The Florida Center for Research in STEM has gathered the following online resources to help educators better understand and implement the Sunshine State Standards for Science. Please send any comments or questions to Danielle Sherdan dsherdan@lsi.fsu.edu
WHAT'S NEW ON THIS PAGE?
- FCAT Science Lessons Learned Link in standards section - posted Sept. 28, 2008
- Updated version of Depths of Knowledge PowerPoint for Science in standards section - posted Aug. 15, 2008
Sections - Select the section title below to be brought to that section of the page.
Standards
Florida district resources - standards-based resources for districts and by districts
Using the standards when designing curriculum
Instructional strategies
Professional development
**The following presentation (11.6MB) was presented by Danielle Sherdan at the May, 2008 meeting of the Florida Association of Science Supervisors. The content is a condensed version of the PowerPoint presentations presented in the following sections. Download PowerPoint
Standards:
Florida Standards
Searchable databases of Florida standards and courses. This site will be updated with additional resources over the next few years
http://www.floridastandards.org
Presentation of Florida's Science Standards. This presentation (developed in April, 2008) by the Florida Department of Education's Office of Math and Science outlines and summarizes Florida's 2008 Next Generation science standards. The presentation also shows examples of learning progressions developed within the standards, particularly for the Nature of Science Body of Knowledge.
The PDF version of the science standards
The 2008 Science Standards and additional resources and presentations regarding them can also be found at the webpage of the Office of Math and Science at http://www.fldoestem.org
FCAT Science Lessons Learned 2008 - Analyses of the 2003-2006 FCAT Science and the instructional implications. In this document, you will find several analyses of the FCAT Science data from all tested grades from 2003-2006. This information can be helpful in determining common areas of weakness for Florida's students in each of the bodies of knowledge.
http://fcat.fldoe.org/lessonslearned.asp
Support for new Access Points for students with significant cognitive disabilities
Depth of Knowledge / Levels of Cognitive Complexity
- Cognitive Complexity support for Science. This document was developed by the FCAT office. It clarifies differences between Level of Cognitive Complexity and Difficulty, provides examples of activities across levels of cognitive complexity, and provides an example assessment item for each of the levels of cognitive complexity.
Levels of Cognitive Complexity document from FCAT office of DOE
PowerPoint presentation on Levels of Cognitive Complexity in Science using low, moderate, and high presented at the Science Standards Workshops held in spring 2008.
Updated PowerPoint presentation on Depths of Knowledge / Levels of Cognitive Complexity in Science, presented in August 2008
- Cognitive Complexity Classification. A webpage with resources for educators regarding the FCAT, including descriptions of the levels of cognitive complexity as adapted by the Florida Department of Education FCAT.
http://fcat.fldoe.org/fcatpub2.asp
- Depth of Knowledge support documents. Created by the Kentucky Department of Education, this document is based on Core Content for Assessment, describes the application of relevant theory to practice, and includes examples of assessment items at different levels of cognitive complexity.
http://www.kde.state.ky.us/KDE/
Development of National Standards in Math and Science.
- The National Science Education Standards. The following presents the NSES, which include standards for teaching, professional development, assessment, content, programs, and systems. National Academy of Sciences, 1996.
http://www.nap.edu/html/nses/
- A summary of resources informing the development of national standards in mathematics and science and a listing of participant organizations in the development process.
http://www.te-mat.org/standards.aspx
Florida’s District Resources – For districts and by districts
This section will feature resources, such as curriculum maps and guides, created by Florida's districts for use by all of Florida's districts. If your district is working on documents that will be useful for others, please send them to Danielle Sherdan at dsherdan@lsi.fsu.edu. Remember to include authorship and the date of development or last revision.
Using the Standards when Developing Curriculum
Presentation on Using the Standards when Developing Curriculum. This PowerPoint presentation was created by Dr. Marty Beech of the Learning Systems Institute at Florida State University. Reasons for and approaches to designing curriculum are presented in the context of Florida's 2008 Next Generation Science Standards. Primary resources for this presentation include Understanding by Design (Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe), Getting Results with Curriculum Mapping (Heidi Hayes Jacobs), and Content Enhancement Routines (B. Keith Lenz).
Instructional Strategies
Strands of Science Proficiency
Presentation of the strands of science proficiency developed by the National Research Council. The PowerPoint presentation was created by Dr. Danielle Sherdan at FCRSTEM of Florida State University. The four strands of science proficiency are presented along in the context of a graphic that demonstrates the intertwined nature of the strands. The presentation summarizes the content in the following two resources from the National Research Council and National Academies Press.
- Taking Science to Schools: Learning and Teaching Science in Grades K-8. Duschl, Schweingruber, Shouse, eds. National Academies Press, Washington DC, 2007.
- Ready, Set, Science!: Putting Research to Work in K-8 Classrooms. Michaels, Shouse, Schweingruber, eds. National Academies Press, Washington DC, 2008.
Levels of Science Literacy and the 5E Model of Science Instruction
Presentation of Levels of Science Literacy and the 5E Model of Science Instruction. The PowerPoint presentation was created by Dr. Danielle Sherdan of FCRSTEM at Florida State University. Levels of Science Literacy, as described by Rodger Bybee in Achieving Scientific Literacy: From Purposes to Practices (1997), are presented along with the 5E Model of Science Instruction (Bybee and the Biological Science Curriculum Study). The 5E model is a widely used, evidence-based and effective approach to science instruction.
- PDF Handout describing the 5E model. The handout describes each of the "E"s in terms of what the student might be doing, what the teacher might be doing, and what activities might be occurring.
Implementation of the 5E model with lessons that develop proficiency and literacy in science
Examples using benchmarks that focus on phase changes of water
The following Presentations and lessons were presented by lead educators and science specialists from each of the districts in which the workshops were held. These lessons were developed in collaboration between these districts, the Office of Math and Science, and FCRSTEM.
Presentations - each of the following presentations were created around the lesson plan that is below.
Lesson plan in Word format
Instructional Strategies for Diverse Learners
- Helping Students with Disabilities Participate in Standards-Based Science Curriculum. This ERIC/OSEP Digest discusses such issues as enhancing student understanding, teaching strategies, assistive technology and accommodations for students with disabilities.
http://www.ericdigests.org/2003-3/helping.htm
- Toolkit on Teaching and Assessing Students with Disabilities. Presented by the U.S. Office of Special Education Programs and the National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities, this site includes resources for large-scale assessment, alternative assessment, and progress monitoring.
http://www.nichcy.org/toolkit/index.htm
Professional Development
- Annenberg Media Learner. This website provides access to video content of mathematics activities that develop content knowledge, while illuminating instructional decision-making, lesson planning, and lesson implementation.
http://www.learner.org
- Understanding Evolution. Understanding Evolution is a non-commercial, education website, teaching the science and history of evolutionary biology. This site is here to help you understand what evolution is, how it works, how it factors into your life, how research in evolutionary biology is performed, and how ideas in this area have changed over time. The site is a collaborative project of the University of California Museum of Paleontology and the National Center for Science Education. The content and usability have undergone thorough review.
- Teacher Education Materials Project. This website offers a detailed conceptual framework for teacher professional development, with extensive references and links, in addition to a teacher education materials database searchable by keyword or descriptor.
http://www.te-mat.org/ConceptualFramework/default.aspx