Defining math fluency with Jason Zimba
When we think of fluency, especially as a goal, we might think of speaking or reading a language. But fluency is also a goal in learning math! So what is math fluency? And what does it look like in the math classroom? In Season 6, Episode 1 of our Math Teacher Lounge podcast, Amplify’s own Jason Zimba helps us understand—using some analogies to baseball and chicken, of course.
Definitions of math fluency
We can develop fluency in many things, from coding to cooking. On the Math Teacher Lounge podcast, Amplify Chief Academic Officer of STEM Jason Zimba recounted becoming fluent in…roast chicken.
Jason describes practicing one particular recipe until it was perfect. For Jason, that meant not just that the outcome was flawless or delicious, but that he was eventually able to make it from memory, without thinking—and to naturally adjust and calculate for variables like a smaller or larger chicken, or an unfamiliar oven.
Math fluency works the same way. Practice brings effortlessness—freeing up time and mind space for new opportunities.
The word “fluency” comes from the Latin fluentia, which means “flowing.” When applied to math, it means ”skill in carrying out procedures flexibly, accurately, efficiently, and appropriately,” says podcast host and math teacher and advocate Dan Meyer. As with someone fluent in a language (or a recipe), someone fluent in math is able to think and calculate mathematically without struggle or effort—that is, with fluidity.
Podcast host and elementary educator Bethany Lockhart Johnson adds this informal description: “It’s that thing you don’t even think about anymore. ‘Cause it’s in there. You’re not still thinking about addition facts, because you’ve got it. And it fuels you. It’s the foundation that allows you to do all the other cool stuff.”
Fluency in the math classroom
What does fluency look like in practice? A young learner fluent in math will be able to smoothly recite the number word list in order (“one, two, three…”) and write the numerals from 0 to 9. As the student grows, so does their fluency with multi-digit calculation, rational-number arithmetic, and eventually even variable expressions.
“It’s a wordless but still somehow almost verbal sort of fluency, with properties of operations as the grammar of the language,” says Jason.
But “it’s not fact recall,” he says. “Recall is remembering or just knowing. Fluency refers to calculation.”
Why and how to improve math fluency
There are different paths to fluency, but all can lead to “conceptual richness and mathematical joy,” says Dan.
If fluency provides that crucial foundation, what happens to students who are not math-fluent?
“When kids don’t have access to [fluency], it keeps them from diving into the juicy parts of math,” says Bethany. “Math is so much bigger than addition facts, but when they don’t know those addition facts, that becomes all math is.”
Without fluency, students miss opportunities to progress in (and enjoy) math, and may even develop math anxiety.
So how can you support math students in developing fluency?
For one thing, it’s important not to underestimate the value of practice and repetition. These approaches—especially when used in combination with other, more organic modes—can be highly productive, says Jason. “I worry about whether discomfort with repetitive practice is short-changing students of the power and confidence that fluency can bring.”
Dan compares it to achieving excellence in a sport—”like shooting from the same spot on the court over and over again,” he says. That kind of rote repetition is valuable in sports, and should also have its place in math instruction.
It’s also important for students to understand why they’re learning and even drilling their numbers, arithmetic, or times tables, Jason notes. They need to be “invested in understanding and agreeing that this is going to do something for them.”
One thing that helps: providing students a sense that they’ve accomplished something. “We need to have moments for them to reflect on what has been learned and what is now easy that was previously hard,” Dan says. He calls this process “humanizing fluency”—and Math Teacher Lounge will be here all season to help math educators do just that.
Save the date
Join us at NCTM in October for a live Math Teacher Lounge podcast recording with Dan Meyer and special guest Jennifer Bay-Williams! We’ll be investigating math fluency and finding fun ways to get all students engaged in math instruction.
Math Teacher Lounge LIVE!
NCTM | Oct. 27 | 2:30 p.m. EST (doors at 2:15) | Room 158AB
More to explore
S1-09: Supporting K–8 science students in the digital world: Ricky Mason
In this episode, Eric sits down with Ricky Mason, chief executive officer of BrainSTEM. Ricky shares his passion for inspiring students into science careers, and his path from an engineering career with organizations like the Department of Defense, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the Central Intelligence Agency to starting BrainSTEM, an education program that develops creative digital tools to enable all teachers and students to dive deeper into STEM content. Ricky and Eric talk about representation in science classrooms and the importance of embedding fun within K–8 science content! Explore more from Science Connections by visiting our main page.
Ricky Mason (00:00):
I feel like comfort is where dreams go to die. And I’m still dreaming every night. So I’ll wake up, chasing them.
Eric Cross (00:08):
Welcome to Science Connections. I’m your host, Eric Cross. My guest today is Ricky Mason. Ricky is an engineer whose career included lead roles at the Department of Defense, NASA, and the CIA. Ricky transitioned to education as an adjunct faculty at the University of Kentucky. And while there, he founded BrainSTEM, an edtech company that developed a 3D virtual reality metaverse for STEM education. Today, BrainSTEM serves public school districts, private schools, and nonprofits. And in this episode, we discuss what led Ricky to creating BrainSTEM Metaversity, and how he’s using the metaverse to transform STEM learning for students. And now please enjoy my conversation with Ricky Mason. How did you, so like maybe going back doing your origin story, maybe you can talk about it, but brother, you don’t sleep. Talk about keep making moves, your hashtag, I mean, I was looking at your LinkedIn profiles, looking at your details. You get after it. I was getting tired just reading it. I was like John Hopkins, electrical engineering, real estate, starting companies. You must have that gene where it’s like four hours of sleep and then you’re like, ready to go.
Ricky Mason (01:19):
Yeah, man. My mom told me if I didn’t stay busy, then I’m in trouble. So when I was about 14, she told me that. I said, well, Mama, I guess I’m gonna stay busy then. And yeah, man, that’s just been my life. I feel like if I don’t keep making moves, then I’m in trouble. So, feel like comfort is where dreams go to die and I’m still dreaming every night. So I’ll wake up chasing them.
Eric Cross (01:44):
I feel like a kindred spirit with you. So, were you always interested in STEM like, was there something like a moment or a year where you remember you were like, this is my jam. This is what I’m gonna get into.
Ricky Mason (01:57):
Yeah, man. When it really clicked for me was in the fifth grade. I was at a school assembly and an IBM engineer came in and he brought a robot and he programmed it with punch cards right on the stage. And I got the opportunity to come up andyou know, put one of the punch cards in the robot to program it. And I asked him, I’m like, what is your job? He said, I’m a robotics engineer. And I went home right after that assembly and I said, Mom, that’s what I wanna do, become a robotics engineer. And my mom would take me to the libraries. Well, I felt like I was getting outta bible study on Wednesdays by going to the library. So I went there and I started researching robots.
Ricky Mason (02:39):
And at the time the robots that were popular were all being sent to space. And it was the spiritless. It was being sent to Mars. And I said, Mom, well, I guess I gotta become an astronaut if I’m gonna be a robotics engineer. And that’s kind of what set me out on that dream. And my mom started trying to find outlets for me to get involved in STEM, but it was really tough to find those outlets, you know, especially in that fifth to eighth grade range here in Kentucky. So that was kind of where it started for me man, when I knew that yeah, engineering is what I wanna do.
Eric Cross (03:14):
What does an electrical engineer do? I imagine there’s different types of specialties, but like, was there something that you specialize in that you focused on or was it, is it just kind of like a generalist field?
Ricky Mason (03:23):
Yeah, so I would say, yeah, man, it’s a huge field. So you could be doing anything from, you know, power, like power coming into your house. So those large power systems all the way down to nanotechnology and microchips. I like to tell people I’m a real full stack engineer, so my wheelhouse is kind of from the PCD, the little green computer chips, all the way to the cloud. Over my career, I’ve had some pretty cool jobs. One of those things was I was a test engineer for the army. So I got to test weapons up at Aberdeen Proving Ground for the Army. So I got to drive those weapons and test them before they went to theater there. After that,I worked at United Launch Alliance down at Cape Canaveral where I launched five rockets.
Ricky Mason (04:07):
So I was a part of the electrical ground systems team there where we were responsible for all of the electrical systems on the rocket while it was on the pad. Somonitoring the temperature of the rocket, the fuel, the entire system for safety while it was on that pad. And then finally I worked at the CIA as a computer engineer building data centers and as a data center architect for some of our remote systems and virtualizing our systems. So kind of had a broad spectrum of things there. And then finally coming back to the University of Kentucky as a research engineer and faculty. I developed drone technology for monitoring crops. So flying drones over crops with LIDAR, just like self-driving cars with high-definition cameras to pull in data about those crops, to help farmers determine about pesticides fertilizers, and the overall health of their crops from a remote location.
Eric Cross (05:10):
It’s so neat to hear you talk about it and to see how this is all built up to what you do now with BrainSTEM. How would you explain what BrainSTEM is? I know that’s your, that’s kind of your baby right now and what you’ve been working on a few years.
Ricky Mason (05:23):
Yeah, man, we started BrainSTEM in 2019 officially, but I would say BrainSTEM has been almost 10 years in coming. While I was in undergrad, I played football at the University of Kentucky. But I got hurt going into my sophomore year and that kind of shattered my dreams of football. And that’s when I really got back into engineering. One of my professors asked me to come to a robotics competition and I saw these third graders and sixth graders programming robots. And I’m like, oh my God, they’re programming robots! And I had no idea how to code or what to do with these things. And where was this a when I was a kid? And so I immediately bought one of those robots and taught myself how to program it <laugh> and then we started a robotics team in Lexington,there at a church.
Ricky Mason (06:10):
And we got a sponsorship from Lexmark to start that team. And that was kind of my first leap into STEM and teaching STEM and creating programs for students in STEM. I did that in undergrad and like I said, fast forward 10 years later, I’m teaching at the University of Kentucky and we’re struggling to recruit STEM students. Why aren’t students going into STEM? I hear too many adults tell me, oh man, I wish I would’ve done engineering, or I started out in engineering, but I left engineering or I wish I could go back to school for engineering or learn to code. And I’m like, I asked them like, why didn’t you do this? What happened? And often it’s like, it was the math. It was, oh, I didn’t get into it until I was in college. And I’m like, well, that’s the key.
Ricky Mason (06:52):
I knew I wanted to do this in the fifth grade. And I started with a plan in the fifth grade to achieve these goals and dreams. And I started doing that research and realizing that the same problem existed that I had. There was no outlet for kids to get involved in STEM, and so many kids have an affinity for STEM an early age. So we started BrainSTEM to provide access to STEM education and exposure STEM careers, STEM professionals, and just to STEM fields as a whole, because too often kids may know about the term, engineer, or the term, scientists, but they don’t really know what those people do or have a strong connection with the field or have any hands-on projects that they kind of done around those things or met anyone like me.
Ricky Mason (07:42):
I didn’t meet an engineer until I was in college. So that has really been impactful for some of the students that we’ve been able to touch. I had a family reach out to me. They moved to Lexington from California and they were like, man, I really want my ninth-grade son to get involved in engineering. So we started a weekend program with that one student and it went amazing. Like we competed in science fairs, we applied for different college programs and things like that. So it became an entire like mentorship program. And I’m proud to say that a year ago, he actually graduated with his bachelor’s in electrical engineering from your side of town, UCSB. It was just awesome to actually see this come full circle. And that’s kind of one of the first things that we did before we actually formalized as BrainSTEM University.
Eric Cross (08:34):
What will be like your elevator pitch for a teacher? If you were gonna say, this is what BrainSTEM does. I have the luxury of going through it on the site, but since we’re on a podcast, how would you kind of pitch it to people letting them know, like what, what does it do? Who does it serve?
Ricky Mason (08:47):
Yeah. So BrainSTEM provides STEM curriculum and STEM magnets for schools and nonprofits looking to increase access to STEM for K through 12 students. We also have launched our BrainSTEM Metaversity, a metaverse product for teachers to take their 2D Google classroom and convert it into a 3D metaverse classroom where students can collaborate during a 3D class. So all of your students show up as their avatars that they can select from our inventory of 150 avatars, and enjoy class in a 3D gameified Minecraft like World.
Eric Cross (09:26):
So I made my avatar by the way. It’s kind of tight, I have to say, it’s kind of tight. Hey, I’m gonna share. So those of you in the podcasts I’ll share it so you can see it. You’re not gonna be able to see it right now, but since I have the man himself I gotta share it with him just so I can get a reaction. So can you see that?
Ricky Mason (09:43):
Yeah. <laugh> That’s so good.
Eric Cross (09:44):
I feel like I wanna look like him though. I want him in real life. Like I want be able to switch to looking like my avatar
Ricky Mason (09:52):
<Laugh>
Eric Cross (09:54):
That was the first thing that I jumped on, when I went on your site, was making the avatar and I had so much fun doing it. I actually took longer than I probably wanna admit cause I was like customizing everything
Ricky Mason (10:03):
Yeah, man. It’s so fun. And that’s exactly what, you know, when you can show up as the person you want, it changes your whole being. I’ve seen kids that are quiet in class. They show up as their avatar and they’re talkative, they’re asking questions, they’re moving around the room, interacting with other kids. I feel like it’s almost like a superpower just to put your avatar on.
Eric Cross (10:25):
So what is something that a teacher could have their students go and learn or do if they, if they signed up,
Ricky Mason (10:31):
Let’s kick it off. So how we started with the metaverses, was teaching coding. So our first class was Minecraft and Python coding in the metaverse. So students showed up in the metaverse with our virtual instructor, that instructor led a lecture in the metaverse and then those students could collaborate on their Python games. So, they created and built the game in Python. We shared those games in the metaverse and we have our leaderboards that are in the metaverse, as they’re completing these challenges, including these games, then sharing them back in the metaverse with other students and getting that feedback on their game. So we’ve seen huge excitement from students when I can come back in and see my friend’s work. Like too often, students don’t get to see their work and that’s motivation to do better when I’m like, Jim’s gonna see my work. It’s amazing to see that motivation when students are sharing their work with other kids and not just their parent or just them and the teacher or seeing their grades. It’s been really cool to see.
Eric Cross (11:33):
You have that genuine audience too. Like that real-time feedback. And then like an authentic audience for students that makes everything seem, it takes it up a notch.
Ricky Mason (11:42):
Yeah, man. And then as we have built on this platform, so like you said with that avatar, so think if you created a really cool looking avatar and other students wanted to be that avatar, we have a way of sharing that avatar back into the world and in the inventory so that other students could then be your avatar. Or, if you create a world, we could then share that world back into the inventory, so the teacher could have class in a world that you created.
Eric Cross (12:07):
They’re creating content, not just consuming it. They’re actually creating content that could be shared across like grade levels or students.
Ricky Mason (12:14):
Well, we’re gonna say right now it’s just within your classroom. Eventually yes, we want students to be able to share that across school districts. At least we think that data will be probably limited to those kinds of realms as far as schools go. But you’ll be able to share this across sixth grade. We’ll be able to see what everyone in the sixth grade is doing in their STEM class or their game development class or their history class, per se, even if they’re giving back a presentation or what we have here in JCPS is backpack skills of success, where students are presenting on things that they’re learning that relate back to core competencies that the district is focused on. And I think that sharing those in the metaverse and doing those in the 3D world will be an awesome experience for students.
Eric Cross (12:56):
Are you seeing anything else as far as those skills that we see that are needed in coding? Is there something that the VR adds that was distinct from maybe just a kid with a Chromebook in his class that it’s just him in isolation doing the coding? Was there any like aha moments or surprises when they’re in the VR world doing this?
Ricky Mason (13:13):
I think the biggest thing is we could actually show them real examples of code working in other ways. Sofor example, if we’re working through loops, we can show them something looping. We can relate these functions to real-world things happening in the VR world so that they can see and better relate the actual concept with visuals, if that makes sense. So, you’re in loop Allen the whole time you’re learning about loops. You’re immersed in that kind of world. What we’ve seen is students really start to, you know, they it pick up and it clicks a lot faster because some of these concepts are so abstract for students to understand, when we can relate them to things in that world that they see that are in front of them, that they can grasp before we go to okay, type in “while” “”parentheses” <laugh> they can thenrelate that and pick up on those clues a lot better after they’ve seen those things in the world.
Eric Cross (14:09):
So they can actually visualize it in the metaverse. Whereas outside of it, it’s more just, just text-based coding and they’re not isolated. Like the first thing I’m thinking about is how like, with my own students, when they’re learning Sratch or Python, it’s not easy to share back and forth because they all are on individual accounts and they’d have to go on a different computer, or we’d have to find some way to publish it. And then all the kids would have to access it. But it sounds like in the metaversity classrooms, it’s easy for students in that same class to see each other’s work. Am I getting that right?
Ricky Mason (14:37):
Yeah. So most of our classrooms are limited to 24 students and in some of our breakout classrooms, we limit them to about eight students. Everybody can share their screen, so students can share their screen in the metaverse. They can share their video in the metaverse. They can share documents in the metaverse. They can share their, like I said, their code or anything that they want to share with other students. They can kind of do that. So it’s been a really cool product, I think, for students to almost find independence to work within a group, in an online setting. As they’ve been working through these problems online and remote it’s been really cool to see how they use the metaverse and break out. Even in a class, they can go off into a section because it’s all spacial. If you walk away, I can’t hear your conversation. So they can go into a little section within a metaverse class and have their own breakout. And a teacher can walk over to them. Okay. You guys are working over here. Let me walk to my next group. Just like in class. So it’s been really cool to see those students use the metaverse like that.
Eric Cross (15:41):
Just listening to you talk about this. One of the exciting things about emerging technologies or taking what the private sector does, and someone with a mind like yourself, and go, how do I use this for education? Like, that’s something that like excites me and you’ve run with it. But I just thought about, you’re doing an hour of code, you’ve created this metaverse, and you can bring in somebody, a professional into the metaverse, but they’re in, you know, the Bay area, but they could be a software engineer for Tesla or Google or anybody. Could they move around the metaverse and take a look at different students’ work and interact in that way.
Ricky Mason (16:17):
Yeah, man, we get in there. We make metaverse selfies. I drop Lambos in the metaverse, we take picture with Lambos. We have scavenger hunts in the metaverse. It’s a really awesome experience. And that’s one of the big things I think that is so powerful, is like you said, we could have that engineer, that celebrity, we could have Travis Scott, you know, in the world meeting thousands of kids motivating them because they met their STEM goals. They met their, you know, their testing school goals or whatever. These are things that kids really care about. If I get the Travis Scott avatar or the Elon Musk avatar, because I completed the Elon Musk rocket challenge, like that’s huge for me to show up in class as that avatar, like it’s just like Fortnite and it’s bringing all of those mechanics into the classroom.
Eric Cross (17:07):
When I hear you talk about the metaverse and I hear you talk about the potential of where you want to go with it, I think about my own students, and I think about, how they would really have a genuine interest and desire to want to do this and probably be doing it when they don’t have to, like at home at night wanting to go back into it and interact. And, you’re also building this virtual community. I mean, are you seeing that like, cause I’m hearing that?
Ricky Mason (17:28):
Yeah, man, building that community is huge. And I often tell people all the time, I want the STEM community to be just like the basketball community, the football community. I want students to have that camaraderie built around them for learning STEM and participating in STEM activities and competitions. Because when you see students out there at a robotics, they have the same zeal, the same, you know, everything that you find at a football competition. So we just have to get behind them and back those events with the same enthusiasm that we back sports. And that’s the environment that I want to create for STEM students and for that STEM community, because I longed for that community when I was in school. And like I said, I had it in football, but I wanted both. I wanted the best of both worlds. I wanted my robotics guys and my football guys to show up together here at the competition and have a good time.
Eric Cross (18:23):
You’re absolutely right. Like robotics STEM, these things, community helps fuel like people’s interest and working together. And it brings people from the outside who are seeking that community. Like, hey, my friends are doing this, I wanna kind of check it out. That’s how we recruit a wider swath of our population into it. So it’s not this kind of very narrow channel of folks who are going into STEM.
Ricky Mason (18:45):
If you can’t find that community. I mean for me, I felt like I was the only one playing football who was interested in robotics. So I never told anybody because I didn’t feel like that related to anybody within my vicinity. So I kept that to myself and that’s the biggest thing. I think if we get these kids just talking more about their interests, because a lot of them are interested in robotics and space and these STEM topics, but they don’t have anyone that’s really nudging them or asking them or piquing their interest in those spaces and saying, hey man, it’s okay to, you know, learn about robots. It’s okay to geek out on space. <Laugh> So that’s been my goal and that’s kind of why I felt like this was the time in my career for me to kind of do this, be a face for STEM education and inspire kids to chase their goals and dreams. Over my career, I’ve had some really cool jobs, but I felt like I could keep doing cool jobs, but I’m like at the right age to still connect with those students and inspire them to chase their dreams. And that’s why I feel like right now, man, it’s just an opportune time to get these students involved in STEM.
Eric Cross (20:01):
We don’t get that. Oftentimes, when we’re solely doing the cool job or simply in the private sector, we don’t get those experiences as much as we do when we’re able to actually serve our community or students or take our passion, our skill set, and use it to serve another person. I hear that like, as you describe what you’re doing now is like, there’s something beyond just, you know, the using your skills and doing cool stuff, but there’s something I hear. That’s helping people and actually doing something you believe in that resonates deeply in you. And I can hear it as you talk about it.
Ricky Mason (20:30):
It’s been just amazing to actually chart out that journey. Like I said, and like tell kids, like, no man, I’m from right up the block from you, cause I mean, I’m building this back at home in my hometown. And that’s the reason why I kind of came back to kind of do that in my hometown, because I really want to, you know, relate to those students and inspire, you know, students here. Nobody thinks about technology coming out of Kentucky and that’s been a gift and a curse, I guess, with launching BrainSTEM in Kentucky. When I first started, I said, we’re a STEM education company, people are asking me what is STEM? So, that was where we started out with this in 2019, all the way to, you know, hey, in 2020, we’re gonna launch a metaverse. A metaverse! What is that? It’s been amazing to try to change the minds of not only Kentuckians about STEM and the importance of STEM, but the world that a metaverse company is coming outta Kentucky. <Laugh>
Eric Cross (21:31):
The work that you’re doing and, it exists beyond you and you probably know this, but as a Black science educator out here in San Diego … We don’t see people who look like all of us in this work often, and I saw that you had created something, a network group, network and chill. And that was one of the things, we had touched on community, but I thought that that was so huge because we need each other.
Ricky Mason (21:55):
I feel like that was the biggest thing for us in engineering. Like I showed up to my first internship and I’m like, I mean, my boss was cool. Everything else was cool, but I just didn’t feel like, hey, this is a community for me. And I almost changed my major because of that. But I’m glad that I didn’t, it’s huge to have more of us represented in, in these spaces.
Eric Cross (22:16):
And you know, in engineering, especially when we look at the disproportionate, you know, men versus women. Like it’s not, you know, it’s not just culture, but it’s, you know, gender, all of these different things. And if we’re gonna change it, I think a program like yours that gets exposure to all kids and then giving them choice. What advice would you give to students? Or what advice I should say, do you give to students now? When you see like your younger self in the different kind of K12 grades who are thinking about their futures or they’re thinking about STEM, what do you say to them?
Ricky Mason (22:46):
So my biggest advice, man is start now. Whatever that big thing is, that big dream is that you have, what is that now? You’re thinking about planes. You’re thinking about robots. You’re thinking about RC cars, whatever that is. Let’s start now. Let’s get your hands on an RC car. Let’s take it apart. Let’s start coding. Let’s start thinking about those problems now. But the biggest thing is, is getting kids used to solving tough problems. Typically, most students that have an affinity for, you know, STEM — and you just know that that kid’s gonna go into, STEM — they’re problem solvers. They’re typically looking and seeking those tough problems and seeking opportunities to learn. That’s where I feel like it’s parents’ jobs to provide that environment to foster, that zeal. A five-year-old kid, we started our STEM program with them at the beginning of this month.
Ricky Mason (23:39):
The first day I came in after I told him I was a rocket scientist. And now he’s like, well, I wanna be a pilot. I said, if you pay attention to this class, we’re gonna get you started on your way to being a pilot. And he knows all the parts of a rocket and he knows a rocket needs an oxidizer. And he knows the fuselage, the wings, the wing flaps. He knows all the different parts of the plane and how the forces, the drag, the lift, the weight, he knows how those are working cause we talked about those in class and he has so much more confidence and it came all to fruition when a kid said, wow, I thought it was gonna be really hard to be a robotics engineer. And I’m like, no, that’s not gonna be that hard. That is exactly what we set out to do when we started BrainSTEM, was to break down those barriers and those walls and build that confidence and say, look man, you can do this. It’s easy.
Eric Cross (24:26):
Society doesn’t help much either because one of our terms, right, if something’s really hard, or if something’s not hard, we say it’s not rocket science. That implies that rocket science is really hard and inaccessible. If kids would hear that it kind of instills in their brain, okay. It’s really hard, it’s probably too hard for me. To that point to parents, it sounds like a lot of just exposure, like giving students the opportunity to be able to be exposed to these things and letting them create wonder from it.
Ricky Mason (24:51):
Yeah, man. I often tell parents we’re gonna set kids up to go pro no matter what,
Eric Cross (24:56):
And those skill sets transfer, whether they decide to go into coding or they decide to manage a bank, you’re still gonna be dealing with people. You’re still gonna be problem-solving. You’re still gonna have to come up with creative solutions to things. It sounds like through a program like this, they learn those skills early.
Ricky Mason (25:12):
Yes. And I think that one thing that parents don’t think about … We talk about all the STEM and we want smart kids, but we need those soft skills also within STEM. So those competitions, getting them involved in those communities with STEM students is really huge in presenting their ideas because oftentimes, you know, our STEM guys, we’re in a lab working and that’s where we love and that’s where we wanna be because we haven’t, you know, been prepared to talk and present our ideas. So I think that’s a huge part of what we have to teach our STEM students. And we do that by providing that community and those opportunities for them to, you know, do that.
Eric Cross (25:47):
Thinking about where you are now, looking back on your K-12 education, were there any teachers that stood out to you or that inspired you as I even just say that, can you think of a particular teacher or one or two?
Ricky Mason (26:00):
When I think about my teachers, my teachers really taught me to solve those tough problems and those subjects that you don’t kinda like <laugh>, cause I was always a great student, but my teachers helped me to focus on those subjects that I didn’t so much, you know, enjoy. So I enjoyed math and science, but English social studies, like why do I have to be here? I had two teachers during my high school career that really supported me in that regard, and helping me to be the best student all aroundfrom like I said, STEM to English and social studies, and making me realize that I have to be a well-rounded student if I’m gonna be truly successful. As far as engineering, man, I would say one guy, my teacher, Nick Bazar up at John Hopkins. During my master’s there, I had a really cool project. I got to do data forensics on a real live murder case. <Laugh> That was really inspiring because I’m like, wow, this is real life where my coding skills are being used in a jury trial <laugh>. And so that was a really cool experience to partner with my professor to kind of do that. I mean, that was just mind blowing that I got to help with that and that, I mean, he was using his programming skills to help solve a murder case.
Eric Cross (27:22):
What’s the best way for people to connect with you and follow your journey? And if a teacher’s interested and they’re listening to this and they’re hearing, okay, this metaverse coding thing sounds awesome, I want to get involved, I wanna know more, where can people go? What steps should they take to be able to get connected to you and what you’re doing?
Ricky Mason (27:40):
Yeah. So you can check us out at brainSTEMu.com, that’s brainSTEM, the letter “u” dot com and on all social medias, we’re BrainSTEMu or BrainSTEM University. Teachers, right now, we are doing our free course for teachers. So sign up at brainstemu.com. You can sign up for your class to get into a free metaverse experience, just so you can kind of check it out and get your class into the metaverse and see how your students like the metaverse, how you like teaching in the metaverse and convert one of your 2D lessons from Google classroom into a metaverse classroom. For me, I’m Ricky Mason, 5 0 2 on all social media platforms. So you can just type that in Ricky Mason502 and get with me there.
Eric Cross (28:28):
Nice. Well Ricky, I wanna thank you for sharing your story and creating BrainSTEM. And then for, I know you’re a man of tremendous talents and skills and accomplishments, and you’re focusing all that on not only being back in your community, but also creating something for younger versions of you and opening up opportunities that they might not otherwise have, as you said, folks are like, what is STEM? And that is exactly where we need those seeds planted. So thank you for doing that.
Ricky Mason (28:55):
Oh man, this is awesome. I appreciate you, man for hosting this podcast and providing this platform and sharing the message of, you know, educators and people in the space.
Eric Cross (29:07):
Thanks so much for joining me and Ricky today. Make sure to support Science Connections by subscribing wherever you listen to podcasts. And you could hear more from Ricky in our Facebook group, Science Connections the community, where you can check out all the exclusive content. Until next time.
