Curriculum

What kinds of questions should guide investigations of matter? The Questions to Investigate task is intended to elicit preservice teachers’ CKT related to asking questions to frame investigations of changes in matter. The task presents a variety of student-posed questions for preservice teachers to evaluate in terms of their quality and appropriateness. The CKT tasks are intended as a complement to your existing instructional activities in order to elicit and probe preservice teachers’ CKT.

What kinds of questions should guide investigations of matter? The Questions to Investigate task is intended to elicit preservice teachers’ CKT related to asking questions to frame investigations of changes in matter. The task presents a variety of student-posed questions for preservice teachers to evaluate in terms of their quality and appropriateness. The CKT tasks are intended as a complement to your existing instructional activities in order to elicit and probe preservice teachers’ CKT.

"Evolution: DNA and the Unity of Life" is an eight-week, comprehensive curriculum unit that sharply illuminates the underlying role of genetics in evolution by maintaining a conceptual connection to DNA and heredity throughout. Through paper-based and interactive multimedia lessons, the unit aligns with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) by engaging students in questioning, using models, identifying patterns, analyzing skill-level appropriate data from published scientific studies, and constructing evidence-based arguments. The unit’s lessons are organized into five modules.

This paper examines the use of Imaginative Education (IE) to create an NGSS-aligned middle school engineering curriculum that supports transfer and the development of STEM identity. In IE, cognitive tools—such as developmentally appropriate narratives, mysteries and fantasies—are used to design learning environments that both engage learners and help them organize knowledge productively. We have combined IE with transmedia storytelling to develop two multi-week engineering units and six shorter engineering lessons.

This paper examines the use of Imaginative Education (IE) to create an NGSS-aligned middle school engineering curriculum that supports transfer and the development of STEM identity. In IE, cognitive tools—such as developmentally appropriate narratives, mysteries and fantasies—are used to design learning environments that both engage learners and help them organize knowledge productively. We have combined IE with transmedia storytelling to develop two multi-week engineering units and six shorter engineering lessons.

To realize the promise of the Next Generation Science Standards, educators require new three-dimensional, phenomenon-based curriculum materials. We describe and report on pilot test results from such a resource—Evolution: DNA and the Unity of Life. Designed for the Next Generation Science Standards, this freely available unit was developed for introductory high school biology students. It builds coherent understanding of evolution over the course of seven to 8 weeks.

Arguing from evidence is one of eight key science practices in which students should engage. It is an essential component of science, yet students have difficulties with this practice. We describe a scaffolded claimsevidence-reasoning (CER) argumentation framework that is embedded within a new eight-week, freely available curriculum unit developed by the Genetic Science Learning Center – Evolution: DNA and the Unity of Life. The scaffold provides high school students with practice in both developing and evaluating written arguments.

Designed to be integrated with any curriculum, each grade level includes 18-20 one-hour lessons to be conducted throughout the school year. Each LEAP lesson lasts about an hour is designed to fit within a typical daily math instructional period.

LEAP early algebra curriculum for Grades K-5. Grades 3 and 4 currently available, with the remaining books for Grades K-2, 5 in press.

Blanton, M., Gardiner, A., Stephens, A., & Knuth, E. (2020). LEAP: Learning through an early algebra progression. Didax: Rowley, MA.

This resource presents a curricular module for high school biology classes related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The module is made up of 8 lessons that will likely take about 10-15 hours of instructional time. Major themes of the module include viral transmission, media literacy, data analysis, argumentation, and modeling. The following driving questions are explored: