Given the national priority for America's leadership in science, there is a need to strengthen the quality of teaching and learning in science classrooms. This conference brings together researchers, practitioners, curriculum developers, and policymakers to chart the future of curriculum-based professional development (CPBL) in science education. CBPL is an approach that uses high-quality curricular materials as a catalyst for teacher learning. Presently, the field is not clear about how teachers learn from these well-designed materials and what other supports might be necessary. This conference aims to address pressing questions about how high-quality materials can drive teacher learning, how materials should be designed to support teacher learning trajectories, how CBPL can promote high quality science education, and what organizational supports are needed for successful implementation. Through structured collaboration among stakeholders, the gathering will consolidate existing work and generate concrete plans for advancing both research and practice in ways that honor teacher professionalism while supporting student learning in science.
Projects
This project addresses a crucial need in K-12 science teacher education to respond to local school district needs for high-quality science teaching and the role of teacher education programs to develop programs that provide prospective teachers the best opportunity for success as science teachers. Specifically, the project aims to advance science teacher education by applying a pragmatic, iterative approach to developing teacher education program resources and tools that will support the implementation of evidence-based STEM teaching and learning practices in K-12 science classrooms. The project will identify evidence-based STEM teaching and learning practices through a systematic review of K-12 STEM education research and resources. Rather than generate new evidence, the project leverages the evidence that already exists to support educators in adapting and sustaining existing high-quality practices that have already demonstrated positive impacts on students' STEM learning.
Scientific sensemaking is core to learning and doing science. Oral and written language, visual and numerical representations, physical models, and other forms of communication are vital to scientific sensemaking, yet research has not yet fully explored how science curricula can be customized to account for the unique communicative repertoires of individual learners within elementary science classes. This project will address this important gap in practice by developing a suite of tools that elementary teachers can use to customize existing open-source, standards-aligned science curricula, such that these curricula are better able to support students with a range of communicative strengths, including multilingualism.
Scientific sensemaking is core to learning and doing science. Oral and written language, visual and numerical representations, physical models, and other forms of communication are vital to scientific sensemaking, yet research has not yet fully explored how science curricula can be customized to account for the unique communicative repertoires of individual learners within elementary science classes. This project will address this important gap in practice by developing a suite of tools that elementary teachers can use to customize existing open-source, standards-aligned science curricula, such that these curricula are better able to support students with a range of communicative strengths, including multilingualism.
This project addresses the critical need for improved mathematics education of elementary teachers and their students by preparing and supporting Elementary Mathematics Specialists (EMSs) who are highly effective mathematics teachers and teacher leaders. The program provides these EMSs with professional development grounded in research-informed practices and focuses on refinement of an existing program. The project aims to develop ambitious, responsive mathematics instruction and to provide high-quality coaching to teacher candidates and novice teachers.