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Meet the guest
Ricky Mason is the dynamic CEO and founder of BrainSTEM, an ed-tech company that developed a metaverse for education. His corporate career included lead engineer roles at the DoD, NASA, and CIA. Ricky transitioned to education as adjunct faculty at the University of Kentucky. While there, he started BrainSTEM to bring innovative technology and an inspirational curriculum to STEM education. Today, BrainSTEM serves public school districts, private schools, and nonprofits.
Follow Ricky on all social media @rickymason502
About Science Connections
Welcome to Science Connections! Science is changing before our eyes, now more than ever. So…how do we help kids figure that out? We will bring on educators, scientists, and more to discuss the importance of high-quality science instruction. In this episode, hear from our host Eric Cross about his work engaging students as a K-8 science teacher. Listen here!
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S5-04. Coaching tips for managing math anxiety in teachers
So far this season, we’ve investigated math anxiety in students and its causes with passionate researchers and curriculum experts, including one from Sesame Workshop! Now we hear from Dr. Heidi Sabnani, consultant, coach, and co-host of Math 4 All, as she gives us research-based tips for teachers who are facing math anxiety themselves! Listen as we discuss Heidi’s own math anxiety and journey through math, the effects teacher math anxiety can have on instruction, and practices educators can implement right away for overcoming math anxiety.
Listen today and don’t forget to grab your MTL study guide to track your learning and make the most of this episode!
Dr. Heidi Sabnani (00:00):
Coaching is the opportunity to provide that just-in-time kind of professional development for teachers, if we go at it in a slightly different way.
Dan Meyer (00:10):
Hey folks, welcome back to Math Teacher Lounge. I’m your host, Dan Meyer.
Bethany Lockhart Johnson (00:14):
And I’m Bethany Lockhart Johnson.
Dan Meyer (00:16):
Bethany, how are you doing, and how are you feeling about our current trajectory through this exploration of math anxiety?
Bethany Lockhart Johnson (00:24):
Dan, I gotta tell you — let me make it about me for a second. <laugh>.
Dan Meyer (00:29):
Go. Do it.
Bethany Lockhart Johnson (00:30):
If only I had known that so many other people experienced math anxiety, and I wasn’t the only one. I mean, I’ve said it before, but you know, I hope that this series so far is helping to reframe math anxiety for folks who maybe have a narrow definition of it … and I guess expand, reframe. And also, for those folks who are working with students who have math anxiety, or who they themselves have experienced math anxiety, I hope they’ve found some tools, some resources. Right? Like, “Yes!”
Dan Meyer (01:04):
Yes! Same.
New Speaker (01:06):
And what about you? How are you feeling?
Dan Meyer (01:08):
Yeah, I hope this has been cathartic for all of our listeners who have experienced math anxiety, and not re-traumatizing, that there are lots of people who feel this way about math in particular. And that it’s so well-experienced, so broadly experienced, that people have decided to study it a whole bunch. Which is great. And now we’re moving into our kind of solutioning. You know, in my relationships, I’m sometimes told that I rush too quickly to solutions before trying to understand what’s going on. So I’ve loved our episodes that have been about what is going on. And now, with Dr. Truglio last episode and our guest today, we’re moving more into some solutions, which I’m excited about.
Bethany Lockhart Johnson (01:49):
I don’t know, Dan, I think next time I see you I’m gonna bring a list of some concerns or worries I have, and I would love if you just get right to the solution. I’m actually OK with that.
Dan Meyer (02:01):
All right. Good to know. Good to know. I’ll say I am coming off of a day where I was feeling some teacher anxiety today, because I taught really real students. So just to let you know where I’m coming from here. I taught some seventh grade students at Montera Middle, here in Oakland Unified School District. Taught ’em a lesson outta the Desmos curriculum. And it was one of those lessons where some thorny stuff comes up. I’m talking students who are wrong for smart reasons, who are right for the wrong reasons, and their minds are working so hard trying to figure out inequalities. And I’m like trying to just step into that process as an educator with some curriculum and help shape those ideas. But it’s just … I don’t know, you want it to be as easy as like, “let me just show you how it’s done a few times, and now you got it.” But whew, some of these ideas, they take a long time to form up and they’re really easily reshaped by lots of stuff going on. So that’s where I’m at, anxiety-wise, right now. The teacher anxiety stuff.
Bethany Lockhart Johnson (03:04):
I think there’s probably plenty of teachers who do kind of just say, this is how you do it. And so, from what I have seen of your teaching and what I know of the Desmos curriculum, it is such an opportunity to think hard about the things that we are assuming about our students, assuming about what we know about the math itself. And yeah, that requires some thought.
Dan Meyer (03:30):
Yeah, for sure. I came in ready, like, “When you multiply both sides of an inequality by a negative, this sign flips around.” And I could just say that to kids and say, “Hey, remember that! Write that down!” And a lot of them would do it really well, you know, provided the assessment problems looked like ones we’ve gone over in class. And they’re also learning — in addition to that math, they’re learning that math is a giant sack of tricks they gotta memorize, right? So there’s just these pros and cons. And at the end of the one period I’m gonna teach this week, I was like, “Well, your teacher’s gonna go over that tomorrow, when they’re with you instead of me.” So it felt a bit like I copped out on that one. And I’m just in in my feelings about that right now. And I’m gonna try to come on down here and be present in the math-anxiety world.
Bethany Lockhart Johnson (04:25):
I appreciate you sharing that, Dan. And I think … I have a feeling that you could write a pretty catchy rhyme to allow the students to flip and <starting to rap> “multiply by negative. and dit-dit-dit-dit.” Can you feel it? You picking up that beat?
Dan Meyer (04:40):
Ooh, yeah. A nice little beat. Uh-huh. Yup.
Bethany Lockhart Johnson (04:41):
Yeah. You know, you could come up with something pretty clever, and yet you did not lean on your wordsmithing skills. You said, “No, let us dive in.” So what are you gonna do with this lesson, by the way? What happens now? You popped in for one period, and then what happens?
Dan Meyer (05:03):
Yeah. So this is gonna be a blast. I hope you folks tune in. We’re gonna actually release the footage of me teaching this lesson live. You know, it’ll be replayed live. And on top of that, a couple of my favorite teacher coaches and just smart people about teaching are going to be giving commentary. They are gonna be giving the director’s commentary, the sports announcers’ commentary on what they’re seeing. I beg for their generosity in their commentary. But I think it’ll be a lot of fun. I’ve never seen anything like this before, a commentary track on top of a teaching lesson, in this way. So I’m just gonna gonna be excited to see what they noticed that I didn’t, what they might have done, the thoughts they might have. Maybe I’ll do a post-game interview, you know.
Bethany Lockhart Johnson (05:50):
Ooh, yes!
Dan Meyer (05:50):
With my towel around my neck, <laugh> looking all sweaty.
Bethany Lockhart Johnson (05:54):
Ready, set, grow!
Dan Meyer (05:55):
Like, “Yup, we gave it all out there, you know, just a real team effort.” You know, that kind of thing. We’ll see how that goes.
Bethany Lockhart Johnson (06:02):
I actually love that idea. I love that it’s not just this one random lesson that just kind of floats out there, and it’s about, you walk away with whatever feelings you have, and the students obviously walk away, but that this is gonna help other educators.
Dan Meyer (06:17):
Yeah. Yeah. We’ll multiply my anxiety and make it more people’s anxiety. We’ll see how that goes. So stay tuned on the Math Teacher Lounge feed for that. All right?
Bethany Lockhart Johnson (06:25):
All right! And speaking of anxiety, Dan Meyer, we gotta get to today’s show. You know, last time we had some amazing strategies for helping students from Dr. Truglio from Sesame Workshop. I gotta tell you, I sent that episode to so many of my friends, like, “Listen to these ideas!” and have had some interesting follow-up conversations. And we would love to hear what you think about this season so far, at MTLShow on Twitter or in our Facebook group, Math Teacher Lounge. So today, we’re gonna focus on strategies for supporting teachers.
Dan Meyer (07:00):
Yes. Which is why we’re so excited to bring to you folks Heidi Sabnani, who — we’ve had researchers. We’ve had Sesame Workshoppers. And Heidi Sabnani has been a classroom teacher; she’s teacher-consultant; newly minted doctoral degree holder. We’re so pumped to bring to you folks: Heidi Sabnani.
Bethany Lockhart Johnson (07:25):
Dr. Sabnani, thank you for being here. Can we call you Dr. Heidi? What would you. …
Dr. Heidi Sabnani (07:31):
You can just call me Heidi. Yeah. Heidi is good.
Dan Meyer (07:36):
Right on.
Bethany Lockhart Johnson (07:36):
- Heidi, thank you for joining us in the Lounge. We’re so excited to talk with you.
Dr. Heidi Sabnani (07:41):
I am super-honored to be here. It’s really exciting and I just really appreciate the opportunity.
Bethany Lockhart Johnson (07:47):
I will say I don’t have a PhD, although the two people I’m talking with right now, both do, and you’re both like holding up your degrees as we speak and saying, “Wah-wah.” But I imagine that if I did, I’d wanna throw that doctor in more frequently, so.
Dr. Heidi Sabnani (08:02):
Well—
Bethany Lockhart Johnson (08:03):
If I sneak in a “Doctor,” Heidi, it’s only out of respect.
Dr. Heidi Sabnani (08:05):
- I appreciate it.
Bethany Lockhart Johnson (08:07):
Dan makes me call him Dr. Meyer all the time.
Dan Meyer (08:10):
You don’t call me Dr. Dan or Dr. Meyer, ever. So—
Bethany Lockhart Johnson (08:13):
I will now!
Dan Meyer (08:14):
—this respect only goes towards Dr. Heidi, it seems. But yeah, we’ll take that off the air.
Bethany Lockhart Johnson (08:19):
Well, we are going to delve into your research on math anxiety soon, because I actually — speaking of becoming a doctor, a new doctor, I have some questions. We have questions about your research, but on a personal level, I really appreciated the way that you share that you yourself experienced math anxiety as a student. So I’m wondering if you could tell us a bit about your own math anxiety, your <laugh> journey through math.
Dr. Heidi Sabnani (08:50):
Yeah, so much like the people in the research that I did, and with the research that I read by others, many of us can tie the beginnings — or like the evil villain origin story of math anxiety — to a particular event, or series of events. And my series of events started, the big blow-up, I guess, in fourth grade. And I had had some struggles in school — I have mild dyslexia and dyscalculia. And so I had always been in the special group of kids who got some extra attention <laugh> from the teacher, or from an aide, or whoever happened to be in the room. But in fourth grade — at that time, they taught multiplication and division facts in fourth grade. Many, many moons ago. And I struggled greatly with just understanding what was happening and why we were moving so quickly. And, my teacher was probably not the best person to be entrusted with my learning at the time. Like, her style may have been OK for others, but it was obvious that she felt like kind of wasting her time with some people in the classroom. And I happened to be one of those people.
Bethany Lockhart Johnson (10:26):
Mmm. You said that really diplomatically, though. <Laugh>
Dr. Heidi Sabnani (10:30):
Well, you know, you look back at things from the perspective of many years. And having made lots of mistakes myself in the classroom as a teacher, I try to give some grace to things that happened, and how you remember them. Yeah, that’s my story, but maybe she had a different one, right?
Bethany Lockhart Johnson (10:55):
Yeah. But fourth grade Heidi was still, you know, still experiencing that. Yeah.
Dr. Heidi Sabnani (11:01):
Yeah. Fourth-grade Heidi didn’t like being in the “dumb group” and didn’t like being told that she would probably not graduate from high school. So that was kind of the general environment. And I got further and further behind in math. The dyslexia was less and less of an issue the older I got, because I had great comprehension. And so I could figure out the fluency thing just by the pattern of language, because mine is mild in comparison to so many who struggle with that. But math was not working in that same way. And I got more and more behind and to the point where I was having to stay in every day at recess. And I had had it after like a month. Like, I’m not staying in at recess anymore to do this math that I don’t understand, by myself. Like, not doing it. So I—
Bethany Lockhart Johnson (11:53):
Which, by the way, if there’s one way to make you hate it, <laugh> like, to engender, to endear you to a subject, could it be, “Let’s have you stay in at recess”?
Dr. Heidi Sabnani (12:07):
Right. And so one day I just stormed out of the classroom, I was like, “I’m not coming. I’m not staying, I’m not doing this anymore. I’m done.” And I can remember her standing up at the top of the hill screaming at me to come back, and I was like, “No way. Not doing it. Done with this.” I went to a parochial school, though, and my dad is a pastor. So that whole little incident blew up in the greater community in a way that I didn’t really anticipate as a fourth grader. And my parents had no idea that this was going on. And so they were shocked and dismayed that their — up until that point — oldest child, rule-follower, had done this. But then even more upset when they found out what was happening with my math understanding, or lack thereof. And they did what they knew best at the time. So my mom was a great memorizer. She has a brain like an elephant. And my dad grew up in the British system in India and Singapore, and it was at that time very much based on memorization. And so they were like, “We are gonna just work really hard. We’re gonna buckle down and do this thing <laugh>.” And so that’s what we did, and that’s where all of it began. It was not — it was just about “We’re gonna learn the facts. We’re not gonna ask questions; we’re not gonna think about it, because it’s just the rules. And if you can figure out the rules or the system or what the teacher wants, and mimic what the teacher is doing, then you’ll be successful.” And it was really successful for me, once I figured that out all the way through. My whole goal in high school when I took high school math was to take enough math courses with a high-enough GPA that when I got my BA in college, that I would never have to take math again. And I succeeded in that and got an English degree and a Master’s in world lit. And I was in no way doing math ever again.
Bethany Lockhart Johnson (14:31):
But little did you know that Future You was going to be researching math anxiety. How did you wind up researching it then? How did you wind up researching math anxiety?
Dr. Heidi Sabnani (14:43):
So I took a job in school improvement when I was working in Ohio, after a number of years teaching high school English in Southern California and Guatemala and Michigan, all over the place. And I took a job in school improvement with a co-consultant who was gonna be doing the math end, and I was gonna be doing the literacy end, and we were just gonna go in, and I was gonna make kids love reading, and she was gonna make kids love math, and it was gonna be so fun. And then she decided she didn’t like working with adults and they couldn’t find anyone else. And my boss said, “So you’re just gonna do both for the rest of the year.” After that year, I got requested to go back and, and do this again. I said, “Well, if I’m gonna do this, I’m going to go back and reteach myself the math in ways that I wish that fourth-grade Heidi had learned it, and fourth-grade-and-up Heidi had learned it.” And so that was like the, the beginning of the switch. And so now equal amounts of time in my career have been spent in both. But when I started, when I continued working, when I left the classroom to continue working with teachers, and when I transitioned more into an elementary setting, I began to notice the same behaviors that I had in high school of avoiding math, and avoiding teaching math, were happening in the classrooms that I was supporting. And so I would have teachers come and say, “Oh, can we talk about this literacy thing?” And even if it was like a math meeting, or we were supposed to split the time evenly, and ohhh, for some reason the literacy time talk would just like move over <laugh>. And then there was no time to talk about math at the end. And “Oh, that’s just too bad.” Like, we’re just gonna move on to this next thing. Funny how that happens, right?
Bethany Lockhart Johnson (16:32):
Yeah. <laugh>.
Dr. Heidi Sabnani (16:34):
And noticing teachers’ behaviors around going to and or avoiding math professional development that I was giving. Or getting sick. Or like having to leave the room for a long period of time. And so I began to notice these behaviors. And initially I thought I wanted to look at math anxiety in children, which is one branch of the research that I started with. But as I got into things more, the people that I have the most influence in are adults right now.
Dan Meyer (17:09):
Right.
Dr. Heidi Sabnani (17:09):
And so as I started looking at the research that had already been done, I feel like we do a really nice job of admiring the problem of math anxiety, and we do less in the “what to do about” phase. And so I was like, “Well, if I’m going to continue to be in this career and in this profession, then I need to be doing something in the space of ‘what are we gonna do about it?’” And so that’s how I switched to looking at “what do we do to help teachers?” Particularly elementary school teachers, because that’s the area of greatest need, based on previous research that we could at least do something to help.
Dan Meyer (17:51):
Yeah. A previous guest mentioned that a lot of research is better understood as me-search, especially in this kind of arena, where we’re going back in to try to understand what it was that happened for us and how to prevent it for future generations. And I have nothing but respect for that motivation right there. And your point is well-put, that it is very possible to spend a ton of time examining math anxiety from every angle, every facet, you know, put it up there on a mounted board and admire it … and there’s a lot of value there, but I appreciate that you’re moving into, “So, now what?”
Dr. Heidi Sabnani (18:27):
Yep.
Dan Meyer (18:28):
And so I’d love if you’d share with us and our listeners the broad details of your study, and what you ultimately found. Like, if there are any large takeaways here, what were they?
Dr. Heidi Sabnani (18:40):
Yeah. So a couple of things to kind of just lay a little bit of the groundwork. One out of four teachers say that they have math anxiety. Those numbers increase rapidly, the younger of the grades that the teachers teach. So if we think about preK to two, it’s about 88%, based on other people’s research. So I was like, “Well that’s a lot of people <laugh>!” And so, that’s the scope of the problem. And so I was thinking, “OK, what do we do in these moments?” Because other researchers had said they’re spending — when they don’t like it, they’re spending less time teaching math and avoiding it, or relying on methods that were done to us. Just out of fear of trying something different, at many times. And so one thing that has become more prominent in math education since I transitioned 16 years ago into this has been the role of coaches in school systems. And so one of the questions I wanted to think about was, “What can coaches or math specialists who work with adults as well do to help the teachers that they work with?” So that was kind of the lens that I was looking at. Like, let’s think about the systems that we currently have in place. Is there something that we could be doing that would help teachers, that wouldn’t be so huge or so monumental that with little shifts in our own behavior as coaches or professional development providers that we could make that would make a difference? So that being said, this was a qualitative study, so a small group of people in very intense settings. So I kind of always wanna preface that, because in academic world, you know, there’s <laugh> all sorts of thoughts about that. So I had asked teachers from districts that I work with who self-identified as having math anxiety if they would be interested in the study. So, this is what we’re thinking of, this is what it would look like, and the scope of the support they would have.
Bethany Lockhart Johnson (20:50):
So basically you’re tracking these four teachers who self-identified as math anxious. And were you serving as their coach and kind of seeing what was working?
Dr. Heidi Sabnani (21:00):
I was serving as their coach. Yeah. I was serving as their coach during that time period. And some fairly recent research that had been done was in the idea of “Can we do some reflective conversations or reflective writing around where your math anxiety started, and how that makes you feel both as a teacher of mathematics now, because you are teaching math, and how that affects your identity as a mathematician?” And so that was the first starting point. And that was a really critical moment that I’m glad that I had stumbled across the research on, because it turned out that having someone hear and acknowledge that what happened to them was both wrong and inappropriate, in many cases, and in a couple instances, was traumatic and also abusive — that that mattered. That it was OK to feel anger and hurt and frustration based on what happened to you in the past. And then have that moment to reflect on, “OK, so what do you want the classroom environment that you’re building as a teacher to feel like for your students?” So it was turning that moment of how they felt to thinking about, then, what kind of environment do we wanna make within the math classroom? And what steps can we take to ensure that happens? So that was like, Step One is just thinking about what that looks like. What kind of math identities then do you want to create for your students? Because all of the teachers were very concerned with not continuing the cyclical nature that often happens with math anxiety, from teacher to student and back again.
Bethany Lockhart Johnson (22:54):
Well, and even that validation, right? Like, how many of them hadn’t even had, like you said, had that? We had another, when in our first episode, Dr. Gerardo Ramirez talked about that validation and how key.
Dr. Heidi Sabnani (23:09):
Yeah. That was the first thing. The next step of it, which very different from what I often do — I don’t generally go in and model for teachers — just me, taking over your classroom. I really like to co-plan with teachers and co-teach with teachers and have it not feel like they’re losing control over what’s happening in that moment. And that’s generally the way that I go in when I’m doing professional development in a classroom, right? Like, I’m working with the teacher and we’re a team; we’re doing this together. But in these four cases, these teachers were very, very resistant <laughs> to co-teaching. And so I said, “OK, well, let’s throw everything out. Let’s try whatever it happens to be.” So the modeling aspect turned out to be really important, in part when three out of the four cases, because they were like, “Oh, I can do that.” <laugh> like, Well, yeah, I know you can! Like, it was that having a moment to sit back and see someone else doing it — which is harder to do when you’re co-teaching, right? It’s harder to be reflective in the moment when you’re still thinking about the teaching choices you’re making, because you’re both co-teaching.
Bethany Lockhart Johnson (24:24):
Right. Or sometimes you see, like in co-teaching, it falls into “one teach, one manage,” you know, or something like that.
Dr. Heidi Sabnani (24:31):
Yes.
Bethany Lockhart Johnson (24:31):
I have definitely fallen into that. But you, by modeling … it was almost, I don’t know, it feels like you’re kind of holding their hand. Like, “I’ll show you!” And not that it has to exactly look like that, right? But you found if a coach is coming in and the teacher gets to sit back and basically watch their students learn, they’re probably gettinga ton of information about their students, and they’re really learning some teaching strategies for mathematics that they can then like dip their toe in. I think? <Laugh> Am I kind of thinking of this? I’m trying to picture this and it feels rich and rife with possibilities <laugh>.
Dr. Heidi Sabnani (25:16):
Well, and it, it turned it from … I think sometimes, when I go into a classroom, I learn so much from watching teachers and being able to sit and listen to students, that you don’t always have the luxury of when you’re the teacher. <Laugh> Right? It’s so much harder to be like, “OK, I’m gonna be watching what a kid does, because I’m hoping someone uses this strategy, so I can connect it to this other person’s strategy, so that we can take that apart and look at it and really have immediate discussion around it.” Those are all so many things that are happening in the moment as a teacher. You don’t get to sit back and look at it from a researcher kind of lens. Or look, you know, from the up-above lens. And when I had these conversations with teachers, I was like, “That’s what I want you to do. I want you to be able to sit back and look at all the things that are happening.” Because then you begin to notice not only the moves that the teacher — in this case, me — who was modeling for them was doing, but also the student conversations. And it was almost like having a case study within that moment, where they got to sit back and just experience, versus thinking about all the decisions that they would make at the moment. So that was something that was really surprising to me.
Dan Meyer (26:33):
Yeah. And I love the idea that they’re seeing the pedagogical moves, but they’re also experiencing perhaps a sense of math that’s de-stressed. You know, they are allowing themselves to sit next to students and feel as though they are a student, in ways that if you’re co-teaching, you are still like enmeshed in the gears of the whole lesson. I wonder if that’s a part of this too. So I’m hearing from you that we’re taking these teachers who have all admitted to some math anxiety, and that one of the interventions, or one of the findings, was that modeling worked really well for, again, this set of teachers. But you modeling lessons that highlighted mathematics, that was less anxious, that helped the teachers see that students were engaging in really productive un-anxious ways, brave ways. Were there other kinds of takeaways that you experienced there?
Dr. Heidi Sabnani (27:24):
Yeah. So in addition to that, we had to think about and start at Step One. One of the teachers that I worked with had done her student teaching with a teacher who had math anxiety, and who never taught math. And so she entered her teaching career, never having taught math before or seen it taught. And so in her situation, she had had one course in her teacher preparation program, that was on fractions.
Bethany Lockhart Johnson (27:54):
That’s often the case, right? One math methods course! Help, we have to get it all in in this semester! <Laugh>
Dr. Heidi Sabnani (28:01):
<Laugh> Yes. And so she came in and said, “I feel like I have to start at the beginning.” And so there was no question that was inappropriate, or that we weren’t going to explore or think about. And so that was, I think, the starting place with that particular teacher. And then one other, who was kind of in her same age range, where we had to start thinking about, “OK, how did you learn as a learner? What ways are you seeing your students learn as learners? And then let’s focus on those first as the areas that you wanna explore in your teaching.” And so a lot of that ended up being much more visual and hands-on ways of exploring. And so those were some of the changes in, I think, pedagogy that were the most significant. In a couple of cases, these are early elementary teachers who had had one experience with manipulatives in their whole teaching career up until that point. And so one teacher brought me a bucket of Cuisenaire rods and said, “These are in my room. I don’t know what they are. <Laugh> Are we building things with them? Are they blocks that are just small? <Laugh> Like what are they for?”
Bethany Lockhart Johnson (29:20):
Yes!
Dr. Heidi Sabnani (29:21):
And so, <laugh> it was that idea of, “OK, let’s, let’s explore all the different ways that we can use these, and that we can think about how your students might learn best with this particular tool that you have in your room.”
Bethany Lockhart Johnson (29:34):
So hearing you talk about this research — which by the way, I know, you’re like, for our listeners, it’s all, “Quick, boil down your years and hours of research and synthesize it for us.”
Dan Meyer (29:50):
Your life’s work.
Bethany Lockhart Johnson (29:50):
In a little tiny neat package. But really though, even though I know there’s so many layers to your research, and your work with these teachers, I wanna flag for our listeners that even the things that you’ve identified for us, you were giving teachers space — as coach, giving teachers space, and validating their experience as a mathematician, as you know, as a young student, right? Making space for that experience and validating “Yeah, that was really lousy and your math anxiety is real.” Like, Step One is already powerful. And then you’re creating space where they get to be in their classroom as a learner, right? And have a lesson modeled. And then you’re creating more <laugh> space for them to learn and ask questions. And I have absolutely seen teachers like, “I don’t know what to do with these,” and kind of shove aside the district-provided tools or the curriculum-provided tools. And so even those things, Heidi — Dr. Heidi <laugh> — you know, even if … I don’t know, for me, I am listening to you and just holding those points in mind and feeling like that, alone, if a coach did even just that … I know there’s so much more to it, but what a powerful opportunity for reclaiming math as an educator, right? That’s what I’m feeling.
Dr. Heidi Sabnani (31:25):
Well, and I was hoping that there wouldn’t be … I mean, OK, it’s a double-sided hope. If there was something like so novel and so fantastic that was so different from the things that we have already at our disposal, that would’ve made a much better book or dissertation. <Laugh> But the reality is, there are things that we already know work. And we don’t often take the time or, or are given the time to be able to explore those things. Right? So even as coaches, you have district initiatives or things like, “this is what we’re working on this year,” and that’s fantastic, right? We keep those things moving forward. But if we’re thinking about coaching teachers with math anxiety, no teacher with math anxiety is going to be coming to NCTM.
Dan Meyer (32:16):
Right. Right. Or the training.
Dr. Heidi Sabnani (32:19):
Or the training. They’re like, “Oh, PD day? Literacy! Yes, please! Bye!” You know, it’s that piece of it. So when we have these moments, the coaching is the opportunity to provide that just-in-time kind of professional development for teachers, if we go at it in a slightly different way. It does not have to be huge. It can be things like, they feel that they’re stronger in literacy. Well, then, let’s explore some of the ideas around math, anxiety and math identity and examples of people who’ve overcome either those things or other barriers in their life. And how can those things help form not only your students’ math identity, but your math identity. And it gives entry points in ways that you have access to if you’re a person’s coach.
Dan Meyer (33:18):
So in that sense, I’d love to know from you, if someone came to you at a coach’s meeting at NCSM and asked you, “What is something I can do right now to support the teachers at my site and my district, who are commonly experiencing math anxiety?” What is something that you would offer them in that brief moment you had with that coach?
Dr. Heidi Sabnani (33:40):
So it is hearing their story first. That’s the big one. And then, can you, in your coaching, provide opportunities to slow down? We all have these pacing guides in some form or another, that drive the things that are coming. Is there a way that you can set up meetings a month or more in advance of the content that those teachers are going to teach? Can we explore a month in advance, that content? And ways to teach it and understand it? There’s the ways to teach it, but there’s also like, “What is this math and how do kids experience this math?” What kind of experiences do we want to have ourselves as learners and then have as kids? If we can create cycles like that, that then don’t feel so rushed. It’s so hard when we’re like, “Oh, we have a planning meeting and we’re meeting with our coach!” And you’re teaching this lesson tomorrow. “Learn all this stuff about adding and subtracting on a number line. Go!” It’s so fast. And so if we had those opportunities to build in cycles, where we could slow down that process, it would make a huge difference in the lives of so many teachers. And it’s finding that time and the willingness. If you listen to teachers, they will work with you. If you validate what happens to them, and acknowledge that sometimes that still happens to us. I mean, I still have experiences like that. Sometimes I’ll walk into a classroom and I’m like, “Oh, I forgot how to do that!” You know, like, “I’ve not reached that far in my remaking of my own education!”
Bethany Lockhart Johnson (35:24):
Yehhhh, heh heh heh.
