Geoseminar: Jacqueline Huntoon, Provost
The next Geoseminar will take place from 4 to 5 p.m. Friday, January 29, 2016, in 610 Dow. The discussion topic will be “Mi-STAR and the NEW Michigan Science Standards.”
Anyone who is interested in working with K-12 science educators needs to be familiar with some of the major changes taking place as a result of development of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). In Michigan, new Michigan Science Standards, which are based on the NGSS, were adopted in the fall of 2015. Currently, the Michigan Department of Education, Michigan Science Teachers Association, teachers and teacher-educators are working together to prepare for implementation of a reformed curriculum and new instructional practices in our state.
In the past, science standards focused primarily on disciplinary content. In contrast, the new standards ask for teachers to help students become proficient in doing science, as opposed to simply learning about it. This change requires wholescale reform of curriculum and instructional practice. The Mi-STAR project, funded by the Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation, is working with teachers from throughout the state of Michigan to enact the needed reforms. Preliminary research and evaluation results indicate that the new standards and teaching methods are engaging students in science who were previously uninterested in the subject.
This presentation will include a brief overview of the NGSS and the Mi-STAR project along with the opportunity for everyone to try to come up with an idea for a “three-dimensional” learning opportunity for middle-school students. Come prepared to work with a partner or group to begin to create something meaningful and fun.
From Tech Today, by Bill Rose, GMES.
Hands on: Students do science, not just learn facts
HOUGHTON – When Michigan Tech researchers proposed and won funding for the new MiSTAR science curriculum development project, they were facing some challenging new state standards, according to principal investigator Jackie Huntoon.
Read more at the Mining Gazette, by Dan Roblee. (Subscription required.)
L’Anse students pilot hands-on science lessons
L’ANSE, Mich. (AP) – Students in L’Anse are taking part in new hands-on science units being piloted this year in the state.