1. science

Professional Development Sessions Creating an Environment for Learning •
Cooperative Learning for a Student-­‐Centered Learning Environment (PD3A11 – 3 hr.)* •
Building Student–Teacher Relationships to Create a Student-­‐Centered Learning Environment (PD3A12 – 3 hr.)* •
Science outside the Classroom: Involving the Family and Community in Science Education (PD3A14 – 3 hr.)* Strategies for Raising Student Achievement •
Scientific Explanations through Claim-­‐Evidence-­‐Reasoning (PD3A1 – 3 hr. and PD6A1 – 6 hr.) •
Authentic Scientific Writing and Notebooking with Purpose (PD3A7 – 3 hr.) •
Raising Student Achievement through the Use of Vocabulary (PD3A10 – 3 hr.)* •
The Conundrum of Questioning: How to Use Levels of Questioning to Enhance Rigor (PD3A9 – 3 hr.) •
Practices of Scientists and Engineers: Discourse and Argumentation (PD3A13 – 3 hr.) •
Literacy as a Strategy for Success in Science (PD3A15 – 3 hr.)* Scientific and Engineering Investigations •
Easing into Authentic Scientific Investigations (PD3A2 – 3 hr. and PD6A2 – 6 hr.) •
Sustained Inquiry and Student Questions for Conceptual Understandings (PD3A6 – 3 hr. or PD6A6 – 6 hr.)* •
Project-­‐Based Learning: The How-­‐to and the Why (PD3A3 – 3 hr. and PD6A3 – 6 hr.) •
Introductions to Engineering Solutions (PD3A4 – 3 hr.) •
Engineering Solutions with Embedded Math (PD6A4 – 6hr.) •
Using Centers and Stations for Exploration and Investigation in the Science Classroom (PD3A16 – 3 hr.)* •
STEMart: Supporting Science through Art (PD3A18 – 3 hr.) Understanding the Content Standards •
Demystifying the NGSS (PD3A5 – 3 hr. and PD6A5 – 6 hr.) •
Building Student Independence with the 5E (PD3A8 – 3 hr.) STEMscopes Product Training, Mentoring, and Coaching •
STEMscopes Launch Training for State and NGSS (PD3L1 for STEMscopes State – 3 hr. and PD6L2 for NGSS – 6 hr.) •
STEMscopes Launch Training for Early Explorer (PD3L3 – 3 hr.)* •
Mentoring New Teachers for Student Success in Science (PD3M1 – 3 hr. and PD6M1 – 6 hr.) •
Coaching Science Professionals for Student Success (PD3C1 – 3 hr. and PD6C1 – 6 hr.) *Also offered at the Early Explorer level STEMcoach Professional Support Creating an Environment for Learning Cooperative Learning for a Student-­‐Centered Learning Environment (PD3A11 – 3 hr.) Within the science classrooms of today and the workplace of tomorrow, the skills of working collaboratively and through building consensus are non-­‐negotiable for student success. Come learn with us as we model and investigate the ways to build these 21st Century Skills into your science lessons. This three-­‐hour session provides many strategies that will increase student engagement and productive communication while decreasing off-­‐task behaviors. This session models examples of cooperative learning protocols as well as ways to implement these into a framework for building the 21st Century Skills that are valued by the workforce for college and career readiness. Building Student–Teacher Relationships to Create a Student-­‐Centered Learning Environment (PD3A12 – 3 hr.) The classroom-­‐learning environment is built on the relationship between the students and their teacher. It must be a safe space for the students so they feel comfortable taking risks and engaging in their learning environment, both at the beginning of the year and continuing throughout. This three-­‐
hour session models many strategies and varied techniques to develop bonded, strong relationships with students so they are willing to take risks, develop tenacity, gain independence during investigations, and show persistence in being successful when the rigor of the content increases. Science Outside the Classroom: Involving the Family and Community in Science Education (PD1A14 – 3 hr.) Science is everywhere! Many family members and community organizations have resources to share for student success and achievement in science. This three-­‐hour session provides the rationale for including your education support community and stakeholders in the classroom. When you consider all the resources available, you provide opportunities, such as field trips in the community and field investigations in the schoolyard, for students to able to experience and understand science concepts in real-­‐world contexts. Family involvement has been shown to increase student achievement and engagement in the classroom. Many ideas and strategies for increasing family and community involvement in science will be addressed and modeled. Professional Development Sessions Strategies for Raising Student Achievement Scientific Explanations through Claim-­‐Evidence-­‐Reasoning (PD3A1 – 3 hr. and PD6A1 – 6 hr.) Claim-­‐Evidence-­‐Reasoning is a way for students to scientifically describe what they have observed and learned through an investigation, experience, or research. By making claims based on evidence, students are able to connect their science knowledge to the events and observations of the real world. Join us for a three-­‐hour engaging, interactive, and hands-­‐on opportunity to learn how to implement this highly effective strategy to increase rigor in your science classroom. Authentic Scientific Writing and Notebooking with Purpose (PD3A7 – 3 hr.) Science notebooks are a part of everyday learning in a successful science classroom. They can be powerful communication tools between the teacher and