Teaching K-12 Science and Engineering During a Crisis (2020) / Chapter Skim
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3 Prioritizing Relationships and Equity
3 Prioritizing Relationships and Equity
Pages 15-34
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From page 15... ...
Although these issues are not specific to science and engineering, they have deep implications for science and engineering education. The guiding questions in this chapter are intended to help education prac titioners consider how this volume's four foundational principles -- in particular, Principles 2 and 3 -- can be applied to planning for building relationships and sup porting the needs of all students.
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From page 16... ...
BOX 3-1 CONNECTING WITH 1ST-GRADE STUDENTS Steve is a 1st grade teacher in a small rural district in which greater than 50 percent of the students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Every year, Steve begins by focusing on team building in class for several weeks to allow kids time to build trust with their peers and with the teacher.
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From page 17... ...
Although it is not likely that all teachers would be able to have the frequency and level of one-on-one contact with their students as Steve does in the story, many other types of personal connections can be made to ensure students feel supported. For example, teachers could send weekly emails to each student to invite students to talk if they would like to.
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From page 18... ...
Setting aside focused time to get to know each other may be necessary to set up a trusting learning environment. In addi tion, to help make connections to students' lives and cultures, teachers may need support and guidance for recognizing the assets that students from diverse back grounds bring to science and engineering classes, including their prior experiences 5For more information, see How People Learn II: Learners, Contexts, and Cultures.
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From page 19... ...
When the class is working to solve problems, students could survey their families and other community members to gather information about practices that could help inform the design of a solution. Box 3-2 tells how Carina, a bilingual ESL teacher, engages immigrant families with their students in remote learning conversations and how the input from family members is valued by her and her students.
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From page 20... ...
During the remote learning months, Carina offered an online science project to 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders in small groups three or four times a week in 30-minute sessions. Since the rollout of online classes on April 6, Carina noticed that some of her students have been more accountable and more secure with their families around them, and that the families have been able to be more involved in their students' learning.
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From page 21... ...
There is evidence to suggest that changing parents' attitudes toward science can affect student learning outcomes.12 Once families share a vision of the critical role science and engineering play in their children's lives, they can also be powerful 11For more information, see Science and Engineering for Grades 6-12: Investigation and Design at the Center. Available: https://www.nap.edu/read/25216/chapter/10#230.
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From page 22... ...
Detailed suggestions for sup porting families can be found in the Council of Chief State School Officers docu ment, Restart & Recovery: Considerations for Teaching and Learning: Systems Conditions.17 How are students' individual needs being met? "Attention to equity also requires consideration of how to meet the differ ing needs of students, including those who have special learning needs, do not have access to technology, are learning English as a second language, 13See http://cosss.org/projects.
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From page 23... ...
Keeping open lines of communication with students is a top priority to ensure teachers stay aware of their students' needs. This will help provide opportunities for teachers to identify students who are struggling with trauma or chronic stress and who need individual ized supports.
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From page 24... ...
BOX 3-3 MAKING A CHEMISTRY CLASS ACCESSIBLE TO ALL STUDENTS In the classes that Mary and Gavin teach, high school students are given the opportunity to do chemistry in their kitchens and make meaningful connections to a chemistry phenom enon. In general, Mary and Gavin design their experiments to be accessible to students by using common household items, while encouraging alternatives based on what is available in students' homes.
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From page 25... ...
are developed collaboratively and housed in a shared Google Drive folder where Mary's and Gavin's coteachers can access them for additional modifications, including Spanish translation, preparation of visual vocabulary aids, and sentence frames for scaffolded open-ended responses. These modifications are distributed through Google Classroom to bilingual students, English learners, and students with an Individualized Education Program or a 504 plan requiring additional supports.
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From page 26... ...
Soulyvic, connected with students' interests both to engage them in engineering design projects and as a strategy to maintain relationships among students and between the student and the teacher. The story also describes how the teachers and students in this urban school were supported to take time during the school day to relax, socialize, and relieve stress during the first couple of months of shifting instruction to remote environments, supporting their social and emotional well-being.
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From page 27... ...
After the school moved to remote classes in the spring, she continued supporting teachers in their day-to-day remote classes and delivering science instruction. She also began to provide weekly informal engineering engagement times for interested students.
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From page 28... ...
Detailed guidance about supporting student needs is available in the CCSSO document Restart & Recovery: Considerations for Teaching and Learning: Wellbeing and Connection,24 from the National Association of Family, School, and Community Engagement,25 and from Educating All Learners.26 Guidance for improving accessibility of materials is available from the National Center on Accessible Educational Materials.27 In addition, Next Generation Science Standards: For States, by States. includes seven case studies that offer examples of equitable instruction related to economic disadvantages, race and ethnicity, stu dents with disabilities, English learners, girls, alternative education, and gifted and talented students.28 How are teachers' individual needs being met?
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From page 29... ...
BOX 3-5 BUILDING COMMUNITY DURING REMOTE TEACHER PROFESSIONAL LEARNING The Center to Support Excellence in Teaching (CSET) at Stanford University has spent sev eral months ensuring that its professional learning programs could be effectively adapted to create high-quality remote learning experiences.
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From page 30... ...
As a result, student access to devices and high-speed broadband is likely to be necessary for learning. With the existing inequities in devices and broadband access, a shift to remote instruction could further limit underserved students' access to educa tional supports.
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From page 31... ...
However, packets of materials cannot alone fully substitute for the student dialog and community necessary to build all of the science and engineering practices and concepts. Another idea used in some areas is to make use of students' or their guardians' cell phones.37 Access to phones is typically more widespread than access to computers at home, but there are limitations to using phones for learning engagement, including the screen size and the way various apps block each other such that only one can fully function at one time.
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From page 32... ...
To begin planning for longer term curriculum changes in summer 2020, Scott pulled together his science curriculum committee and used a two-part training he had developed based on the principles in a STEM Teaching Tool*
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From page 33... ...
• Integrate opportunities for building relationships throughout science instruc tion. • Support educators to begin learning about their students' cultures and back grounds and how to leverage these to make learning more engaging and mean ingful for students.
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