(1) Greetings Fellow Science Educators!
I hope the end of the summer finds you well! As we gear up for another great year of science in Oklahoma, I have several updates and opportunities to share with you in the Science Message. As you begin to look at curriculum development for the coming days I wanted to encourage you to check out some of the new lessons developed by K20 Authentic Learning and Teaching at k20alt.ou.edu. They have several middle school and high school lessons for FREE and they will be publishing elementary lessons for science in the near future.
I also encourage you to check out some of the FREE articles published in NSTA this summer. The articles provide lesson ideas and strategies for supporting scientific argument in classrooms connected to literacy in science and the scientific practices.
- Science and Children (Elementary): Developing a Scientific Argument
- Science Scope (Middle School): Turning the Science Classroom Into a Courtroom: Engaging in Argument From Evidence
- The Science Teacher (High School): Argumentation in the Science Classroom
Lastly, I wanted to share an article about designing 5E lessons for science. Many of you attended Regional Trainings last year and we focused on the 5E model for lesson design as it supports the authentic practice of science in classroom instruction. The K20alt lessons and many of the sample lessons published through NSTA are designed around 5Es.
I personally began developing science lessons around this model several years ago and found great success with student engagement and achievement. Since several of you have e-mailed me and asked for 5E resources I thought I’d share a couple an article that might be helpful in implementing 5Es into your classroom. BCSE 5E Instructional Model
(2) Regional Professional Development:
We at OSDE are gearing up for the upcoming years’ Regional Trainings! Each of these trainings will provide an in-depth analysis of the Oklahoma Academic Standards (Formerly called Oklahoma C3 Standards). Participants will take away a better understanding of what the standards ask students to do, significant shifts in instruction, and strategies teachers can effectively implement into their curriculum and teaching practices.
While we are still in the process of revising the Oklahoma Academic Standards for Science, the trainings will provide participants with a glimpse of draft standards and support teachers in preparing for the instructional shifts expected in the final version of the standards. Don’t miss this opportunity to review an early draft and provide feedback! While part of the training will include reviewing a draft version of the Oklahoma Academic Standards, the remainder of the training will focus on providing teachers with instructional support. To ensure that the professional development is timely and valuable I would like input from you as to which topics would be of most interest in the sessions.
If you could please take the time to complete the following SHORT Survey I would greatly appreciate it. Below the multiple-choice selections you will find a space to add additional topics.
Register for August trainings by clicking http://www.reac3hregionalpd.eventbrite.com
View later trainings by clicking http://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/OKSDE/bulletins/83af6b
(3) OKSci Virtual Professional Learning Networks (PLNs):
1. OKSci PLN Kickoff August 29th!
In the past year, several science teachers have expressed an interest in collaborating with other teachers to share effective instructional practices. To accommodate for this shared interest, we will be hosting several virtual collaborations around topics of interest starting in August. It seems like a timely opportunity to kick off the first virtual collaboration in August with a topical focus on strategies connected to informational text in the science classroom.
The Virtual Collaboration will be held on August 29th in one-hour intervals from 8:00 – noon and 1:00 – 4:00. I hope the time coordinates with teacher planning periods or after school. To participate, you will need access to a telephone and access to Google Docs. Test your access by clicking here. If you don’t have access, contact your network administrator.
I will send out information regarding access to the conference call and the Google Document later in August.
We hope to offer several of these opportunities throughout the year for science teachers to connect and collaborate.
2. OKSci Virtual PLN for Science Department Chairs August 27th:
In an effort to provide opportunities for science educators to connect and collaborate, we are initiating a professional learning network for science department chairs in Oklahoma. The goal of the PLN will be to share information, resources, and provide opportunities for department chairs to collaborate. The PLN will have opportunities to meet virtually throughout the year during planning periods or after school.
We will be hosting the first meeting August 27th from 3:15-4:15. Several Science Department Chairs have already signed up. Please don’t miss an opportunity to collaborate with other Science Department Chairs in the state.
If you are interested in participating in this exciting opportunity, please complete the following survey: Science Department Chair PLN
3. OKSci Facebook
We are currently up to 363 members on the OKSci Facebook page and still growing! The OKSci Facebook group is a great place to pose questions and get responses from a large community of science teachers in the state. I often pose questions that I am asked to give feedback on and then I take the teacher responses and share them in my reports.
Recent example question:
What is your take on telling students they are going to have to read a chapter in a science textbook because they will be taking a test on it? Is this effective or authentic?
Sample responses from members of OKSci Facebook:
I think the argument of doing something at school because you have to do it for school later is a ridiculous one. If that is the reason, and it isn’t an effective method, then it needs to change in both levels of school. It doesn’t become effective or authentic because it is used incorrectly twice.
If this were a teacher’s primary or only instructional strategy, there is a problem, but reading a textbook as part of a unit along with engaging activities, labs, discussions, and writing is a staple to learning. Some liminal moments happen when students read about what they saw in the activity, or see in the activity what they read about! It would be great if students were motivated by something more authentic than a grade on a test. Some are; some aren’t. Some teachers are great motivators; some aren’t. If we knew how to get all kids altruistically motivated to learn, this job would be easy.