students. When done correctly, science notebooks are tools students use to learn and can be something of which students are extremely proud. Students feel free to write their ideas down, research topics, discover new things, and change their thinking. They create and record experiences, thoughts, diagrams, and evidence of critical thinking. Observing a science journal will show the growth of a science learner in a way that cannot be captured in any other form. Join us for a three-­‐hour session that includes several hands-­‐on, engaging, and interactive investigations that model using science notebooks as a means to evaluate student learning as expressed in their own words. Raising Student Achievement through Vocabulary (PD3A10 – 3 hr.) Depending on the way it is addressed in the classroom, vocabulary instruction can have a positive or negative impact on student knowledge. When it is an integral part of the lesson and reinforced through games and hands-­‐on experiences, students retain an understanding of the concept the words are describing and tend to use it with more fluency. STEMscopes’ unique way of incorporating vocabulary into the Engage and Explore phases of the 5E model will change how science teachers develop vocabulary forever! Join us for a three-­‐hour session that models how to embed vocabulary development as an integral part of learning. The Conundrum of Questioning: How to Use Levels of Questioning to Enhance Rigor (PD3A9 – 3 hr.) Identifying the correct cognitive level of questioning needing to be used in your classroom is key to ensuring student success. Sometimes, information is delivered or assessed at a level that is either too low or too high for a student to understand. Either way, students will not be successful on assessments if the level of questioning or depth of knowledge (DOK) within the instruction is not on target. Both new and experienced teachers work constantly to better their questioning abilities and ensure they are on track. Wait Time (one and two) will be addressed as a means to raise the cognitive rigor in the classroom. Join us for a three-­‐hour session that models using questioning strategies and wait time to evaluate student learning and understanding of science concepts. Practices of Scientists and Engineers: Discourse and Argumentation (PD1A13 – 3 hr.) Argumentation and discourse are processes in which students are able to identify strengths and weaknesses in a line of reasoning and defend their explanations. This interactive activity allows for students to express their thoughts in a manner that requires knowledge and appropriate evidence to support their claims and shows the teacher the depth of their understanding of a concept. This is one of the scientific and engineering practices identified as one that adds rigor to any investigation or STEMcoach Professional Support solution because it asks students to see from another’s perspective. This three-­‐hour session models how to engage students and adults in questioning, argumentation, and discourse that encourages rebuttal. Argumentation requires evidence to support or refute claims and ideas about scientific phenomena, thus raising the rigor and frequency of purposeful student talk. Literacy as a Strategy for Success in Science (PD3A15 – 3 hr.) While exploring science concepts, students are using the skills learned in their ELA and math classes. Literacy strategies, such as analyzing, discussing, and summarizing, can be utilized while reading science-­‐based articles, authentic science research, journals, and textbooks. Reading and writing skills reinforce science background knowledge. Reading and analyzing authentic, scientific writing builds literacy skills outside the ELA classroom and inside the science lab. Integrating math into real-­‐world situations through science leads to higher achievement gains in science and math for all students. This three-­‐hour session models strategies that are highly engaging, easy to implement, and effective in integrating literacy, writing, and math into the science classroom. Professional Development Sessions Scientific and Engineering Investigations Easing into Authentic Scientific Investigations (PD3A2 – 3 hr. and PD6A2 – 6 hr.) Planning and carrying out scientific investigations is a science and engineering practice and is the work of authentic scientists. Scientists use investigations to answer a question, describe a phenomenon, or test a hypothesis in an attempt to explain how things in the natural world work. Join us for a three-­‐
hour or six-­‐hour session that models several hands-­‐on, engaging, and interactive investigations to learn the differences in descriptive, comparative, and experimental investigation designs. Teachers leave with the means to run organized, standards-­‐based labs to determine students’ depth of knowledge gained during an investigation as well as the means to guide students in the use of scientific explanations in their conclusions. Sustained Inquiry and Student Questions for Conceptual Understandings (PD3A6 – 3 hr. or PD6A6 – 6 hr.) An extended inquiry investigation with facilitating questioning can be one of the easiest methods to implement and most powerful tools for gaining conceptual understanding. When students are able to express their thoughts and understanding of a concept during an ongoing investigation, the