Louisiana Virtual Teacher Leader Summit 2021

     After leaving TLS 2021 I am a more knowledgeable about the three dimensions of NGSS.  I have always known about Science and Engineering Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and DCI's.  I just didn't know the role it plays when planning a science lesson using high quality science curriculum.  After attending TLS 2021 I have a better understanding of science standards in my state and the resources we have available. Last week I had the opportunity to visit all high quality science curriculum providers, a session on instructional coaching, and culture responsive teaching. .

    Out of curiosity I attended all of the high quality science curriculum providers sessions grades K-12.  The lesson preparation process was scaffolded into different sessions. We as educators participated in those sessions as a student and teacher.  We were given instructional strategies to use in classroom.  I love that we were given a chance implement those strategies as students.  Majority of the sessions were interactive and engaging. The use of breakout were very effective and well implemented. After attended these session and reviewing my notes I realized they all following the lesson planning guide for high quality curriculum instruction for the state.  Each curriculum has a different name for the step in the lesson planning process. Here is the knowledge I gained from those high quality science curriculum  sessions:

• They all have an unpacking process we should be analyzing the unit performance expectation(s) to understand what students should know and be able to do
• according to the your state student standards for science.  Then examine your state's learning progressions to understand content from previous grades or courses. 
• They all have a deep dive or anchoring phenomena process that builds an understanding of the unit launch experience by exploring the unit overview and the elements of the anchoring phenomena routine for a students perspective.  The science team students will explore, make sense, identify relating and develop questions about the phenomena 
• Lesson set annotation: the teacher reads the lesson set performance expectations, identify competing ideas that students have about the phenomena, identify the instructional routine that you will use for the unit, and determined how you will assess students. Also, you should identify a routine that will address unfinished learning. 
• Analyze student work: establish  norms, analyze the work to formatively assess students understands and form that assessment determine the effectiveness.  If not effective make the changes necessary. 

    This is a major shift in science education.  When scientific inquiry was first introduced is was just a method thinking and interpreted as the scientific method. Using the scientific method students were following steps and procedures. Later, in the position from NSTA's Transitioning for Scientific Inquiry to Three-Dimensional Teaching and Learning states, "scientific inquiry became understood as a hands on and minds on approach requiring more than a set of steps, as was referred to as a habit of mind (Minstrell 2000).   After attending I finally deepened my knowledge about three-dimensional teaching and agree with NSTA's recommendations in this article. It states, "NSTA recommends a transition to three-dimensional teaching and learning and supports reflective teaching that helps students understand the connections of science and engineering practices and crosscutting concepts with the nature of science.  It is important  to note that this transition is not a rejection of scientific inquiry, but represents further evolution of our understand about what is essential to promote student learning."(Transitioning for Scientific Inquiry to Three-Dimensional Teaching and Learning, 2021)

    Now, I see the shift in science education. Instead of students coming to a traditional science classroom they are now the scientist or engineer of an scientific investigation. Students will be more engaged in the class, participating in all of the scientific practices that scientists do daily. This hands on approach should deepen their understanding of scientific practices and demonstrate the importance of proper documentation of their research. Now we should see a student led class conducting investigations instead of one being by the led teacher.  

Work Cited

Transitioning from Scientific Inquiry to Three-Dimensional Teaching and Learning. NSTA. (n.d.). https://www.nsta.org/nstas-official-positions/transitioning-scientific-inquiry-three-dimensional-teaching-and-learning.