Many excellent NSF-supported projects
have produced high quality science instructional materials
for grades K-12. Course materials are now available that can
promote important and needed changes in how science is
taught in our schools. However, making the change to these
new materials is difficult to begin. School district leaders
may not know what materials are available. Teachers may not
immediately understand how they might use different teaching
methods to take advantage of new materials.
The EDC K-12 Science Curriculum
Dissemination Center has been created to introduce school
districts to exemplary NSF-supported curriculum materials as
the first step in making the transition to adopting and
using these materials.
Teams of representatives from school
districts in or near South Dakota participated in the
Center's program, which:
- introduced district teams to
NSF-supported, exemplary K-12 science instructional
materials and help them to critically assess these
materials;
- helped district teams select
standards-based instructional materials;
- helped district teams establish
first steps toward adopting and implementing
instructional materials; and
- helped district teams consider and
plan for issues related to the long-term challenges
associated with the selection and implementation of
innovative instructional materials.
Staff at CAMSE have developed
expertise with classroom use of some NSF instructional
materials and can share this expertise with district team
members. We expect to develop relationships with school
districts that will extend beyond the introduction phase of
their instructional materials selection and adoption
process.
The CAMSE staff also can support
districts with the necessary steps of planning materials
adoptions and providing essential professional development
for teachers who will be using the materials.
CAMSE will also provide
- A Materials Library of
NSF-supported instructional materials for K-12 science.
Participating districts can arrange to borrow the
materials for review or use them on site. We can arrange
for visits to local classrooms that are using
NSF-supported materials.
- Products and Resources
developed and/or collected by Center staff are available
for participating districts' use.
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The EDC K-12 Science
Curriculum Dissemination Regional Center at CAMSE
is partly supported through the Center for Science
Education at EDC, the Education Development Center
in Newton, Massachusetts.
The EDC K-12 Science
Curriculum Dissemination Center at CSE is supported
by the National Science Foundation.
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