This week:
(1) Science Standards Revision Update
(2) Science Instructional Material Adoption Update
(3) Vision 2020
(4) Science Department Chair PLN
(5) Resources
Greetings Science Educators!
I hope your summer is going well. I wanted to share a few updates with you in this message about the science standards and the science instructional adoption. Please see details below.
(1) Science Standards Update:
The writing team for the revision of the Oklahoma Academic Standards for Science has been working diligently to prepare a working draft of the science standards for review. The writing team would like to ensure that there are a variety of opportunities for stakeholder feedback throughout the revision process. With that in mind, I along with members of the writing team will be hosting several focus group meetings in late summer and early fall to showcase the draft version of the standards and to obtain feedback. The feedback received from the focus groups will be considered by the writing team prior to the public draft of the revised science standards that are expected out in late fall.
Focus groups for educators will be facilitated through the Regional Meetings being offered by the Oklahoma State Department of Education. If you are interested in being part of the educator feedback loop, please make plans to attend one of the regional meetings this fall. I will be sending out details regarding the regional meetings in a later listserv message.
Below you will find an overview of the schedule for the revision of the science standards.
Timeline for the Revision of Oklahoma Academic Standards for Science 2013-2014
The Oklahoma Academic Standards for Science are being revised in 2013-2014. Committees comprised of K-12 science educators, professors of science education from Oklahoma universities, scientists, engineers, legislators, informal science educators, parents and community members.
The Oklahoma Academic Standards for Science Committees will meet from spring through fall of 2013 to revise the K-12 Oklahoma Academic Standards for Science.
Focus groups will be facilitated in late summer and early fall 2013 to provide opportunities for diverse groups of stakeholders to provide feedback on the initial draft of the Oklahoma Academic Standards.
A public draft of the revised standards will be available for public comment for 30 days in late 2013.
Soon after the public draft period the revised Oklahoma Academic Science Standards will be available for the Oklahoma State Board of Education to consider for adoption.
Upon adoption of the new Oklahoma Academic Standards for Science, schools will have access to the revised standards to become acquainted with the shifts and begin thinking about implementation.
However, assessments for the newly adopted standards are not expected to be operational in schools until 2015-2016.
(2) Science Instructional Materials Adoption Update:
The Oklahoma Instructional Materials Committee met on June 14th to discuss the timeline for science adoption. I had the opportunity to brief the committee on the progress of the science standards writing committee. In the presentation, I shared an update on the timeline (see above) as well as some of the significant shifts expected in our new science standards, such as a focus on scientific and engineering practices and the integration of practice/process standards with content standards.
Several of the publishers represented at the meeting had conveyed in a meeting earlier in the week that they did not feel their resources would reflect such shifts at this time. In consideration of the timeline, the shifts in the upcoming standards, and comments by publishers, the textbook committee voted unanimously to delay science instructional materials adoption until 2014. (Ed. note: Selection by the state textbook committee in FALL of 2014, selection and ordering by school districts in SPRING of 2015 with classroom use beginning the following school year)
This year, the adoption cycle for The Arts will remain on the schedule and next year science, reading and literature will be on the instructional materials subject adoption cycle.
Efforts to Support Science Teachers through this Transition:
(a) Open Resource Science Project:
There are numerous open educational resources available for science instruction. However, the volume of resources can be overwhelming to sort through by one individual. As such, I am working with a group of science educators this year who are interested in compiling a list of open-resource materials. Those materials, along with companion videos will be made available to all science teachers in Oklahoma as a support through this time.
The group will ensure that the list of open-resource materials accommodates a wide array of schools and considers technology and print capacities. The open-resource materials will include explanatory text (often found in textbooks) and argumentative text.
If you are interested in volunteering your time to assist with the Open Resource Science Project please complete the following survey: Open Resource Project
(b) Virtual Collaborations:
In the past year, several science teachers have expressed an interest in collaborating with other teachers to share effective instructional practices. To accommodate for this shared interest, we will be hosting several virtual collaborations around topics of interest starting in August. It seems like a timely opportunity to kick off the first virtual collaboration in August with a topical focus on strategies connected to informational text in the science classroom.