teacher gains a crystal-­‐clear picture of what the student knows to be true. Once a teacher determines a student’s level of understanding through purposeful student talk, then appropriate questions can be asked by both the teacher and the students to increase learning and understanding. In addition, students must also learn how to ask appropriate questions in order to investigate the phenomena they are exploring over a sustained period of time. Students can learn how to ask testable questions by developing that skill through practice. Join us for a three-­‐hour or six-­‐hour session that includes hands-­‐on, engaging, and easy to implement investigations and/or engineering design solutions that will model developing and using questioning to deepen students’ conceptual understanding gained in science. Project-­‐Based Learning: The How-­‐to and the Why (PD3A3 – 3 hr. and PD6A3 – 6 hr.) Project-­‐based learning (PBL) is the process of involving students in an inquiry-­‐based approach to solving an authentic, real-­‐world problem. PBL is age appropriate and tied to curriculum standards. It affords students the ability to choose the way they select and develop a solution to a problem. When students are given the autonomy to solve problems that are of interest to them, high levels of engagement lead to high levels of learning. Join us for a three-­‐hour or six-­‐hour session that models several powerful PBLs as a means to learn how to plan, conduct, and evaluate student learning. STEMcoach Professional Support Introductions to Engineering Solutions (PD3A4 – 3 hr.) Engineers solve problems by using a systematic process called the Engineering Design Process (EDP) that includes identifying the problem, identifying the constraints and criteria, generating ideas, and testing possible solutions. Through a reiterative process of testing and adjusting, they are able to design a solution to the problem. Join us for a three-­‐hour session that uses scale to design and solve the solution to an interesting life science problem. This session will model a hands-­‐on, engaging, and interactive engineering problem to learn how to plan, conduct, and evaluate student learning. This session also addresses the 21st Century Skills of collaboration, communication, and critical thinking in designing the solution to the problem. Engineering Solutions with Embedded Math (PD6A4 – 6 hr.) Engineers solve problems by using a systematic process referred to as the engineering design process (EDP), which includes identifying a problem, identifying constraints and criteria, generating ideas, testing possible solutions, and analyzing solutions with mathematical computations. Join us for a six-­‐
hour session that uses scale, proportion, and pulley ratios. This session models several hands-­‐on, engaging, and interactive engineering problems as a means to learn how to plan, conduct, and evaluate student learning through the use of the engineering solutions as an instructional strategy. We will also walk through the steps of developing and implementing an engineering challenge for your students. Using Centers and Stations for Exploration and Investigations in the Science Classroom (PD3A16 – 3 hr.) All students, Pre-­‐K through 12th grade, benefit from learning through exploration and inquiry experiences that are planned and differentiated for the student. Centers can be a highly effective and fun way to teach, reinforce, and extend skills and conceptual understanding through independent and collaborative inquiry-­‐based activities. Stations are a means of breaking larger independent lessons into smaller tasks in which students accomplish work simultaneously. Teachers who utilize these highly effective strategies are able to differentiate for the varied needs of their students in order to achieve mastery and understanding for all students. This three-­‐hour session focuses on both the why and the how of centers and stations. STEMart: Supporting Science through Art (PD3A18 – 3 hr.) STEMart is for elementary educators wishing to strengthen their students’ abilities to retain and transfer newly acquired knowledge. During this hands-­‐on workshop, participants will experience science-­‐supporting art activities designed to inspire and challenge students by engaging their higher order thinking skills. STEMart lessons were developed to encourage students to solve problems and express themselves creatively while reviewing and reinforcing key science concepts. Both science and art involve creative thinking—discover the benefits of integrating both! Activities are aligned with the National Coalition for Core Arts Standards and cover science content in physical, life, and earth and space science. Professional Development Sessions Understanding the Content Standards Demystifying the NGSS (PD3A5 – 3 hr. and PD6A5 – 6 hr.) The NGSS and the K-­‐12 Framework for Science Education have provided an energized, aligned, and authentic means for the students of the 21st century to learn, understand, and explain science in their everyday lives. Join us as we take a deeper look into the interconnectedness of research-­‐based disciplinary core ideas, crosscutting concepts, and scientific and engineering practices as a coherent model for science education. STEMcoach offers a three-­‐hour or six-­‐hour session that demystifies how the three