By Amy Wallot amy.wallot@education.ky.gov I have covered many professional development opportunities this summer. What I heard over and over from the hosts and presenters was, “please contact me if you have any questions.” Please contact me. Over and over. Presenters offered their email address and phone numbers. They repeated that teachers could contact their universities or organizations for help, classroom [...]
Two Kentucky teachers have won the prestigious Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST). Andrew Kemp, a science teacher at Male High School (Jefferson Co.), and Robyn Morris, a mathematics teacher at East Oldham Middle School (Oldham Co.), are among 108 winners representing the 50 states, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Department of Defense schools. The Presidential Award for [...]
The evidence statements provide detail on what students should know and be able to do in order to satisfy each performance expectation (PE) at the end of instruction. Given that each PE is three-dimensional, the statements describe how students can use the practices, crosscutting concepts, and disciplinary core ideas together to demonstrate proficiency on the PEs by the end of [...]
The Lawrence Hall of Science (LHS) at the University of California, Berkeley is accepting new participants for 2015-16 elementary school and middle school science curriculum field trials. A number of spots are open for LHS’ middle school physical science unit, Magnetic Fields. The LHS Learning Design Group's rich science curriculum, which is developed in partnership with Amplify Education, combines hands-on inquiry, [...]
The National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) has produced a series of videos that illustrate the implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) in classrooms. The collection introduces science teachers to important strategies based on the Framework for K-12 Science Education and the NGSS. The videos highlight the major shifts in science instruction, explore the new role of the teacher, [...]
An online summer book study designed to help middle school science teachers learn more about the practice of constructing explanations will begin June 22. The group will study Supporting Grade 5-8 Students in Constructing Explanations in Science: The Claim, Evidence and Reasoning Framework for Talk and Writing, a book by Katherine L. McNeill and Joseph Krajcik. The study will be [...]
The Murray State University College of Education and Human Services will host a workshop for science and mathematics teachers July 6-10 and 13-17 at MSU’s Alexander Hall. The 10-day workshop is intended to help elementary and middle school teachers meet the requirements of the Next Generation Science Standards and the Kentucky Core Academic Standards for mathematics and learn to effectively [...]
Achieve and Teaching Channel have released four online videos that present an overview of key innovations in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and dive deeper into each of the NGSS’ three dimensions. The videos are publicly available for viewing on Teaching Channel’s website. The topics are: Next Generation Science Standards: A Vision for K-12 Science Education Crosscutting Concepts Science [...]
The end of the school year brings excitement and a bit of relief. For high school students, the relief comes after finished end-of-course exams. That’s what I came across as I visited Murray High School in the Murray Independent school district, a District of Distinction.
“As Many Exceptions As Rules” is a free online resource in which exceptions to natural and biological rules and stories of adaptation and diversity are used to illustrate and reinforce the core concepts of biology. Posted weekly by Mark Lasbury of the Indiana University School of Medicine and the IUPUI School of Education, each story includes pertinent vocabulary with etymology, [...]
