Kentucky Science Teaching Summit
What you need to know about today’s evolution of K-12 science instruction
March 12, 2021
9:00am-4:00pm EST
Via online remote videoconference
As our K-12 teachers are adjusting and enhancing their practices to meet the intent of the Kentucky Academic Standards in Science which were adopted in 2013, we also need to inform ourselves about how to best support those teachers. The day-long summit will incorporate interactive features for all of us to learn from each other.
Audience: higher education science/science education instructors, professional scientists, informal science professionals, tertiary science instructors, and related industry professionals.The purpose of this summit is:
- to share our best approaches for supporting implementation of KAS-Science
- to continue to deepen our own understanding of how and why K-12 science instruction has shifted and how we can best support K-12 teachers
- to explore organizational opportunities to create a state-wide approach for leveraging our collective expertise for continuing this work
Many different people share responsibility for preparing and supporting our state’s K-12 science teachers, including science educators, professional scientists, informal science professionals, and tertiary science instructors. As K-12 science teachers and their students align instruction and learning with the Kentucky Academic Standards for Science (KAS), the challenging task of thinking about and teaching science in more cognitively complex and rich ways requires people providing teacher support structures to also continue to learn and inform our capacity to support those teachers. There is a strong tendency for teachers to teach science in a manner similar to how they were taught. It is critical for higher education science instruction to evolve along with K-12 science instruction as the field continues to learn more about the most effective ways to teach – and learn – science. Science educators, informal science professionals, and professional scientists all should embody and enact approaches consistent with KAS-Science tenants as we work with classroom science teachers.
Summit Strands
Please ensure your proposal aligns to one of the strands listed below.
- Using phenomena as a structure to teach science (drive learning)
Phenomena are those natural occurrences/observations that can be explained. Incorporating these real-world applications aids in students understanding how science works. Science is about understanding the world around us. Phenomena, sometimes called real world applications, are those natural occurrences/observations that can be explained. The use of these phenomena to drive instruction lead students towards that understanding. - Explicit attention to practices and/or crosscutting concepts (using data)
Students are to be engaged in the actual doing of science, meaning that they should have similar experiences that scientists have as they work to understand phenomena. The tools of science are the science and engineering practices that students utilize. The crosscutting concepts are those big ideas that “cut across” the domains of science. - Sense-making of how the world works
Students utilize the practices and crosscutting concepts as they apply the science concepts (content) as they gain understanding of phenomena.
Next Steps
1. Complete the Summit Poster Proposal Form linked below and upload an abstract of your poster, limited to 250 words. You must log in to this form with an email address associated with a Google account. The deadline to submit is February 26, 2021. Your proposals will be peer-reviewed. If your proposal is accepted, you will receive additional information via email for preparation and presentation.
2. Register for the Summit. There is no cost to attend.
If you have questions regarding the summit, contact Krista Adams.