Dr. Heidi Sabnani (35:25):
<laugh>. And you think, “I don’t wanna look like an idiot. I’m the math consultant who’s here to duh duh duh.” All of those things still come up. Yeah. And stopping and saying like, “OK, everybody, this is what’s happening to me right now.” <laugh> The vulnerability you have, you have to think about that. Even if you don’t have experiences of math anxiety in your own life. Let’s say you always rocked out in math, and you’re now a math specialist and you love it. You think it’s the most spectacular thing. There’s some other element in your life where you face some anxiety. All of us do. So it’s about thinking about, “OK, this is where I experience anxiety. Can I find that in the teachers that I work with? And then, can my teachers find that in the students they work with?” You know, the teachers, as they begin to reflect on their own experiences, began noticing which students always went to the nurse during math time, always asked to go to the bathroom during math time, always couldn’t find a pencil, or whatever it happened to be. And they began to be more aware of their students’ behaviors as well, and could then say, “Hey, let’s sit and talk about how you feel in math class. Like, I’ve been noticing that when it’s time for math, like your stomach hurts. Can we talk about like why that might be?” Because those teachers with math are more attuned, often, to those students. And so it just … the time factor, I guess is, is the bottom line.
Bethany Lockhart Johnson (36:59):
I just wanna say, it’s so great to have you in the Lounge. Because I think you’re really bringing this perspective that we haven’t talked about, which … we are not expecting coaches to walk in and know it all. That’s actually the exact opposite. You are allowed to be vulnerable. We are not saying, “Come,” quote-unquote, “Fix this.” It’s like, “Hey, how can you facilitate and make space?” And I feel like you have given us just a taste of like how that might be possible. And you know, I think even if it’s just a chance for teachers to reflect on their own experience in math, even that would probably be kind of revolutionary for — and I don’t say that word lightly — for some PD spaces, especially if they have another peer in their team that is like quote-unquote, “a whiz,” or like, “Oh, I don’t feel like I can be vulnerable in my math anxiety because this teacher seems to know it all.” But you’re creating space where it’s like, “Hey, we all have strengths. We all have areas where we could support each other.” And I love that invitation for coaches. I love that invitation for teachers. And … yeah. I’m just, I’m so glad we get a snapshot of your research. Again, I know, I respect that this is not the whole thing!
Dan Meyer (38:22):
Can we find … is there a link to your dissertation in the show notes, for those of us who peruse dissertations? Can we add something here? Think about —
Dr. Heidi Sabnani (38:29):
Oh, I have no idea!
Dan Meyer (38:30):
Just think about it. Just think about it. But —
Dr. Heidi Sabnani (38:34):
It’s somewhere on ProQuest. It did get some. …
Dan Meyer (38:36):
Right on.
Bethany Lockhart Johnson (38:36):
Is that a thing, Dan? Could I go, like, Google your dissertation?
Dan Meyer (38:39):
You definitely could. Yeah, for sure. It’s around. Yeah, same way. Well, that’s awesome. And I think it’s so helpful for those who write those enormous unwieldy essays to, you know, distill it in different ways. I hope it’s been … we’ve enjoyed so much, hearing you carve up a huge project into pieces that were really helpful for us to think about here in the Lounge. Thank you so much for coming on and hanging out with us. Dr. Sabnani, it’s been a pleasure.
Dr. Heidi Sabnani (39:06):
Hey, I’m happy to do it any time. Always the biggest joy in the work that I do is little changes in a positive direction.
Dan Meyer (39:18):
Right on.
Dr. Heidi Sabnani (39:19):
That’s all that this is about. Right? Whether it’s kids, whether it’s teachers, whether it’s administration. The work that we all do is so valuable, and it is more and more difficult over time. And just giving ourselves a little bit of space to think about and acknowledge that, I think, is really important. So I appreciate you all making space as well. And thinking about this idea. Because <laugh> we’re math people! And we don’t have math anxiety! Right?
Bethany Lockhart Johnson (39:51):
<laugh>
Dan Meyer (39:51):
So people would assume
Dr. Heidi Sabnani (39:54):
<laugh>. Yeah.
Bethany Lockhart Johnson (39:54):
Thank you so much. You’re welcome back in the Lounge anytime. <laugh> Thanks so much for listening to our conversation with Dr. Heidi Sabnani, consultant and co-host of the show “Math for All.” I can’t get enough about talking about math anxiety!
Dan Meyer (40:13):
Especially from people who are working with teachers so closely.
Bethany Lockhart Johnson (40:18):
Yes, totally. I loved that lens of, “Hey, look at what happens if we actually focus on the teacher’s experience and help them kind of reclaim this comfort, this sense of identity, relationship with math that’s positive. How does that impact their teaching?” I loved talking about it, and I’m really interested in how that work continues to evolve. So thank you so much Dr. Sabnani, for your time. And you know, listeners, please keep in touch with us on our Facebook, in our discussion group, Math Teacher Lounge Community, or you can find us on Twitter at MTL show.
Dan Meyer (40:58):
If you haven’t already, please subscribe to Math Teacher Lounge, wherever you get podcasts. Also, if you like what you’re hearing, please rate us and leave us a review. It will help more listeners find the show. And it just makes me and Bethany feel good about ourselves, too. You can find more information on all of Amplify’s shows at our new podcast hub. Go to Amplify.com/hub.
Bethany Lockhart Johnson (41:20):
You know, Dan, I also always like to say, I find most of my podcasts through recommendations from other listeners, friends, folks. So if you like what you’re hearing, share it in your teacher lounge. Just, like, on break, turn it up and start vibing and having the conversation right there.
Dan Meyer (41:40):
Yep. Yep. I got a better idea. Take the link to this podcast and then copy it and find the longest — the thread in your inbox with the most people on it. One of those ones that’s like, someone accidentally cc’d like 500 people, everyone at your school. Press “reply.” This is crucial. Not “reply,” but “reply all.” Paste that link in. Press “send.” Watch what happens.
Bethany Lockhart Johnson (42:04):
Nothing but good —
Dan Meyer (42:04):
Good fortune will be yours.
Bethany Lockhart Johnson (42:06):
Nothing but good things can happen when you send this to 500 people in the next 10 minutes. Next time on Math Teacher Lounge, we’re gonna be joined by Dr. Marjorie Schaeffer of St. Mary’s College for a conversation about math anxiety, and specifically Dan, how parents and caregivers, how their disposition influences the way their kiddos feel about math.
Dr. Marjorie Schaeffer (42:29):
I think the most important thing we know from literature right now is that high-math-anxious parents, when they interact with their children, their children learn less math over the course of the school year.
Bethany Lockhart Johnson (42:40):
And get this, she’s gonna talk to us about an app that just might be something worth, you know, heading over to the app store for.
Dan Meyer (42:49):
I’ve used some apps, I have opinions, and I can’t wait. We just share recommendations on apps with Dr. Schaeffer.
Bethany Lockhart Johnson (42:56):
That’s next time on Math Teacher Lounge. Thanks so much for listening.
Stay connected!
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Meet the guest
Heidi Sabnani is always surprised that she works in math education. She developed math anxiety as a young student and spent much of her school life and early career avoiding math. After teaching English in the United States and Guatemala, and earning her MA in World Literature, she found herself in the uncomfortable position of working in math classrooms as a school improvement consultant. Once she realized that her life was going to involve math, Heidi decided to relearn math in the ways she wished she had learned the first time around. 18 years later she is still learning with and from the students and teachers she has the privilege to serve.
Heidi’s doctoral research at Northeastern University focused on interventions for math anxiety in elementary teachers. She currently works as a consultant, speaker, and author.
About Math Teacher Lounge
Math Teacher Lounge is a biweekly podcast created specifically for K–12 math educators. In each episode co-hosts Bethany Lockhart Johnson (@lockhartedu) and Dan Meyer (@ddmeyer) chat with guests, taking a deep dive into the math and educational topics you care about.
Join the Math Teacher Lounge Facebook group to continue the conversation, view exclusive content, interact with fellow educators, participate in giveaways, and more!
You might also like:
¡El futuro es bilingüe! | The future is bilingual!
Pave the path to biliteracy with Amplify Caminos 3rd
Edition—a K–5 Spanish language arts program grounded in the Science of Reading and aligned with Amplify CKLA. It builds deep content knowledge and foundational skills through daily opportunities to read, write, and speak in Spanish.
Coming soon: Early release begins in the 2026–27 school year
Built for biliteracy success
Amplify Caminos isn’t just a translation of English instruction; it’s an authentic Spanish language arts program designed for Spanish literacy development. Flexible across transitional, dual language, and immersion programs, it pairs with Amplify CKLA to deliver a complete, research-based K–5 biliteracy solution.
Our approach
Guided by our core biliteracy principles, Amplify Caminos delivers instruction that’s structured, intentional, and aligned with how Spanish language learning develops.
Rooted in biliteracy research
At the heart of the Science of Reading is the Simple View of Reading: language comprehension x word recognition = skilled reading. Amplify Caminos and CKLA support both from day one—starting with two-strand instruction in grades K–2 and moving to an integrated approach in grades 3–5.
Foundational skills built for Spanish
Reading fluency starts with a sounds-first approach—beginning with the most common vowels and consonants before moving to syllables and words. In grades K–2, Lectoescritura lessons develop decoding with 100% decodable readers. In grades 3–5, foundational skills are woven into content-rich lessons.
Knowledge that sticks
Topic-based instruction across science, social studies, literature, and the arts helps students develop the knowledge they need to understand complex texts. Amplify Caminos and CKLA follow the Core Knowledge Sequence with aligned—but not identical—topics for consistent Tier 1 instruction in both languages.
Stories that reflect and connect
From 100% decodable readers in grades K–2 to authentic poetry and novel studies in grades 3–5, each selection is either written in Spanish or transadapted to reflect students’ language, culture, and lived experiences.
Aligned, not identical
Amplify Caminos mirrors Amplify CKLA with intentional unit-level alignment and authentic Spanish content where it matters most. The result? A seamless biliteracy path that honors each language and promotes cross-linguistic transfer.
Reach every learner, every day
Built-in scaffolds, multilingual supports, and small-group guidance help teachers reach students who need more support—and those who are ready for a challenge. Amplify Caminos and CKLA make it easy to differentiate in the moment and keep every student growing.
Celebrate bilingualism
Bilingualism strengthens brains and bridges cultures. Amplify Caminos and CKLA honor bilingual identities and support academic growth in both Spanish and English.
A complete biliteracy suite
One system. Two languages. Every learner.
Unite core instruction, assessment, and intervention—aligned across Spanish and English, grounded in the Science of Reading, and built to support every student within your MTSS framework.
- Instruct with Amplify Caminos + Amplify CKLA: Partnered programs build knowledge and skills—with shared structure and distinct content where it matters.
- Screen with mCLASS® Lectura + DIBELS® 8th Edition: The only screener with a dual-language report that connects student strengths across Spanish and English.
- Practice with Boost Lectura + Boost Reading: Digital, student-led intervention that adapts to each learner—reinforcing core skills in both languages.
- Grow with Amplify professional development: Science of Reading and biliteracy-focused training—plus real educator communities to grow and learn together.
Maximize bilingual education with Amplify PD.
Amplify Caminos offers targeted professional development (PD) to help educators deliver bilingual education effectively. Our sessions provide strategies and insights to support biliteracy and maximize student engagement.
What’s included
Explore the tools, texts, and tech that power great Spanish language arts instruction.
High-quality teacher materials
Teacher Guides, biliteracy implementation support, assessments, and lesson screens
Immersive student resources
Decodables, authentic and transadapted texts, activity books, and multisensory phonics tools
Robust digital platform
eBooks, interactive tools, teacher resources, and on-demand professional development with support for dual language implementation
Explore more programs based on the Science of Reading
All of the programs in our literacy suite are designed to support and complement each other. Learn more about our related programs:
Inspiring the next generation of Massachusetts scientists, engineers, and curious citizens
Amplify Science is an engaging new core curriculum designed for three-dimensional, phenomena-based learning.
A powerful partnership
Amplify Science was developed by the science education experts at UC Berkeley’s Lawrence Hall of Science and the digital learning team at Amplify. This partnership extends to 2032, allowing us to continuously improve our program and provide our customers with the most up-to-date enhancements, free of charge. Get a glimpse at our latest back-to-school updates here.
Instructional model
The Amplify Science program is rooted in the proven, research-based pedagogy of Do, Talk, Read, Write, Visualize. Here’s how each element works:
Phenomena-based approach
In each Amplify Science unit, students take on the roles of scientists or engineers in order to investigate a real-world problem. Students work to define the problem and collect and make sense of evidence. Once the context is clear, students collect evidence from multiple sources and through a variety of modalities. At the end of the unit, students are presented with a brand new problem, giving them an opportunity to apply what they’ve learned over the course of the unit to a new context. This represents a shift from asking students to learn about science to supporting students in figuring out the science.
Resources to support your review
- Massachusetts Amplify Science. K-5 Correlation
- K-5 Massachusetts Science Rubric
- What’s so phenomenal about phenomena?—ebook
- Phenomena in grades K–5
- Student Books in grades K–5
- Literacy-rich science instruction in grades K–5
- Engineering in Amplify Science
- Amplify Science in Action classroom videos
Scope and Sequence
GRADE
Kindergarten
UNITS
- Needs of Plants and Animals
- Pushes and Pulls
- Sunlight and Water
Grade 1
- Needs of Plants and Animals
- Pushes and Pulls
- Sunlight and Water
Grade 2
- Plant and Animal Relationships
- Properties of Materials
- Changing Landforms
Grade 3
- Balancing Forces
- Inheritance and Traits
- Environments and Survival
- Weather and Climate
Grade 4
- Energy Conversions
- Vision and Light
- Earth’s Features
- Waves, Energy, and Information
Grade 5
- Patterns of Earth and Sky
- Modeling Matter
- The Earth System
- Ecosystem Restoration
Flexible implementation
One of the key features of Amplify Science is the flexibility that it offers. We give students authentic opportunities to experience the full breadth of what it means to be a scientist or engineer. Just as scientists gather evidence from many types of sources, so do students in our program. Like scientists, students gather evidence not just from physical models, but also from digital models, texts, videos, photographs, maps, data sets, and even their peers!
Simply put, real scientists don’t just get messy—they read, write, analyze, hypothesize, model, test, and communicate with purpose, too.
Student Books
Beginning and young readers have unique developmental needs, and science instruction should support these students in reading more independently as they progress through sections of content, the school year, and each grade. One way Amplify Science meets these needs is by strategically deploying different modes of reading throughout each unit: Read-Aloud, Shared Reading, and Partner Reading.
Student Investigation Notebooks
Available for every unit, the Student Investigation Notebooks provide space for students to:
- record data.
- reflect on ideas from texts and investigations.
- construct explanations and arguments.
Digital student experience
Students access the digital simulations and Modeling Tools, as well as lesson activities and assessments, through the digital student experience. Students can interact with the digital student experience as they:
- conduct hands-on investigations.
- engage in Active Reading and writing activities.
- participate in discussions.
- record observations.
- craft end-of-unit scientific arguments.
Dive into a quick example of our powerful simulations
Hands-on materials kits
Hands-on learning is at the heart of Amplify Science and is integrated
into every unit. Students actively take on the roles of scientists and engineers as they gather evidence, think critically, solve problems, and develop and defend claims about the world around them.
Check out this 2-minute video to see an Amplify Science hands-on investigation in action.
Each unit kit contains:
- consumable and non-consumable hands-on materials.
- print classroom display materials.
- premium print materials for student use (sorting cards, maps, etc.).
Teaching support
Available digitally and in print, the Teacher’s Guides contain all of the information teachers need to facilitate classroom instruction, including:
- detailed lesson plans.
- unit and chapter overview documentation.
- differentiation strategies.
- standards alignments.
- in-context professional development.
Massachusetts Academic Standards in Science coverage
Amplify Science was designed from the ground up to meet the NGSS, a set of standards that closely align with the Massachusetts Learning Standards for Science coverage. Most grade levels’ respective set of Amplify Science units therefore address the necessary MASS (see correlation).
For grades K, 1, 2, 3, and 5, teachers should plan to also use the resources provided in the sections below to achieve full coverage of the appropriate standards before their students move on to the next grade band. Organized by grade level, each section outlines:
- companion lesson materials that were written to support 100% alignment to the Massachusetts Learning Standards for Science coverage when used with the core Amplify Science units for the grade level
- the standard being addressed with each companion lesson; and
- the recommended placement of each companion lesson within a specific Amplify Science unit
Standard: K-PS1-1(MA). Investigate and communicate the idea that different kinds of materials can be solid or liquid depending on temperature.
Recommended placement: Following Lesson 5.6 of Sunlight and Weather
Resources: After students finish reflecting on their unit-long exploration of energy and temperature, play and discuss this read-aloud video of the student book Can you Change it Back?, which is featured in the grade 2 unit Properties of Materials. You might also consider borrowing the physical books from a grade 2 colleague’s Properties of Materials kit and reading it as a class instead of or in addition to playing the video.
Using the book, you will introduce students to the idea that heating and cooling can cause changes to materials. In the book, students are presented with a variety of materials and asked to predict whether a certain change caused by heating or cooling is reversible or irreversible.
Companion lesson: “Seasonal Changes”
Standard: 1-ESS1-2– Analyze provided data to identify relationships among seasonal patterns of change, including relative sunrise and sunset time changes, seasonal temperature and rainfall or snowfall patterns, and seasonal changes to the environment.
Recommended placement: Following Lesson 5.1 of Spinning Earth
Resources: Season Changes Classroom Slides and Student Sheet
Companion lesson: “Properties and Weight”
Standard: 2-PS1-3– Analyze a variety of evidence to conclude that when a chunk of material is cut or broken into pieces, each piece is still the same material and, however small each piece is, has weight. Show that the material properties of a small set of pieces do not change when the pieces are used to build larger objects.
Recommended placement: Following Lesson 4.4 of Properties of Materials.
Resources: Weight and Properties Classroom Slides, Resources, and Student Sheet
Companion lesson 1: Extinct Insects
Standard: 3-LS4-1: Use fossils to describe types of organisms and their environments that existed long ago and compare those to living organisms and their environments. Recognize that most kinds of plants and animals that once lived on Earth are no longer found anywhere.
Recommended placement: Following Lesson 2.3 of Environments and Survival
Resources: Extinct Insects Classroom Slides and Student Sheet
Companion lesson 2: Friction
Standard: 3-PS2-1: Provide evidence to explain the effect of multiple forces, including friction, on an object. Include balanced forces that do not change the motion of the object and unbalanced forces that do change the motion of the object.
Recommended placement: Following Lesson 1.1 of Balancing Forces
Resources: Friction Classroom Slides, Resources, and Student Sheet
Companion lesson 1: Composters
Standard: 5-LS2-2(MA)– Compare at least two designs for a composter to determine which is most likely to encourage decomposition of materials.
Recommended placement: Following Lesson 3.7 of Ecosystem Restoration
Resources: Composters Classroom Slides and Student Sheet
Companion lesson 2: Properties of Materials
Standard: 5-PS1-3 (MA) – Make observations and measurements of substances to describe characteristic properties of each, including color, hardness, reflectivity, electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, response to magnetic forces, and solubility.
Recommended placement: Following Lesson 1.3 of Modeling Matter
Resources: Properties of Materials Classroom Slides, Resources, Articles, Copymaster, and Student Sheet
Companion lesson 3: Water Filters
Standard: 5-ESS3-2(MA)– Test a simple system designed to filter particulates out of water and propose one change to the design to improve it.
Recommended placement: Following Lesson 5.6 of The Earth System
Resources: Water Filters Classroom Slides and Student Sheet
Benchmark Assessments
Amplify’s Benchmark Assessments are designed to help teachers measure student progress toward the three dimensions—Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCIs), Science and Engineering Practices (SEPs), and Crosscutting Concepts(CCCs)—and performance expectations (PEs) of the NGSS. The assessments provide important insight into how students are progressing toward mastery of different standards ahead of high-stakes, end-of-year assessments.
The Benchmark Assessments are built to be delivered after specific units in the recommended Amplify Science scope and sequence.* They are given three or four times per year, depending on the grade level. The benchmarks are intended to show progress at various points in time across a school year, and are therefore not summative in nature. Digital items and item clusters are also tagged to specific NGSS standards, allowing customization to align with other course sequences. The assessments are available via the following platforms:
Print
PDF files: For administering Benchmark Assessments on paper
Digital platforms
- Illuminate
- SchoolCity
- Otus
- QTI (“Question and Test Interoperability”) files
Not sure whether QTI files are compatible with your assessment platform? Contact your school IT or assessment platform representative for more information.
Please note that Amplify is able to provide access to the QTI files themselves, but is not able to support the integration process. Your assessment platform provider should be able to assist with QTI file integration.
Remote and hybrid learning support
See an example of our remote and hybrid learning support below:
Intended to make extended remote and hybrid learning easier, Amplify Science @Home includes two useful options for continuing instruction: @Home Videos and @Home Units.
Amplify Science @Home Videos are recordings of real Amplify Science teachers teaching the lessons. For those teachers who are unable to meet synchronously with their students, the recorded lessons are a great way to keep their students on track and engaged with Amplify Science while at home.
Amplify Science @Home Units are modified versions of Amplify Science units, strategically designed to highlight key activities from the program. The @Home Units take significantly less instructional time than the complete Amplify Science program and allow students to engage with science at home. Each @Home unit includes:
- Teacher overviews explaining how to use the materials, including suggestions for enhancing the @Home Units if synchronous learning or in-class time with students is available
- Overviews to send home to families
Student materials will be available in two formats:
- @Home Slides (PDF/PPT) + Student Sheets (PDF) for students with access to technology at home
- Downloadable @Home Packets (PDF) for students without access to technology at home
Download the remote and hybrid learning guide
Explore the digital Teacher’s Guide
To familiarize yourself with navigation of the digital Teacher’s Guide, watch our navigational guide videos:
Grades K–5:
Looking for help?
Powerful (and free!) pedagogical support
Amplify provides a unique kind of support you won’t find from other publishers. We’ve developed an educational support team of former teachers and administrators who provide pedagogical support for every Amplify curriculum, assessment, and intervention program. This service is completely free for all educators who are using our programs and includes:
- Guidance for developing lesson plans and intervention plans.
- Information on where to locate standards and other planning materials.
- Recommendations and tips for day-to-day teaching with Amplify programs.
- Support with administering and interpreting assessment data and more.
Timely technical and program support
Our technical and program support is included and available Monday through Friday, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. ET, through a variety of channels, including a live chat program that enables teachers to get immediate help in the middle of the school day.
Ready to dive in?
Contact your Massachusetts representative:
Tracy Yefimenko
518-466-3497
tyefimenko@amplify.com
A powerful partnership
Amplify Science was developed by the science education experts at UC Berkeley’s Lawrence Hall of Science and the digital learning team at Amplify. This partnership extends to 2032, allowing us to continuously improve our program and provide our customers with the most up-to-date enhancements, free of charge. Get a glimpse at our latest back-to-school updates here.
Instructional model
The Amplify Science program is rooted in the proven, research-based pedagogy of Do, Talk, Read, Write, Visualize. Here’s how each element works:
Phenomena-based approach
In each Amplify Science unit, students take on the roles of scientists or engineers in order to investigate a real-world problem. Students work to define the problem and collect and make sense of evidence. Once the context is clear, students collect evidence from multiple sources and through a variety of modalities. At the end of the unit, students are presented with a brand new problem, giving them an opportunity to apply what they’ve learned over the course of the unit to a new context. This represents a shift from asking students to learn about science to supporting students in figuring out the science.
Resources to support your review
- What’s so phenomenal about phenomena?—ebook
- Phenomena in grades K–5
- Phenomena in grades 6–8
- Student Books in grades K–5
- Literacy-rich science instruction in grades K–5
- Active Reading in grades 6–8
- Engineering in Amplify Science
- Amplify Science: See it in action
- EdReports—Compare resources
Remote and hybrid learning support
See an example of our remote and hybrid learning support below:
- K–5 example—Balancing Forces: Chapter 2, Lesson 2.3
- 6–8 example—Force and Motion: Chapter 3, Lesson 3.2
This fall, Amplify launched a new remote learning solution called Amplify Science@Home. Intended to make extended remote and hybrid learning easier, Amplify Science @Home includes two useful options for continuing instruction: @Home Videos and @Home Units.
Amplify Science @Home Videos are recordings of real Amplify Science teachers teaching the lessons. For those teachers who are unable to meet synchronously with their students, the recorded lessons are a great way to keep their students on track and engaged with Amplify Science while at home. These videos will be produced for all K–5 units, and for the first four units of each 6–8 grade level. Their release will be rolling, beginning in August.
Amplify Science @Home Units are modified versions of Amplify Science units, strategically designed to highlight key activities from the program. The @Home Units take significantly less instructional time than the complete Amplify Science program and allow students to engage with science at home. @Home Units will be developed for all Amplify Science K–8 units. Each @Home unit includes:
- Teacher overviews explaining how to use the materials, including suggestions for enhancing the @Home Units if synchronous learning or in-class time with students is available
- Overviews to send home to families
Student materials will be available in two formats:
- @Home Slides (PDF/PPT) + Student Sheets (PDF) for students with access to technology at home
- Downloadable @Home Packets (PDF) for students without access to technology at home
Download the remote and hybrid learning guide
Benchmark Assessments
Amplify’s Benchmark Assessments are designed to help teachers measure student progress toward the three dimensions—Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCIs), Science and Engineering Practices (SEPs), and Crosscutting Concepts(CCCs)—and performance expectations (PEs) of the NGSS. The assessments provide important insight into how students are progressing toward mastery of different standards ahead of high-stakes, end-of-year assessments.
The Benchmark Assessments are built to be delivered after specific units in the recommended Amplify Science scope and sequence.* They are given three or four times per year, depending on the grade level. The benchmarks are intended to show progress at various points in time across a school year, and are therefore not summative in nature. Digital items and item clusters are also tagged to specific NGSS standards, allowing customization to align with other course sequences. The assessments are available via the following platforms:
Print
PDF files: For administering Benchmark Assessments on paper
Digital platforms
- Illuminate
- SchoolCity
- Otus
- QTI (“Question and Test Interoperability”) files
Not sure whether QTI files are compatible with your assessment platform? Contact your school IT or assessment platform representative for more information.
Please note that Amplify is able to provide access to the QTI files themselves, but is not able to support the integration process. Your assessment platform provider should be able to assist with QTI file integration.
Flexible implementation
One of the key features of Amplify Science is the flexibility that it offers. We give students authentic opportunities to experience the full breadth of what it means to be a scientist or engineer. Just as scientists gather evidence from many types of sources, so do students in our program. Like scientists, students gather evidence not just from physical models, but also from digital models, texts, videos, photographs, maps, data sets, and even their peers!
Simply put, real scientists don’t just get messy—they read, write, analyze, hypothesize, model, test, and communicate with purpose, too.
Science articles
The middle school science articles serve as sources for evidence collection and were authored by science and literacy experts at the Lawrence Hall of Science.
Student Books
Beginning and young readers have unique developmental needs, and science instruction should support these students in reading more independently as they progress through sections of content, the school year, and each grade. One way Amplify Science meets these needs is by strategically deploying different modes of reading throughout each unit: Read-Aloud, Shared Reading, and Partner Reading.
Student Investigation Notebooks
Available for every unit, the Student Investigation Notebooks provide space for students to:
- record data.
- reflect on ideas from texts and investigations.
- construct explanations and arguments.
Available with full-color article compilations for middle school units.
Digital student experience
Students access the digital simulations and Modeling Tools, as well as lesson activities and assessments, through the digital student experience. Students can interact with the digital student experience as they:
- conduct hands-on investigations.
- engage in Active Reading and writing activities.
- participate in discussions.
- record observations.
- craft end-of-unit scientific arguments.
Dive into a quick example of our powerful simulations
Hands-on materials kits
Hands-on learning is at the heart of Amplify Science and is integrated
into every unit. Students actively take on the roles of scientists and engineers as they gather evidence, think critically, solve problems, and develop and defend claims about the world around them.
Check out these 2-minute videos to see an Amplify Science hands-on investigation in action.
- Grade 2: Hands-on investigation from Animal and Plant Relationships
- Grade 6: Hands-on investigation from Populations andResources
Each unit kit contains:
- consumable and non-consumable hands-on materials.
- print classroom display materials.
- premium print materials for student use (sorting cards, maps, etc.).
Teacher’s Guides
Available digitally and in print, the Teacher’s Guides contain all of the information teachers need to facilitate classroom instruction, including:
- detailed lesson plans.
- unit and chapter overview documentation.
- differentiation strategies.
- standards alignments.
- in-context professional development.