As you can see there were some great perspectives shared and we would love to have more OK science teachers participate in the conversations so join today! OKSci Facebook Sign Up
(4) Educator Opportunities:
1. Math Science Partnership Mini-Grant
The OSDE STEM team is excited to announce an incredible opportunity for all Oklahoma schools with the MSP Mini Grant 2013! This grant can range from $20,000 to $100,000 in one time funding! This is a unique opportunity resulting from carryover funds from the 2012-2013 total funding allotment, which are in jeopardy of expiring.
Due to the time limitations associated with the expenditure of this carryover funding, our primary interest is creating a simple grant structure that allows for the immediate awarding of funds so that they might be encumbered no later than September 30, 2013. The structure of this Mini Grant will require a short abstract write up, pitch packet to be completed and a pitch delivery to the OSDE STEM team in August.
As of July 30th, the MSP Mini Grant can be found on the OSDE website on the STEM page at http://ok.gov/sde/stem.
Please contact Jeff Downs for questions. Jeff.Downs@sde.ok.gov PH(405) 521-2107
2. Online STEM Masters Degree being offered by NSU:
“Endeavor” and Northeastern State University (NSU) in Oklahoma announce a Joint, K-12 Online STEM Masters Degree Program (M.Ed.) for $12,875 in-state tuition.
Earn a Masters Degree and obtain a STEM Certificate – all in one program!
K-12 educators earn NASA Endeavor’s prestigious, 5-course, Leadership Certificate in STEM Education from Teacher’s College, Columbia University at the same time they earn the M.Ed. in Science Education from NSU. Teachers take both Endeavor courses and NSU courses. Tuition includes both the M.Ed. and STEM Certificate.
Financial Aid is available including TEACH Grants (up to ~$4,000/year) and the Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program.
To apply, or for more information including a live, interactive 20-minute webcast session on August 1st at 6:30pm Central Time (7:30pm Eastern Time) please visit http://stemedmasters.org/nsu/
For more information, contact Dr. April Adams, Northeastern State University, adams001@nsuok.edu (918) 444-3819, or Glen Schuster, Project Director. gschuster@us-satellite.net (800) 707-8519 x201
(5) Resources
1. Next Generation Science Standards Resources:
Take a look at the short video developed by Matt Krehbiel, Science Education Program Consultant for the Kansas State Department of Education, that will help you to navigate the Next Generation Science Standards website and the Achieve survey.
Learn more and sign up for one of these upcoming NSTA webinars on Engineering Practices in NGSS (1/15); Using the NGSS Practices in the Elementary Grades (1/29); or Making Connections Between NGSS and Common Core Math and ELA (2/12).
Watch Montana teacher of the year Paul Anderson’s comprehensive video series on NGSS.
Take a peek at one of the eight webinars presented earlier this fall that focused on the Scientific and Engineering Practices described in A Framework for K–12 Science Education.
Read and download NSTA’s growing collection of monthly journal articles exploring the Framework. Articles examine the practices, crosscutting concepts, connections to common core, and more. Watch for upcoming articles on the core ideas by Rodger Bybee, Joe Krajcik, and Michael Wysession.
(6) Timeline for Revision of Oklahoma Academic Standards
Below you will find an overview of the schedule for the revision of the science standards.
Timeline for the Revision of Oklahoma Academic Standards for Science 2013-2014
The Oklahoma Academic Standards for Science are being revised in 2013-2014. Committees comprised of K-12 science educators, professors of science education from Oklahoma universities, scientists, engineers, legislators, informal science educators, parents and community members.
- The Oklahoma Academic Standards for Science Committees will meet from spring through fall of 2013 to revise the K-12 Oklahoma Academic Standards for Science.
- Focus groups will be facilitated in late summer and early fall 2013 to provide opportunities for diverse groups of stakeholders to provide feedback on the initial draft of the Oklahoma Academic Standards.
- A public draft of the revised standards will be available for public comment for 30 days in late 2013.
- Soon after the public draft period the revised Oklahoma Academic Science Standards will be available for the Oklahoma State Board of Education to consider for adoption.
- Upon adoption of the new Oklahoma Academic Standards for Science, schools will have access to the revised standards to become acquainted with the shifts and begin thinking about implementation.
- However, assessments for the newly adopted standards are not expected to be operational in schools until 2015-2016.
(7) Stay Connected:
Follow me on Twitter: @tiffanyneill
Facebook: #OKSci
Hashtags: #oksde #OKSci #OKSTEM
Sign Up for a Twitter account: https://twitter.com/
OKSci Recources:
Classroom Strategies: http://www.scoop.it/t/oksci-classroom-strategies
Website Resources Elementary: http://bit.ly/OSDE-SciElemLinks
Website Resources Secondary: http://bit.ly/OSDE-SecScienceLinks
Accessing Archived Science Messages:
You can access Archived Science Messages I’ve sent out since March via the Oklahoma Science Teachers Association (OSTA) website. Scroll down to see previous posts.
Science Listserv:
Please encourage others to register for the science listserv and pass along the following registration link:
As always, please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have!
-Tiffany Director of Science Education Office of Instruction Oklahoma State Department Education P: 405.522.3524 Tiffany.Neill@sde.ok.gov @tiffanyneill Science Webpage PE & Health Webpage