Teacher/Leader Teams! You're invited to join OSPI in a project piloting integration across elementary science, ELA, and math.
As a Pilot Team consisting of teachers working with school and/or district leaders, you'll learn about and explore research-based tools, resources, and instructional practices that support exemplary science learning and effective content integration.
This professional learning program and pilot is designed to strengthen student learning through anchoring reading, writing, speaking, listening, and math in engaging science contexts.
The pilot schools will serve as one-third of the overall OSPI project on elementary content integration. Statewide Leadership Cadres and Statewide Teacher Cadres will be occurring at the same time as the pilot schools to distribute this learning across the state with different grain sizes and models.
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Why Content Integration?
A growing body of research illustrates the critical importance of integrating content in the elementary grades. Student development of academic language and content knowledge plays a key role in comprehending both informational and literary texts and developing literacy across content areas. Science is a perfect vehicle for integration. It provides a powerful anchor to meaningfully engage in reading, writing, speaking, listening, research, developing explanations supported with evidence, and critical thinking, as well as applying math skills within a real context. To facilitate this, many of our state-adopted science standards are already designed for direct integration with ELA or math.
Intentional and meaningful integration between science, ELA, and math also maximizes the use of instructional minutes to fit everything in, which provides for equitable access to the full range of elementary learning for all students and sets them up for success in middle school and beyond.
Pilot Program Overview
- By analyzing and implementing two high-quality units at each grade level from high-quality open education resource (OER) instructional materials, you will collaborate with other teachers and leaders around rich three-dimensional, phenomena/problem centered elementary science instruction that recognizes and leverages opportunities to integrate ELA and math.
- Cross-district grade-level PLCs will deepen understanding of effective science instruction and integration in study groups at your own grade level throughout the school year.
- The goal is for knowledge and skills gained through the implementation and analysis of shared curricular units during the program to be applied to the materials already in use in your district or to additional units from the OER instructional materials if desired .
- School and district leaders will work in school or district-based teams to consider site-wide supports, help teachers reflect on implementation of the units and strategies, and/or analyze student artifacts through the lens of science and ELA standards.
BSCS Science Learning will facilitate this cadre in partnership with OSPI.
Benefits of Piloting
Pilot Teams will receive the following:
- One year of free, high-quality, professional learning via BSCS Science Learning and OSPI
- School/District leadership support via BSCS and OSPI
- Free STEM, equity, and educational leadership clock hours
- One Swivl streaming camera system provided per pilot school or district.
- $1,000 implementation stipends for participating teachers and leaders
- Access to free practice units for each grade level during and after the pilot
- Access to science materials needed for the practice units
- Opportunities for collaboration across Pilot Teams and districts
- Opportunity to serve as a leader and inspiration for other schools and districts
Pilot Timeline
This pilot is expected to launch in May of 2022 and continue through June of 2023.
- The launch for the Pilots will occur in May of 2022.
- Orientation to the first unit will occur during a virtual summer institute, likely in late June
- This will be followed by two-hour implementation-support drop-in sessions, and three study group virtual sessions in the fall.
- Orientation to the second unit will take place in a virtual winter institute over several sessions).
- Monthly study groups will take place in the spring semester and conclude in May of 2023.
- Several sessions specifically to support the school or district leaders will occur across the year.
Eligibility Criteria for Pilot Teams
- Pilot teams may be organized either at an elementary school or across a district to promote systemic impact.
- School/District teams may include grade level PLCs or cross-grade PLCs. It would be beneficial if Pilot Teachers have a site partner at their own grade level to work with.
- All pilot teams should have at least 6 members and must include at least one school or district leader (principal, vice principal, district leader, TOSA etc...) who is able to participate and support teachers in the pilot work.
- Participating teachers must have permission from their principal/district to:
- Allocate time for science instruction to implement the practice units.
- Implement two provided practice units for the purpose of shared professional learning and experience. The units will continue to be available after the pilot if desired, but the goal is to support participants in leveraging opportunities for future integrated learning using their own district materials.
- Participate fully for the pilot year.
- Support formal research efforts and communication around integrated learning in elementary which may include participating in surveys, interviews, student work etc...(de-linked from personal identifiers).
- Pilot Team membership is limited to 90 participants.
To Express Interest in the Pilot Program
You may indicate an interest in participating or in learning more by clicking on the link above.
Please have only one person from your potential team submit the survey, this would likely be your school or district leader.
OSPI will then be in contact to discuss your interest, answer your questions, and connect you to the application.
For more information, please contact Kimberley Astle, Associate Director of Elementary Science at OSPI at kimberley.astle@k12.wa.us
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