The study introduces exemplary explicit teaching strategies as enacted by a middle school STEAM teacher. Through a 10-lesson climate change STEAM program, data were collected to explore explicit teaching strategies using O-TOP (Oregon Collaborative for Excellence in the Preparation [OCEPT] Teaching Observation Protocol) and NGSS 8 Practices (Next…

Proficiency-based instruction focuses on what students know and can do. Proficiency-based teaching and learning is a teacher-led initiative in Oregon that began in the early 1990s with efforts to establish a proficiency-based admissions requirement system for Oregon's state colleges and universities. Meanwhile, many public alternative schools…

Creating a space for learning science outside the traditional classroom shifts the expectations for both educators and children. In the classroom, both groups have preconceived notions of their roles and of what classroom science looks like. In the hybrid space of afterschool, students and educators are free to explore alternative ways of teaching…

Since 2001, librarians at Oregon State University's Valley Library have been working to build a "teaching library" supported by a clearly articulated instruction program. From the start, we believed that we needed to assess the teaching library's impact, not only to determine the success or failure of our efforts but also to demonstrate…

The purpose of this science education document is to provide resources and advice for teachers, professional development personnel, and teacher educators to help them implement state standards in Oregon's schools. To move all students to these standards, educators must have an environment where several things occur: (a) all teachers are informed…

This study examined the relationships between teachers' self-assessment and their ratings by master teachers on key dimensions of proficiency as defined by Oregon's Continuing Teaching Licensure (CTL) requirements, and it explored differences between teacher behaviors and practices as a function of their teacher preparation programs. It also…

The Standards-based Education Project (STEP) was conducted as part of the Eisenhower Initial Teacher Professional Development Program in Oregon, under the Proficiency-based Admissions Standards System (PASS). STEP focused on the development of a framework of teacher knowledge, skills, and materials for pre-service and practicing teachers. High…

Oregon's new graduation requirements represent a bold effort to implement a mandated statewide competency-based program at the K-12 public school level. All the various ramifications of instituting a change of this magnitude cannot be predicted at this early date, but one major effect already evident is that local school districts have begun to…

This document provides a framework for academic and career/technical teachers who want to raise students' achievement through real-life projects reflecting the rigorous academic and technical standards needed for further learning in the workplace and postsecondary education. The document begins with definitions of the six A's of project-based…

This newsletter reports on the activities of Equipped for the Future (EFF), which is a National Institute for Literacy (NIFL) initiative that develops content standards to ensure that every adult can gain the knowledge and skills needed to fulfill real-world responsibilities as workers, parents, and citizens. A message from the NIFL…