ERIC Number: EJ1200076
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2018-Dec
Pages: 5
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0276-928X
EISSN: N/A
Open Source for Opening Minds: New OpenSciEd Materials Support Science Standards
McNeill, Katherine; Reiser, Brian J.
Learning Professional, v39 n6 p44-48 Dec 2018
More than 60% of U.S. school children are being educated in states in which Next Generation Science Standards or other framework-derived standards have been adopted. This vision demands a central role for students to engage in science and engineering practices to build and use science ideas, rather than solely learning about the science others have done. This new vision supports an equity vision for science instruction in which all students are known, heard, and supported with access and opportunities for rich science learning. For these shifts to occur in K-12 science classrooms, teachers need to use new kinds of instructional materials that can support the new approaches. Instructional materials that align with the vision of the Next Generation Science Standards can better support student learning of core science ideas and science practices. Instructional materials alone, however without sufficient teacher professional learning, do not result in significant changes in classroom instruction. High-quality instructional materials combined with professional learning, embedded and sustained in teaching practice, are both needed to support the ambitious vision in recent science standards. This article describes OpenSciEd, as a partnership of 10 states, a consortium of curriculum developers, and science education leaders and experts working to create a complete set of robust, research-based, open-source, K-12 science instructional materials and professional learning supports to increase accessibility for all teachers and students. The instructional materials are being designed not as stand-alone units but as a full coherent sequence that builds across units and across years. OpenSciEd is designed to shift teachers' and students' vision of science. instruction and science learning. The professional learning approaches are not just about learning to use the instructional materials, but about supporting teachers to learn new instructional strategies that will better support every student in learning science.
Descriptors: Open Source Technology, Elementary Secondary Education, Learner Engagement, Science Education, Engineering Education, Teaching Methods, Faculty Development, Science Teachers, Grade 6, Grade 7, Grade 8
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education; Grade 6; Intermediate Grades; Middle Schools; Elementary Education; Grade 7; Junior High Schools; Secondary Education; Grade 8
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A