A curriculum selection committee, comprised of Principal Mellina, the science teachers from Coronado Middle School, the technology TOSA, and the math/science TOSA, started at the NGSS Curriculum Materials fair at the San Diego County Office of Education. Teachers strategically visited curriculum material presentations throughout the day to ensure all presentations were seen. A release day was then provided to discuss our individual findings and to then narrow down choices as a team. Another release day allowed us to use the NGSS Toolkit for Instruction Materials Evaluation provided by the SDCOE to further narrow our choices to TCI: Bring Science Alive and Pearson Elevate. The committee found that the NGSS based program, Pearson Elevate, best aligns with the rigorous instructional program at CMS. The last science adoption at CMS was in 2007.
Kristina Byrd, Science Department Leader and the CMS Science Department attended trainings for TCI: Bring Science Alive in August 2019 to prepare for the pilot running from end of September through November. Trainings for Pearson Elevate were completed January 2020 to prepare for the pilot running from end of January through March.
After completing the pilots, the team has found Pearson Elevate to be an excellent curriculum choice for CMS because of its:
- 5E (Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate) model of learning structure with the ability to modify and supplement provided curriculum easily.
- Anchored inquiry-based phenomena relevant to the students grade level and specific geographic region.
- Rigorous, 3D NGSS alignment - not just in DCI (Disciplinary Core Ideas), but also CCC (Cross Cutting Concepts), S&EP (Science and Engineering Practices), PE (Performance Expectations), and CA EP&C (CA Environmental Principles and Concepts)
Pearson Elevate overview:
Pearson Elevate is designed to create a student-centered classroom where students investigate phenomena through three-dimensional open inquiry learning. This learning begins with the scientific and engineering practices and then embedded disciplinary core ideas to learn content. The crosscutting concepts then act as a glue between different disciplines of science.
Phenomena Inquiry-Based Instruction
The curriculum follows the NGSS framework by grouping content into four Instructional Segments for each grade level. Each segment begins with an Anchoring Phenomena relevant to the geographic region as a California Spotlight. The segments are then broken down into Topics, which can be thought of as a discipline of science, which have their own Investigative Phenomenon. These topics are then broken down into Lessons. Each lesson starts with an Everyday Phenomena and is arranged with a 5E learning structure. All lessons are designed with at least one hands on activity to complete. Lessons also all have various materials available for students online including, interactivities, virtual labs, videos, and spotlights on career scientists aligning with the standards of the lesson. At least one topic per segment also contains a Quest, or long running connected project. Within these topics, there are quest check-ins at different lessons. Each of these leveled phenomena provides an engagement for students as well as demonstrate the connectedness between lessons, topics, and segments.
Meaningful Assessment
Pearson Elevate provides rigorous, CAST aligned summative assessments as well as tools and strategies for formative assessment throughout. These resources are incorporated throughout the learning process and reflect the inquiry-based approach to instruction. Resources include constructed-response items relating to each type of standard (DCI, CCC, S&EP) in both readings and activities, investigative-based activities, engineering activities, and selected-response items. Access to ExamView for additional testing materials is included.
Differentiating Instruction
Teachers are able to differentiate instruction to meet the needs of diverse learners. The core content is presented in a wide variety of text-based and visual formats. Each lesson and activity has a snapshot of how to differentiate for special education, below level and advanced learners. Lesson quizzes also provide a remediation for students scoring below a score set by teachers or at teacher discretion. Enrichment opportunities are also available in lessons for advanced learners. Text-to-speech, note taking, and highlighting are also available to students digitally.
ELD support is also offered within each lesson as a snapshot for teachers. Digitally the eText, videos, labs, and Quest check-ins are all readily available in Spanish for teachers to assign if needed. Pearson Elevate also has a partnership with Google Translate allowing students to translate online content completely to all languages available in Google Translate. This extension also allows for students to respond to prompts in their native language and it will translate their response for teacher feedback.
Enhance Literacy Skills
The text is designed to facilitate literacy development and includes teacher resources that tie content and activities to specific core literacy skills. Resources such as graphic organizers, note-taking strategies, and reading strategies are also included to support informational text analysis. Access to OER’s ) Open Educational Resources), for additional reading supports is also included.
For more information, please visit: Pearson Elevate Science
CMS teacher feedback is below:
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Online resources
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• There are many options and additional resources such as videos, interactivities, virtual labs, enrichments, labs, and engineering tasks available.
• Access to OER and ExamView
• ELD - having ability to get all in Spanish readily and other languages as needed
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Content
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• Content is rich and high level
• Good questioning throughout and at end of lessons; develops the critical, scientific thinking we are pursuing
• Paper version is colorful and follows online text exactly
• Easily accessible both for eText and physical book.
• Aesthetically pleasing, user-friendly digital layout
• Easy to navigate through class periods, easy access to specific student data digitally
• Documents are “customizable” including assessment. This will be beneficial for modifications to be made
• Thorough phenomena and investigations.
• Follows 5E format
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Teacher planning/
implementation
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• Has Topic and Lesson Planner to know how to plan for timing
• Each activity in the planners have clocks with time and those colored yellow indicate minimum necessary to hit all standards
• Snapshots in teacher guide with literacy, differentiation, professional learning, formative assessments, pedagogy are helpful when planning
• From our first year teacher: “I had an easier time understanding what the Pearson lessons wanted me to do and how to teach our students the information they need to meet the NGSS.”
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Student engagement
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• Interface is student friendly and relatively simple to navigate.
• Activities are engaging and varied between hands-on and digital
• Engineering tasks were simple to follow and had high student engagement
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Misc.
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• Company is accepting of feedback. Responsive when there are errors within the online system
• Teachers have more time and energy to support the personalized learning of each student in the classroom.
• Time teachers are not spending creating curriculum is therefore spent being more engaged, spending more one to one time with students, and spending time integrating experiential activities to enhance curriculum
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