Science Newsletter-April 2021

4/1/2021

Recording and Resources Now Available for District Professional Learning

The recording and resources from the March installment in the “Nature of Science” series on Obtaining, Evaluating, and Sharing Information now are available on the Ohio Department of Education’s Resources for Science webpage.

The recordings and associated resources from the Nature of Science series feature content found in Ohio’s Learning Standards for Science and provide valuable insight for science educators. These materials are available for Ohio districts to use in planning their districts’ summer professional learning sessions in preparation for the 2021-2022 academic year. Follow-up office hours and Q&A sessions are available for districts that use these materials in their professional learning communities. For details or questions, please contact Robin Deems in the Office of Learning and Instructional Strategies.

EdReports Offers Webinars on Adopting High-Quality Instructional Materials

All Ohio students and teachers deserve access to high-quality instructional materials. As districts are beginning their next curriculum adoption process, the team at EdReports is offering support through a webinar series titled, “Adopting Materials Through an Equity-Focused Lens.”

All webinars are free for Ohio school district personnel. Participants will learn why adopting high-quality instructional materials is important and how to progress through the adoption process with a lens of equity for students. 

April 22, 2021, 2 p.m. ET--Webinar 1: Adopting Materials Through an Equity-Focused Lens: Why Materials Matter Register Here

April 22, 2021, 2 p.m. ET--Webinar 2: Adopting Materials Through an Equity-Focused Lens: Designing an Instructional Vision Register Here

May 6, 2021, 2 p.m. ET--Webinar 3: Adopting Materials Through an Equity-Focused Lens: Establishing Adoption Priorities Register Here

May 20, 2021, 2 p.m. ET--Webinar 4: Adopting Materials Through an Equity-Focused Lens: Stakeholder Engagement Register Here

Great Minds Hosts Ask Us Anything about the Curriculum: A Q&A with the Chief Academic Officers and Teams

Great Minds is launching a three-part webinar series giving educators the opportunity to ask them anything about their curricula. In this webinar series, each webinar will focus exclusively on one content area. You will hear from Great Minds humanities, mathematics, and science chief academic officers, as well as curriculum writers and professional development team members as they address your questions about the curriculum. You can submit your questions in advance of the webinar when you register, or ask them during the session.

• Eureka Math - Tuesday, April 6, 4:30 p.m.–5:30 p.m. ET
• PhD Science - Thursday, April 8, 4:30 p.m.–5:30 p.m. ET
• Wit & Wisdom and Geodes - Tuesday, April 13, 4:30 p.m.–5:30 p.m. ET

Win a Free Microscope from ZEISS

The team at Zeiss understands the need for creative lesson planning is particularly acute in science classrooms because of the need for hands-on laboratories or live demonstrations instead of just traditional lectures.

To support teachers and students with their curricula, Carl Zeiss Microscopy, LLC has announced the Science Classroom Outreach Program for Educators Grant, or the ZEISS SCOPEs Grant.

Any K-12 science teacher needing a solution to help students continue their education in a socially distant environment or K-12 school in the United States offering a microscopy science curriculum may apply for this grant.

Those selected will receive a ZEISS classroom microscope package with an optical microscope, digital camera and software. Recipients may choose from two microscope models for a variety of subjects, the ZEISS Primo Star or ZEISS Stemi 305.

A winner will be selected from the applications each month. All Ohio applicants should mention Nathanael Miller as the staff member of reference.

Apply for the grant on the Zeiss SCOPEs Grant Application webpage.

Registration now open for the Ohio EPA, Office of Environmental Education Project WET Sampler Guide Learning Sessions.

Registration is now open for the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Environmental Education Project WET Sampler Guide Learning Sessions. These free sessions are open to Ohio educators and organizations. 

The learning sessions will use the Project WET Sampler Guide. The guide has seven interdisciplinary and supplemental (science, health, math and art) activities to learn about and then use in teaching.

The schedule for the learning sessions follows:

• April 20 from 7-8 p.m. – Learn about the Project WET online resources and sampler (discoverwater.org), Ohio Environmental Education Fund and Environmental Education
  Council of Ohio.
• April 27 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. – Peer teaching hours, learning about additional resources and participate in a follow-up to everything covered during the learning session.
• May 4 from 6-7 p.m. – Learn about the Project WET online resources and sampler (discoverwater.org), Ohio Environmental Education Fund and Environmental Education Council of Ohio.  
• May 11 from 4:30-6:30 p.m. – Peer teaching hours, learning about additional resources and participate in a follow-up to everything covered during the learning sessions.