The Virtual Collaboration will be held one day in August. On the day of the event, there will be an opportunity for science educators to sign-up to attend a one hour meeting. This can be coordinated with your plan period or after school. To participate, you will need access to a telephone and access to Google Docs. Test your access by clicking here. If you don’t have access, contact your network administrator.
We hope to offer several of these opportunities throughout the year for science teachers to connect and collaborate.
(c) Developing Information for Administrators:
We are developing informational material to disseminate to district administrators that will serve to support them in their decision making through the transition.
We will continue to work with science educators to develop additional strategies for support throughout the year. If you have additional questions or you would like to share additional strategies for support, please contact me at Tiffany.Neill@sde.ok.gov or 405-522-3524.
(3) Vision 2020 Conference:
Registration is now open for the 2013 OSDE VISION 2020 Summer Conference!
The Oklahoma State Department of Education’s VISION 2020 conference will be held July 9-11, 2013 at the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City. Online registration for attendees is available on our website along with other conference information such as hotel accommodations.
Science Sessions: Tuesday July 9th
The science sessions scheduled for July 9th at Vision 2020 will provide participants with a wide variety of opportunities to engage in interactive professional development in science! Topics of focus include: exploring scientific practices, literacy in science, and lesson designing. Several members of Science Standards Writing Team will be presenting at the conference and I will also be giving an update on the Oklahoma Academic Standards for Science. I hope to see all of you there!
For general conference information and to register, please visit: http://ok.gov/sde/vision2020
(4) Sign-Up to Participate in the OK Science Department Chairs Professional Learning Network:
In an effort to provide opportunities for science educators to connect and collaborate, we are initiating a professional learning network for science department chairs in Oklahoma. The goal of the PLN will be to share information, resources, and provide opportunities for department chairs to collaborate. The PLN will have opportunities to meet virtually throughout the year during planning periods or after school.
If you are interested in participating in this exciting opportunity, please complete the following survey: Science Department Chair PLN
(5) Resources:
Earth Science Week 2013 Toolkits Available for Order:
The American Geosciences Institute (AGI) is now accepting advance orders for the Earth Science Week 2013 Toolkit. The Earth Science Week 2013 Toolkit contains educational materials for all ages that correspond to this year’s event theme, “Mapping Our World.”
Materials include the traditional program poster and school-year activity calendar, as well as exciting materials from distinguished program partners such as NASA, the National Park Service, the U.S. Geological Survey, Esri, and professional geoscientific societies. This year’s Toolkit provides students with the opportunity to learn about the many exciting uses of maps and mapping technologies in the geosciences.
Earth Science Week is an annual event led by AGI along with its sponsors and the greater geoscience community. Each year, community groups, educators and interested citizens organize celebratory events across the country to service and educate the public. Activities allow participants to discover the Earth sciences and engage in responsible stewardship of the planet. Earth Science Week is supported by USGS; the AAPG Foundation; the National Park Service; NASA; Esri; National Geographic Education; the American Geophysical Union; the Geological Society of America; and the Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration.
Earth Science Week 2013 will be celebrated October 13-19. To learn more, please visit http://www.earthsciweek.org/. To order your Toolkits, please visit http://www.earthsciweek.org/materials/index.html . You may also call AGI Publications to place your order at 703-379-2480.
Stay Connected:
Follow me on Twitter: @tiffanyneill Facebook: #OKSci Hashtags: #oksde #OKSci #OKSTEM Sign Up for a Twitter account: https://twitter.com/ OKSci Recources: Classroom Strategies: http://www.scoop.it/t/oksci-classroom-strategies Website Resources Elementary: http://bit.ly/OSDE-SciElemLinks Website Resources Secondary: http://bit.ly/OSDE-SecScienceLinks