Dr. Jennifer C Stark

We teach in one of the remaining six states that have not adopted the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). In this article, we share approaches to guide elementary teacher candidates through the process of deciphering the three dimensions of the NGSS to create lesson objectives. We modeled how to take steps toward the new vision for science education in our instruction while being mindful of the requirements of our state. We made sure to reinforce what inquiry-based teaching and learning looked like and provided them with authentic learning experiences in two-75 minutes lessons. These experiences helped candidates better understand both the standards and the content requirements and supported them in including the three dimensions of the NGSS in their lesson objectives.

In this place-based 5E lesson, students investigate the life cycles of six different animal species that can be found at the Gulf Islands National Seashore (GINS). After observing pictures of the young and adult animals and reading a short informational text, students use models to describe and compare the life cycles of these animals in collaboration with their peers. They also consider how habitat conservation at GINS impacts the recovery of endangered and threatened species at different points in their life cycles.

In this article, we describe how our general and special education faculty collaborated to infuse the Universal Design for Learning framework into our special education preparation program, a dual-licensure special education and elementary education (K-6) undergraduate degree program. We describe the curriculum reform processes and outcomes of the UDL curriculum enhancement project, along with specific examples from multiple courses. Additionally, we highlight the need to continuously evaluate such efforts so that areas for improvement can be identified and addressed. For instance, we realized that our teacher candidates still needed more support to transfer what they learned about UDL from their coursework to their planning and practice in student teaching. In sum, we did not just create a plan, implement it, and consider it completed. We recognized a gap in the original plan, made improvements, and re-assessed, just as we would expect our teacher candidates to do when evaluating their own practice.

This case focuses on the experiences of Elliot, a student teacher in a fourth-grade classroom at a high-poverty, urban school, who sought to address barriers to students’ scienceScience comprehension. After teaching an inquiry-basedInquiry-based lesson on changes in the states of matter, he realized that his students still struggled with using the key vocabularyVocabularyto explainExplain a familiar phenomenon, the evaporation of a puddle in the playground. He worked with his university supervisor to identify additional strategiesStrategies to enhance student comprehension and expand their discussions about states of matter.

Preparing teachers to teach science consistent with current reforms in science education is a daunting enterprise given a lack of high-quality science professional development (PD) adaptable across various contexts (Wilson
2013
). This study examines the impact of a comprehensive professional development program on middle school teachers’ disciplinary content knowledge and instructional practices. In this mixed methods investigation, data sources included classroom observations, content knowledge assessments, surveys, and a range of interviews. The teachers in the program showed significant improvements in their disciplinary content knowledge and demonstrated through their enactment of a reform-based curriculum, a range of ability levels to translate their knowledge into instructional practices consistent with the principles espoused in the PD. We conclude that programs that attend to elements of effective PD identified in the literature can positively impact middle school science teachers’ enactment of reform-based science teaching. Our findings extend these elements to include the strategic engagement of school and district leadership and the provision of a safe learning space for teachers to collectively engage in reciprocal learning and critical practice. This study has worldwide implications for designing PD for science teachers and for extending our understanding of the impact of each element.

Teacher educators have focused reform efforts on preparing graduates to address increasingly diverse K-12 students. Collaboration among general and special education faculty is seen as beneficial for preparing teacher candidates who can teach diverse learners, yet it is not the norm. This practitioner research explored a curriculum reform effort that used a faculty learning community (FLC) to engage general and special education faculty in the process of integrating Universal Design for Learning (UDL) into a teacher education program. Faculty perceptions of the collaborative reform process and resulting curriculum enhancements are presented. Findings indicated the process was valued by our faculty, promoted a stronger culture of collaboration, and resulted in program improvements. This study offers guidance to other teacher education faculty interested in collaborative reform.

Contemporary professional development efforts have shifted away from a deficit model toward the acknowledgment of the agency and ability of teachers to evaluate and direct their own professional learning. This article describes how middle school science teachers can take charge of their own learning by initiating and participating in science-focused professional learning communities (PLCs). Teachers in PLCs can observe and reflect on their students’ work, test ways to improve their students’ learning and evaluate their efforts based on student results. The collaboration among middle school science teachers in PLCs can allow them to solve issues of practice and increase student learning as well as enhance their own knowledge of science and science teaching relevant to new national standards, the Next Generation Science Standards. This article provides specific guidance for middle school science teachers interested in initiating PLCs, and a protocol to guide the discussion of student work in PLC meetings.

This paper explores a collaborative, cross-disciplinary curriculum reform effort on teacher candidate learning conducted at a regional comprehensive university in the Southeast U.S. The goal of this effort was to reform teacher preparation curriculum to prepare graduates to effectively teach students with disabilities (SWDs) in inclusive environments. Reform efforts focused on systematic integration of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) to prepare teacher candidates enrolled in a dual certification program (elementary/special education). A quasi-experimental, static-group comparison design was used to explore the impacts of the teacher education curriculum reform on candidate learning and attitudes. Surveys of student perceived knowledge and attitudes were conducted and application of the UDL framework within lesson plans was analyzed. Results indicate improvement in perceived knowledge and usefulness of the UDL framework and a broader application of UDL strategies in lesson planning.

Mesa describes how to use the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework to integrate strategies to reduce potential learning barriers and support the learning of students with disabilities in a 5E unit targeting the Next Generation Science Standards performance expectation 5-ESS3-1, obtain and combine information about ways individual communities use science ideas to protect the Earth's resources and environment (NGSS Lead States 2013). In the unit, students explore how the city and community have worked together to improve the water quality and biodiversity of the Bayou Chico watershed in Pensacola FL, though inquiry activities, class discussions, reading and writing tasks, and a group research project.