Project Description
Project Overview Project Description We have developed three GC-units (each spanning 20 hours of instructional time) with high inter-unit coherence that spread across the 7th grade curriculum. This addresses a central obstacle to GC-aligned instruction, the availability of high-quality GC-units that can be coherently sequenced and used across different localities, allowing for future scalability. Professional […]
Instructional Approach
Project Overview Instructional Approach The instructional approach is strongly based on existing research of GC-oriented teaching and learning. This instructional approach reflects commitments that guide the creation of the GC units and the professional learning (PL) opportunities provided to our partner teachers. As the project unfolds, we will continually revisit these commitments with the goal […]
The Problem
Project Overview The Problem Science education has for too long failed to connect with students’ lives, interests, and concerns. Multiple decades of research have shown that students’ motivation to engage with science and attitudes towards science decrease significantly during late elementary and middle school. By age 14, many children already have a clear idea that […]
Introduction
Project Overview Introduction Global socio-scientific issues such as pandemics, climate change, and diminishing biodiversity are reshaping basic aspects of students’ present and future lives. We refer to these complex and multifaceted issues as Grand Challenges (GCs). Despite students’ growing concern with GCs, school science typically focuses on conveying scientific principles with little connection to these […]
Design Principles
Project Overview Design Principles Defining Design Principles Learning experience contextualized in the issue Learning experience contextualized in the issue Attention to the global/local dynamic Opportunities to consider political, economic and ethical dimensions of the issue Explore affordances and limitations of science for a solution Culturally responsive Culturally responsive Address equity issues Promote social justice Relate […]