K-12 Alliance Science Content Institutes

Who Should Attend

• Science teachers and science teacher leaders in grades K-12
• District curriculum coordinators responsible for science programs
• Science professional developers

Goals of the Institutes

The institutes address specific content topics and are designed to increase participants' science content knowledge and pedagogical skills for teaching science.

Format of the Institutes

The one-week institutes for elementary or secondary teachers engage participants in large and small group work, hands-on activities, and laboratory experiences to enhance content knowledge appropriate to the designated grade span and in alignment with state and national science standards.

The institutes also address pedagogy, including, for example, effective use of instructional materials, differentiated instruction, writing and reading in science, lesson design, assessment, and science instruction for English learners.

Open enrollment institutes are conducted each summer at various California locations and by arrangement with school districts in California and other states.

What You Learn

• Science content knowledge appropriate to elementary or secondary classrooms or as arranged with a district
• Effective, research-based strategies for building student understanding in that content
• Strategies for creating and implementing effective instructional design, including developing conceptual flows for student understanding; using specific questioning strategies from teacher to students and vice versa - as well as encouraging student-to-student discourse; effectively using instructional materials; and developing appropriate assessment strategies to capture student understanding
• Skills to integrate content, pedagogical content knowledge, differentiated instructional strategies, and use of student work to assess understanding and modify instruction
• Skills and strategies for integrating science and literacy skills in reading, writing, speaking, and listening

Who Facilitates Your Learning

Science content sessions are led by a "content cadre" consisting of a chemistry, biology, or geology university faculty member, a middle school science teacher, and a high school science teacher.

The cadre members are highly experienced faculty and teachers who are grounded in what effective science teaching and learning looks like, K-20. WestEd's K-12

Alliance staff coordinate the institutes and lead all sessions focused on instruction and pedagogy. For over 18 years, K-12 Alliance staff have designed and provided transformative learning experiences for science teachers.

What Resources Support Your Learning

The institutes draw from resources and research such as the following:

How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience and School: Expanded Edition (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 2000); Understanding by Design (Wiggins & McTigh, 1998); Achieving Science Literacy (Bybee, 1996) and the 5E Learning Cycle; state science content standards; National Science Education Standards; Inquiry and the National Science Standards (National Research Council); Benchmarks for Science Literacy (American Association for the Advancement of Science); "Building Conceptual Flows" series in California Classroom Science (California Science Teachers Association); Making Connections: A Guide to Implementing Science Standards (Janulaw, Janulaw, & DiRanna, 2000).

What the Research Says

Several research studies suggest that the single most important determinant of what students learn is the experience of the teacher. These institutes bolster teachers' experience and operationalize findings that professional development that is most closely linked to improved student learning has a major focus on teachers developing understanding of the content they will teach, is sustained over time, and provides opportunities for professional dialogue and critical reflection (Weiss et al., 1999; U.S. Department of Education, 2000).

What Participants Report

"Thank you for teaching me the science I need to know in ways that I truly understand - why didn't I get this instruction in my preservice program?"

"I didn't even know the content I was missing until I attended this WestEd institute. I learned more than I ever knew and my students are benefiting from it."

The Teaching-Learning Collaborative, in which teachers participate in a lesson study, is a recommended follow-up to a content institute.

Cost

Tuition for a one-week institute is $1,500 with a discount for teams.

Contact Information

Doris Waters
714.438.3802
dwaters@wested.org