November Science Update

North Carolina Public Schools sent this bulletin at 11/04/2020 08:00 AM EST

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Wednesday, November 4, 2020

K-12 Science

K-12 STANDARDS, CURRICULUM & INSTRUCTION

Using Exit Tickets in the Formative Assessment Process

Last month we surveyed teachers to find out more about how they are using formative assessment to support student science learning. Some of the questions we asked included what strategies were used, why they were chosen, how they were implemented, what was the impact on diverse learners, and how did teachers determine effectiveness. We had 261 responses from across the state.

Every SBE District responded with the break down in participation below:

District 1 (40.6%)
District 2 (7.7%)
District 3 (10%)
District 4 (19.9%)
District 5 (9.6%)
District 6 (6.5%)
District 7 (3.1%)
District 8 (2.7%)

The most frequent strategy was the use of exit tickets. Exit tickets are effective when they are used during the adapting and responding to student needs part of the the formative assessment cycle. This allows teachers to individualize instruction based on student needs.

For more information about exit tickets click the link to this NSTA article. Please note that it has limited free access. You will have to create an account in order to access once your free trial has expired.

K-12 Science Section Virtual Office Hours and Webinars

The K-12 Science Section is pleased to offer upcoming office hours and a Webinar Series for 2020-2021 from 3:30-4:30 PM. Each office hour and Webinar session will focus on a particular topic and target a specific audience.

You can register for both office hours and upcoming 2020-2021 webinars at the K-12 Science Virtual Office Hours & Webinar Series Google Document.

We encourage you to visit the K-12 Science Google Site under the Professional Development tab to register for any upcoming office hour sessions you are interested in. You can also check out the recordings of each session as well as FAQs posted by the participants.

K-12 Science Professional Development Opportunities

We are in a new era of education because of what is going on in the world around us. As a result, educators must contend with two critical issues of our time: effective pedagogies for virtual teaching and meaningful ways to provide equity and social justice in our classrooms.

To meet the needs these issues present to leaders in North Carolina, NCSLA is presenting four webinars this fall to provide professional learning opportunities on these topics. Two of the webinars will investigate the challenges inherent in distance learning and will present pedagogy to effectively meet those challenges. The other two webinars will take a hard look at ways in which equity and social justice can be addressed and incorporated into the classroom.

Join us virtually and hear from top Science Educators in North Carolina sharing the ways and means to remote learning in a virtual classroom and addressing diversity and equity during distance learning.

Please see the attached flyer for webinar dates and times:

NCSLA Webinar Series Flyer.pdf

The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences is offering FREE professional development for teachers. This series of online workshops will guide you through information and activities for exploring the natural world right in your own backyard. Each workshop includes a short introductory video and follow-up assignments to get outdoors and explore your "nature neighborhood!" You can do them at your own pace, as all the resources and materials are available on an ongoing basis. You can receive credit towards CEUs or EE certification (Criteria 2). And we've made all of the resources available for you to use with your students and families.

Click for Registration Information

Open Educator Resources (#GoOpenNC)

Open Education Resources (OER) are resources such as lesson plans, videos, and other curriculum that are aligned with the North Carolina Standard Course of Study (NCSCOS). Teachers can upload their own lesson plans to share with others. The #GoOpen campaign was launched by the U.S. Department of Education on October 29, 2015 and encourages states, school districts and educators to use openly licensed educational materials. North Carolina has joined the #GoOpen initiative and was recognized for leadership in this area by the U.S. Department of Education. NCDPI is committed to collaborating with state and district leaders, innovative education technology platform providers, and non-profit organizations - all working together to share knowledge and experiences to help educators transition to using openly licensed educational resources.

Take some time to visit the #GoOpenNC website and start exploring some of the many resources to use with K-12 Science. In order to take full advantage of this free resource to K-12 Science educators, log in with your NCEdCloud account.