OKLAHOMA CITY (Sept. 11, 2014) – The Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) is offering free two-day regional workshops to support science teachers and school district administrators as they transition to new Oklahoma Academic Standards (OAS) for Science.
The new standards were adopted by the State Board of Education and signed into rule by Gov. Fallin this summer. They replace Priority Academic Student Skills (PASS) science standards. State science assessments will not be aligned to these new standards, however, until 2016-2017 so that districts and teachers have time to transition.
Workshops will be held throughout the state:
- Sept. 18-19: Sand Springs – Sand Springs Public Schools Early Childhood Education Center
- Sept. 25-26: Stillwater – Meridian Technology Center
- Oct. 9-10: Pryor – Northeast Technology Center
- Oct. 23-24: Ardmore – Sam Noble Foundation (The Sam Noble Foundation is hosting the Ardmore workshop and providing lodging at no cost to participants who require it on the evening of Oct. 23. To sign up for lodging or if you have questions about lodging, contact Frank Hardin at cfhardin@noble.org.)
- Nov. 13-14: Norman – Moore/Norman Technology Center
- Nov. 20 – 21:Duncan – Red River Technology Center
- Dec. 4-5: Weatherford – Western Technology Center
- Feb. 12-13, 2015: Altus – Southwest Technology Center
Workshops will be 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days. Workshops are free, but participants will need to plan lunch on their own.
OSDE is still working to secure a few more locations for additional workshops. As more locations are added, information will be provided to teachers and the updated locations will appear on the registration link.
The first day of the workshop will provide participants with an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the three dimensions of science (science and engineering practices, crosscutting concepts and disciplinary core ideas) integrated into the new OAS-Science.
Participants can also engage in several classroom activities that embody the three dimensions and help show the shifts exhibited in the new OAS-Science.
The second day of the workshop will be devoted to supporting districts and teachers in developing resources that assist in the transition to the new OAS-Science.
Those who will benefit from the workshops include: K-12 teachers, teacher leaders, science department chairs, science curriculum coordinators, administrators and higher education faculty members from the departments of education and sciences. Ideally, at least two members from each school or district should attend the workshop.
Educators can register here:
http://www.eventbrite.com/e/science-standards-workshop-tickets-12977180095?aff=eorg