Scope and Sequence
Minnesota Academic Standards in Science coverage
Amplify Science was designed from the ground up to meet the NGSS, a set of standards that closely align with the K–8 Minnesota Academic Standards in Science (MASS). Therefore, most grade levels’ respective set of Amplify Science units address the necessary MASS (see K–5 reverse alignment and/or correlations for K–5 and 6–8). However, for grades 2–4, teachers should also use the resources provided in the sections below to achieve full coverage of the appropriate standards before their students move on to the next grade level. Organized by grade level, each section outlines:
- companion lesson materials that were written to support 100% alignment to the Minnesota Academic Standards in Science when used with the core Amplify Science units for the grade level
- the standard being addressed with each companion lesson; and
- the recommended placement of each companion lesson within a specific Amplify Science unit
Companion lesson: “Shelter”
Standard: 1P.4.2.2.1 Communicate solutions that use materials to provide shelter, food, or warmth needs for communities including Minnesota American Indian tribes and communities.* (P: 8, CC: 2, CI: PS1, ETS2)
Recommended placement: Following Lesson 5.1 of Spinning Earth
Materials: Shelter Classroom Slides and Student Sheet
Companion lesson: “Describing Climates”
Standard: 2E.4.2.1.2 Obtain and use information from multiple sources, including electronic sources, to describe climates in different regions of the world.** (P: 8, CC: 1, CI: ESS2)
Recommended placement: Following Lesson 4.5 of Changing Landforms
Materials: Describing Climates Classroom Slides and Student Sheet
Note: Students will further investigate the content in this standard, and revisit the book used in this companion lesson, in 3rd grade (Weather and Climate unit)
Companion lesson 1: Light and Vision
Standard: 3P.3.1.1.1 Develop a model to describe that light reflecting from objects and entering the eye allows objects to be seen. (P: 2, CC: 2, CI: PS4)
Recommended placement: Following Lesson 4.5 of Environments and Survival
Materials: Light and Vision Part 1 Classroom Slides and Student Sheet; Light and Vision Part 2 Classroom Slides and Student Sheet
Note: Students will further investigate the content in this standard, and revisit the book used in this companion lesson, in 4th grade (Vision and Light unit)
Companion lesson 2: Studying Stars
Standard: 3E.4.2.2.1 Gather information and communicate how Minnesota American Indian Tribes and communities and other cultures use patterns in stars to make predictions and plans. (P 8, CC: 1, CI: ESS1)
Recommended placement: Following Lesson 4.4 of Weather and Climate
Materials: Studying Stars Classroom Slides and Student Sheet
Note: Students will further investigate the content in this standard, and revisit the book used in this companion lesson, in 5th grade (Patterns of Earth and Sky unit)
Companion lesson 1: Salt Water and Freshwater
Standard: 4E.2.2.1.1 Interpret charts, maps and/or graphs of the amounts of salt water and fresh water in various reservoirs to provide evidence about the distribution of water on Earth.** (P: 5, CC: 4, CI: ESS2)
Recommended placement: Following Lesson 2.6 of Earth’s’ Features
Materials: Salt Water and Freshwater Classroom Slides and Student Sheet
Note: Students will further investigate the content in this standard, and revisit the book used in this companion lesson, in 5th grade (The Earth System unit)
Companion lesson 2: How Raindrops Form
Standard: 4E.1.1.1.2 Ask questions about how water moves through the Earth system and identify the type of question. (P: 1, CC: 5, CI: ESS2)
Recommended placement: Following Lesson 4.5 of Earth’s’ Features
Materials: How Raindrops Form Classroom Slides and Student Sheet
Note: Students will further investigate the content in this standard, and revisit the book used in this companion lesson, in 5th grade (The Earth System unit)
Explore the digital Teacher’s Guide
To familiarize yourself with navigation of the digital Teacher’s Guide, watch our navigational guide videos:
Grades K–5:
Grades 6–8:
Looking for help?
Powerful (and free!) pedagogical support
Amplify provides a unique kind of support you won’t find from other publishers. We’ve developed an educational support team of former teachers and administrators who provide pedagogical support for every Amplify curriculum, assessment, and intervention program. This service is completely free for all educators who are using our programs and includes:
- Guidance for developing lesson plans and intervention plans.
- Information on where to locate standards and other planning materials.
- Recommendations and tips for day-to-day teaching with Amplify programs.
- Support with administering and interpreting assessment data and more.
Timely technical and program support
Our technical and program support is included and available Monday through Friday, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. ET, through a variety of channels, including a live chat program that enables teachers to get immediate help in the middle of the school day.
Ready to dive in?
Contact your Minnesota representative:
Kristi Stengel
Account Executive
kstengel@amplify.com
(612) 306-3941
Tammy Sigwarth
Account Executive
tsigwarth@amplify.com
(563) 663-0056
Welcome to Amplify Science 6–8!
Amplify Science is an engaging core curriculum designed for three-dimensional, phenomena-based learning.
With Amplify Science, Oregon students don’t just passively learn about science concepts. Instead, they take on the role of scientists and engineers to actively investigate and figure out real-world phenomena. They do this through a blend of cohesive and compelling storylines, hands-on investigations, collaborative discussions, literacy-rich activities, and interactive digital tools.
Publisher presentation
The Lawrence Hall of Science
Developed by the science education experts at UC Berkeley’s Lawrence Hall of Science and the digital learning team at Amplify, our program features:
- A phenomena-based approach where students construct a complex understanding of each unit’s anchor phenomenon.
- A blend of cohesive storylines, hands-on investigations, rich discussions, literacy-rich activities, and digital tools.
- Carefully crafted units, chapters, lessons, and activities designed to deliver true 3-dimensional learning.
- An instructional design that supports all learners in accessing all standards.
Proven to work
Instructional model
The Amplify Science program is rooted in the proven, research-based pedagogy of Do, Talk, Read, Write, Visualize. Here’s how each element works:
Do
First-hand investigations are an important part of any science classroom, and Amplify Science has students getting hands-on in every unit—from building models of protein molecules to experimenting with electrical systems.
Talk
Student-to-student discourse and full-class discussions are an integral part of the program. Students are provided with numerous opportunities to engage in meaningful oral scientific argumentation, all while fostering a collaborative classroom environment.
Read
Students read scientific articles, focusing their reading activities on searching for evidence related to their investigation and, importantly, on asking and recording questions as they read through fascinating texts on 21st-century topics.
Write
Following real-world practices, students write scientific arguments based on evidence they’ve collected, making clear their reasoning about how a given piece of evidence connects to one of several claims.
Visualize
By manipulating digital simulations and using modeling tools to craft visualizations of their thinking— just as real scientists and engineers
do—students take their learning far beyond the confines of what they can physically see in the classroom in an exciting and authentic way.
Program structure
Our cyclical lesson design ensures students receive multiple exposures to concepts through a variety of modalities. As they progress through the lessons within a unit, students build and deepen their understanding, increasing their ability to develop and refine complex explanations of the unit’s phenomenon.
It’s this proven program structure and lesson design that enables Amplify Science to address 100% of the NGSS, and support students in mastering the Oregon Science Standards.
Unit types
While every unit delivers three-dimensional learning experiences and engages students in gathering evidence from a rich collection of sources, each unit also serves a unique instructional purpose.
In grades 6–8:
- One unit is a launch unit.
- Three units are core units.
- Two units are engineering internships.
Launch units are the first units taught in each year of Amplify Science. The goal of the Launch unit is to introduce students to norms, routines, and practices that will be built on throughout the year, including argumentation, active reading, and using the program’s technology. For example, rather than taking the time to explain the process of active reading in every unit in a given year, it is explained thoroughly in the Launch unit, thereby preparing students to read actively in all subsequent units.
Core units establish the context of the unit by introducing students to a real-world problem. As students move through lessons in a Core unit, they figure out the unit’s anchoring phenomenon, gain an understanding of the unit’s disciplinary core ideas and science and engineering practices, and make linkages across topics through the crosscutting concepts. Each Core unit culminates with a Science Seminar and final writing activity.
Engineering Internship units invite students to design solutions for real-world problems as interns for a fictional company called Futura. Students figure out how to help those in need, from tsunami victims in Sri Lanka to premature babies, through the application of engineering practices. In the process, they apply and deepen their learning from Core units.
Unit sequence
Our lessons follow a structure that is grounded in regular routines while still being flexible enough to allow for a variety of learning experiences.
In fact, our multi-modal instruction offers more opportunities for students to construct meaning, and practice and apply concepts than any other program. What’s more, our modular design means our units can be flexibly arranged to support your instructional goals.
Program components
Available digitally and in print, our unit-specific reference guides are chock full of helpful resources, including scientific background knowledge, planning information and resources, color-coded 3D Statements, detailed lesson plans, tips for delivering instruction, and differentiation strategies.
Hands-on learning is an essential part of Amplify Science, and is integrated into every unit. Students actively participate in science, playing the roles of scientists and engineers as they gather evidence, think critically, solve problems, and develop and defend claims about the world around them. Every unit includes hands-on investigations that are critical to achieving the unit’s learning goals.
More hands-on with Flextensions:
Hands-on Flextensions are additional, optional investigations that are included at logical points in the learning progression and give students an opportunity to dig deeper if time permits. These activities offer teachers flexibility to choose to dedicate more time to hands-on learning. Materials referenced in Hands-on Flextension activities will either be included in the unit kit or are easily sourced. Supporting resources such as student worksheets will be included as downloadable PDF files.
Our digital Simulations and Practice Tools are powerful resources for exploration, data collection, and student collaboration. They allow students the ability to explore scientific concepts that might otherwise be invisible or impossible to see with the naked eye.
Available for every unit, our Student Investigation Notebooks contain instructions for activities and space for students to record data and observations, reflect on ideas from texts and investigations, and construct explanations and arguments.
In grades 6–8, one copy of the Student Investigation Notebook is included in each unit’s materials kit for use as a blackline master. Each notebook is also available as a downloadable PDF on the Unit Guide page of the digital Teacher’s Guide.
These customizable PowerPoints are available for every lesson of the program and make delivering instruction a snap with visual prompts, colorful activity instructions, investigation set-up videos and animations, and suggested teacher talk in the notes section of each slide.
Full coverage of the Oregon Science Standards
Amplify Science was designed from the ground up to meet the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). As such, it aligns to the Oregon Science Standards, which were also borne out of the NGSS.
The guidance below is meant to provide support for integrating additional activities that support full coverage of Oregon’s standards. Organized by grade level, each section below will outline:
- Additional activities that support 100% alignment to the Oregon Science Standards.
- The standard being addressed with the activities.
- The recommended placement of the activities within a specific Amplify Science unit.
- PDFs of any accompanying materials that are necessary to implement the activities.
Activity Title: Meet a Scientist Who Changed How We Think About Brain Cells
About this activity: In this activity, students read a short article about a scientist who studied the nervous system.
Recommended placement: Metabolism unit, Lesson 3.2
Materials:
Instructions: Download the PDF “Meet a Scientist Who Changed How We Think About Brain Cells” above and remind students of the Active Reading guidelines. Before students read the article, invite them to share prior experiences. Then have students complete the copymaster above.
Activity Title: Meet a Scientist Who Studies Underwater Currents
About this activity: In this activity, students read a short article about a scientist who studies ocean currents.
Recommended placement: Oceans, Atmosphere, and Climate unit, Lesson 2.1
Materials:
Instructions: Download the PDF “Meet a Scientist Who Studies Underwater Currents” above and remind students of the Active Reading guidelines. Before students read the article, invite them to share prior experiences. Then have students complete the copymaster above.
Activity Title: Meet a Scientist Who Studies How the Environment Affects Our Traits
About this activity: In this activity, students read two short articles, one about current research on genes and proteins, and one about a scientist who is studying how the environment can affect our traits.
Recommended placement: Traits and Reproduction unit, Lesson 2.4
Materials:
Instructions: Download the PDF “Meet a Scientist Who Studies How the Environment Affects Our Traits” above and remind students of the Active Reading guidelines. Before students read the article, invite them to share prior experiences. Then have students complete the copymaster above.
Activity Title: Who Becomes a Space Scientist?
About this activity: In this activity, Students read a short article about a scientist who studies space.
Recommended placement: Geology on Mars unit, Lesson 3.1
Materials:
Instructions: Download the PDF “Who Becomes a Space Scientist?” above and remind students of the Active Reading guidelines. Before students read the article, invite them to share prior experiences. Then have students complete the copymaster above.
Activity Title: Meet a Scientist Who Studies How Plants Find Water Underground
About this activity: In this activity, students read a short article about a scientist who studies how plants’ roots get water.
Recommended placement: Matter and Energy in Ecosystems unit, Lesson 1.6
Materials:
Instructions: Download the PDF “Meet a Scientist Who Studies How Plants Find Water Underground” above and remind students of the Active Reading guidelines. Before students read the article, invite them to share prior experiences. Then have students complete the copymaster above.
Activity Title: Bringing Back the Buffalo
About this activity: In this activity, students change one competing population to try to decrease the other in the Sim, and read a short article about a scientist who studies buffalo.
Recommended placement: Populations and Resources unit, Lesson 3.2
Materials:
Instructions: Download the PDF “Bringing Back the Buffalo” above and remind students of the Active Reading guidelines. Before students read the article, invite them to share prior experiences. Then have students complete the copymaster above.
Activity Title: Rereading “A Continental Puzzle”
About this activity: In this activity, students reread “A Continental Puzzle” and think about how patterns were helpful to Wegener’s work.
Recommended placement: Plate Motion unit, Lesson 3.2
Materials:
Instructions: Direct students back to “A Continental Puzzle” above and remind students of the Active Reading guidelines. Before students re-read the article, invite them to share prior experiences. Then have students complete the copymaster above.
Activity Title: Meet a Scientist Who Studies Variation in Monkey Populations
About this activity: In this activity, students read a short article about a scientist who studies variation of traits in monkey populations.
Recommended placement: Natural Selection unit, Lesson 1.6
Materials:
Instructions: Download the PDF “Meet a Scientist Who Studies Variation in Monkey Populations” above and remind students of the Active Reading guidelines. Before students read the article, invite them to share prior experiences. Then have students complete the copymaster above.
Activity Title: Extinctions and Human Impacts
About this activity: The purpose of this lesson is for students to see how increases in human population and consumption of natural resources can negatively impact Earth’s systems.
Recommended placement: Natural Selection unit, Lesson 4.5
Materials:
Instructions: Download the PDF “Extinctions and Human Impacts” above and remind students of the Active Reading guidelines. Before students read the article, invite them to share prior experiences. Then have students complete the copymaster above.
Activity Title: Steno and the Shark
About this activity: In this activity, students read a short article about Nicolas Steno, a scientist from the 1600s whose studies of fossilized sharks’ teeth embedded in rock layers laid the foundation for the modern understanding of stratigraphy.
Recommended placement: Evolutionary History unit, Lesson 2.4
Materials:
Instructions: Download the PDF “Steno and the Shark” above and remind students of the Active Reading guidelines. Before students read the article, invite them to share prior experiences. Then have students complete the copymaster above.
Activity Title: Scale in the Solar System
About this activity: In this activity, students read and annotate the articles “Scale in the Solar System” and “The Solar System Is Huge.”
Recommended placement: Earth, Moon, and Sun unit, Lesson 1.2
Materials:
Instructions: Download the PDF “Scale in the Solar System” above and remind students of the Active Reading guidelines. Before students read the article, invite them to share prior experiences. Then have students complete the copymaster above.
Explore your print samples
With your Amplify Science print samples, you’ll find unit-specific Teacher’s References Guides and Student Investigation Notebooks for each grade level.
A note about the Teacher’s Reference Guides:
It’s important that your committee sees the full breadth and depth of our instruction. For that reason, we provided a copy of each of our unit-specific Teacher Reference Guides.
Rest assured that teachers do not use these robust reference guides for day-to-day teaching. For that, we have a hands-free TG!
- Teacher Reference Guide: Unlike a typical TG that requires a series of supplemental books to support it, our encyclopedic reference guide is chock-full of everything a teacher needs to fully implement our program and the NGSS.
- Ready-to-Teach Lesson Slides: For daily instruction, teachers need their hands free. That’s why we created ready-to-teach lesson slides for every single lesson. What’s more, they are editable and include suggested teacher talk and point-of-use differentiation and other instructional tips. Click to learn more.
A note about the Materials Kits:
Hands-on learning is at the heart of Amplify Science, and is integrated into every unit. In order to make hands-on learning more manageable for busy teachers, Amplify Science materials are organized into unit-specific kits.
Our unit-specific kits:
- Include more materials — We give teachers enough materials to support 200 student uses.
- Are more manageable — Unlike other programs that require large groups of students to share limited sets of materials, our kits include enough to support small groups of 4–5 students.
- Include supportive videos — Each hands-on activity provides clear instructions for the teacher, with more complex activities supported by video demonstrations and illustrations.
At your request, we did not include our materials kits with our submissions samples. However, we did provide grade-specific lists of all materials included in each kit, which you can also find with the links below.
Access your digital samples
Explore as a teacher
Follow these instructions to explore the Amplify Science digital platform as a teacher.
- Click the Access Amplify Science Platform button below and bookmark it.
- Select Log in with Amplify.
- Enter the username: t.or68sci@tryamplify.net
- Enter the password: Science5OR
- Click the Science icon.
- Click on the Grade Menu in the top center of the screen and select any grade.
- Select any unit.
To help familiarize yourself with navigating the digital platform, watch the below navigational video.
Explore as a student
Follow these instructions to explore the Amplify Science digital platform as a student.
- Click the Access Amplify Science Platform button below and bookmark it.
- Select Log in with Amplify.
- Enter the username: s.or68sci@tryamplify.net
- Enter the password: Science5OR
- Click the Science icon.
- Click on the Grade Menu in the top center of the screen and select any grade.
- Select any unit.
Resources to support your review
- Oregon standards correlation for grades 6–8
- QCD Science Adoption Criteria 2022 for grades 6-8
- QCD IMET Citation guidance for grades 6-8
- Oregon Science IMET for grades 6-8 (Excel download)
- Oregon QCD-IMET Citation guidance for grades 6-8
- Research behind Amplify Science
- Phenomena in grades 6–8
- Program structure for grades 6–8
- Active Reading in grades 6–8
- Engineering in Amplify Science
- Approaches to assessment in grades 6–8
New Mexico Educators: Welcome to Amplify Science 6–8!
Amplify Science is an engaging core curriculum designed for three-dimensional, phenomena-based learning that is rated ‘all green’ on EdReports.
With Amplify Science, New Mexico students don’t just passively learn about science concepts. Instead, they take on the role of scientists and engineers to actively investigate and figure out real-world phenomena. They do this through a blend of cohesive and compelling storylines, hands-on investigations, collaborative discussions, literacy-rich activities, and interactive digital tools.
Amplify Science Success Story
The Lawrence Hall of Science
Developed by the science education experts at UC Berkeley’s Lawrence Hall of Science and the digital learning team at Amplify, our program features:
- A phenomena-based approach where students construct a complex understanding of each unit’s anchor phenomenon.
- A blend of cohesive storylines, hands-on investigations, rich discussions, literacy-rich activities, and digital tools.
- Carefully crafted units, chapters, lessons, and activities designed to deliver true 3-dimensional learning.
- An instructional design that supports all learners in accessing all standards.
Instructional model
The Amplify Science program is rooted in the proven, research-based pedagogy of Do, Talk, Read, Write, Visualize. Here’s how each element works:
Do
First-hand investigations are an important part of any science classroom, and Amplify Science has students getting hands-on in every unit—from building models of protein molecules to experimenting with electrical systems.
Talk
Student-to-student discourse and full-class discussions are an integral part of the program. Students are provided with numerous opportunities to engage in meaningful oral scientific argumentation, all while fostering a collaborative classroom environment.
Read
Students read scientific articles, focusing their reading activities on searching for evidence related to their investigation and, importantly, on asking and recording questions as they read through fascinating texts on 21st-century topics.
Write
Following real-world practices, students write scientific arguments based on evidence they’ve collected, making clear their reasoning about how a given piece of evidence connects to one of several claims.
Visualize
By manipulating digital simulations and using modeling tools to craft visualizations of their thinking— just as real scientists and engineers do—students take their learning far beyond the confines of what they can physically see in the classroom in an exciting and authentic way.
Program structure
Our cyclical lesson design ensures students receive multiple exposures to concepts through a variety of modalities. As they progress through the lessons within a unit, students build and deepen their understanding, increasing their ability to develop and refine complex explanations of the unit’s phenomenon.
It’s this proven program structure and lesson design that enables Amplify Science to address 100% of the NGSS and support students in mastering the New Mexico STEM Ready! Science Standards.
Unit types
While every unit delivers three-dimensional learning experiences and engages students in gathering evidence from a rich collection of sources, each unit also serves a unique instructional purpose.
In grades 6–8:
- One unit is a launch unit.
- Three units are core units.
- Two units are engineering internships.
Launch units are the first units taught in each year of Amplify Science. The goal of the Launch unit is to introduce students to norms, routines, and practices that will be built on throughout the year, including argumentation, active reading, and using the program’s technology. For example, rather than taking the time to explain the process of active reading in every unit in a given year, it is explained thoroughly in the Launch unit, thereby preparing students to read actively in all subsequent units.
Core units establish the context of the unit by introducing students to a real-world problem. As students move through lessons in a Core unit, they figure out the unit’s anchoring phenomenon, gain an understanding of the unit’s disciplinary core ideas and science and engineering practices, and make linkages across topics through the crosscutting concepts. Each Core unit culminates with a Science Seminar and final writing activity.
Engineering Internship units invite students to design solutions for real-world problems as interns for a fictional company called Futura. Students figure out how to help those in need, from tsunami victims in Sri Lanka to premature babies, through the application of engineering practices. In the process, they apply and deepen their learning from Core units.
Unit sequence
Our lessons follow a structure that is grounded in regular routines while still being flexible enough to allow for a variety of learning experiences.
In fact, our multi-modal instruction offers more opportunities for students to construct meaning, and practice and apply concepts than any other program. What’s more, our modular design means our units can be flexibly arranged to support your instructional goals.
Program components
Available digitally and in print, our unit-specific reference guides are chock full of helpful resources, including scientific background knowledge, planning information and resources, color-coded 3-D Statements, detailed lesson plans, tips for delivering instruction, and differentiation strategies.
Hands-on learning is an essential part of Amplify Science, and is integrated into every unit. Students actively participate in science, playing the roles of scientists and engineers as they gather evidence, think critically, solve problems, and develop and defend claims about the world around them. Every unit includes hands-on investigations that are critical to achieving the unit’s learning goals.
More hands-on with Flextensions:
Hands-on Flextensions are additional, optional investigations that are included at logical points in the learning progression and give students an opportunity to dig deeper if time permits. These activities offer teachers flexibility to choose to dedicate more time to hands-on learning. Materials referenced in Hands-on Flextension activities will either be included in the unit kit or are easily sourced. Supporting resources such as student worksheets will be included as downloadable PDF files.
Our kits include enough materials to support 200 student uses. In other words, teachers can easily support all five periods and small groups of 4-5 students each. Plus, our unit-specific kits mean teachers just grab the tub they need and then put it all back with ease.
Our digital Simulations and Practice Tools are powerful resources for exploration, data collection, and student collaboration. They allow students the ability to explore scientific concepts that might otherwise be invisible or impossible to see with the naked eye.
Available for every unit, our Student Investigation Notebooks contain instructions for activities and space for students to record data and observations, reflect on ideas from texts and investigations, and construct explanations and arguments.
In grades 6–8, one copy of the Student Investigation Notebook is included in each unit’s materials kit for use as a blackline master. Each notebook is also available as a downloadable PDF on the Unit Guide page of the digital Teacher’s Guide.
These customizable PowerPoints are available for every lesson of the program and make delivering instruction a snap with visual prompts, colorful activity instructions, investigation set-up videos and animations, and suggested teacher talk in the notes section of each slide.
Full coverage of NGSS and New Mexico STEM Ready! Science Standards
Amplify Science was designed from the ground up to meet the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). As such, it aligns to the New Mexico Science Standards, which were also borne out of the NGSS.
K-8 NGSS Correlation by Dimension
K-8 NM STEM Ready! Standards Correlation
Explore your print samples
With your Amplify Science print samples, you’ll find unit-specific Teacher’s References Guides and Student Investigation Notebooks for each grade level.
A note about the Teacher’s Reference Guides:
It’s important that your committee sees the full breadth and depth of our instruction. For that reason, we provided a copy of each of our unit-specific Teacher Reference Guides.
Rest assured that teachers do not use these robust reference guides for day-to-day teaching. For that, we have a hands-free Teacher Guide!
- Teacher Reference Guide: Unlike a typical Teacher Guide that requires a series of supplemental books to support it, our encyclopedic reference guide is chock-full of everything a teacher needs to fully implement our program and the NGSS.
- Ready-to-Teach Lesson Slides: For daily instruction, teachers need their hands free. That’s why we created ready-to-teach lesson slides for every single lesson. What’s more, they are editable and include suggested teacher talk and point-of-use differentiation and other instructional tips. Click to learn more.
A note about the Materials Kits:
Hands-on learning is at the heart of Amplify Science, and is integrated into every unit. In order to make hands-on learning more manageable for busy teachers, Amplify Science materials are organized into unit-specific kits.
Our unit-specific kits:
- Include more materials — We give teachers enough materials to support 200 student uses.
- Are more manageable — Unlike other programs that require large groups of students to share limited sets of materials, our kits include enough to support small groups of 4–5 students.
- Include supportive videos — Each hands-on activity provides clear instructions for the teacher, with more complex activities supported by video demonstrations and illustrations.
Access your digital samples
Explore as a teacher
Follow these instructions to explore the Amplify Science digital platform as a teacher.
- Click the Access Amplify Science Platform button below and bookmark it.
- Select Log in with Amplify.
- Enter the username: t20.sci6-8@tryamplify.net
- Enter the password: AmplifyNumber1
- Click on Science in Your Programs
- Click on the Program drop-down menu and select your desired domain
- Select any unit.
To help familiarize yourself with navigating the digital platform, watch the below navigational video.
Explore as a student
Follow these instructions to explore the Amplify Science digital platform as a student.
- Click the Access Amplify Science Platform button below and bookmark it.
- Select Log in with Amplify.
- Enter the username: s20.sci6-8@tryamplify.net
- Enter the password: AmplifyNumber1
- Click Science in Your Programs
- Click on the Program drop-down menu and select your desired domain
- Select any unit title.
Additional resources to support your review
Welcome to Amplify Science K–5!
Amplify Science is an engaging core curriculum designed for three-dimensional, phenomena-based learning.
With Amplify Science, Detroit students won’t just passively learn about science concepts. Instead, they will take on the role of scientists and engineers to actively investigate and figure out real-world phenomena. They will do this through a blend of cohesive and compelling storylines, hands-on investigations, collaborative discussions, literacy-rich activities, and interactive digital tools.
What is Amplify Science?
The Lawrence Hall of Science
Developed by the science education experts at UC Berkeley’s Lawrence Hall of Science and the digital learning team at Amplify, our program features:
- A phenomena-based approach where students construct a complex understanding of each unit’s anchor phenomenon.
- A blend of cohesive storylines, hands-on investigations, rich discussions, literacy-rich activities, and digital tools.
- Carefully crafted units, chapters, lessons, and activities designed to deliver true three-dimensional learning.
- An instructional design that supports all learners in accessing all standards.
Proven to work
Instructional model
The Amplify Science program is rooted in the proven, research-based pedagogy of Do, Talk, Read, Write, Visualize. Here’s how each element works:
Do
First-hand investigations are an important part of any science classroom, and Amplify Science has students getting hands-on in every unit—from building models of protein molecules to experimenting with electrical systems.
Talk
Student-to-student discourse and full-class discussions are an integral part of the program. Students are provided with numerous opportunities to engage in meaningful oral scientific argumentation, all while fostering a collaborative classroom environment.
Read
Students read scientific articles, focusing their reading activities on searching for evidence related to their investigation and, importantly, on asking and recording questions as they read through fascinating texts on 21st-century topics.
Write
Following real-world practices, students write scientific arguments based on evidence they’ve collected, making clear their reasoning about how a given piece of evidence connects to one of several claims.
Visualize
By manipulating digital simulations and using modeling tools to craft visualizations of their thinking— just as real scientists and engineers
do—students take their learning far beyond the confines of what they can physically see in the classroom in an exciting and authentic way.
Program structure
Our cyclical lesson design ensures students receive multiple exposures to concepts through a variety of modalities. As they progress through the lessons within a unit, students build and deepen their understanding, increasing their ability to develop and refine complex explanations of the unit’s phenomenon.
It’s this proven program structure and lesson design that enables Amplify Science to address 100% of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and support students in mastering the Pennsylvania Science Standards.
Unit types
While every unit delivers three-dimensional learning experiences and engages students in gathering evidence from a rich collection of sources, each unit also emphasizes a particular science and engineering practice.
In grades K–2:
- One unit emphasizes the practice of investigation.
- One unit emphasizes the practice of modeling.
- One unit emphasizes the practice of engineering design.
In grades 3–5, students experience the three unit types above, plus:
- One additional unit that emphasizes the practice of argumentation.
Investigation units focus on the process of strategically developing investigations and gathering data to answer questions. Students are first asked to consider questions about what happens in the natural world and why, and are then involved in designing and conducting investigations that produce data to help answer those questions.
Modeling units provide extra support to students engaging in the practice of modeling. Students use physical models, investigate with computer models, and create their own diagrams to help them visualize what might be happening on the nanoscale.
Engineering design units provide opportunities for students to solve complex problems by applying science principles to the design of functional solutions, and iteratively testing those solutions to determine how well they meet preset criteria.
