TiffanyGram for April 9-13

Weekly Science Message:  April 9^th-13^th

Thank you:

First I’d like to say thank you to everyone for the overwhelming support! Science teachers are the best and I’ve enjoyed reading all of your e-mails! I’ve already had several suggestions and questions brought to my attention. I will try to address them as well as make a few announcements.

Oklahoma’s Vision 2020 Conference:

The Oklahoma State Department of Education will be hosting the first Vision 2020 Conference. The conference is being held in Oklahoma City June 12^th-15^th. The Vision 2020 Conference is an attempt to merge all of the discipline specific workshops and conference together for one week-long EVENT! June 12^th and 13^th are designated as teacher days and June 14^th and 15^th are designated as leader days. However, teachers and leaders can attend any of the days of the conference they choose.

I encourage you all to attend June 12^th and June 13^th. There will be exciting breakout sessions for science educators both days along with some amazing opening speakers and keynote speakers at lunch! The breakout sessions will include national speakers sharing amazing strategies that support implementation of Common Core State Standards for Literacy in Science as well as numerous Oklahoma teachers who will be presenting lesson ideas.

The June 12^th keynote speaker will focus on science education and the June 13^th keynote speaker will focus on STEM education (the mathematics teachers will be joining us at lunch on June 13^th). Registration for the conference is $25 and includes: admittance all week, a parking pass, and one lunch. Look for more information on OSDE’s website at: http://ok.gov/sde/events/vision-2020

Navigating the New Oklahoma State Department of Education Website:

I have received several requests for support in finding: Testing Blue Prints, the Item Specification Document, and Test Item Release documents from previous years. To address the questions I’ve attached the “Navigating the OSDE Website Testing Resources” document. It will guide you step-by-step through the process with text and image support. I hope you find it helpful!

Oklahoma C³ Science Standards and Common Core State Standards for Literacy in Science:

There seems to be some confusion related to Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for Literacy in Science and Oklahoma C³ Science Standards. I will attempt to try to clear up some of that confusion. However, if you have further questions please feel free to contact me.

Common Core State Standards for Literacy in Science represent a set of standards that are supplemental to the existing Oklahoma C³ Science Standards (formerly called PASS).The Literacy Standards for Science serve as a means for science educators to support deeper understanding of the process and content standards found in the Oklahoma C³ Science Standards through literacy. This does not mean that we move away from great science activities! It just means that we will also focus on incorporating literacy skills into our existing practices. Many science educators have been this for years and some will be sharing those practices at the Vision 2020 Conference in June.

You can access the Oklahoma C³ Science Standards from the Educators tab of the OSDE’s Homepage or directly via: http://ok.gov/sde/oklahoma-c3-standards  If you scroll down the page you will find the link to the Oklahoma C³ Science Standards.

Professional Development Opportunities for Educators:

• Oklahoma State University is offering a STEM Teacher Institute for K-8 Educators June 15^th.

o   Details posted on OSTA: https://www.oklahomascienceteachersassociation.org/?p=3822

• The 2012 OSTA Spring Workshop is being hosted at the University of Central Oklahoma Forensic Institute in Edmond April 14^th.

o   Details posted on OSTA:  https://www.oklahomascienceteachersassociation.org/?p=3829

Science Camps for Students:

• Engineering Summer Academy being held at Tulsa University June 25^th -29^th. The Summer Engineering Academy is for Precollege Students interested in careers in electrical and mechanical engineering.

o   Details posted on OSTA: https://www.oklahomascienceteachersassociation.org/?p=3845

I know this is a tremendous amount of information for the first weekly post. However, I had a lot to share with you! I hope to see you all at the Vision 2020 Conference in June! It will be an amazing time for Oklahoma science educators to gain valuable information and resources to support implementation of Oklahoma C³ Science Standards and Common Core State Standards for Literacy in Science. Don’t miss it!

Have a great weekend!

-Tiffany