Curriculum

Interdisciplinary Mathematics, Science, and Computer Science

Day: 
Fri

The project seeks feedback during this session for the development of interdisciplinary high school curriculum materials, including assignment to grade levels, specific course usage, and teacher needs.

Date/Time: 
8:30 am - 9:45 am
Session Type: 
Product Feedback Session

There is great interest in interdisciplinary curriculum materials that span different grade levels, courses, and disciplines. The DIMACS Center at Rutgers University has been developing materials in the form of one-week modules for high school students at the interface of mathematics and biology for over five years now and is continuing to do so. The reception to these materials has been enormously positive by both mathematics teachers and biology teachers across the country from small rural schools to large urban schools and everything in between. These materials have been particularly effective at broadening participation of diverse audiences. A second interdisciplinary materials development project for high school students is finishing its second year. This project, The Value of Computational Thinking Across Grade Levels, focuses on computational thinking in a number of different disciplines, such as social studies, mathematics, environmental science, and computer science, among many others. These one-week materials are being field tested nationwide in diverse high schools. Challenges abound when it comes to development of interdisciplinary materials, not the least of which is getting authors with background in each of the disciplines, and authors who understand the pedagogy needed to teach these materials, who can write teachable materials. The difficult development of high school interdisciplinary curriculum materials is compounded by the need to indicate grade level, possible courses­—for example AP or other various levels, as well as various disciplines, and usability by teachers not trained in all of the disciplines that make up the content of the materials.

Participants in the session are provided with modules and pieces of modules from both the BioMath project and the Computational Thinking project, as well as snippets from the evaluations of usage in schools. Questions surrounding the instructional materials are provided to help evoke discussion and provide feedback to the developers and other developers who might be participants to help understand possible solutions to the issues named above as well as others.

Embedded Formative Assessment: A New CADRE Work Group

Day: 
Thu

(Open to all grantees who might commit to the work group activities during 2012)

CADRE invites you to join a newly established group on embedding formative assessment into STEM education curricula and materials.

Date/Time: 
12:00 pm - 1:30 pm
Session Type: 
Special Interest Group (SIG)
Facilitators: 
References: 

CADRE invites participants to join a newly established work group on embedding formative assessment into STEM education curricula and materials. This session is intended for individuals who may be interested in committing a day or two to group work this year. The group discusses topics for focus, procedures that maximize knowledge building while minimizing burden, and a vision for a group product. The group explores tapping outside and DR K–12 expertise for the work.

Status of The Next Generation of Science Standards

Day: 
Thu

This session provides an update about the development of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), with a special focus on implications for curriculum development, professional development, and assessment. * This is a one hour session with the option to stay in the room for informal discussion afterwards.

Date/Time: 
9:45 am - 11:45 am
Session Type: 
PI-organized Discussion
Presenters: 

Work is progressing to develop the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). With private funding from the Carnegie Corporation and support from National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the National Research Council (NRC) and Achieve, Inc., have embarked on a two-step cooperative process to develop the NGSS. The first step was to develop a conceptual framework that is grounded in current research on science and science learning and identifies the science all K–12 students should know. The NRC released the Framework for K–12 Science Education in July of 2011. The next step is the development of the actual standards, a process led by Achieve involving science experts, science teachers, states, and other science education partners. This two-step process takes a broader and more cooperative approach to the development of science standards. The NGSS are due for completion in early 2013.

CADRE Curriculum Design SIG

Day: 
Wed

(Open to all grantees)

Participants share their experiences transitioning to digital curricula, explore what curricula should look like, and define how digital curricula enhance and deepen science learning.

Date/Time: 
2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Session Type: 
Special Interest Group (SIG)
Facilitators: 

This session begins with a dilemma—the realization that professional development often falls short of expectations for improving teacher practice and classroom learning. We realize that teaching is a culturally-bounded endeavor, and changing classroom culture is extremely complex. Our projects are founded on theories of action grounded in research, that is, theories of what is required for professional development programs to change teacher awareness, motivation, understanding, and actual classroom action in STEM. Historically, those theories of action have often fallen short of our ambitions.

Now, advances in technology may provide new potential for meeting our professional development challenge. Do these affordances when blended with established research-based models create novel opportunities for increasing the effectiveness of professional development?

Participants planning to attend the session are encouraged to think in advance about the following questions:

1.                   What works?

2.                   How can technology help?

3.                   What new questions are raised?

4.                   What next steps can we take for increasing professional development effectiveness?

The presenters each have projects informing the issue and will share experiences so that discussion is facilitated by explicit examples. The session will result in a DR K-12 Professional Development Working Group that continues to share ideas, challenges, and strategies.

First Name: 
Eugene Fiorini
Professional Title: 
Associate Director
Organization/Institution: 
Curriculum, Mathematics

Blue Heron STEM Education

Organization Type: 
Private Agency

Blue Heron STEM Education provides an array of support for STEM projects, with special emphasis on K-8 curriculum and teacher professional development.

First Name: 
Kristen Reed
Professional Title: 
Senior Research Associate
Organization/Institution: 
First Name: 
Jeremy Price
LinkedIn URL: 
http://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremyfprice
Professional Title: 
Doctoral Candidate
Organization/Institution: 
About Me (Bio): 
Jeremy Price is graduate research assistant on the Constructing and Critiquing Arguments in Middle School Science Classrooms project. He is researching factors that impact the teaching of scientific argumentation in order to better support teacher learning with multimedia scaffolding. Previously, he has worked on a NSF IMD grant at Boston College focused on developing and researching a yearlong high school capstone course in urban ecology, as Learning and Media Specialist for the Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST), and as Education Technology Specialist at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles. Jeremy is a doctoral candidate in science and technology education at the Lynch School of Boston College and writing his dissertation on how a classroom of high school students and their teacher negotiate meaning, significance, and identities around the science curriculum.
First Name: 
Kathy Ferguson
Professional Title: 
Professional Educator
First Name: 
Suzanna Loper
LinkedIn URL: 
http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=34862012&trk=tab_pro
Professional Title: 
Science Curriculum and Research Specialist
Organization/Institution: 
Curriculum
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