Argumentation units provide students with regular opportunities to explore and discuss available evidence, time and support to consider how evidence may be leveraged in support of claims, and independence that increases as they mount written arguments in support of their claims.
Unit sequence
Our lessons follow a structure that is grounded in regular routines while still being flexible enough to allow for a variety of learning experiences.
In fact, our multi-modal instruction offers more opportunities for students to construct meaning, and practice and apply concepts, than any other program. What’s more, our modular design means our units can be flexibly arranged to support your instructional goals.
Program components
Available digitally and in print, our unit-specific reference guides are chock-full of helpful resources, including scientific background knowledge, planning information and resources, color-coded 3D Statements, detailed lesson plans, tips for delivering instruction, and differentiation strategies.
Hands-on learning is an essential part of Amplify Science, and is integrated into every unit. Students actively participate in science, playing the roles of scientists and engineers as they gather evidence, think critically, solve problems, and develop and defend claims about the world around them. Every unit includes hands-on investigations that are critical to achieving the unit’s learning goals.
More hands-on with Flextensions:
Hands-on Flextensions are additional, optional investigations that are included at logical points in the learning progression and give students an opportunity to dig deeper if time permits. These activities offer teachers flexibility to choose to dedicate more time to hands-on learning. Materials referenced in Hands-on Flextension activities will either be included in the unit kit or are easily sourced. Supporting resources such as student worksheets will be included as downloadable PDF files.
Our kits include enough materials to support 200 student uses. In other words, teachers can easily support all five periods and small groups of 4-5 students each. Plus, our unit-specific kits mean teachers just grab the tub they need and then put it all back with ease.
Each unit of Amplify Science K–5 includes six unique Student Books written by the Lawrence Hall of Science specifically for the program. These content-rich nonfiction and informational texts provide opportunities for students to search for evidence relevant to their firsthand investigations, see science practices and dispositions modeled, extend their science knowledge, provide real world connections as they master reading-to-learn and close reading skills, and construct evidence-based arguments.
Important note:
Students in grades K–5 are never asked to read alone. Rather, books are read to, with, and by students with ample scaffolding and support provided by the teacher. Big Books are read aloud or together with the class to introduce ideas. Student Books allow for small-group reading and reading in pairs.
Available for every unit, our Student Investigation Notebooks contain instructions for activities and space for students to record data and observations, reflect on ideas from texts and investigations, and construct explanations and arguments.
In grades K–5, one copy of the Student Investigation Notebook is included in each unit’s materials kit for use as a blackline master. Each notebook is also available as a downloadable PDF on the Unit Guide page of the digital Teacher’s Guide.
Amplify Science offers digital experience licenses that make elementary instruction more flexible for students and teachers, as well as providing additional means to engage in remote, hybrid, or in-person learning!
Student-facing digital lessons
With the digital experience, students can engage with digital lesson content in one cohesive experience. It’s the same content from Amplify science in a new, integrated format where students can interact with slides, Sims, modeling tools, videos, books, and more.
Digital student notebook pages
Students can draw, write, record audio, and insert images into their Investigation Notebook pages. Their work is automatically saved and delivered to you in real time. When students edit their work, those edits are immediately reflected on your teacher work review page. You can access student responses by clicking “View Work,” where you can see students’ Investigation Notebook pages from the lesson, updating live.
Assign in Amplify
The digital experience allows flexibility with optional features like scheduling assignments in advance and setting due dates. You can use Scheduling to determine the date and time that the assignment appears in Student Home. You also have the flexibility to schedule when assignments appear and use dates to remove assignments from Student Home.
Assign in LMS
You can also assign lessons via our integrations with Google Classroom and Microsoft Teams, or by copying a lesson link and sharing it with students through the platform of your choice. The assignment link you send will provide students with direct access to the full lesson—slides, videos, digital tools, and worksheet activities—no student platform navigation required!
Teacher platform and presentation
Teacher-facing lesson content—including sample teacher talk, student responses, pedagogical support, and possible student responses—shows on a teacher’s private Teacher Guide tab. Students only see the lesson slides that are being presented.
Explore your print samples
With your Amplify Science print samples, you’ll find unit-specific Teacher’s References Guides, Student Investigation Notebooks, and sets of Student Books for each grade level.
A note about the Teacher’s Reference Guides:
It’s important that you see the full breadth and depth of our instruction. For that reason, we provide a copy of each of our unit-specific Teacher Reference Guides.
Rest assured that teachers do not use these robust reference guides for day-to-day teaching. For that, we have a hands-free TG!
- Teacher Reference Guide: Unlike a typical TG that requires a series of supplemental books to support it, our encyclopedic reference guide is chock-full of everything a teacher needs to fully implement our program and the NGSS.
- Ready-to-Teach Lesson Slides: For daily instruction, teachers need their hands free. That’s why we created ready-to-teach lesson slides for every single lesson. What’s more, they are editable and include suggested teacher talk and point-of-use differentiation and other instructional tips. Click to learn more.
A note about the Materials Kits:
Hands-on learning is at the heart of Amplify Science, and is integrated into every unit. In order to make hands-on learning more manageable for busy teachers, Amplify Science materials are organized into unit-specific kits.
Our unit-specific kits:
What’s different about Amplify’s unit-specific material kits? They…
- Include more materials — We give teachers enough non-consumable materials to support a class of 36 students and enough consumables to support 72 student uses. In other words, each kit will last two years.
- Are more manageable — Unlike other programs that require large groups of students to share limited sets of materials, our kits include enough to support small groups of four to five students.
- Include supportive videos — Each hands-on activity provides clear instructions for the teacher, with more complex activities supported by video demonstrations and illustrations.
Grade-specific lists of all materials included in each kit:
- Grade K: Materials Kit List
- Grade 1: Materials Kit List
- Grade 2: Materials Kit List
- Grade 3: Materials Kit List
- Grade 4: Materials Kit List
- Grade 5: Materials Kit List
Access your digital samples
Explore as a teacher
When you’re ready to explore the teaching experience on your own, follow these instructions to access the Amplify Science digital teacher platform.
- Click the Access Amplify Science Platform button below and bookmark the page.
- Select Log in with Amplify.
- Enter the username: t1.dpsscience@demo.tryamplify.net
- Enter the password: Amplify1-dpsscience
- Click on Science on the left hand side.
- Click on the Grade Menu in the top center of the screen and select any grade.
- Select any unit.
To help familiarize yourself with navigating the digital platform, watch the below navigational video.
Explore as a student
When you’re ready to explore the student learning experience on your own, follow these instructions to access the Amplify Science digital student platform.
- Click the Access Amplify Science Platform button below and bookmark the page.
- Select Log in with Amplify.
- Enter the username: s1.dpsscience@demo.tryamplify.net
- Enter the password: Amplify1-dpsscience
- Click the backpack icon on the top right.
- Click Science K-5
- Select any unit.
Spanish-language support
Amplify Science is committed to providing support to meet the needs of all learners, including multiple access points for Spanish-speaking students. Developed in conjunction with Spanish-language experts and classroom teachers, several components are available in Spanish across the Amplify Science curriculum.
Spanish-language materials include:
| COMPONENT | TEACHER/STUDENT |
| Student Investigation Notebooks | Student |
| Student Books | Student |
| Printed classroom materials Unit and chapter questions, key concepts, vocabulary cards, etc. | Teacher and student |
| Copymasters | Teacher |
| Assessments | Teacher |
| Spanish teacher support license This license includes teacher talk, projections, and downloadable PDFs of all print materials in Spanish. | Teacher |
Resources to support your review
- Michigan Next Generation Science Standards Correlation K-8
- DEIA in Amplify Science
- Research behind Amplify Science
- What’s so phenomenal about phenomena? – eBook
- Phenomena in grades K–5
- Program structure for grades K–5
- Student Books in grades K–5
- Literacy-rich science instruction in grades K–5
- Approaches to assessment in grades K–5
Welcome to Amplify Science 6–8!
Amplify Science is an engaging core curriculum designed for three-dimensional, phenomena-based learning.
With Amplify Science, Detroit students don’t just passively learn about science concepts. Instead, they take on the role of scientists and engineers to actively investigate and figure out real-world phenomena. They do this through a blend of cohesive and compelling storylines, hands-on investigations, collaborative discussions, literacy-rich activities, and interactive digital tools.
What is Amplify Science?
The Lawrence Hall of Science
Developed by the science education experts at UC Berkeley’s Lawrence Hall of Science and the digital learning team at Amplify, our program features:
- A phenomena-based approach where students construct a complex understanding of each unit’s anchor phenomenon.
- A blend of cohesive storylines, hands-on investigations, rich discussions, literacy-rich activities, and digital tools.
- Carefully crafted units, chapters, lessons, and activities designed to deliver true three-dimensional learning.
- An instructional design that supports all learners in accessing all standards.
Proven to work
Instructional model
The Amplify Science program is rooted in the proven, research-based pedagogy of Do, Talk, Read, Write, Visualize. Here’s how each element works:
Do
First-hand investigations are an important part of any science classroom, and Amplify Science has students getting hands-on in every unit—from building models of protein molecules to experimenting with electrical systems.
Talk
Student-to-student discourse and full-class discussions are an integral part of the program. Students are provided with numerous opportunities to engage in meaningful oral scientific argumentation, all while fostering a collaborative classroom environment.
Read
Students read scientific articles, focusing their reading activities on searching for evidence related to their investigation and, importantly, on asking and recording questions as they read through fascinating texts on 21st-century topics.
Write
Following real-world practices, students write scientific arguments based on evidence they’ve collected, making clear their reasoning about how a given piece of evidence connects to one of several claims.
Visualize
By manipulating digital simulations and using modeling tools to craft visualizations of their thinking— just as real scientists and engineers
do—students take their learning far beyond the confines of what they can physically see in the classroom in an exciting and authentic way.
Program structure
Our cyclical lesson design ensures students receive multiple exposures to concepts through a variety of modalities. As they progress through the lessons within a unit, students build and deepen their understanding, increasing their ability to develop and refine complex explanations of the unit’s phenomenon.
It’s this proven program structure and lesson design that enables Amplify Science to address 100% of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and support students in mastering the Pennsylvania Science Standards.
Unit types
While every unit delivers three-dimensional learning experiences and engages students in gathering evidence from a rich collection of sources, each unit also serves a unique instructional purpose.
In grades 6–8:
- One unit is a launch unit.
- Three units are core units.
- Two units are engineering internships.
Launch units are the first units taught in each year of Amplify Science. The goal of the Launch unit is to introduce students to norms, routines, and practices that will be built on throughout the year, including argumentation, active reading, and using the program’s technology. For example, rather than taking the time to explain the process of active reading in every unit in a given year, it is explained thoroughly in the Launch unit, thereby preparing students to read actively in all subsequent units.
Core units establish the context of the unit by introducing students to a real-world problem. As students move through lessons in a Core unit, they figure out the unit’s anchoring phenomenon, gain an understanding of the unit’s disciplinary core ideas and science and engineering practices, and make linkages across topics through the crosscutting concepts. Each Core unit culminates with a Science Seminar and final writing activity.
Engineering Internship units invite students to design solutions for real-world problems as interns for a fictional company called Futura. Students figure out how to help those in need, from tsunami victims in Sri Lanka to premature babies, through the application of engineering practices. In the process, they apply and deepen their learning from Core units.
Unit sequence
Our lessons follow a structure that is grounded in regular routines while still being flexible enough to allow for a variety of learning experiences.
In fact, our multi-modal instruction offers more opportunities for students to construct meaning, and practice and apply concepts than any other program. What’s more, our modular design means our units can be flexibly arranged to support your instructional goals.
Program components
Available digitally and in print, our unit-specific reference guides are chock-full of helpful resources, including scientific background knowledge, planning information and resources, color-coded 3D Statements, detailed lesson plans, tips for delivering instruction, and differentiation strategies.
Hands-on learning is an essential part of Amplify Science, and is integrated into every unit. Students actively participate in science, playing the roles of scientists and engineers as they gather evidence, think critically, solve problems, and develop and defend claims about the world around them. Every unit includes hands-on investigations that are critical to achieving the unit’s learning goals.
More hands-on with Flextensions:
Hands-on Flextensions are additional, optional investigations that are included at logical points in the learning progression and give students an opportunity to dig deeper if time permits. These activities offer teachers flexibility to choose to dedicate more time to hands-on learning. Materials referenced in Hands-on Flextension activities will either be included in the unit kit or are easily sourced. Supporting resources such as student worksheets will be included as downloadable PDF files.
Our kits include enough materials to support 200 student uses. In other words, teachers can easily support all five periods and small groups of 4-5 students each. Plus, our unit-specific kits mean teachers just grab the tub they need and then put it all back with ease.
Our digital Simulations and Practice Tools are powerful resources for exploration, data collection, and student collaboration. They allow students the ability to explore scientific concepts that might otherwise be invisible or impossible to see with the naked eye.
Available for every unit, our Student Investigation Notebooks contain instructions for activities and space for students to record data and observations, reflect on ideas from texts and investigations, and construct explanations and arguments.
In grades 6–8, one copy of the Student Investigation Notebook is included in each unit’s materials kit for use as a blackline master. Each notebook is also available as a downloadable PDF on the Unit Guide page of the digital Teacher’s Guide.
These customizable PowerPoints are available for every lesson of the program and make delivering instruction a snap with visual prompts, colorful activity instructions, investigation set-up videos and animations, and suggested teacher talk in the notes section of each slide.
Explore your print samples
With your Amplify Science print samples, you’ll find unit-specific Teacher’s References Guides and Student Investigation Notebooks for each grade level.
A note about the Teacher’s Reference Guides:
It’s important that your committee sees the full breadth and depth of our instruction. For that reason, we provided a copy of each of our unit-specific Teacher Reference Guides.
Rest assured that teachers do not use these robust reference guides for day-to-day teaching. For that, we have a hands-free TG!
- Teacher Reference Guide: Unlike a typical TG that requires a series of supplemental books to support it, our encyclopedic reference guide is chock-full of everything a teacher needs to fully implement our program and the NGSS.
- Ready-to-Teach Lesson Slides: For daily instruction, teachers need their hands free. That’s why we created ready-to-teach lesson slides for every single lesson. What’s more, they are editable and include suggested teacher talk and point-of-use differentiation and other instructional tips. Click to learn more.
A note about the Materials Kits:
Hands-on learning is at the heart of Amplify Science, and is integrated into every unit. In order to make hands-on learning more manageable for busy teachers, Amplify Science materials are organized into unit-specific kits.
Our unit-specific kits:
- Include more materials — We give teachers enough materials to support 200 student uses.
- Are more manageable — Unlike other programs that require large groups of students to share limited sets of materials, our kits include enough to support small groups of 4–5 students.
- Include supportive videos — Each hands-on activity provides clear instructions for the teacher, with more complex activities supported by video demonstrations and illustrations.
At your request, we did not include our materials kits with our submissions samples. However, we did provide grade-specific lists of all materials included in each kit, which you can also find with the links below.
Access your digital samples
Explore as a teacher
Follow these instructions to explore the Amplify Science digital platform as a teacher.
- Click the Access Amplify Science Platform button below and bookmark it.
- Select Log in with Amplify.
- Enter the username: t1.dps68sci@demo.tryamplify.net
- Enter the password: Amplify1-dps68sci
- Click the Science icon.
- Click on the Grade Menu in the top center of the screen and select any grade.
- Select any unit.
To help familiarize yourself with navigating the digital platform, watch the below navigational video.
Spanish-language support
Amplify Science is committed to providing support to meet the needs of all learners, including multiple access points for Spanish-speaking students. Developed in conjunction with Spanish-language experts and classroom teachers, several components are available in Spanish across the Amplify Science curriculum.
Spanish-language materials include:
| COMPONENT | TEACHER/STUDENT |
| Student Investigation Notebooks | Student |
| Science articles | Student |
| Video Transcripts | Student |
| Digital simulation translation keys | Student |
| Printed classroom materials Unit and chapter questions, key concepts, vocabulary cards, etc. | Teacher |
| Copymasters | Teacher |
| Assessments | Teacher |
| Digital student experience license This license gives students access to the student resources in Spanish, including instructional text, articles, and assessments. Teachers can control student access to Spanish-language content through the digital Teacher’s Guide. | Teacher |
| Spanish teacher support license This license includes teacher talk, projections, downloadable PDFs of all print resources, and video transcripts and closed captioning in Spanish. | Teacher |
Explore as a student
Follow these instructions to explore the Amplify Science digital platform as a student.
- Click the Access Amplify Science Platform button below and bookmark it.
- Select Log in with Amplify.
- Enter the username: s1.dpsscience@demo.tryamplify.net
- Enter the password: Amplify1-dpsscience
- Click the Science icon.
- Click on the Grade Menu in the top center of the screen and select any grade.
- Select any unit.
Resources to support your review
What’s New for Amplify Science 6–8!
Denver Public Schools (DPS), check out what’s new from Amplify Science 6-8! The first part of this site will take you through the updates that have been made to Amplify Science. The second will be a refresher of Amplify Science for any new users in DPS. With Amplify Science, DPS students don’t just passively learn about science concepts. Instead, they take on the role of scientists and engineers to actively investigate and figure out real-world phenomena. With culturally sustaining pedagogy, Amplify Science strives to make sure every student feels included in the science classroom.
Update: The Digital Experience
The digital experience allows students to engage with digital lessons and provides teachers with everything they need in one place—ready-to-use slides-based lessons, seamlessly integrated teacher prompts and guidance, robust PD resources, and more. It’s now easier and more engaging than ever to plan lessons, present digital content, and review student work. To learn more, click here.
Update: The PD Library
All professional development (PD) content is consolidated into the PD Library, a one-stop hub for all your self-paced PD needs. As a result, the “Professional Learning Resources” tile will no longer be available on the main Amplify Science Program Hub page. The rest of the non-PD content in the Program Hub will remain as is, including the on-demand resources.
Update: Educator & Student Home expansion
Educator and Student Home landing pages will now be available for all Amplify Science users. This Home page provides a central location to access all Amplify programs in one place and a customized stream based on your activity.
Your Amplify Science grades 6–8 students will no longer access My Work for assignments, scores, and teacher feedback. Instead, they’ll find it all on Student Home, the page they already land on when logging in to Amplify Science.
Keep in mind: Amplify Science middle school teachers will continue to have access to Classwork.
Update: Caregiver Hub
Throughout the school year, teachers can share the Amplify Science Caregiver Hub with students’ families. This site provides curriculum details, an overview of what caregivers can expect throughout the school year, and resources they can use with students at home.
What is Amplify Science?
The Lawrence Hall of Science
Developed by the science education experts at UC Berkeley’s Lawrence Hall of Science and the digital learning team at Amplify, our program features:
- A phenomena-based approach where students construct a complex understanding of each unit’s anchor phenomenon.
- A blend of cohesive storylines, hands-on investigations, rich discussions, literacy-rich activities, and digital tools.
- Carefully crafted units, chapters, lessons, and activities designed to deliver true three-dimensional learning.
- An instructional design that supports all learners in accessing all standards.
Proven to work
Instructional model
The Amplify Science program is rooted in the proven, research-based pedagogy of Do, Talk, Read, Write, Visualize. Here’s how each element works:
Do
First-hand investigations are an important part of any science classroom, and Amplify Science has students getting hands-on in every unit—from building models of protein molecules to experimenting with electrical systems.
Talk
Student-to-student discourse and full-class discussions are an integral part of the program. Students are provided with numerous opportunities to engage in meaningful oral scientific argumentation, all while fostering a collaborative classroom environment.
Read
Students read scientific articles, focusing their reading activities on searching for evidence related to their investigation and, importantly, on asking and recording questions as they read through fascinating texts on 21st-century topics.
Write
Following real-world practices, students write scientific arguments based on evidence they’ve collected, making clear their reasoning about how a given piece of evidence connects to one of several claims.
Visualize
By manipulating digital simulations and using modeling tools to craft visualizations of their thinking— just as real scientists and engineers
do—students take their learning far beyond the confines of what they can physically see in the classroom in an exciting and authentic way.
Program structure
Our cyclical lesson design ensures students receive multiple exposures to concepts through a variety of modalities. As they progress through the lessons within a unit, students build and deepen their understanding, increasing their ability to develop and refine complex explanations of the unit’s phenomenon.
It’s this proven program structure and lesson design that enables Amplify Science to address 100% of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and support students in mastering the Pennsylvania Science Standards.
Unit types
While every unit delivers three-dimensional learning experiences and engages students in gathering evidence from a rich collection of sources, each unit also serves a unique instructional purpose.
In grades 6–8:
- One unit is a launch unit.
- Three units are core units.
- Two units are engineering internships.
Launch units are the first units taught in each year of Amplify Science. The goal of the Launch unit is to introduce students to norms, routines, and practices that will be built on throughout the year, including argumentation, active reading, and using the program’s technology. For example, rather than taking the time to explain the process of active reading in every unit in a given year, it is explained thoroughly in the Launch unit, thereby preparing students to read actively in all subsequent units.
Core units establish the context of the unit by introducing students to a real-world problem. As students move through lessons in a Core unit, they figure out the unit’s anchoring phenomenon, gain an understanding of the unit’s disciplinary core ideas and science and engineering practices, and make linkages across topics through the crosscutting concepts. Each Core unit culminates with a Science Seminar and final writing activity.
Engineering Internship units invite students to design solutions for real-world problems as interns for a fictional company called Futura. Students figure out how to help those in need, from tsunami victims in Sri Lanka to premature babies, through the application of engineering practices. In the process, they apply and deepen their learning from Core units.
DPS Scope and Sequence
Our lessons follow a structure that is grounded in regular routines while still being flexible enough to allow for a variety of learning experiences.
In fact, our multi-modal instruction offers more opportunities for students to construct meaning, and practice and apply concepts than any other program. What’s more, our modular design means our units can be flexibly arranged to support your instructional goals.
Program components
Available digitally and in print, our unit-specific reference guides are chock-full of helpful resources, including scientific background knowledge, planning information and resources, color-coded 3D Statements, detailed lesson plans, tips for delivering instruction, and differentiation strategies.
Hands-on learning is an essential part of Amplify Science, and is integrated into every unit. Students actively participate in science, playing the roles of scientists and engineers as they gather evidence, think critically, solve problems, and develop and defend claims about the world around them. Every unit includes hands-on investigations that are critical to achieving the unit’s learning goals.
More hands-on with Flextensions:
Hands-on Flextensions are additional, optional investigations that are included at logical points in the learning progression and give students an opportunity to dig deeper if time permits. These activities offer teachers flexibility to choose to dedicate more time to hands-on learning. Materials referenced in Hands-on Flextension activities will either be included in the unit kit or are easily sourced. Supporting resources such as student worksheets will be included as downloadable PDF files.
Our kits include enough materials to support 200 student uses. In other words, teachers can easily support all five periods and small groups of 4-5 students each. Plus, our unit-specific kits mean teachers just grab the tub they need and then put it all back with ease.
Our digital Simulations and Practice Tools are powerful resources for exploration, data collection, and student collaboration. They allow students the ability to explore scientific concepts that might otherwise be invisible or impossible to see with the naked eye.
Available for every unit, our Student Investigation Notebooks contain instructions for activities and space for students to record data and observations, reflect on ideas from texts and investigations, and construct explanations and arguments.
In grades 6–8, one copy of the Student Investigation Notebook is included in each unit’s materials kit for use as a blackline master. Each notebook is also available as a downloadable PDF on the Unit Guide page of the digital Teacher’s Guide.
These customizable PowerPoints are available for every lesson of the program and make delivering instruction a snap with visual prompts, colorful activity instructions, investigation set-up videos and animations, and suggested teacher talk in the notes section of each slide.
Explore your print samples
With your Amplify Science print samples, you’ll find unit-specific Teacher’s References Guides, Student Investigation Notebooks, and sets of Student Books for each grade level.
A note about the Teacher Reference Guides:
It’s important that you see the full breadth and depth of our instruction. For that reason, we provide a copy of each of our unit-specific Teacher Reference Guides.
Rest assured that teachers do not use these robust reference guides for day-to-day teaching. For that, we have a hands-free Teacher’s Guide!
- Teacher Reference Guide: Unlike a typical TG that requires a series of supplemental books to support it, our encyclopedic reference guide is chock-full of everything a teacher needs to fully implement our program and the NGSS.
- Ready-to-Teach Lesson Slides: For daily instruction, teachers need their hands free. That’s why we created ready-to-teach lesson slides for every single lesson. What’s more, they are editable and include suggested teacher talk and point-of-use differentiation and other instructional tips. Click to learn more.
A note about the Materials Kits:
Hands-on learning is at the heart of Amplify Science, and is integrated into every unit. In order to make hands-on learning more manageable for busy teachers, Amplify Science materials are organized into unit-specific kits.
Our unit-specific kits:
- Include more materials — We give teachers enough materials to support 200 student uses.
- Are more manageable — Unlike other programs that require large groups of students to share limited sets of materials, our kits include enough to support small groups of 4–5 students.
- Include supportive videos — Each hands-on activity provides clear instructions for the teacher, with more complex activities supported by video demonstrations and illustrations.
At your request, we did not include our materials kits with our submissions samples. However, we did provide grade-specific lists of all materials included in each kit, which you can also find with the links below.
Access your digital samples
Explore as a teacher
Follow these instructions to explore the Amplify Science digital platform as a teacher.
- Click the Access Amplify Science Platform button below and bookmark it.
- Select Log in with Amplify.
- Enter the username: t1.dps68sci@demo.tryamplify.net
- Enter the password: Amplify1-dps68sci
- Click the Science icon.
- Click on the Grade Menu in the top center of the screen and select any grade.
- Select any unit.
To help familiarize yourself with navigating the digital platform, watch the below navigational video.
Spanish-language support
Amplify Science is committed to providing support to meet the needs of all learners, including multiple access points for Spanish-speaking students. Developed in conjunction with Spanish-language experts and classroom teachers, several components are available in Spanish across the Amplify Science curriculum.
Spanish-language materials include:
| COMPONENT | TEACHER/STUDENT |
| Student Investigation Notebooks | Student |
| Science articles | Student |
| Video Transcripts | Student |
| Digital simulation translation keys | Student |
| Printed classroom materials Unit and chapter questions, key concepts, vocabulary cards, etc. | Teacher |
| Copymasters | Teacher |
| Assessments | Teacher |
| Digital student experience license This license gives students access to the student resources in Spanish, including instructional text, articles, and assessments. Teachers can control student access to Spanish-language content through the digital Teacher’s Guide. | Teacher |
| Spanish teacher support license This license includes teacher talk, projections, downloadable PDFs of all print resources, and video transcripts and closed captioning in Spanish. | Teacher |
Resources to support your review
- DEIA in Amplify Science
- Research behind Amplify Science
- Phenomena in grades 6–8
- Program structure for grades 6–8
- Active Reading in grades 6–8
- Engineering in Amplify Science
- Approaches to assessment in grades 6–8
Contact Us
If you have any further questions as your review Amplify Science, please contact:
Monty Lammers
Senior Account Executive
719-964-4501
mlammers@amplify.com
Welcome to Amplify Science Pennsylvania
(6–8)!
Amplify Science is an engaging core curriculum designed for three-dimensional, phenomena-based learning.
With Amplify Science, Pennsylvania students shift from learning about to figuring out science, through authentic three-dimensional (3D) learning and phenomena-based exploration. In each unit, students take on the role of a scientist or engineer to investigate a real-world problem. This prepares them to become critical thinkers who can solve problems in their communities and beyond.
What is Amplify Science Pennsylvania?
Customized lessons for Pennsylvania
Amplify Science Pennsylvania (6–8) combines our nationally recognized, proven curriculum with custom lessons specifically designed to ensure that you are meeting Pennsylvania’s STEELS standards.
The Lawrence Hall of Science
Developed by the science education experts at UC Berkeley’s Lawrence Hall of Science and the digital learning team at Amplify, our program features:
- A phenomena-based approach, in which students construct a complex understanding of each unit’s anchor phenomenon.
- A blend of cohesive storylines, hands-on investigations, rich discussions, literacy-rich activities, and digital tools.
- Carefully crafted units, chapters, lessons, and activities designed to deliver true three-dimensional learning.
- An instructional design that supports all learners in accessing all standards.
Proven to work
Instructional model
The Amplify Science Pennsylvania program is rooted in the proven, research-based pedagogy of Do, Talk, Read, Write, Visualize. Here’s how each element works:
Do
First-hand investigations are an important part of any science classroom, and Amplify Science Pennsylvania has students getting hands-on in every unit—from building models of protein molecules to experimenting with electrical systems.
Talk
Student-to-student discourse and full-class discussions are an integral part of the program. Students are provided with numerous opportunities to engage in meaningful oral scientific argumentation while fostering a collaborative classroom environment.
Read
Students read scientific articles, focusing on searching for evidence related to their investigation and on asking and recording questions as they read through fascinating texts on 21st-century topics.
