We have provided several professional development workshops locally and nationally.
We believe that effective PD has several features. First, PD needs to be closely tied to classroom practice; it should help teachers translate theory to action. Second, it is sustained; one-shot workshops rarely result in much change, teachers need ongoing support as they try out new approaches and need help troubleshooting obstacles. Third, to better learn new approaches it helps to experience them as a student would; PD should provide opportunities for teachers to take the role of students on the one hand, and reflect on the teaching tasks and moves on the other.
Drawing on these features we have provided several professional development workshops locally and nationally. While, it is not always possible to have ongoing PD, we have found that having multiple shorter sessions with the same group of teachers is more effective than single longer session. In this case teachers engage in design and implementation between sessions.
- About the NGSS- PowerPoint presentation highlighting the new vision and mandates of the Next Generation Science Standards.
- Designing model based (MBI) inquiry lessons- PowerPoint presentation showcasing some strategies for developing MBI lessons
- Heredity DCI (LS3) NSTA presentation about the Life Science Disciplinary Core Idea of Heredity (link to NGSS@NSTA)
- Professional development offered through the Rutgers Institute for Improving Student Achievement. This was a four-session series that introduced middle school science teachers to the NGSS and then engaged them in team-based design of NGSS aligned lessons with support from Rutgers science education researchers
Please contact us if you are interested in exploring PD opportunities with us.