When teachers have opportunities to actively participate in and “try on” ambitious science teaching strategies, they have more confidence and feel more prepared to engage their students in meaningful, three-dimensional science learning.
This is one of the primary findings shared by ISP Instructional Specialists Heather Milo and Alex Gerber, co-authors of “Learning to Be an Ambitious Science Teacher,” an article published in the September/October 2024 issue of Science and Children. The award-winning, peer-reviewed practitioners’ journal for grades PreK-5 teachers, university faculty responsible for teacher preparation, and state and district science supervisors and leaders is published on behalf of National Science Teaching Association (NSTA).
Milo and Gerber designed the NGSS (Next Generation Science Standards) Content Academy, a high-quality professional learning experience for teachers that adapted four core practices outlined in the Ambitious Science Teaching (AST) instructional framework: 1) planning for teachers to engage with AST instructional practices; 2) eliciting teachers’ ideas about their current teaching practices; 3) supporting ongoing changes in teacher thinking by modeling key AST strategies and tools; and 4) pressing teachers to “try on” AST practices and use evidence to assess their impact.
The NGSS Content Academy included one cohort of 20 elementary teachers (grades 3-5) from various school districts who attended four cohort sessions with three action periods over a semester. The experience was based on “What’s Consistent About Matter,” a fifth-grade unit from the ISP’s mySci program.
“Teachers found that the cohort sessions were valuable, and indicated that having the chance to ‘try on’ new strategies helped increase their confidence to make the strategies possible in their own classrooms,” says Milo.
Launched in 2005, the ISP’s mySci program is the go-to curricular resource for over 4,700 K-8 educators who inspire students in 265+ schools each year with engaging, hands-on science learning.