Write
Following real-world practices, students write scientific arguments based on evidence they’ve collected, making clear their reasoning about how a given piece of evidence connects to one of several claims.
Visualize
By manipulating digital simulations and using modeling tools to craft visualizations of their thinking— just as real scientists and engineers
do—students take their learning far beyond the confines of what they can physically see in the classroom in an exciting and authentic way.
Program structure
Our cyclical lesson design ensures that students receive multiple exposures to concepts through a variety of modalities. As they progress through the lessons within a unit, students build and deepen their understanding, increasing their ability to develop and refine complex explanations of the unit’s phenomenon.
It’s this proven program structure and lesson design that enables Amplify Science Pennsylvania to address 100% of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), and support students in mastering the Pennsylvania Science Standards.
Unit types
While every unit delivers three-dimensional learning experiences and engages students in gathering evidence from a rich collection of sources, each unit also serves a unique instructional purpose.
In grades 6–8:
- One unit is a launch unit.
- Three units are core units.
- Two units are engineering internships.
Launch units are the first units taught in each year of Amplify Science Pennsylvania. The goal of the Launch unit is to introduce students to norms, routines, and practices that will be built on throughout the year, including argumentation, active reading, and using the program’s technology. For example, rather than taking the time to explain the process of active reading in every unit in a given year, it is explained thoroughly in the Launch unit, thereby preparing students to read actively in all subsequent units.
Core units establish the context of the unit by introducing students to a real-world problem. As students move through lessons in a Core unit, they figure out the unit’s anchoring phenomenon, gain an understanding of the unit’s disciplinary core ideas and science and engineering practices, and make linkages across topics through the crosscutting concepts. Each Core unit culminates with a Science Seminar and final writing activity.
Engineering Internship units invite students to design solutions for real-world problems as interns for a fictional company called Futura. Students figure out how to help those in need, from tsunami victims in Sri Lanka to premature babies, through the application of engineering practices. In the process, they apply and deepen their learning from Core units.
Unit sequence
Our lessons follow a structure that is grounded in regular routines while still being flexible enough to allow for a variety of learning experiences.
In fact, our multimodal instruction offers more opportunities for students to construct meaning, and practice and apply concepts, than any other program. What’s more, our modular design means our units can be flexibly arranged to support your instructional goals.
Program components
Available digitally and in print, our unit-specific reference guides are chock full of helpful resources, including scientific background knowledge, planning information and resources, color-coded 3D Statements, detailed lesson plans, tips for delivering instruction, and differentiation strategies.
Hands-on learning is an essential part of Amplify Science Pennsylvania, and is integrated into every unit. Students actively participate in science, playing the roles of scientists and engineers as they gather evidence, think critically, solve problems, and develop and defend claims about the world around them. Every unit includes hands-on investigations that are critical to achieving the unit’s learning goals.
More hands-on with Flextensions:
Hands-on Flextensions are additional, optional investigations that are included at logical points in the learning progression and give students an opportunity to dig deeper if time permits. These activities offer teachers flexibility to choose to dedicate more time to hands-on learning. Materials referenced in Hands-on Flextension activities will either be included in the unit kit or are easily sourced. Supporting resources such as student worksheets will be included as downloadable PDF files.
Our kits include enough materials to support 200 student uses. In other words, teachers can easily support all five periods and small groups of 4–5 students each. Plus, our unit-specific kits mean teachers just grab the tub they need and then put all the materials back with ease.
Our digital Simulations and Practice Tools are powerful resources for exploration, data collection, and student collaboration. They allow students the ability to explore scientific concepts that might otherwise be invisible or impossible to see with the naked eye.
Available for every unit, our Student Investigation Notebooks contain instructions for activities and space for students to record data and observations, reflect on ideas from texts and investigations, and construct explanations and arguments.
In grades 6–8, one copy of the Student Investigation Notebook is included in each unit’s materials kit for use as a blackline master. Each notebook is also available as a downloadable PDF on the Unit Guide page of the digital Teacher’s Guide.
These customizable PowerPoints are available for every lesson of the program and make delivering instruction a snap with visual prompts, colorful activity instructions, investigation set-up videos and animations, and suggested teacher talk in the notes section of each slide.
Explore your print samples
With your Amplify Science Pennsylvania print samples, you’ll find unit-specific Teacher’s References Guides and Student Investigation Notebooks for each grade level.
A note about the Teacher Reference Guides:
It’s important that your committee sees the full breadth and depth of our instruction. For that reason, we’ve provided a copy of each of our unit-specific Teacher Reference Guides.
Teachers do not use these robust reference guides for day-to-day teaching. For that, we have a hands-free Teacher’s Guide!
- Teacher Reference Guide: Unlike a typical Teacher Guide that requires a series of supplemental books to support it, our encyclopedic reference guide is chock-full of everything a teacher needs to fully implement our program and the NGSS.
- Ready-to-Teach Lesson Slides: For daily instruction, teachers need their hands free. That’s why we created ready-to-teach lesson slides for every single lesson. What’s more, they are editable and include suggested teacher talk and point-of-use differentiation and other instructional tips. Click to learn more.
A note about the Materials Kits:
Hands-on learning is at the heart of Amplify Science Pennsylvania, and is integrated into every unit. In order to make hands-on learning more manageable for busy teachers, Amplify Science Pennsylvania materials are organized into unit-specific kits.
Our unit-specific kits:
- Include more materials. We give teachers enough materials to support 200 student uses.
- Are more manageable. Unlike other programs that require large groups of students to share limited sets of materials, our kits include enough to support small groups of four to five students.
- Include supportive videos. Each hands-on activity provides clear instructions for the teacher, with more complex activities supported by video demonstrations and illustrations.
Within each kit, we provide grade-specific lists of all materials included, which you can also find using the links below.
Spanish-language support
Amplify Science Pennsylvania is committed to providing support to meet the needs of all learners, including multiple access points for Spanish-speaking students. Developed in conjunction with Spanish-language experts and classroom teachers, several components are available in Spanish across the Amplify Science Pennsylvania curriculum.
Spanish-language materials include:
| COMPONENT | TEACHER/STUDENT |
| Student Investigation Notebooks | Student |
| Science articles | Student |
| Video transcripts | Student |
| Digital simulation translation keys | Student |
| Printed classroom materials Unit and chapter questions, key concepts, vocabulary cards, etc. |
Teacher |
| Copymasters | Teacher |
| Assessments | Teacher |
| Digital student experience license This license gives students access to the student resources in Spanish, including instructional text, articles, and assessments. Teachers can control student access to Spanish-language content through the digital Teacher’s Guide. |
Teacher |
| Spanish teacher support license This license includes teacher talk, projections, downloadable PDFs of all print resources, and video transcripts and closed captioning in Spanish. |
Teacher |
Resources to support your review
- Pennsylvania STEELS Standards Alignment
- Research Highlights
- Program Structure
- Phenomena
- Amplify Science & the 5E Model
- Approaches to Assessment
- Science & Literacy Integration
- Hands-on Investigations (Integrated-Specific Model)
- Hands-On Investigations (Discipline-Specific Model)
- Engineering in Amplify Science
Contact us
Support is always available. Our team is dedicated to helping you every step of the way.
Contact your dedicated Pennsylvania representative here.
Welcome to Amplify Science Pennsylvania
(K–5)!
Amplify Science is an engaging core curriculum designed for three-dimensional, phenomena-based learning.
With Amplify Science, Pennsylvania students shift from learning about to figuring out science through authentic three-dimensional (3D) learning and phenomena-based exploration. In each unit, students take on the role of a scientist or engineer to investigate a real-world problem. This prepares them to become critical thinkers who can solve problems in their communities and beyond.
What is Amplify Science Pennsylvania?
Customized lessons for Pennsylvania
Amplify Science Pennsylvania (K–5) combines our nationally recognized, proven curriculum with custom lessons specifically designed to ensure you are meeting Pennsylvania’s STEELS standards.
The Lawrence Hall of Science
Developed by the science education experts at UC Berkeley’s Lawrence Hall of Science and the digital learning team at Amplify, our program features:
- A phenomena-based approach in which students construct a complex understanding of each unit’s anchor phenomenon.
- A blend of cohesive storylines, hands-on investigations, rich discussions, literacy-rich activities, and digital tools.
- Carefully crafted units, chapters, lessons, and activities designed to deliver true three-dimensional learning.
- An instructional design that supports all learners in accessing all standards.
Proven to work
Instructional model
The Amplify Science Pennsylvania program is rooted in the proven, research-based pedagogy of Do, Talk, Read, Write, Visualize. Here’s how each element works:
Do
Firsthand investigations are an important part of any science classroom, and Amplify Science Pennsylvania has students getting hands-on in every unit—from building models of protein molecules to experimenting with electrical systems.
Talk
Student-to-student discourse and full-class discussions are an integral part of the program. Students are provided with numerous opportunities to engage in meaningful oral scientific argumentation, all while fostering a collaborative classroom environment.
Read
Students read scientific articles, focusing their reading activities on searching for evidence related to their investigation and on asking and recording questions as they read through fascinating texts on 21st-century topics.
Write
Following real-world practices, students write scientific arguments based on evidence they’ve collected, making clear their reasoning about how a given piece of evidence connects to one of several claims.
Visualize
By manipulating digital simulations and using modeling tools to craft visualizations of their thinking— just as real scientists and engineers
do—students take their learning far beyond the confines of what they can physically see in the classroom in an exciting and authentic way.
Program structure
Our cyclical lesson design ensures that students receive multiple exposures to concepts through a variety of modalities. As they progress through the lessons within a unit, students build and deepen their understanding, increasing their ability to develop and refine complex explanations of the unit’s phenomenon.
It’s this proven program structure and lesson design that enables Amplify Science Pennsylvania to address 100% of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and support students in mastering the Pennsylvania Science Standards.
Unit types
While every unit delivers three-dimensional learning experiences and engages students in gathering evidence from a rich collection of sources, each unit also emphasizes a particular science and engineering practice.
In grades K–2:
- One unit emphasizes the practice of investigation.
- One unit emphasizes the practice of modeling.
- One unit emphasizes the practice of engineering design.
In grades 3–5, students experience the three unit types above, plus:
One additional unit that emphasizes the practice of argumentation.
Investigation units focus on the process of strategically developing investigations and gathering data to answer questions. Students are first asked to consider questions about what happens in the natural world and why, and are then involved in designing and conducting investigations that produce data to help answer those questions.
Modeling units provide extra support to students engaging in the practice of modeling. Students use physical models, investigate with computer models, and create their own diagrams to help them visualize what might be happening on the nanoscale.
Engineering design units provide opportunities for students to solve complex problems by applying science principles to the design of functional solutions, and iteratively testing those solutions to determine how well they meet preset criteria.
Argumentation units provide students with regular opportunities to explore and discuss available evidence, time and support to consider how evidence may be leveraged in support of claims, and independence that increases as they mount written arguments in support of their claims.
Unit sequence
Our lessons follow a structure that is grounded in regular routines while still being flexible enough to allow for a variety of learning experiences.
In fact, our multimodal instruction offers more opportunities for students to construct meaning, and practice and apply concepts, than any other program. What’s more, our modular design means our units can be flexibly arranged to support your instructional goals.
Program components
Available digitally and in print, our unit-specific reference guides are chock-full of helpful resources, including scientific background knowledge, planning information and resources, color-coded 3D Statements, detailed lesson plans, tips for delivering instruction, and differentiation strategies.
Hands-on learning is an essential part of Amplify Science Pennsylvania and is integrated into every unit. Students actively participate in science, playing the roles of scientists and engineers as they gather evidence, think critically, solve problems, and develop and defend claims about the world around them. Every unit includes hands-on investigations that are critical to achieving the unit’s learning goals.
More hands-on with Flextensions:
Hands-on Flextensions are additional, optional investigations that are included at logical points in the learning progression and give students an opportunity to dig deeper if time permits. These activities offer teachers flexibility to choose to dedicate more time to hands-on learning. Materials referenced in Hands-on Flextension activities will either be included in the unit kit or are easily sourced. Supporting resources such as student worksheets will be included as downloadable PDF files.
Our kits include enough non-consumable materials to support a class of 36 students and enough consumable items to support 72 students. In other words, each kit can last two years! Plus, our unit-specific kits mean teachers just grab the tub they need for the unit and then put it all back with ease.
Each unit of Amplify Science Pennsylvania (K–5) includes six unique Student Books written by educators at the Lawrence Hall of Science specifically for the program. These content-rich nonfiction and informational texts provide opportunities for students to search for evidence relevant to their firsthand investigations, see science practices and dispositions modeled, extend their science knowledge, provide real-world connections as they master reading-to-learn and close reading skills, and construct evidence-based arguments.
Important note:
Students in grades K–5 are never asked to read alone. Rather, books are read to, with, and by students with ample scaffolding and support provided by the teacher. Big Books are read aloud or together with the class to introduce ideas. Student Books allow for small-group reading and reading in pairs.
Available for every unit, our Student Investigation Notebooks contain instructions for activities and space for students to record data and observations, reflect on ideas from texts and investigations, and construct explanations and arguments.
In grades K–5, one copy of the Student Investigation Notebook is included in each unit’s materials kit for use as a blackline master. Each notebook is also available as a downloadable PDF on the Unit Guide page of the digital Teacher’s Guide.
Amplify Science Pennsylvania offers digital experience licenses that make elementary instruction more flexible for students and teachers and provide additional means to engage in remote, hybrid, or in-person learning!
Student-facing digital lessons
With the digital experience, students can engage with digital lesson content in one cohesive experience. It’s the same content from Amplify Science Pennsylvania in a new, integrated format, in which students can interact with slides, Sims, modeling tools, videos, books, and more.
Digital student notebook pages
Students can draw, write, record audio, and insert images into their Investigation Notebook pages. Their work is automatically saved and delivered to you in real time. When students edit their work, those edits are immediately reflected on your teacher work review page. You can access student responses by clicking “View Work,” where you can see students’ Investigation Notebook pages from the lesson, updating live.
Assign in Amplify
The digital experience allows flexibility with optional features such as scheduling assignments in advance and setting due dates. You can use Scheduling to determine the date and time that the assignment appears in Student Home. You also have the flexibility to schedule when assignments appear and to use dates to remove assignments from Student Home.
Assign in LMS
You can also assign lessons via our integrations with learning management systems (LMS) such as Google Classroom and Microsoft Teams, or by copying a lesson link and sharing it with students through the platform of your choice. The assignment link you send will provide students with direct access to the full lesson—slides, videos, digital tools, and worksheet activities—no student platform navigation required!
Teacher platform and presentation
Teacher-facing lesson content—including sample teacher talk, student responses, pedagogical support, and possible student responses—shows on a teacher’s private Teacher Guide tab. Students only see the lesson slides that are being presented.
Explore your print samples
With your Amplify Science Pennsylvania print samples, you’ll find unit-specific Teacher’s References Guides, Student Investigation Notebooks, and sets of Student Books for each grade level.
A note about the Teacher Reference Guides:
It’s important that you see the full breadth and depth of our instruction. For that reason, we provide a copy of each of our unit-specific Teacher Reference Guides.
Teachers do not use these robust reference guides for day-to-day teaching. For that, we have a hands-free Teacher’s Guide!
- Teacher’s Reference Guide: Unlike a typical Teacher’s Guide that requires a series of supplemental books to support it, our encyclopedic reference guide is chock-full of everything a teacher needs to fully implement our program and the NGSS.
- Ready-to-Teach Lesson Slides: For daily instruction, teachers need their hands free. That’s why we created ready-to-teach lesson slides for every single lesson. What’s more, the slides are editable and include suggested teacher talk and point-of-use differentiation and other instructional tips. Click to learn more.
A note about the Materials Kits:
Hands-on learning is at the heart of Amplify Science Pennsylvania, and is integrated into every unit. To make hands-on learning more manageable for busy teachers, Amplify Science Pennsylvania materials are organized into unit-specific kits.
What’s different about Amplify’s unit-specific material kits?
- They include more materials. We give teachers enough non-consumable materials to support a class of 36 students and enough consumables to support 72 student uses. In other words, each kit will last two years.
- They’re more manageable. Unlike other programs that require large groups of students to share limited sets of materials, our kits include enough to support small groups of four to five students.
- They include supportive videos. Each hands-on activity provides clear instructions for the teacher, with more complex activities supported by video demonstrations and illustrations.
Grade-specific lists of all materials included in each kit:
- Grade K: Materials Kit List
- Grade 1: Materials Kit List
- Grade 2: Materials Kit List
- Grade 3: Materials Kit List
- Grade 4: Materials Kit List
- Grade 5: Materials Kit List
Spanish-language support
Amplify Science Pennsylvania is committed to providing support to meet the needs of all learners, including multiple access points for Spanish-speaking students. Developed in conjunction with Spanish-language experts and classroom teachers, several components are available in Spanish across the Amplify Science Pennsylvania curriculum.
Spanish-language materials include:
| COMPONENT | TEACHER/STUDENT |
| Student Investigation Notebooks | Student |
| Student Books | Student |
| Printed classroom materials Unit and chapter questions, key concepts, vocabulary cards, etc. |
Teacher and student |
| Copymasters | Teacher |
| Assessments | Teacher |
| Spanish teacher support license This license includes teacher talk, projections, and downloadable PDFs of all print materials in Spanish. |
Teacher |
Resources to support your review
Contact us
Support is always available. Our team is dedicated to helping you every step of the way.
Contact your dedicated Pennsylvania representative.
Welcome, Amplify ELA families!
We’re excited to welcome you and your student to the Amplify ELA program for the new school year, and to provide you with exceptional learning opportunities through ELA. We’ve assembled the following resources and guides to help you support your student and enable them to have the most productive experience with our platform throughout the year.
Para la versión en español, haga clic aquí.
What is Amplify ELA?
Amplify ELA helps students in grades 6–8 read and understand complex texts that encourage them to grapple with interesting ideas and find relevance for themselves. Amplify ELA is a blended program that includes both digital and print materials, but can also be used as a print-only version. Students using Amplify ELA read text passages closely, interpret what they find, discuss their thinking with peers, and develop their ideas in writing. The lesson structure is easy to follow, but flexible enough to allow for a variety of learning experiences and varied enough to keep students engaged.
Features include:
- Functionality that allows individual students to work at their own level while also being challenged appropriately.
- Built-in tools that allow teachers to track and respond to student work.
- The digital Amplify Library, which contains more than 700 downloadable, full-length fiction and nonfiction books.
- The Vocab App, which uses game-like activities to help students master keywords from the program’s texts. (Students using print materials will see keywords highlighted.)
- Independent writing assignments called Solos, available on mobile devices.
- Interactive projects called Quests that accompany certain units to provide additional practice with analytical reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills.
Getting started
How you can support the child in your care:
- If possible, read with your student daily; even 15 minutes of reading together each day can make a huge impact. You can read aloud sections of the text together—many middle grade students enjoy performing sections of dialogue by taking on the role of a character in a play, or adding some dramatic flair to a poem with which they are working. If your student struggles with reading aloud, you might try reading the text to them with expression, then having them read it back to you. For additional practice, there are an array of fluency activities in the program’s Flex Days. Ask your student to help you find these activities.
- Find moments to discuss what they are reading and discovering. Examples of questions you could ask: What stood out to you from what you read today? Were any sentences or words confusing? What was most surprising? What do you think the writer was trying to communicate? Do you agree with the writer’s ideas or descriptions? What connections can you make between what you are reading and your own life, or other issues you’ve heard about?
- Listen to your student read their written responses or have them share with a friend over the phone or video chat.
- Browse the Amplify Library with your student to find books they’ll enjoy and be able to read fluently and independently.
- Review this Protecting Kids Online website by the Federal Trade Commission addressing digital safety.
Accessing texts in the Amplify Library
We encourage students to utilize the core texts from the Amplify Library while at home! Please follow these steps to download a text for offline reading:
1. Navigate to the Program & Apps menu at the top of your screen and scroll through to find the Amplify Library icon. When you select it, the Amplify Library will open in a new tab.
2. If prompted, follow the directions to set up a pin for the Amplify Library; otherwise, proceed to the next step.
3. In the upper right corner of your screen, search for the book you would like to download. Example: The Secret of the Yellow Death: A True Story of Medical Sleuthing.
4. Select the Download button.
5. If you lose connection while still in the Amplify Library, you can continue to access and read the downloaded book(s). If the page refreshes without internet access, or you try to login on another device without internet access, you will lose access to the downloaded book(s) until the internet connection is restored.
To retrieve your downloaded texts:
- In the Amplify Library app, open the My Library drop-down menu in the upper left corner.
- Select Downloaded.
- Choose the text you wish to read from all of your pre-downloaded texts.
Materials overview
Not every school will operate the same way, but students attending schools that have both the print and digital editions of the program will likely have the following print materials at home:
- Student Edition: This includes all of the readings and activities necessary for instruction throughout the year. Students can read the selections both digitally and in print, annotating in either format. The lessons in the print Student Edition reflect each digital lesson, but have been modified to work effectively in print.
- Writing Journals: This provides space for students to respond to Writing Prompts and complete other written assignments.
In the case that students are without access to devices or the internet, they can continue to complete key reading and writing assignments using the print Student Editions and student Writing Journals.
Teachers can also access, print, and mail student Novel Guides for up to 12 commonly taught novels. Six of these novels are available in the Amplify Library, and most should be available in a public library.
Unit overviews
Below are quick overviews of each unit your student will be working through in their grade throughout the year. Included along with each unit is a downloadable guide that provides a more in-depth look at what content is covered and how you can help your student advance their understanding of the topics.
- Unit 6A: Dahl & Narrative
- Students begin with narrative writing to quickly boost their writing production, learn the foundational skill of focus, and become comfortable with key classroom habits and routines they will use all year. Students then apply their new observational focus to some lively readings from Roald Dahl’s memoir Boy and learn how to work closely with textual evidence.
- Unit 6B: Mysteries & Investigations
- Students read like an investigator to embark on a multi-genre study of the mesmerizing world of scientific and investigative sleuthing. At the end of the unit, students write an essay explaining which trait is most useful to problem-solving investigators.
- Unit 6C: The Chocolate Collection
- The Aztecs used it as currency. Robert Falcon Scott took it to the Antarctic. The Nazis made it into a bomb designed to kill Churchill. The 3,700-year-long history of chocolate is full of twists and turns, making it a rich and rewarding research topic. In this unit, students explore primary source documents and conduct independent research to better understand the strange and wonderful range of roles that chocolate has played for centuries around the world.
- Unit 6D: The Greeks
- Greek myths help us understand not only ancient Greek culture but also the world around us and our role in it. Drawing on the routines and skills established in previous units, these lessons ask students to move from considering the state of a single person—themselves or a character—to contemplating broader questions concerning the role people play in the world and the communities they inhabit within it.
- Unit 6E: Summer of Mariposas
- The borderlands between the United States and Mexico are the place of legends, both true and fictional. Summer of the Mariposas, by Guadalupe Garcia McCall, plants a retelling of the Odyssey into this setting, launching five sisters on an adventure into a world of heroes and evildoers derived from Aztec myths and Latinx legends. On the journey, the sisters reconcile the dissolution of their parent’s marriage and find new strength in their identity and connection to Aztec lineage. Students consider how McCall uses the structure of the hero’s journey to celebrate women, heritage, and a broad definition of family. Students also have the opportunity to compare these characters’ fictional journey into Mexico to a description of one boy’s true journey into the United States.
- Unit 6F: The Titanic Collection
- In this research unit, students learn to tell the difference between primary, secondary, and tertiary sources; determine if a given source is reliable; and understand the ethical uses of information. Students then construct their own research questions and explore the internet for answers. They also take on the role of a passenger from the Titanic’s manifest to consider gender and class issues as they research and write narrative accounts from the point of view of their passenger.
- Unit 6G: Beginning Story Writing
- In this unit, students get to practice their creative writing skills and learn the elements of storytelling and character development, as well as the importance of vivid language. Students gain a sense of ownership over their writing as they experiment with the impact of their authorial choices on sentences, language, character traits, and plot twists.
- Grade 6: Grammar
- In this unit, students complete self-guided grammar instruction and practice that teachers assign to them throughout the year. Sub-units are organized by key grammar topics, so teachers can assign the content that best meets their student’s needs while making sure students work with the key grammar topics for their grades.
- Unit 7A: Red Scarf Girl & Narrative
- In this study of a highly engaging memoir of a young woman growing up in China during the Cultural Revolution, students quickly learn the history and politics of this tumultuous period by focusing on the story of someone living through the upheaval. As students follow her journey through a world turned upside down, they will track the changes in her feelings and motivations over time.
- Unit 7B: Character & Conflict
- By reading the play A Raisin in the Sun and the short story “Sucker,” students explore how people facing hardships can inflict unintentional harm on the people around them. The two narratives work together to provide opportunities for students to analyze characters’ responses to conflict and the author’s development of ideas over the course of a piece of fiction.
- Unit 7C: Brain Science
- Could you survive an iron rod through your skull? Phineas Gage did, and his gruesome-but-true story allows students to build background information and analyze other informational texts, including the contemporary The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat and the relevant Demystifying the Adolescent Brain.
- Unit 7D: Poetry & Poe
- Poe’s texts always offer so much to notice, decipher, talk about—and creep us out. Since things are not always what they seem, students must use close reading skills to question whether they should believe what Poe’s narrator is telling them … or not.
- Unit 7E: The Frida & Diego Collection
- Mexico’s most famous and provocative artists, Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo, were an extraordinary couple who lived in extraordinary times. They were both soul mates and complete opposites. Their multifaceted lives and work offer students rich and fascinating subjects to study as they examine primary source documents and conduct independent research.
- Unit 7F: The Gold Rush Collection
- In this research unit, students choose from a large collection of primary and secondary sources to learn about the wide range of people who took part in the California Gold Rush. They also take on the role of someone who lived during the gold rush and write journal entries from their perspective.
- Unit 7G: Intermediate Story Writing
- In this unit, students get to practice their creative writing skills and learn the elements of storytelling and character development, as well as the importance of vivid language. Students gain a sense of ownership over their writing as they experiment with the impact of their authorial choices on sentences, language, character traits, and plot twists.
- Grade 7: Grammar
- In this unit, students complete self-guided grammar instruction and practice that teachers assign to them throughout the year. Sub-units are organized by key grammar topics, so teachers can assign the content that best meets their student’s needs while making sure students work with the key grammar topics for their grades.
- Unit 8A: Perspectives & Narrative
- This unit aims to teach students to read like writers. They practice paying attention to the craft of writing and to the moves a good writer makes to shape the way we see a scene or feel about a character—to stir us up, surprise us, or leave us wondering what will happen next. Students closely read examples of rich, layered narrative nonfiction, analyze the techniques each author uses to make their writing resonate, and practice applying these techniques to their own narrative writing.
- Unit 8B: Liberty & Equality
- In this unit, students look at the words of a range of creators—from poet Walt Whitman to abolitionist Frederick Douglass to President Abraham Lincoln—to see how their writing contributed to an extreme shift in social organization: a whole new concept of what it means for people to be considered “equal.” They also study multiple perspectives on the Civil War, including the memoir of a girl who was enslaved, a confederate girl’s diary, and a nonfiction account of the young boys who served as soldiers during the war.
- Unit 8C: Science & Science Fiction
- Students read Gris Grimly’s Frankenstein, a graphic novel that adds captivating illustrations to an abridgment of the 1818 edition of Mary Shelley’s book. Paired with Shelley’s text, Grimly’s haunting—and, at times, horrific—representations of Frankenstein’s creature push students to wrestle with some of the text’s central themes: the source of humanity and the root of evil. Students then write an essay in which, after arguing both sides of the question, they determine whether or not Frankenstein’s creature should ultimately be considered human.
- Unit 8D: Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet
- Romeo and Juliet combines romance with action, offering a wide range of themes and scenes for students to read about and act out. Your middle schoolers are at the right age to identify with the lovers’ strong feelings—and also old enough to think critically about the choices Romeo and Juliet make.
- Unit 8E: Holocaust: Memory & Meaning
- This unit uses a range of primary source articles, images, and videos, as well as literary nonfiction and graphic nonfiction, to study what made the atrocities of the Holocaust possible. Students investigate how propaganda was generated and employed to create a political environment that ultimately corrupted a society. The Olympics are seen through the lens of an international propaganda campaign, providing cover for Nazis to begin eliminating non-Aryans from their culture. The final sub-unit examines the outcomes of Nazi doctrine and the impact on Jewish victims and survivors.
- Unit 8F: The Space Race Collection
- In this unit, students to put their research and close-reading skills to the test to distinguish between reliable and unreliable sources, explore primary documents, and conduct independent research to better understand the space race that took place between two of the world’s superpowers. This dramatic story offers students a rich research topic to explore as they build information literacy skills, learn how to construct their own research questions, and explore the internet for answers.
