEM symposium website. Search #castem15 on Twitter to find amazing photos and videos from the conference. In the near future, West Covina will be integrating STEM classes into the curriculum to better prepare our students for a 21st century world. Project Lead the Way is a national STEM program that provides a rigorous and engaging STEM curriculum at all grade levels. I look forward to working closely with Cal Poly Pomona to get this program up and running for our students. Meeting of the minds Tuesday! A small group of Science teachers from all the secondary schools and one elementary school met this week to collaborate and design new performance tasks for the various content areas. It was a very successful day and I look forward to getting another group of teachers together to begin working on our next steps toward NGSS.
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Brenda SalasBrenda Salas has moved to Washington! Please contact Maria Garza (ELA TOSA) Categories
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