Hello Everyone

Hello and good morning fellow science teachers. What are your thoughts on the next standards?

-K Parry, WECHS

I like the idea and the fact that it lays out exactly what I need to be teaching. I think that it will cut down on the wondering of "what will be on the test". I think it's a great idea but it's going to take some work to implement it.

I agree. There are definitely times when I'm not sure exactly what to be teaching and that makes it difficult to make sure they're getting what they need and are going to be prepared for the EOC. For example, I'm pretty sure the standards for Biology don't mention that students need to know how to test for macromolecules - just their "structure and function." But sure enough, that might be on the EOC. So I like the idea of confidence in what content I'm teaching. I also like the potential for assessments that test their skills and their problems solving, not just their basic knowledge.

What do you think will be the biggest struggle for implementation?

I think that we as teachers will have to go through and change our way of teaching. It will have to be more direct and to the point. Some things can be taught with general knowledge but with the in depth concepts they are looking for it will now have to be really specific. I think students are going to struggle with the higher thinking concepts. They have to go beyond what is a cell to this is a cell, these are the structures, these are the functions of those structures, and what will happen if I take this structure out. My students can think but sometimes don't take that extra beyond step.

What do you think?

I think it is overwhelming to think about teaching skills vs. content. I try to do that in my class room now, I try to get my students to think critically and answer questions that I haven't taught them the answer to - but it's definitely not easy. I can teach my students the details of cell structure and they can recall those facts on a test. But we certainly don't have time to teach them what happens when you remove each organelle, our job would be to teach them to think about a question that someone didn't teach them the answer to, and that's a tall task for both of us!

I completely agree. It's hard for them to step it up. I love when I haven't taught something yet but they can use what I have taught them to build to get the answer. It makes me feel like I did something right!!!

I agree! I guess I just still haven't figured out how to do that effectively. Sometimes it happens, and when it does I love it! I just haven't honed in on what I did to make it happen and how I can make it happen every day next year.