Science in TCS

Science in TCS

Weird Science?  Not in Trussville City Schools!  The new science standards have caused some of the most amazing conversations in grades K-12, and we are looking forward to an exciting school year.  With the help of Dr. Phyllis Faust, who has facilitated many PD opportunities, our science teachers now have many tools at their fingertips to help lead science discussions and labs with our students. 

All TCS science teachers are taking time out of their summers to prepare for the 2016-17 school year.  Our elementary teachers began meeting last week to learn more about their STEMScopes resources.  Their trainer, Heather Wilde, led them through multiple facets of their lessons in order for teachers to begin planning for their school year.  Our science modules’ specialist Rod Alex was also able to demonstrate the kits that will be available to the teachers that will create instant labs for students to experiment with the science standards in which they are mastering.  Stephanie Hawthorne assisted teachers in learning how Chromebooks can help provide the technology tool to assist students in virtual labs and exploration that will create additional learning opportunities for our students.  Dr. Faust and Stephanie Hawthorne will also be meeting with our secondary teachers this summer to lead them through similar PD. However, our secondary science teachers have already started meeting with their grade-level colleagues to begin collaboration on lessons and creation of resources to help our students be ready to master the new science standards.  Science teachers in grades K-12 are ready to lead this learning and are diving deeper to create science experiences that will help our students leave TCS with science skills that will prepare them for college and career opportunities after graduation. 

But, wait, there’s more!  We have had science teachers lead and attend additional professional development events.  Several secondary teachers attended the Science Summit held at Pizitz Middle School last week.  This learning opportunity was facilitated by the 2015-16 Teacher of the Year Jennifer Brown, who teaches science at Vestavia Hills High School.  The “unconference” format allowed for meaningful conversations between secondary science teachers from Homewood, Hoover, Mountain Brook, Trussville, and Vestavia Hills school systems.  This time to share and plan proved worthwhile in working to establish future collaborative partnerships.  Additionally, Jennifer Bruno and Angela Shorter led “Out of this World Workshop…No Really!”  Participants received real-world applications and activities based on ideas from NASA and ALEX. Teachers from the Birmingham-area attended and were able to get ideas to take back to their students.  Cynthia Thomas, an HTHS Physics teacher, led “Incorporating Engineering Design Challenges into the Science Classroom” workshop that utilized NASA STEM resources, and had science teachers from Birmingham City Schools and Jefferson County Schools come learn more about building the engineering strands into their science lessons.  We are thankful for our science teachers who are not only gaining more knowledge from their participation in PD, but are helping others through their leadership. 

I know this is SO MUCH, but we just can’t contain our excitement in sharing all of the wonderful learning opportunities in which our teachers are engaging, so I must tell you about one more.  Jennifer Gerhart (Environmental) and Angie Simonetti (Biology) attended a Legacy workshop called Mountains to the Gulf. This was an 8-day trip (almost 1,300 miles) throughout the State of Alabama exploring a variety of different state and national parks, rivers, streams, and estuaries, woods, and bogs. The teachers were provided fantastic interactive activities and resources for the students to utilize in the classroom that fit perfectly with the new state standards of modeling and discovery.  

As you can see, the summer professional development opportunities have continued to provide time for discussions, planning, as well as lesson development ensuring our students have science experiences that are engaging, rigorous, and authentic to give them skills preparing them for college and career readiness.