- Grade 8: Grammar
- In this unit, students complete self-guided grammar instruction and practice that teachers assign to them throughout the year. Sub-units are organized by key grammar topics, so teachers can assign the content that best meets their student’s needs while making sure students work with the key grammar topics for their grades.
- Unit 8G: Advanced Story Writing
- In this unit, students get to practice their creative writing skills. They’ll learn the elements of storytelling and character development, and the power of vivid language to grab readers and pull them into a story.
Additional activities
Quests:
You may notice your student working with peers on the same interactive project over several days, trying to solve a mystery or explain a historical event. That’s what happens when a teacher assigns a Quest: an in-depth week-long exploration that requires collaboration and deepens engagement with texts and topics.
Vocab App:
The Vocab App helps students master vocabulary words through game-like activities that challenge them to think through morphology, analogy, and synonyms/antonyms, and to decipher meaning through context.
Have a question about Amplify ELA?
Visit our help library to search for articles with answers to your program questions.
For additional curriculum support, please contact your student’s teacher.
Reading and literacy integration
Amplify Science is a new phenomena-based science curriculum for grades K–8.
Reading and literacy integration
Amplify Science units provide strategy-based literacy instruction that aims to develop students’ facility with reading, writing, and talking about science. Each unit provides many authentic opportunities for students to learn about and practice the ways of communicating and learning that characterize science as a discipline. The following are the Amplify Science Guiding Principles for Literacy:
- Students acquire literacy expertise through the pursuit of science knowledge and by engaging in scientific and engineering practices.
- Attention to discipline literacy instruction should begin as soon as students enter school and should continue throughout the grades.
- Participation in a disciplinary community is key to acquiring disciplinary expertise and literacy.
- Since the purpose of science is to better explain the natural world, argumentation and explanation are the central enterprises of science. Therefore, these practices are central foci of reading, writing, and talk in science.
Literacy instruction in the Amplify Science program utilizes a Gradual Release of Responsibility approach (Pearson and Gallagher 1983). In this approach, instruction begins with the teacher assuming primary responsibility for modeling strategy or skill and explicitly instruction how to use each strategy or skill. As instruction proceeds, the teacher offers as much support as needed so students can practice using the target strategy more independently. Over time, students take on more responsibility for using the strategy more independently. Depending on the goal, the path from teacher modeling to student independence will vary. Over the course of a unit, students may not achieve independence for every literacy goal, but they will move along the continuum toward flexible use of a wide range of reading, writing, and learning strategies that have been incorporated throughout the program.
Each Amplify Science Elementary Unit includes five books that students use to build an understanding of science ideas, practices, and crosscutting concepts. While the program does not take on responsibility for providing all literacy instruction required for students’ reading development (e.g., skill-based or fluency-oriented literacy instruction), it is designed to support vocabulary, language, and reading comprehension development.
Amplify Science provides students with a series of content-rich nonfiction and informational texts that are read for a variety of purposes throughout the unit. The five books in each unit include one book for approximately every five days of instruction and one reference book that students draw upon throughout the 22-lesson units (20 instructional lessons & 2 assessment days for pre/post). Students are encouraged to read books as independently as possible so they can apply the comprehension strategies they are learning in order to understand what they read. In each Amplify Science reading session, comprehension is supported at three stages: before, during, and after reading. At each stage, students engage in planned tasks that build an understanding of the key concepts and themes in a book. The teacher’s role is to scaffold comprehension and provide opportunities for practicing the strategies and skills that are being taught. At each stage, these include:
- Before-reading activities designed to help students activate their background knowledge, prepare to use particular comprehension strategies, and set a purpose for reading.
- During-reading activities intended to help students monitor their comprehension, make connections, and read and understand important science vocabulary in context.
- After reading activities intended to help students reflect on their learning and connect their reading to their firsthand science investigations.
Nonfiction and informational text. The Amplify Science program is designed to help students gain familiarity with the structures and functions of nonfiction and informational texts by extending students’ exposure to these texts in a rich learning environment. The program uses nonfiction and informational texts because it is an important component of content learning in school; it helps build knowledge of the natural and social world, and it provides students with a purposeful context for learning key concepts and vocabulary. Nonfiction and informational text are also engaging and motivating as it answers genuine questions and capitalizes on student interests and background knowledge. Reading a wide variety of texts have been shown to affect students’ interest in reading overall (Duke 2004). Nonfiction and informational genres are also the genres students are most likely to encounter when reading and writing inside and outside of school. For adults, nonfiction and informational texts are read more often than other genres (Duel 2004; Smith 2000). In order for students to become successful information gatherers as adults, we need to provide opportunities for them to engage with nonfiction and informational texts in school.
Reading comprehension. Reading instruction in Amplify Science is designed to promote students’ capacity to read for meaning. Guided instruction and a supportive classroom context help students learn to employ powerful comprehension strategies that are critical for gaining a better understanding of text and becoming skilled readers (Duke and Pearson 2002). Comprehension strategies included in the Amplify Science program include posing questions, making inferences, setting goals for reading, summarizing, synthesizing, and using text features. Across units, students are guided to use these strategies flexibly as they read and make sense of a wide range of nonfiction and informational texts. Students also gain critical experience with understanding texts and experiences in relation to one another as they make connections between the books they read and the science they do. These connections then extend their growing conceptual understanding. Reading instruction in Amplify Science also encourages students to reflect on the utility of comprehension strategies, including when, why, and how these strategies helped them. One important way students make connections is through sustained classroom discussion of text with their peers (Nystrand 1997). Students regularly discuss both content and comprehension use before, during, and after reading, learning more about both as they engage in discussions with their peers. The Amplify Science approach also draws on research that demonstrates the benefits of instructional coherence (connected reading, writing, listening, and talk), particularly in the content area of science (Romance and Vitale 2001; Cervetti et. al. 2007; The Directed Reading Model supports reading comprehension before, during, and after reading. Cervetti et. al. 2006). Reading comprehension is enhanced as students connect what they read to what they are investigating and learning in science. The Amplify Science student books provide many opportunities for students to practice their developing reading skills in context, engage in authentic discourse around text, make connections, and support their understandings with textual evidence.
2025
September 18, 2025
Edutopia: “Using Virtual Manipulatives in Math Class”
August 19, 2025
Education Week: “Here’s Why It’s Important for Teachers to Have a Say in Curriculum”
August 18, 2025
Investors Hangout: “Amplify Classroom Revolutionizes K-12 Teaching Experience”
August 5, 2025
WhaTech: “K-12 Online Education Market Set for Strong Expansion, Reaching $349.77 Billion by 2029”
August 4, 2025
Education Week: “Districts Using ‘High-Quality’ Reading Curricula Still Supplement With Other Materials. Why?”
July 9, 2025
K-12 Dive: “Youngest students see big reading gains post-COVID on DIBELS assessment”
June 25, 2025
The 74: “How Districts in Georgia, Maryland and D.C. Are Raising Reading Proficiency”
May 28, 2025
Open PR: “K-12 Online Education Market Forecast 2025-2034: Comprehensive Analysis And Growth Opportunities”
May 27, 2025
District Administration: “Early literacy: How to implement programs that start strong”
May 20, 2025
EdSource: “California schools prepare to introduce universal reading screening”
April 23, 2025
The 74: “Eric Adams Expands Reading, Math Curriculum Mandates to All NYC Middle Schools”
April 21, 2025
Daily News: “NYC expanding reading, math curriculum overhaul to more schools”
March 19, 2025
Education Next: “School Reinvention in Practice”
February 28, 2025
K-12 Dive, “Test yourself on this week’s K-12 news”
February 26, 2025
K-12 Dive: “Only 56% of K-2 students are ready to read”
January 24, 2025
Chalkbeat Philadelphia: “Two AI-powered charter schools could soon open in Pennsylvania”
January 16, 2025
Tech & Learning: “What is Polypad and How Can Teachers Use It?”
2024
December 18, 2024
EdSource: “State takes another step toward mandatory testing for reading difficulties in 2025”
December 6, 2024
Chalkbeat Philadelphia: “Philadelphia is now spending over $100 million on its curriculum overhaul. Here’s a breakdown.”
November 27, 2024
Lincoln Journal Star: “Lincoln Public Schools drops a classification rating on statewide assessment”
November 6, 2024
EdNC: “New K-3 literacy data shows growth in skills for North Carolina students”
October 1, 2024
The 74: “As NY District Implements Science of Reading, Parents Push for New Focus on Math”
September 18, 2024
Tech & Learning: “Tech & Learning Announces Winners of Best for Back to School 2024”
August 22, 2024
Chalkbeat Philadelphia: “Philadelphia school board renews charters, funds tutoring and a new science curriculum”
August 2, 2024
EdNC: “‘Dedication of our teachers’ praised in an update on the state’s science of reading journey”
July 31, 2024
The 74: “Classroom Case Study: To Maximize the Impact of Curriculum Mandates, Follow the Science of Reading”
July 23, 2024
Chalkbeat: “Should teachers customize their lessons or just stick to the ‘script’?”
July 7, 2024
The Economist: “Will artificial intelligence transform school?”
June 24, 2024
Chalkbeat: “Math instruction overhaul: NYC unveils new curriculum mandate for middle and high schools”
June 6, 2024
EdNC: “Perspective | Teachers are the heroes of the literacy story in North Carolina”
May 24, 2024
The Dallas Morning News: “How Don Quixote changed a Dallas public school classroom”
May 2, 2024
Akron.com: “Tutoring program at Summit Academy Akron Elementary School attracts national interest”
April 25, 2024
Edutopia: “Using Tech Tools to Energize Young Students’ Math Learning”
April 4, 2024
EdNC: “State Board hears update on district ESSER spending, literacy data, and Restart schools”
March 22, 2024
Thomas B Fordham Institute: “Five takeaways from Ohio’s baseline survey of elementary reading curricula”
March 15, 2024
The 74: “New Data: Despite K-2 Reading Gains, Students Face a ‘Much Harder Journey’ Ahead”
March 5, 2024
The 74: “Case Study: How One Texas School District Is Repurposing Staff Development Time to Embrace the Science of Reading”
February 21, 2024
Times Record News: “UPDATED: Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath likes what he sees at local school”
February 19, 2024
Chalkbeat: “Chicago Public Schools recover from pandemic declines more than other districts, study shows”
February 7, 2024
The 74: “Building Oral Language Skills and Equity Through High-Quality Reading Curriculum”
2023
December 19, 2023
The 74: “Best Education Articles of 2023: Our 23 Most Important Stories About Students, Schools & Learning Recovery ”
December 8, 2023
Education Week: “Aligned Science Curriculum, Better Scores? Research Finds a Connection”
December 6, 2023
WRAL News: “Reading readiness rises in NC’s K-3 classrooms, new data shows”
November 27, 2023
The Dallas Morning News: “Dallas’ new lessons aim to keep kids on track, but some worry about limiting teachers”
November 2, 2023
Fort Worth Report: “Black students in Fort Worth ISD still struggle to read at grade level”
October 31, 2023
Chicago Tribune: “Lake Forest-area schools take stock of state grades; ‘While we celebrate our successes, we acknowledge that the journey … is ongoing’”
October 19, 2023
Chalkbeat: “NYC eyes middle and high school literacy overhaul. It’s asking families to weigh in.”
October 16, 2023
The 74: “As Virginia Rolls Out Ambitious Statewide High-Dosage Tutoring Effort This Week, 3 Keys to Success”
October 6, 2023
Language Magazine: “Embracing Bilingual Assessment”
September 18, 2023
Tech & Learning: “Best for Back to School 2023”
September 18, 2023
Chalkbeat: “Chicago Public Schools hired hundreds of tutors with federal COVID money. Can they keep them?”
September 7, 2023
EdNC: “Perspective | Union County Public Schools empowers educators, elevates readers”
August 14, 2023
Chicago Parent: “Common Core Math: How to Help Your Kids”
August 6, 2023
The News & Observer: “NC sees big increase in reading skills among K-3 students. Is the state back on track?”
August 4, 2023
The 74: “Slow Literacy Gains, Long COVID in Kids: 7 Insights into Pandemic Recovery and Aftermath in U.S. Schools”
August 3, 2023
EdNC: “State Board of Education: New reading data, parental leave, and a call to support public schools”
July 28, 2023
Houston Public Media: “New literacy curriculum is among the many changes coming to HISD”
July 17, 2023
Houston Chronicle: “Mike Miles says HISD schools will teach the ‘science of reading.’ Here’s what that means.”
July 11, 2023
The 74: “‘Education’s Long COVID’: New Data Shows Recovery Stalled for Most Students”
July 6, 2023
Houston Chronicle: “HISD superintendent gives voluntary schools one last chance to back out of New Education System”
June 29, 2023
The Report Card: “Larry Berger on Curriculum”
June 2, 2023
EdWeek Market Brief:”K-12 Dealmaking: Substitute Teaching Startup Secures $38M; Amplify Raises Undisclosed Series C”
May 25, 2023
The 74: “Expanding Access to Tutors: Nonprofit Grants $6 Million to 32 Learning Organizations Across 20 States to Help More Students”
April 21, 2023
The 74: “The ‘Transformation is Real’ as Science of Reading Takes Hold in N.C. Schools”
April 18, 2023
The 74: “Louisiana District Ravaged by Hurricane & COVID is Bouncing Back with Science”
April 5, 2023
WFAE: “NC midyear reading data shows gains, but third-grade goals remain elusive”
April 5, 2023
EdNC: “K-3 students show growth in literacy skills, mid-year DPI data show”
March 24, 2023
The 74: “COVID & School Recovery: Critics Warn Washington Bill Would Reduce Classroom Learning Time By 4 Hours a Week”
March 24, 2023
Edutopia: “Using Collective Leadership to Make a Major Shift in Your District”
March 15, 2023
K-12 Dive: “California at center of latest push for science-based reading approaches”
March 7, 2023
District Administration: “ESSER pressure: How one district intends to spend wisely as deadline looms”
March 3, 2023
The 74: “‘The Other Long COVID’ Affecting Kids: Missed Opportunities”
March 2, 2023
3 WTKR: “More students on track to learn to read in 2022-2023 school year since start of pandemic, researchers say”
March 2, 2023
ABC 7: “Reading skills rebounding for young students following pandemic disruptions”
March 1, 2023
K-12 Dive: “By The Numbers: DIBELS testing shows improved reading progress over last two years”
February 27, 2023
The 74: “Exclusive: Despite K-2 Reading Gains, Results Flat for 3rd Grade ‘COVID Kids’”
February 27, 2023
Education Week: “Students’ Early Literacy Skills Are Rebounding. See What the Data Show”
February 7, 2023
The 74: “Using High-Quality Curriculum Doesn’t Mean You Can’t Still Have Fun Learning”
January 13, 2023
NPR: “Can a middle school class help scientists create a cooler place to play?”
January 6, 2023
News & Record: “After a numbing low, NC students now heading in ‘right direction’ in reading, math”
January 5, 2023
CBS17.com: “K-3 students in NC make significant strides on literacy exams, DPI says”
2022
December 20, 2022
District Administration: “Literacy Under the Lights: 10 ways to bring the community back together”
December 14, 2022
The 74: “14 Charts This Year That Helped Us Better Understand Covid’s Impact On Students Teachers and Schools”
December 14, 2022
The 74: “Learning Loss Is Worse than NAEP Showed. Middle School Math Must Be the Priority”
November 21, 2022
Voicebot.ai: “SoapBox Labs Brings Child-Centered Voice AI to Dyslexia Detection Assessment”
October 24, 2022
Education Week: “Two Decades of Progress, Nearly Gone: National Math, Reading Scores Hit Historic Lows”
October 20, 2022
The 74: “Exclusive Literacy Data: Small Gains Since Last Fall, But No Reading Rebound”
August 30, 2022
The 74: “Test English Learners in the Languages They Speak at School and at Home”
August 29, 2022
WTKR TV NC: “News 3 investigates childhood literacy rates, raising money to give books to local kids for new school year”
August 28, 2022
EdNC: “Elementary students made growth last year in skills that lead to reading proficiency, new data show”
August 18, 2022
SHRM Blog: “The Great Resignation Skipped Us. Here’s why.”
August 16, 2022
Forbes: “Curious About Knowledge-Building Curricula? Check Out This Website”
July 20, 2022
District Administration: “Out-of-school STEM learning is much more powerful when it’s inclusive”
July 19, 2022
Chalkbeat: “The state of learning loss: 7 takeaways from the latest data”
June 28, 2022
The Preschool Podcast: “Early literacy strategies that stick with Darryl from Run-DMC and Makeda from Nickelodeon [Podcast]”
May 24, 2022
Forbes: “States That Want To Boost Literacy Should Keep An Eye On Texas”
April 24, 2022
Business Ecosystem Alliance: “Ecosystems in Education–Collaborating to Efficiently Serve the End User”
April 18, 2022
KQED Mind Shift: “Weighing the best strategies for reading intervention”
April 15, 2022
Fordham Institute: “Assessing a standards-aligned physical science curriculum”
March 23, 2022
The Baltimore Sun: “National test scores show student gains from in-person learning in all but a critical group: new and pre-readers | COMMENTARY”
March 15, 2022
NPR: “Two years ago schools shut down around the world. These are the biggest impacts”
March 11, 2022
The Hub – Dallas ISD: “Students at Greiner and Anson Jones Elementary find success in reading and writing with a new program”
March 10, 2022
NY Daily News: “Read it and weep: The new reading instruction emergency”
March 10, 2022
WISH TV Indianapolis: “Study shows student performance plummeted during pandemic”
March 9, 2022
New York Post: “Young students have suffered ‘alarming’ drops in reading skills during pandemic”
March 9, 2022
The Daily Caller: “Childhood Literacy Plummeted Following Pandemic Shutdowns, Studies Show”
March 8, 2022
The New York Times: “It’s ‘Alarming’: Children Are Severely Behind in Reading”
March 7, 2022
Education Next: “The Education Exchange: Pandemic Hurt Younger Students’ Learning Worse, Amplify Data Suggest”
February 28, 2022
The 74: “Our 12 Best Education Articles in February: Reflections on 700 Days of COVID Chaos, Setting a Bar for Unmasking in Schools, Burying Schools in Record Requests & More”
February 24, 2022
The Daily Advertiser: “Reading scores improve slightly, but pre-COVID reading levels are ‘the wrong goal’”
February 24, 2022
Wall Street Journal: “The School Shutdowns and Lost Literacy”
February 23, 2022
K-12 Dive: “DIBELS data illustrates pandemic reading setbacks”
February 22, 2022
ABC 7 Buffalo: “Children falling behind in reading”
February 18, 2022
The Carolina Journal: “Report: Elementary students lag in literacy due to pandemic”
February 16, 2022
The 74: “‘We Have First-Graders Who Can’t Sing the Alphabet Song’: Pandemic Continues to Push Young Readers Off Track, New Data Shows”
February 16, 2022
Education Week: “More Than 1 in 3 Children Who Started School in the Pandemic Need ‘Intensive’ Reading Help”
February 4, 2022
Literary Hub: “EXCLUSIVE: Watch Joshua Bennett Discuss A.R. Ammons’s poem “Cascadilla Falls”
January 26, 2022
The Ross Kaminsky Show: “Susan Lambert and the Literacy Gap”
January 19, 2022
K-12 Dive: “Report: Colorado reading law update boosts quality of literacy curriculum”
2021
December 15, 2021
Chalkbeat: “How Denver plans to address a drop in early elementary reading scores”
December 8, 2021
The SHRM Blog: “What’s the Best Work Perk of All? Contributing to the Social Good”
November 13, 2021
Hechinger Report: ‘The Reading Year’: First grade is critical for reading skills, but kids coming from disrupted kindergarten experiences are way behind”
October 20, 2021
Hechinger Report: “OPINION: Younger students were among those most hurt during the pandemic”
September 2, 2021
EdSurge: “An Edtech User’s Glossary to Speech Recognition and AI in the Classroom”
September, 2021
SIIA Education: “ED TECH SUCCESS STORIES”
August 23, 2021
CNN: “Irish tech firm helps kids’ voices be heard”
August 18, 2021
SoapBox Labs: “Can Speech Recognition Help Children Learn to Read?”
August 12, 2021
FOX Chicago Broadcast Interview: “Pandemic widens literacy gap for students”
August 3, 2021
T.H.E Journal: “More Students of Color at Risk in Reading After Pandemic”
July 28, 2021
The 74: “Early Reading Skills See a Rebound From In-Person Learning, But Racial Gaps Have Grown Wider, Tests Show”
July 28, 2021
K-12 Dive: “Reports: Math, reading progress slowed during first full school year of pandemic”
July 20, 2021
EdNC: “The mCLASS reading assessment tool is back in North Carolina classrooms, but it’s going to look different”
July 5, 2021
WBAL: “Baltimore students from all socio-economic backgrounds get a chance to ‘Amplify’ their learning skills”
June 15, 2021
Language Magazine: “Using Evidence to Overcome Adversity”
May 7, 2021
The Dallas Morning News: “How can a one-minute kindergarten test help teachers tackle the ‘COVID slide’?”
April 20, 2021
Education Week: “How Teachers and Curriculum Will Shape Ed Tech’s Future: A CEO Makes the Case”
March 24, 2021
The Hechinger Report: “OPINION: Children will need summer tutors to make up for pandemic learning loss”
March 23, 2021
Education Week: “Most States Fail to Measure Teachers’ Knowledge of the ‘Science of Reading,’ Report Says”
March 17, 2021
Axios: “How online education and tutoring could fight COVID learning loss”
March 16, 2021
USA Today: “Students are struggling to read behind masks and screens during COVID-19, but ‘expectations are no different’”
March 16, 2021
The 74: “Schools and COVID, a Year Later: 12 Months After Classrooms Closed, 12 Key Things We’ve Learned About How the Pandemic Disrupted Student Learning”
February 25, 2021
K–12 Dive: “Reading gaps widen in mid-year data, especially for K-1 students of color”
February 24, 2021
The 74: “One Year into Pandemic, Far Fewer Young Students are on Target to Learn How to Read, Tests Show”
February 17, 2021
NBC Los Angeles: “Local Students Design Rovers in Mission to Mars Student Challenge”
February 5, 2021
District Administration: “To save literacy, focus first on high-quality core instruction”
February 4, 2021
The Hechinger Report: “5 ways schools hope to fight Covid-19 learning loss”
January 5, 2021
The 74: “Science Matters Now More than Ever. The Time to Start Teaching It Is in Elementary School”
2020
December 15, 2020
Education Week: “Students’ Reading Losses Could Strain Schools’ Capacity to Help Them Catch Up”
December 9, 2020
Education Post: “How to Help Beginning Readers During the Pandemic”
December 3, 2020
American Consortium for Equity in Education: “The Importance of Quality Curriculum With Industry Voice”
September 29, 2020
The 74: “Beyond the Scantron: Ed Tech CEO Larry Berger on Why the Pandemic Is No Excuse to Abscond Accountability and ‘Disruptions Are Great Opportunities to Try Something New’”
May 25, 2020
The 74: “Class Disrupted Podcast Episode 2: Why Is My Child Doing So Many Worksheets Right Now?”
February 5, 2020
Getting Smart Podcast: “Larry Berger on EdTech Past and Future”
Amplify CKLA 3rd Edition Pilot Packs
Beginning-of-year pilot
We know it can be overwhelming to start a new curriculum, but we’re here to help every step of the way! Within this site, you’ll find resources to help you get started before your implementation training, including a materials checklist, unit and domain summaries, support videos, and more. These tools will support your core literacy instruction with Amplify CKLA during your pilot period. We hope this site is helpful in getting you started.
Beginning-of-year pilot
Get started
To get started with your new pilot of Amplify CKLA 3rd Edition, you’ll first want to review the following:
You may also find the resources below helpful as you begin your pilot:
Access key materials designed to support your review of Amplify CKLA 3rd Edition.
- Program Guide
- Components checklist
- Knowledge Sequence
- Unit Summaries
- Full Program Review site
- Password: TheNextChapter
Amplify CKLA’s all-in-one digital platform offers essential tools that streamline instruction for teachers and engage students with meaningful content. Teachers can plan and deliver lessons efficiently, while students can access assignments, assessments, and fun practice games.
Presentation Screens
Deliver interactive lessons with ready-made, customizable slides for every lesson.
Auto-scored digital assessments
Assess vocabulary, comprehension, and knowledge development at the end of each K–2 Knowledge and 3–5 Integrated Unit.
Standards-based reports
Identify strengths and growth areas for individuals or your entire class. Interactive dashboards offer detailed results from assessments and activities.
Skill-building practice games
Engage students with interactive games that reinforce concepts and make learning fun. Powered by Boost Reading™, these games align with lessons and provide real-time feedback.
eReader
Students access texts, take notes, and use audio-enabled eReaders to enhance their reading experience.
Sound Library
Students watch articulation videos and listen to songs for each sound to support phonological awareness.
Beginning-of-year Pilot Pack materials
Below are the components of your Amplify CKLA Pilot Pack, organized by grade level and teacher/student materials. Please click on your grade level to review the teacher and student materials listed and verify that all items have been received.
Teacher materials
Skills Unit 1 Teacher Guide
Teacher materials
Skills Unit 2 Teacher Guide
Teacher materials
Skills Unit 3 Teacher Guide
Teacher materials
Skills Unit 4 Teacher Guide
Teacher materials
Skills Unit 5 Teacher Guide
Teacher materials
Skills Unit 4 Big Book
Teacher materials
Skills Unit 5 Big Book
Teacher materials
Small Letter Card Set
Teacher materials
Large Letter Card Set
Teacher materials
Sound Posters Sample
Teacher materials
Sound Cards Sample
Teacher materials
Skills Assessment Guide (Black Line Master)
Teacher materials
Knowledge 1 Teacher Guide
Teacher materials
Knowledge 2 Teacher Guide
Teacher materials
Knowledge 3 Teacher Guide
Teacher materials
Knowledge 4 Teacher Guide
Teacher materials
Knowledge 1 Image Cards
Teacher materials
Knowledge 2 Image Cards
Teacher materials
Knowledge 3 Image Cards
Teacher materials
Knowledge 4 Image Cards
Student materials
Skills 1–5 Activity Book Sample
Student materials
Chaining Folder
Student materials
Picture Reader Sample
Student materials
Knowledge 1–4 Activity Book Sample
Teacher materials
Skills Unit 1 Teacher Guide
Teacher materials
Skills Unit 2 Teacher Guide
Teacher materials
Skills Unit 3 Teacher Guide
Teacher materials
Skills Unit 1 Big Book
Teacher materials
Skills Unit 2 Big Book
Teacher materials
Skills Unit 3 Big Book
Teacher materials
Code Poster Set
Teacher materials
Spelling Card Set
Teacher materials
Large Letter Card Set
Teacher materials
Skills Assessment Guide (Black Line Master)
Teacher materials
Knowledge 1 Teacher Guide
Teacher materials
Knowledge 2 Teacher Guide
Teacher materials
Knowledge 3 Teacher Guide
Teacher materials
Knowledge 4 Teacher Guide
Teacher materials
Knowledge 1 Image Cards
Teacher materials
Knowledge 2 Image Cards
Teacher materials
Knowledge 3 Image Cards
Teacher materials
Knowledge 4 Image Cards
Student materials
Skills 1–3 Activity Book
Student materials
Skills Unit 1 Reader
Student materials
Skills Unit 2 Reader
Student materials
Skills Unit 3 Reader
Student materials
Knowledge 1-4 Activity Book Sample
Teacher materials
Skills Unit 1 Teacher Guide
Teacher materials
Skills Unit 2 Teacher Guide
Teacher materials
Skills Unit 3 Teacher Guide
Teacher materials
Code Posters
Teacher materials
Spelling Card Set
Teacher materials
Skills Assessment Guide (Black Line Master)
Teacher materials
Knowledge 1 Teacher Guide
Teacher materials
Knowledge 2 Teacher Guide
Teacher materials
Knowledge 3 Teacher Guide
Teacher materials
Knowledge 4 Teacher Guide
Teacher materials
Knowledge 2 Image Cards
Teacher materials
Knowledge 3 Image Cards
Teacher materials
Knowledge 4 Image Cards
Student materials
Skills 1–3 Activity Book Sample
Student materials
Skills Unit 1 Reader
Student materials
Skills Unit 2 Reader
Student materials
Skills Unit 3 Reader
Student materials
Knowledge 1-4 Activity Book Sample
Teacher materials
Unit 1 Teacher Guide
Teacher materials
Unit 2 Teacher Guide
Teacher materials
Unit 3 Teacher Guide
Teacher materials
Unit 4 Teacher Guide
Teacher materials
Unit 1 Image Cards
Teacher materials
Unit 3 Image Cards
Teacher materials
Unit 4 Image Cards
Teacher materials
Spelling Card Set
Student materials
Unit 1–2 Activity Book
Student materials
Unit 3 Poet’s Journal
Student materials
Unit 4 Activity Book
Student materials
Unit 1 Reader
Student materials
Unit 2 Reader
Student materials
Unit 4 Reader
Teacher materials
Skills Unit 1 Teacher Guide (supplemental)
Teacher materials
Skills Unit 2 Teacher Guide (supplemental)
Teacher materials
Skills Assessment Guide Black Line Master (supplemental)
Student materials
Skills Activity Book: Unit 1–2 Black Line Master (supplemental)
Teacher materials
Unit 1 Teacher Guide
Teacher materials
Unit 2 Teacher Guide
Teacher materials
Unit 3 Teacher Guide
Teacher materials
Unit 4 Teacher Guide
Student materials
Unit 1–2 Activity Book
Student materials
Unit 3 Poet’s Journal
Student materials
Unit 4 Inventor’s Notebook
Student materials
Unit 1 Reader
Student materials
Unit 2 Reader
Student materials
Unit 4 Reader
Teacher materials
Unit 1 Teacher Guide
Teacher materials
Unit 2 Teacher Guide
Teacher materials
Unit 3 Teacher Guide
Teacher materials
Unit 4 Teacher Guide
Student materials
Unit 1–2 Activity Book
Student materials
Poet’s Journal
Student materials
Unit 4 Activity Book
Student materials
Unit 1 Reader
Student materials
Unit 2 Reader
Student materials
Unit 4 Reader
Access the Amplify CKLA all-in-one digital platform
Teachers and students piloting CKLA 3rd Edition will receive login information to access the digital platform.