All sessions will use the Microsoft Teams platform. A detailed agenda will be sent to each participant with the Microsoft link to join each session. Each participant will be mailed one copy of the Project WET Sampler Guide for planning and peer teaching. The sampler guide, mailing costs and learning sessions are being provided free of charge by the Ohio EPA, Office of Environmental Education

It’s HIGHLY recommended to register in pairs, so each team can work together peer teaching. Register with someone from your own school or an adjoining school district, park or SWCD. Sessions are limited to 12 participants.

When registering, please provide the participant’s name, school district or organization, and the address where the Ohio EPA should mail the book.

Register by Email to Dennis Clement by 5 p.m. on April 6, 2021.

For questions, please contact Dennis Clement with the Ohio EPA, Office of Environmental Education.

AAS and Subaru of America Congratulate Winners of 2021 Book Prize

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and Subaru of America have partnered to honor contributions in literature that relate to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) concepts. This year’s winning books cover a chemist’s fight to save the environment, the communication network of trees, earthworm activities for budding naturalists and a look at how our humanity is tied to the materials we create.

The following books were awarded the 2021 AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science Books. 

Children’s Science Picture Book Mario and the Hole in the Sky: How a Chemist Saved Our Planet, by Elizabeth Rusch, illustrated by Teresa Martínez. Charlesbridge, 2019.   

Middle Grades Science Book Can You Hear the Trees Talking?: Discovering the Hidden Life of the Forest, by Peter Wohlleben. Translated by Shelley Tanaka. Greystone Books, 2019.

Hands-on Science Book This is a Book to Read with a Worm, by Jodi Wheeler-Toppen, illustrated by Margaret McCartney.  Charlesbridge, 2020. 

Young Adult Science Book The Alchemy of Us: How Humans and Matter Transformed One Another, by Ainissa Ramirez.  MIT Press, 2020.

Learn more about these science books on the AAAS blog and follow it on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news.

Nominations for the 2022 prizes can be submitted beginning in April 2021.

Science Education Council of Ohio April Webinar

The Science Education Council of Ohio (SECO) will present its April webinar on Thursday, April 15, 2021, at 4 p.m. The session will focus on the Science and Engineering Practice of Engaging in Argument from Evidence. April’s speaker will be Jason Cervenec, with the Byrd Polar Climate and Research Center at The Ohio State University. 

Cervenec will share how this practice relates to work in climate science. He also will discuss how Byrd Polar’s work in climate science connects to the concept Science is Open to Revision in Light of New Evidence as revealed in the Nature of Science component of Ohio’s Learning Standards for Science (p.8-12).

This live webinar is available free to all Ohio educators. For more information or to register, visit the SECO webpage.

Past monthly webinars are available to SECO members on the Teacher Resource Page.

Environmental Education Council of Ohio Spring Conference is Going Virtual

The 53^rd Annual Conference for the Environmental Education Council of Ohio (EECO) will be held virtually in 2021. This year’s theme, Moving Forward with Environmental Education, will feature conference strands on:

• Natural History;
• STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) and Careers;
• Strategic Growth;
• Population, Climate and Outdoor Education;
• Inclusive World of Environmental Education.

Full conference registration includes all sessions, keynotes, workshops and field trips for Thursday, Friday and Saturday of the conference. Single day registrations also are available. 

Chris Myers from Miami University will provide this year’s keynote address on “How Environmental Education Will Save the World.”

Register here or contact EECO Executive Director Brenda Metcalf for questions about the program or registration process.

Online registration ends April 14.

Instruction Partners Rethinks Intervention

In the spring of 2020, the team at Instruction Partners launched the Rethinking Intervention project—a series of conversations with education leaders, researchers and practitioners across the country—to help educators think deeply about what drives and challenges “intervention” and how the education community can accelerate student learning after many months away from school.

After many months and a myriad of thoughtful conversations, Instruction Partners has shared the six key takeaways in a series of short videos.

Explore the videos, related resources and the full interview archive at Rethinking Intervention.

Early Learning and Development Standards Revision

The Ohio Department of Education’s Office of Early Learning and School Readiness has released a plan to revise the Early Learning and Development Standards. The standards were adopted by the State Board of Education in October 2012 to describe key concepts and skills that young children develop from birth to age 5. The standards were developed through a collaboration between state agencies serving young children. The collaboration includes the departments of Education; Job and Family Services; Health; Mental Health and Addiction Services; and Developmental Disabilities.

The review and revision process presents an opportunity for families, early childhood professionals, community members and other stakeholders to provide suggestions for improving the standards through a public comment survey. The Department also is accepting nominations for individuals to serve on work groups to revise the standards based on recommendations from the public comment survey and state and national experts.

To learn more about the standards review and revision process, visit the Department’s Early Learning and Development Standards Review and Revision webpage. Email ELSR@education.ohio.gov with any questions.

Robin Deems, Science Consultant, robin.deems@education.ohio.gov