Center for Science Teaching and Learning

What makes science instruction engaging and effective? How can science instruction improve reading and writing?

Using Ready, Set, Science! Putting Research to Work in K-8 Science Classrooms as a resource, learn how to support your teachers and how to identify strong science instruction.

 Find out:

• what research actually says about the use of inquiry in science instruction
• how to develop inquiry lessons
• how inquiry impacts student learning

Are you concerned with promoting change and improvement in your school but are often thwarted in your efforts to introduce new programs? Do you wonder why new programs start with a bang and then die?

Making Change for School Improvement, a simulation developed for educators by The Network, models—in a game setting—how to manage organizational change in education settings.

Players try out real life strategies for changing policies and practices in a fictional school district, complete with central administration, school staff, and community members.

Working as a team, players assume the role of the change committee, conducting various activities to influence the people on the game board to move towards best practice instruction.

In this longer-term partnership, we will work with your science curriculum committee to develop:

• a vision for inquiry-based science instruction
• the action steps needed to realize this vision in classrooms 

Committee members engage in:

• learning how to promote learners’ conceptual understanding in science by identifying sets of core ideas
• sequencing these core ideas into appropriate learning progressions
• aligning them to standards

You’ll learn how to:

• assess the status of science instructional practices
• analyze your school/district data to identify programmatic strengths and weaknesses

This data informs decisions about science:

• programs
• materials
• resources
• professional development planning

We’ll guide you in reviewing and analyzing your school data and considering the implications. In the end, you’ll develop recommendations for improving science instruction based on your school’s identified needs.

You’ll develop a shared vision of exemplary science instruction based on a variety of models:

• identify criteria for curriculum selection
• conduct in-depth analyses of exemplary science curriculum programs
• use the data in determining which programs for teachers to pilot in classrooms

We’ll guide your teachers through an in-depth analysis of collected data. With our assistance, you’ll design plans to support new science materials implementation and on-going professional development.

Have you ever gone through the process of carefully choosing a new subject area curriculum and then find it was not used in most classrooms? Avoid that problem by carefully designing ongoing professional development support for implementation for your teachers.

We’ll help you design and implement ongoing classroom support for the implementation of your district’s new curriculum program. The workshop can help your teachers:

• learn about the new program in a workshop setting
• gain experience through our staff’s demonstration or co-teaching of the new materials