Paper No. 235-4
Presentation Time: 2:25 PM
MI-STAR: IMPLEMENTING THE FRAMEWORK AND NGSS IN MIDDLE SCHOOLS IN MICHIGAN (Invited Presentation)
HUNTOON, Jacqueline E.1, OPPLIGER, Doug2, ROBECK, Ed C.3, GOCHIS, Emily E.4, TUBMAN, Stephanie1, WOJICK, Christopher L.5 and MATTOX, Stephen R.6, (1)Office of the Provost and Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences, Michigan Technological University, 1400 Townsend Drive, Houghton, MI 49931, (2)Department of Engineering Fundamentals, Michigan Technological University, 1400 Townsend Drive, Houghton, MI 49931, (3)Center for Geoscience and Society, American Geosciences Institute, 4220 King Street, Alexandria, VA 22302, (4)Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences, Michigan Technological University, 1400 Townsend Drive, Houghton, MI 49931, (5)Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Michigan Technological University, 1400 Townsend Drive, Houghton, MI 49931, (6)Department of Geology, Grand Valley State Univ, Allendale, MI 49401-9403, jeh@mtu.edu
Michigan Science Teaching and Assessment Reform (Mi-STAR), funded by the Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation in 2014, is developing an NGSS-aligned integrated science middle school curriculum and associated teacher professional learning program (PLP). In 2017, Mi-STAR was recognized by the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) as a promising program based on Change the Equation STEMworks review. Mi-STAR is releasing six previously pilot-tested curriculum units in 2017-18 that are anticipated to reach 300 teachers and over 21,000 students in Michigan. Mi-STAR’s products are collaboratively designed and developed by scientists, engineers, middle school teachers, curriculum developers, professional learning practitioners, and assessment specialists. Alignment with MDE priorities has been critical for Mi-STAR’s success.
The path to unit release was a staged and iterative process involving numerous reconfigurations of materials and refinements of approaches. For example, the curriculum’s scope and sequence has been revised annually as units are developed. Also, several best-practice design principles were initially incorporated but were found to require substantial classroom time for implementation. As a result, Mi-STAR developed a customized design reflecting integration of several proven methods.
Classroom assessments, aligned with the vision of NGSS, are an integral component of the curriculum. These afford formal opportunities to evaluate students’ growth in knowledge, skills, and abilities at strategic points within and at the end of each curriculum unit and are being used to gauge the impact of the curriculum.
NGSS and Mi-STAR require almost complete re-envisioning of classroom-based learning. Mi-STAR has developed an extensive PLP to prepare teachers to use its curriculum and associated assessment in the way intended. To support scalability, an online PLP is supplemented by face-to-face sessions led by PLP facilitators prepared via a train-the-trainer process.
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