Elementary Student Mastery and Achievement using Authentic Relevant Teaching

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How can educators help students become "scientifically literate" as mandated by NCLB when science seems so difficult for young children? Understanding and doing science in the classroom is simply not enough – students have to engage in the problem-solving component of science to build their critical thinking skills.

Reports of achievement gaps on standardized tests are evident within subgroups, which indicate that traditional classroom practices fail to reach and engage our diverse and low-income students. As school personnel attempt to fulfill the federal and state mandates, struggling students are falling further behind…especially linguistically diverse and economically disadvantaged students.

IDRA’s Science Smart! model offers the opportunity to become familiar with and implement various approaches that may be used in any classroom setting through engagement of scientifically-based researched strategies that build bridges between understanding science and becoming scientifically literate.

This professional development package is especially designed to be integrated with your school district’s current curriculum through needs assessments, observations, online teacher support, mentoring, trainer preparation and ongoing evaluations. CPE credit is available.

Benefits and Outcomes

• Ensure that all students increase their achievement on state-mandated exams by deepening their level of conceptual understanding and application of science.
• Learn to organize and align state standards so that all students benefit.
• Learn how to integrate and value students’ experiences as a basis for strengthening their scientific competency.
• Learn to teach scientific concepts and processes in new, collaborative ways and support peer collegiality among science teachers who share a common vision.
• Learn about a more engaging develop approach to develop the skills and concepts tested through standardized measures.
• Take lessons and activities that promote critical-thinking and problem-solving opportunities.

IDRA Support

IDRA’s Science Smart! model uses a variety of ways to work with school staff and participants that can include workshop training, video conferences, demonstration lessons, pre-classroom observations, project listserv, web casting, online discussions and reflections, and collaborative planning to enhance curriculum. IDRA provides the following support for face-to-face and online coaching and mentoring sessions:

• Supporting teachers through mentoring and coaching strategies.
• Developing literacy plans to improve academic language use by students.
• Differentiating instruction in the science classroom.
• Implementing cognitively challenging standards-aligned strategies for student success in science.
• Using cognitively guided instruction such as the use of questioning techniques, teacher strategies and building the classroom environment.
• Conducting ongoing assessments of instructional efforts.

Science Smart! Will Address Your Specific Needs

Cross-cutting themes that will be incorporated into each training session include:

• "Understanding and Applying Rigourous Standards to Ensure Student Success"
• "Helping Second Language Learners Excel in Science"
• "Building Science on Students’ Cultural Experiences"
• "Using Centers to Stimulate Scientific Thinking"
• "Teaching Science Using Multicultural Books"
• "Going Beyond ‘Hands-On’ to Scientific Inquiry"
• "Keeping the ‘Why’ in Science Discovery"
• "Supporting Student Thinking in Science through Technology"
• "Engaging Parents with Science Fun"
• "Bringing Out the Scientist in Everyone"

An example of a model plan that IDRA could use with your district is in the box below.