Good afternoon! I hope today is going well and you all enjoyed starting the week off with a holiday! (at least I hope you had a holiday)
I was able to have lunch today with the Oklahoma Teacher of the Year Finalists and I just want you guys to know, those folks are a great group of people. They represent the educators of this state with professionalism and you can be proud of them. No matter who is chosen as the State Teacher of the Year, you can be assured that he or she will do a fantastic job as your representative to the public and other state’s teachers of the year.
On to business:
1. I’m not sure if I’ve said this before, but I know many of you have been bombarded by information about the Common Core since we’ve moved into the transition period. We should be very clear, the Common Core ELA and Math standards do NOT include Science Standards. What they do is include Science Literacy Standards. There’s a big difference. The Science Literacy Standards do not contain science content nor do they “do away with” teaching science in K-5. The ELA standards DO tell us how students in 6-12 should be able to interact with Informational text (p 39) and how students should be able to communicate in “discipline-specific” content (History, Science, & Technical Subjects) (p 65).
There is an initiative for new Science Standards and the National Research Council has released a Framework for these new standards. The Framework will serve as the basis for the development of Next Generation Science Standards, a state-led effort managed by Achieve, Inc. Since this has the potential to affect each of you, I thought you might want to have a look at the Framework:
http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13165 (you can download a free PDF on the site)
Keep in mind that these are NOT standards. This is simply a framework for building the standards. Once the standards are written, Oklahoma would have the option to adopt the standards.
I hope I haven’t muddied the waters even more. I hope I’ve clarified the issue. If you are being told that the content in the ELA/Math standards is your new Science Standards, you have been misinformed and you should contact your science curriculum director or superintendent. You can also let me know (anonymously) and I can give them a call, if that’s the preferred route.
2. While the Oklahoma Envirothon hasn’t chosen a specific location, they have set a date! The 2012 Envirothon will be held on Tuesday, 3 April 2012. You can find out more information about Envirothon by going to http://www.envirothonok.com/ There is information about last year’s competition and a brief overview of what Envirothon is. If you are looking for something exciting to do with your Environmental Science class, this might be it!
3. This last one is for all grade-levels and all disciplines. At first glance, you might think the Museum of Osteology would only be for the life science folks, but I guarantee you can find something for the “Big 3” if you look hard enough. Maybe you want to do a one-day comparative anatomy study (biology) or a life-science application of levers (physics) or even take a closer look at the way organic tissue interacts with certain chemicals (chemistry). If you contact Joey, the director of education at the Museum of Osteology, he would gladly help you plan your field trip. You can reach him at 405.814.0006, at Education@museumofosteology.org, or you can just check out their website at http://museumofosteology.org. It is a fascinating place and will provide you with some great teachable moments!
Thanks for reading! I hope you have a good (short) week!
Jody L Bowie
Director, Science Education
http://sde.state.ok.us/curriculum/CurriculumDiv/Science/