Erma told me to look at the Georgia Science Program where the state is actually publishing a curriculum. And I quote....
The Science curriculum in Georgia is designed to provide students with the knowledge and skills for proficiency in science. Relationships between science, our environment, and our everyday world are crucial to each student’s scientific literacy. To become literate in science, therefore, students need to acquire understandings of “how to do science”, the Characteristics of Science Standards, and of “scientific concepts”, the Content Standards.
The Georgia Performance Standards for Science emphasized the idea that science is a way of knowing through the use of science processes to understand scientific concepts. Therefore, instruction needs to be organized so that the Characteristics of Science Standards and the Content Standards be taught together. Therefore, A CONTENT STANDARD IS NOT MET UNLESS APPLICABLE CHARACTERISTICS OF SCIENCE ARE ALSO ADDRESSED AT THE SAME TIME. For this reason they are presented as co-requisites.
The hands-on nature of the science curriculum standards increases the need for teachers to use appropriate precautions in the laboratory and field. The guidelines for the safe use, storage, and disposal of chemicals must be observed. Safety of the student should always be foremost in science instruction.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Science standards & science tests
In Florida, science is about to be included on the tests. Broward county's Soaring into Science Curriculum map looks like a pretty good resource.
Here's a quick list of standardized tests by state.
California's STAR CST Blueprints for testing by grade by subject.
Here's a quick list of standardized tests by state.
California's STAR CST Blueprints for testing by grade by subject.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Random details
STC is another lab kit supplier
With the state/federal standards giving an outline of every lesson (or segment) that must be taught, it's pretty easy for a supplier to provide a kit (or workbook or software) for each unit.
Also easy for a teacher to mix and match which units he will do a lab for, which of these he will buy a kit for and which company's kit to buy. One from FOSS, one from STC, one he puts together hi;mself, one unit no lab, one unit online software.
What if our online science gave a list of kits for each unit, each sized for homeschool. With one-click ordering? A big convenience for parent...one-stop shopping and you buy unit by unit. A nice new distribution system for the various kit suppliers.
One wild idea. Is there a roll for a kit dissassembler? But a classroom kit....usually for 32 or 40 students. Break into home kits. Add in any extra supplies needed like an extra teachers guide.
Just brainstorming a little. Easier to do in writing than in head.
With the state/federal standards giving an outline of every lesson (or segment) that must be taught, it's pretty easy for a supplier to provide a kit (or workbook or software) for each unit.
Also easy for a teacher to mix and match which units he will do a lab for, which of these he will buy a kit for and which company's kit to buy. One from FOSS, one from STC, one he puts together hi;mself, one unit no lab, one unit online software.
What if our online science gave a list of kits for each unit, each sized for homeschool. With one-click ordering? A big convenience for parent...one-stop shopping and you buy unit by unit. A nice new distribution system for the various kit suppliers.
One wild idea. Is there a roll for a kit dissassembler? But a classroom kit....usually for 32 or 40 students. Break into home kits. Add in any extra supplies needed like an extra teachers guide.
Just brainstorming a little. Easier to do in writing than in head.
One idea: Linking online homeschool curriculum with kits from a school supplier
Just a preliminary idea before it fades....
Developing (or better still just marketing an existing) online science curriculum that correlates with home versions of kits. If someone like Delta has never adopted their kits for home use because its a niche market, there may be an opportunity.
A little like existing deal with Compass. Niche market a mainstream school product to homeschool.
Textbook publishers (like software suppliers) could be jealous of online marketing their offerings. They probably want to do it themselves and see online as a growth area, for schools if not for homeschool. By contrast (maybe), suppliers of kits would be happy if someone integrated their kits into an online program. (Lots of speculation here)
Developing (or better still just marketing an existing) online science curriculum that correlates with home versions of kits. If someone like Delta has never adopted their kits for home use because its a niche market, there may be an opportunity.
A little like existing deal with Compass. Niche market a mainstream school product to homeschool.
Textbook publishers (like software suppliers) could be jealous of online marketing their offerings. They probably want to do it themselves and see online as a growth area, for schools if not for homeschool. By contrast (maybe), suppliers of kits would be happy if someone integrated their kits into an online program. (Lots of speculation here)
School Specialty, Inc.
Do you know this $1B education materials company based in Greenville, WI. Their science division is based in Nashua, NH. At first blush, looks like they own the market for scientific kits/materials, phys ed, school furniture, etc.
The School Specialty Science division in New Hampshire owns the FOSS, DSM, SCI3+ and other brands of lab-in-a-box kits. FOSS is Full Option Science System developed over 30 years by the Lawrence Hall of Science at UC Berkeley. Maybe the leading set of kits. Impressive at a glance.
10K looks worth reading. Except below. URL http://library.corporate-ir.net/library/72/721/72100/items/299473/SCHS0810K.pdf
We are the largest provider of supplemental educational products and equipment to
the pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade (“preK-12”) education market in the United States and Canada. We
believe we are more than seven times larger than our nearest competitor in the supplemental educational products
and equipment market. With the industry’s broadest offering of more than 75,000 products, we are able to be the
single source supplier for substantially all of our customers’ supplemental educational product needs. Nearly 50% of
our revenues are derived from our proprietary products. We reach our customers through the industry’s largest sales
force of approximately 600 professionals, catalog mailings and our proprietary e-commerce websites. In fiscal 2008,
we believe we sold products to approximately 80% of the estimated 120,000 schools in the United States and we
believe we reached substantially all of the 3.7 million teachers in those schools.
The School Specialty Science division in New Hampshire owns the FOSS, DSM, SCI3+ and other brands of lab-in-a-box kits. FOSS is Full Option Science System developed over 30 years by the Lawrence Hall of Science at UC Berkeley. Maybe the leading set of kits. Impressive at a glance.
10K looks worth reading. Except below. URL http://library.corporate-ir.net/library/72/721/72100/items/299473/SCHS0810K.pdf
We are the largest provider of supplemental educational products and equipment to
the pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade (“preK-12”) education market in the United States and Canada. We
believe we are more than seven times larger than our nearest competitor in the supplemental educational products
and equipment market. With the industry’s broadest offering of more than 75,000 products, we are able to be the
single source supplier for substantially all of our customers’ supplemental educational product needs. Nearly 50% of
our revenues are derived from our proprietary products. We reach our customers through the industry’s largest sales
force of approximately 600 professionals, catalog mailings and our proprietary e-commerce websites. In fiscal 2008,
we believe we sold products to approximately 80% of the estimated 120,000 schools in the United States and we
believe we reached substantially all of the 3.7 million teachers in those schools.
Conferences to consider
CoSN Annual Conference, March 10-12 (Austin, TX)
SIIA Ed Tech Government Forum, March 17-18 (Washington, DC)
SIIA Ed Tech Industry Summit, May 3 - 5 (San Francisco, CA)
SIIA Ed Tech Government Forum, March 17-18 (Washington, DC)
SIIA Ed Tech Industry Summit, May 3 - 5 (San Francisco, CA)
elementary school text books
I've done some informal inquiries on a series of forums and discussion boards. So far, I'm hearing that mostly elementary school teachers do NOT use science textbooks or formal curriculum. It's much more a collection of units and activities.
It's unclear to me what they base them on although several mentioned that it was tied to state standards.
It's unclear to me what they base them on although several mentioned that it was tied to state standards.
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