strands of science education are intertwined into a vertically aligned and highly engaging curriculum for K-­‐12 science. Building Student Independence with the 5E (PD3A8 – 3 hr.) Student independence is a crucial part of genuine inquiry. Student independence not only refers to independent actions but also independent thoughts. When we encourage students to think on their own, we are really encouraging them to wonder and inquire about the world around them without worrying about the “right answer” or what the teacher will say. When students express and explore their own thoughts, their learning takes place at a much deeper level. Join us for a three-­‐hour session in which we utilize a hands-­‐on, engaging, and interactive inquiry-­‐based unit of study to address 5E planning and pacing. This session contributes to the classroom vision and uses inquiry as motivation for students working collaboratively and independently while learning science concepts as they are driven by curiosity. STEMcoach Professional Support STEMscopes Product Training, Mentoring, and Coaching STEMscopes Launch Training for State and NGSS (PD3L1 for STEMscopes State – 3 hr. and PD6L2 for NGSS – 6 hr.) When adopting a new instructional program for teachers to use for student success in science, the opportunity to receive implementation support is paramount if the program is to be used to its best advantage. STEMscopes provides launch training to campuses and districts so teachers will be given the maximum opportunity to instruct using quality resources in a stress-­‐free, productive, and enjoyable format. By modeling hands-­‐on, inquiry-­‐based strategies while using the 5E or IDEA instructional model, teachers will develop an understanding of how STEMscopes is set up, where resources are located, and how to glide through assessments. It will also provide interactive and engaging technology lessons. STEMscopes State Launch Training is a 5E-­‐based three-­‐hour session. STEMscopes NGSS Launch Training is a six-­‐hour session that looks into the foundation and structure of the NGSS and introduces new research-­‐based strategies to meet the rigor of the NGSS Scientific and Engineering Practices. Contact STEMscopes Professional Support to set up your STEMscopes’ Launch Training for your in-­‐service and summer Professional Development days. STEMscopes Launch Training for Early Explorer (PD3L3 – 3 hr.) Pre-­‐K students are naturally curious about their world, and STEMscopes Early Explorer (EE) understands how to capture that interest with fun, NGSS-­‐based, integrated science targeted to their interests and abilities. With the adoption of the new STEMscopes EE program, teachers will receive support in accessing all the features of the program to fine-­‐tune their instructional strategies to meet the wide range of student developmental levels. Science background information, unique learning centers/stations, and literacy are embedded within the STEMscopes Early Explorer curriculum online materials. Teachers will find it supportive, interesting, and easy to use. Your Launch Trainer will guide you through the features of this amazing product! Contact STEMscopes Professional Support to set up your STEMscopes Early Explorer Launch Training for your in-­‐service or Professional Development days. Mentoring New Teachers for Student Success in Science (PD3M1 – 3 hr. and PD6M1 – 6 hr.) As new science teachers enter the classroom, they face expectations for high quality instruction, classroom management, parent relations, and outstanding student achievement. Although they are academically prepared for the task ahead of them, support is still required until they are able to bridge the gap between novice and expert craft knowledge. STEMcoach provides expert science mentors who are experienced in mentoring novice science teachers and are successful in knowing which “hat” to wear as they support your faculty through the emotional, academic, professional, and physical demands that are encountered during their first year. Mentoring is available for individual teachers as well as small groups of teachers in a professional learning community. Please contact STEMscopes Professional Support to discuss options and opportunities to work directly with your novice teachers to ensure they successfully begin their careers as professional educators. Professional Development Sessions Coaching Science Professionals for Student Success (PD3C1 – 3 hr. and PD6C1 – 6 hr.) Within established communities of learners and Professional Learning Communities (PLC), STEMcoach Science Coaches provide facilitation services and resources for the implementation of STEMscopes for student achievement. Knowledgeable and experienced in PLC, inquiry-­‐based science practices, and STEM-­‐based pedagogy, coaches model techniques and provide feedback and support to teachers in response to student learning data. Coaches utilize their experience and skills to offer a variety of perspectives into developing solutions and new ways of approaching troublesome or unique situations. This includes modeling skills that increase each teacher’s capacity to be a coach or mentor to their peers. Please contact STEMscopes Professional Support to discuss options and opportunities to help your district, campus, faculty, and staff successfully meet the needs of the students you serve.