If you have not received your login information please contact your administrative team. If you are in charge of licensing and enrollment for your school/district and have not received login information please reach out to your account representative or help@amplify.com.
Explore Amplify CKLA K–5 Phonics
Thank you for reviewing the top-rated Amplify CKLA for grades K-3 phonics instruction. Built on the Science of Reading, Amplify Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA) is a highly-effective, foundational phonics program that will give NYC teachers unmatched support in delivering systematic, explicit, and research-based phonics instruction.
Amplify CKLA is systematic – built on a scope and sequence of sound-spelling patterns to ensure all students have access to the same instruction – and Amplify CKLA is explicit – delivering instruction with learning goals that are clear to teachers and students. Beginning with phonological awareness and progressing through phonemic awareness and phonics instruction, Amplify CKLA comprehensively covers foundational skills.
As you explore the Amplify CKLA Grades K-3 phonics materials, you will see high-quality instructional support needed for every child to master the 44 sounds and 150 sound-spellings of the English language by the end of third grade.
Access your demo account
To explore the Amplify CKLA Skills digital experience and Boost Reading K-3, visit learning.amplify.com and select Log in with Amplify; using the credentials provided here:
- Username: t.nyc-ckla-skills@tryamplify.net
- Password: AmplifyNumber1
Click here for demo login and Amplify CKLA navigation support.
Principles of Amplify CKLA phonics instruction
Amplify CKLA phonics instruction ensures students learn to read words automatically and achieve complete coverage of the Reading Standards for Foundational Skills in the Common Core State Standards.
Explicit instruction in the spelling patterns of the English language transitions students from spending excess mental energy on decoding (learning to read) to fluent automaticity so they can focus on comprehension and analysis (reading to learn).
Amplify CKLA designs reading experiences to maximize practice in newly taught sound spellings, which is achieved in three ways:
- Organization of Instruction: CKLA teaches the most frequent sound spellings first in order to maximize the words students can read and move them into engaging, well-written, decodable texts halfway through Kindergarten.
- Systematic Coverage: Students who master both the Basic and Advanced Code taught in CKLA Skills will have all the decoding skills necessary to succeed. Lessons teach print and phonological awareness, sound-letter patterns (or sound spellings), decoding and encoding, writing mechanics, and writing structure and processes for 60 minutes each day.
- Decodable Readers: CKLA Decodable Readers are uniquely designed to provide intensive practice with the CKLA code while engaging students with authentic, compelling, and varied stories.
Grade 3 phonics support
In grades K-2, Amplify CKLA Skills offers explicit and systematic foundational skills and language instruction. Explicitly teaching foundational skills from the early grades is essential to helping students master the code and learn to read words automatically and effortlessly.
In grade 3, CKLA recognizes that instructional needs will vary widely, particularly for students with gaps in code knowledge and fluency. Through a more integrated language arts approach, students have daily opportunities for explicit, teacher-led phonics instruction as they transition to developing and applying literacy skills and deepening background knowledge.
By the end of grade 2, Amplify CKLA has covered all basic and advanced code, while grade 3 provides differentiated instruction and assessment resources to best support all students in becoming fluent, automatic readers:
- Unit 1 instruction reviews the phonics instruction from the previous year
- The Assessment and Remediation Guide provides hundreds of activities and assessments to determine the ideal instructional path for each student
- Fluency Packet supplements instruction with additional text selections and opportunities for students to practice reading with fluency and expression (prosody)
- Spelling Cards support decoding and encoding lessons
- Individual Code Chart gives students practice recording the consonant and vowel sound-spelling correspondences they’ve learned
If selected, Amplify would welcome the opportunity to partner with the New York City DOE on updating our program with a standalone skills program for grade 3.
The Amplify CKLA digital experience
Amplify CKLA offers an easy to use and interactive teaching and learning experience for grades K-3 that supports teachers with ready-made and student friendly lesson presentation slides.
Everything needed to teach the lesson is included within the slides that teachers project and students access. Students engage directly with the slides via embedded Activity Pages. Students can respond in multiple ways, including drawing, writing, typing, audio recording, or uploading pictures. They can even engage with the sound library, with fun songs and videos that develop phonological awareness and the eReader library of decodable texts.
The digital experience makes instruction easier, more immersive, and flexible for both students and teachers!
Instruction for students from all walks of life
Our goal is to make education, and thereby the world, more accessible to all students, regardless of background.
As part of our commitment to creating richer and more wide-ranging curricula, Amplify CKLA K-2 Skills Readers have been designed to increase student engagement and students’ sense of connection with the decodable stories and their characters. Stories with human characters introduce students to individuals with a broad range of identity factors, including socio-economic status, age, ability, race, ethnicity, country or origin, religion and more. Other decodable stories have fantastical creatures to bring more excitement and whimsy to the tale. These readers reflect New York City classrooms, giving students windows and mirrors while they practice and apply their skills with 100% decodable texts.
Learn more about the decodable readers here.
View the Amplify CKLA K-3 alignment to NYC Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Education Framework..
The power of Amplify CKLA + Boost Reading
Boost Reading is a student-driven skill practice program that pairs with Amplify CKLA, to provide differentiated, digital instruction in both foundational skills and comprehension strategies. Because Boost Reading is built on the same approach to reading as Amplify CKLA and shares an aligned scope and sequence, students are able to extend their learning from the core program, at their own pace.
In Boost Reading, students enter a captivating narrative where each storyline requires them to apply foundational skills to navigate a series of games. Each game focuses on a specific skill learned in CKLA, allowing students to practice that skill to mastery. Progression from game to game is based on individual student learning needs—a personalized path where they gain expertise by unlocking new quests at just the right time. This path ensures that each student gets the amount of practice they need to master foundational skills.
Embedded benchmark and progress-monitoring assessments give educators actionable data insights on how their students are progressing through their literacy journey. Easy-to-use reports provide proficiency, growth and risk data individually and in aggregate to further drive classroom instruction.
In a recent study, students who used Boost Reading outperformed non-Boost students on all DIBELS 8th Edition measures.
Explore the Boost Reading teacher and student experience:
- Visit learning.amplify.com and select Log in using the same Amplify credentials provided in the demo access section above:
- Username:t.nyc-ckla-skills@tryamplify.net
- Password:AmplifyNumber1
- Select the Reading icon; this will open the program without data as your class has not yet played Boost Reading. Select Explore Demo in the pop up.
- In the navigation bar, choose the grade band and experience (Educator or Student) you wish to demo.
- The Educator experience will show you the Teacher Dashboard with sample student data and a recommended guided tour.
- The Student experience will bring you to a start screen; simply select PLAY to begin.
New York City Review Materials
The Amplify CKLA Grades K-2 Program Guide provides you with more details on how CKLA Skills works, how it is structured, and the need for explicit instruction in phonics in order to build strong readers in classrooms.
Additional Review Materials:
Amplify CKLA Skills K-2 One-Pager
Amplify CKLA Skills – Grade K Scope and Sequence
Amplify CKLA Skills – Grade K Curriculum Map (pages 1-10)
Amplify CKLA Skills – Grade 1 Scope and Sequence
Amplify CKLA Skills – Grade 1 Curriculum Map (pages 1-7)
Amplify CKLA Skills – Grade 2 Scope and Sequence
Amplify CKLA Skills – Grade 2 Curriculum Map (pages 1-6)
Amplify CKLA – Grade 3 Unit 1 Teacher Guide
Amplify CKLA decodable readers
Amplify CKLA alignment to New York State Next Generation ELA Learning Standards
CKLA Skills – Grade K; Unit 1 – Assessment and Remediation Guide (differentiation example)
Boost Reading alignment to New York State Next Generation ELA Learning Standards
Welcome, San Francisco Reviewers!
State-approved | Grades 6–8 and Algebra 1
Amplify Math for Oregon
Dear Oregon math educators,
We’re honored that you’re reviewing Amplify Math for use with your middle school students.
We’re confident you’ll find this Oregon-approved program to be a powerful tool for getting all your students talking and thinking about math concepts together.
On this site, you’ll find a variety of resources to guide you in your review, including demo account access. We look forward to meeting you and showing you what makes this program so unique.
Kristen Rockstroh
Oregon Account Executive
Virtual Caravan Stop
Amplify Math isn’t your traditional core math program. It’s different to make a difference—and the results are simply undeniable. Watch our virtual caravan presentations to the right and learn about the research-based approaches built right into this high-quality solution. Plus, see how Amplify Math brings student-centered learning to life for students in grades 6–8.
What it is
Amplify Math is a brand-new program based on the highly-rated Illustrative Mathematics curriculum IM K–12 Math™️.
It’s designed around the idea that a core math curriculum needs to serve 100 percent of students in accessing grade-level math every day. To that end, Amplify Math delivers:
- Engaging, discourse-rich math lessons that are easier to teach.
- Flexible, social problem-solving experiences both online and off.
- Real-time insights, data, and reporting that inform instruction.
How it works
Amplify Math delivers the instructional power of student-centered learning packaged in a lesson format that is easy and manageable. With easy-to-follow instructional supports, implementing a problem-based program becomes more effective and enjoyable for both you and your students. Paired with our digital experience, math class becomes fun and dynamic, with plenty of opportunities for students to talk through their reasoning, work with their peers, and gain new understandings.
Featuring Desmos and more
Desmos digital lessons
Imagine having more visibility into your students’ mathematical thinking. Now imagine students have access to this same information. With Amplify Math’s collaborative lesson interface and teacher dashboard, students can’t hide. What’s more, they have visibility into the thinking of their peers—exposing them to a wider variety of approaches to solving the same problem.
Engaging student experience
Power-ups provide just-in-time support to help student strengthen pre-requisite skills before engaging in whole-class activities. Power-ups ensure all students have a chance to experience success in the day’s lesson even if they might be several years behind. Not teaching online? They’re available in the Teacher Edition, too.
Ready-to-teach lesson slides
Every lesson of Amplify Math includes ready-to-teach lesson slides complete with step-by-step teaching notes, suggested student and teacher responses, options for differentiating instruction, links to useful resources, and tips for supporting students through common trouble-spots. Teacher can also customize their lesson slides, adding their own flavor, flair, and favorite problems—enabling them to truly make the lesson their own.
Presentation sync and student pacing
Being able to control what slides students see and when gives teachers the ability to control the pace of the lesson to suite the needs of the class. When Presentation Sync is turned on, students can access all the slides in the lesson. When it’s off, it ensures students’ screens follow the teacher’s. Teachers can also set a range of slides, which allows students to work at their own pace within the unlocked slides only.
Access demo
Ready to explore the program? Follow these simple instructions to access our program digitally.
- Watch the video to the right or use this document to learn how to navigate our print and digital components.
- Click the Access demo button.
- Select Log in with Amplify.
- Enter this username: t.ormath@tryamplify.net
- Enter this password: AmplifyNumber1
- Select your grade level.
- Explore any of the six units.
Contact us
Support is always within reach. Our team is dedicated to supporting districts across Oregon and can be reached at any time by emailing HelloOregon@amplify.com or by calling us directly.
Kristen Rockstroh, M.Ed.
Account Executive
Districts under 4,700 students
(480) 639-8367
State-approved | Grades 6–8 and Algebra 1
Amplify Math for Idaho
Dear Idaho math educators,
We’re honored that you’re reviewing Amplify Math for use with your middle school students.
We’re confident you’ll find this Idaho-approved program to be a powerful tool for getting all your students talking and thinking about math concepts together.
On this site, you’ll find a variety of resources to guide you in your review, including demo account access. We look forward to meeting you and showing you what makes this program so unique.
Yvonne Rhode and Kristen Rockstroh
Idaho Account Executives
Virtual Caravan Stop
Amplify Math isn’t your traditional core math program. It’s different to make a difference—and the results are simply undeniable. Watch our virtual caravan presentations to the right and learn about the research-based approaches built right into this high-quality solution. Plus, see how Amplify Math brings student-centered learning to life for students in grades 6–8.
What it is
Amplify Math is a brand-new program based on the highly-rated Illustrative Mathematics curriculum IM K–12 Math™️.
It’s designed around the idea that a core math curriculum needs to serve 100 percent of students in accessing grade-level math every day. To that end, Amplify Math delivers:
- Engaging, discourse-rich math lessons that are easier to teach.
- Flexible, social problem-solving experiences both online and off.
- Real-time insights, data, and reporting that inform instruction.
How it works
Amplify Math delivers the instructional power of student-centered learning packaged in a lesson format that is easy and manageable. With easy-to-follow instructional supports, implementing a problem-based program becomes more effective and enjoyable for both you and your students. Paired with our digital experience, math class becomes fun and dynamic, with plenty of opportunities for students to talk through their reasoning, work with their peers, and gain new understandings.
Featuring Desmos and more
Desmos digital lessons
Digital lessons should be powerful in their ability to surface student thinking and spark interesting and productive discussions. We’ve partnered with Desmos to bring this vision to life with our complete library of social, collaborative lessons powered by Desmos technology.
Engaging student experience
Relevant content and interactive math tools create an intuitive and engaging student experience. Plus, working together in real time allows them to see that communicating their ideas and learning from each other are important parts of math class.
Visibility into student thinking
Imagine having more visibility into your students’ mathematical thinking. Now imagine students have access to this same information. With Amplify Math’s collaborative lesson interface and teacher dashboard, students can’t hide. What’s more, they have visibility into the thinking of their peers—exposing them to a wider variety of approaches to solving the same problem.
Pre-requisite skill building
Power-ups provide just-in-time support to help student strengthen pre-requisite skills before engaging in whole-class activities. Power-ups ensure all students have a chance to experience success in the day’s lesson even if they might be several years behind. Not teaching online? They’re available in the Teacher Edition, too.
Ready-to-teach lesson slides
Every lesson of Amplify Math includes ready-to-teach lesson slides complete with step-by-step teaching notes, suggested student and teacher responses, options for differentiating instruction, links to useful resources, and tips for supporting students through common trouble-spots. Teacher can also customize their lesson slides, adding their own flavor, flair, and favorite problems—enabling them to truly make the lesson their own.
Presentation sync and student pacing
Being able to control what slides students see and when gives teachers the ability to control the pace of the lesson to suite the needs of the class. When Presentation Sync is turned on, students can access all the slides in the lesson. When it’s off, it ensures students’ screens follow the teacher’s. Teachers can also set a range of slides, which allows students to work at their own pace within the unlocked slides only.
Standards-level reports
Not only do our reports show progress toward standards mastery, they include detail on how students performed against the standard in the past and how many more encounters are yet to come. This feature alone helps teachers prioritize instruction and intervene with additional resources when necessary.
Focus on math identify
Helping students develop strong, healthy, and flexible math identities is a cornerstone of Amplify Math. Throughout the program, students are taught that they themselves are mathematicians, that today’s math was largely shaped by a diverse range of mathematicians who deserve to be learned about, and that learning is never finished.
Access demo
Ready to explore the program? Follow these simple instructions to access our program digitally.
- Watch the video to the right or use this document to learn how to navigate our print and digital components.
- Click the Access demo button.
- Select Log in with Amplify.
- Enter the login credentials found on the unique login flyer provided. If no login flyer was provided, use the following credentials:
- Username: t1.idahomath8@demo.tryamplify.net
- Password: Amplify1-idahomath8
- Click on any of the six units to explore.
Contact us
Support is always within reach. Our team is dedicated to supporting districts across Idaho and can be reached at any time by emailing HelloIdaho@amplify.com or by calling us directly.
Kristen Rockstroh, M.Ed.
Account Executive
Districts under 4,700 students
(480) 639-8367
S3-05: Thinking is power
Join us as we sit down with Melanie Trecek-King, college professor and creator of Thinking is Power, to explore how much of an asset science can truly be in developing the skills students need to navigate the real world. You’ll learn about “fooling” students and the importance of developing critical thinking, information literacy, and science literacy in the classroom. We’ll also share real strategies and lesson examples that help build these essential skills and engage students in learning.
And don’t forget to grab your Science Connections study guide to track your learning and find additional resources!
We hope you enjoy this episode and explore more from Science Connections by visiting our main page!
Melanie Trecek-King (00:00):
We say knowledge is power, but it’s not enough to know things. And there’s too much to know. So being able to think and not fall for someone’s bunk is my goal for my students.
Eric Cross (00:12):
Welcome to Science Connections. I’m your host, Eric Cross. On this third season, we’ve been talking about science’s underdog status. And just this past March at the NSTA conference in Atlanta, I had the chance to speak with science educators from around the country about this very topic.
Hermia Simanu (00:28):
Right now, there’s only two teachers in our high school teaching science.
Shane Dongilli (00:32):
I have 45 minutes once a week with each class. The focus is reading and math.
Alexis Tharpe (00:38):
Oftentimes science gets put by the wayside. And you know, I love math and I love my language arts, but I also think science needs to place be placed on that high pedestal as well.
Askia Little (00:46):
In fifth grade, oh, they teach science, because that’s the only grade that it’s tested.
Eric Cross (00:50):
That was Hermia Simanu from American Samoa. Her team flew for three days to make it to the conference. You also heard from Shane Dongilli from North Carolina, Alexis Tharpe from Virginia, and Askia Little from Texas. All of these teachers were excited to be at the conference and had a lot to say about the state of science education in their local schools. Throughout this season, we’ve been trying to make the case for science, showing how science can be utilized more effectively in the classroom. We’ve explored the evidence showing that science supports literacy instruction. We’ve talked about science and the responsible use of technology like AI. My hope is that all of you listeners out there can use some of this evidence to feel empowered to make the case for science in your own communities. And on this episode, we’re going to examine how science can help develop what might be the most important skill that we try to develop in our students: Good thinking. On this episode, I’m joined by a biologist who actually advocated for eliminating the Intro to Bio course at her college. Instead, Professor Trecek-King created a new course focused on critical thinking, information literacy, and science literacy skills. In this conversation, we discuss why the science classroom is such a good environment for helping students become better thinkers. Now, I don’t think that you can make a much stronger argument for science than using it to develop the skills that Melanie describes in this conversation. So, without further ado, I’m thrilled to bring you this conversation with Melanie Trecek-King, Associate Professor of Biology at Massasoit Community College, and creator of Thinking Is Power. Here’s Melanie.
Eric Cross (02:29):
Well, Melanie, thank you for joining us on the show. It’s so good to have you.
Melanie Trecek-King (02:34):
I am so happy to be here.
Eric Cross (02:35):
Now, I went to your session at NSTA in Chicago … I think it was two years ago. A couple years ago. And I was listening to your session, and as I was listening to you, I started Reverse Engineering in my mind what you were doing with your college students. I started reverse engineering the K–8. I was like, “This is amazing.” Where has what you’ve been doing been hiding? We need this not just in the college, higher ed. We need this all the way up and down. Because I hadn’t seen it before. So I think a good place for us to start is gonna be like the story of how and why you as a biologist wound up making the case to actually eliminate the Intro to Biology course at your college. So can you start off and tell us a little bit about that story?
Melanie Trecek-King (03:20):
Sure. So I started teaching at a community college in Massachusetts. And I absolutely love teaching at a community college. And I was teaching the courses that people who don’t wanna be scientists when they grow up have to take to fulfill their science requirement. And that course was Intro Bio. And I tried every way I could figure out to make that class be useful,] relevant to students. I mean, the thing is, our world is based on science and you have to understand science to be a good consumer of information, to make good decisions. And I’m a biologist, so it pains me to say this, but you know, somewhere in the middle of teaching students about the stages of mitosis and protein synthesis, I thought, “Is this really — like, if I have one semester that’s gonna be the last chance that someone’s gonna get a science education, is this really what they need?” And I just decided, “No.” So, to my college’s credit, they were very supportive. I went to them and said, “You know, I think we should assess the non-majors courses. Like, why do we teach non-majors science?” And we all agreed, well, it was for science literacy. OK, great. Do our existing non-majors courses do that? And so we evaluated each of the courses. I made a case that Intro Bio was not doing it. And so we actually replaced it with a course that I call Science for Life. And the whole course is designed to teach science literacy, critical thinking, and information literacy skills.
Eric Cross (04:48):
And so you did this while you were looking at mitosis. And you’re looking at students who may or may not be science majors. And then kind of asking that question. I know every educator asks this, and whether or not it’s welcomed or supported is a different question: “Is what I’m teaching actually gonna be relevant and useful later on down the road for this group of students?” And you actually got to run with it and then create this course, this new course. So, what were the skills that you were hoping to achieve with the new course you developed, and and why were those skills so important?
Melanie Trecek-King (05:21):
Well, if I just go back for a second to what you said, ’cause it, really hit me: I remember the actual moment — it had been building up to that point, but the actual moment that it hit me — I was teaching students the stages of mitosis. And I was applying it to cancer, because the thought is that if we use issues that are relevant to students to teach concepts, that it will be more meaningful to them. They’ll learn it better; they’ll be able to apply it. And they just looked absolutely deflated. They didn’t wanna be there. And I had this moment where I thought, “You know, if, if these students ever have cancer somewhere in their lives, is what I taught them going to be something that they remember? Is it going to be useful to them?” And quite frankly, like, no. <Laugh> They’re not gonna remember proto-oncogenes. And quite frankly, is that really what they need to know at that moment? What they need to know is, “What does this mean? Who is a reliable source of information here? If these treatments are recommended, what is the evidence for them? What are the cost-benefit analyses? Where do I go to find reliable information?” And in that space, cancer in particular, we have this whole field of — I wanna say charlatans, ’cause they may not actually be lying, but they’re pedaling false cures, false hopes. And people need that kind of hope, and so in their time of need, they’re more likely to fall for that kind of thing. Which leads me to the skills that I teach students. I call them this tree of skills. And the order is important. I start — and there’s a lot of overlap to be fair — but critical thinking, and then information literacy, and science literacy. The idea is that students carry in their pockets access to basically all of human’s knowledge at this moment in time. And if they needed to access it, they could. The question is, do they know what they’re looking for? Are they aware of their own biases that are leading them to certain sources, or certain false hopes? Are there certain things that are making them more vulnerable to the people that might prey on them? Are they able to use that information to make good decisions? There’s a great Carl Sagan quote, and it’s something like, “If we teach people only the findings of science, no matter how useful or even inspiring they may be, without communicating the method, then how is anyone to be able to tell the difference between science and pseudoscience?” So yes, the process of science is a process of critical thinking. However, we do tend to present science most of the time. Like, here’s what science has learned. And to be fair, those things that we’ve learned from science are really useful and inspiring. But if we don’t teach the process, so you’ve got somebody now who let’s say has been diagnosed with cancer and is on their phone and they’re scrolling through social media and everything looks the same. And of course the algorithms learn who you are. Next thing you know, there’s all of these like pseudo-treatments popping up. It all looks the same. Somebody who says that acupuncture can be used to cure cancer can feel the same, from someone who doesn’t understand the process of science, as a medical fact. And so the process is the process of critical thinking. My class everything is open note. The quizzes are open note. The exams — and I say open note, they’re also open online, because I know for the rest of their life they’re gonna have resources available to them; I want them to be good consumers with that information, which to me requires metacognition and critical thinking and information literacy and all those skills that I’m trying to teach them.
Eric Cross (08:58):
You’re basically taking what … we’ve taught science for so long. And more recently, it’s changed to more focusing on skills. At least in K through 12. But a lot of it was just memorization of a ton of different things that now we can pull up our phone, go on the internet. You can pull up a lot of those facts. But those facts don’t necessarily translate to actual real-world skills. When I listen to… I kind of make this analogy sometimes: students say … it’s funny, I have 12-year-olds that say this. They go, “How come they don’t teach us how to do our taxes?” And you know they’re regurgitating what they hear from adults, right? “Teach us real-world skills!” And I was like, really, if we taught you right now how to do your taxes, how many of you would really be like, “Oh, this is an awesome lesson! We’re really engaged!” But their point is that “I wanna learn something that I could actually use later on, that’s that I’m gonna carry on.” And in your course, you’re talking about these skills that actually can apply. Like you said, if I had cancer and I’m looking at different types of medical procedures, do I have the skills to really be able to evaluate and make informed decisions on that? And that’s, that’s not something that I’ve seen explicitly taught really anywhere. And I hadn’t heard anybody talk about it, really, until I heard your session, where you’ve kind of unpacked this, and over the last couple of years, have created some programs or resources for educators, where they can take this into their classroom. So what were some of those skills, again? What were were some of the skills that you thought, “I wanna make sure that my students can walk out and they know how to do this and apply it to maybe several different fields”?
Melanie Trecek-King (10:35):
Oh, that’s a really good question. Because the whole thing was a process for me. Like, when I finally let go of Intro Bio, I was so glad to see that class go, by the way. ‘Cause I just felt like I was beating a dead horse. So when I let go of it, I thought, “What do they need instead?” And for me, what I realized was I was trying to make the class I would’ve wanted to take. I realized the things that I personally didn’t know, that my own education maybe let me down a bit. But things that I thought were important. So then I took all of those, synthesized them, tried to figure out the best order. The class is currently in its third iteration. And I hope every iteration is an improvement. But I’m thinking about the students that I taught before the pandemic. It was Intro Bio. Up to just maybe the couple years before the pandemic, and during the pandemic, we had a new virus and we had a new vaccine and we had new treatments. There was hydroxychloroquine and there was ivermectin and then there’s masks. Are masks effective? Well, you know, in what circumstances? What kind of mask? There are all of these questions. And that whole thing was we saw science playing out in real time.
Eric Cross (11:50):
Absolutely.
Melanie Trecek-King (11:51):
And so were my students able to follow that? And then what happened in that process is that science became politicized. And in a time where things are uncertain and we need answers, ’cause it’s scary, people want certainty and science doesn’t tend to provide that. Especially when it’s just starting out. And then when it becomes politicized, people decide that they’re going to — it’s not necessarily a conscious decision — but they retreat into what people in their camps are saying or their groups are saying. Which actually leads me to one of the more important parts of information literacy skills in there, which is most of our knowledge is shared. We tend to have overinflated senses of what we individually know. And studies actually show that with Google, if you have access to Google, you think you’re smarter than if you don’t have access to Google. But we all have access to knowledge in our communities, and that’s one of the reasons humans are so successful, is that we can each specialize in different things and share our expertise and become greater than the sum of our parts. The problem with that, of course, is that we forget what we don’t know, and we assume that we know what the community knows. And so recognizing the limits of your own knowledge and how different communities produce knowledge, like the different epistemic processes that communities use to come to knowledge. When it comes down to it, an important part of knowing is knowing who to trust, right? Knowing where the source of knowledge lives. And in order to do that, you have to understand the processes that they’re using to come to that knowledge and the limits of your own knowledge. And then how to find who has that knowledge so that you can use that to make better decisions.
Eric Cross (13:38):
So, when I hear what you’re doing with your college students, and I think about what I’m doing in the classroom, in the middle school, we are really focusing on literacy as skills. Reading, writing, speaking, listening. And then when I think of the next step of the journey, your information literacy and the literacy you’re teaching is really the application of those things in the real world. And the examples that you gave are very critical examples. Evaluating claims about Covid. Making informed decisions about a medical procedure that you might need. And we all get that applied to us. We’re scrolling through social media and somehow social media is listening. It’s figuring out exactly what I’m doing, because all of a sudden the ads are telling me … how did you know I was alking about KitchenAid mixers now? I just said KitchenAid mixers and it’s gonna show up in my feed! But <laugh> I take that in the same way from the same place that I take in maybe an oncologist. So it’s it’s coming through the same channels. So now I kind of wanna pivot. So we’ve talked about what you’re doing, why you’re doing it, the connection between “am I really teaching the skills that my students need in the science class? Is it really critical thinking explicitly or is it just kind of implied?” Now I wanna ask you how you do it. What’s the annotated, abbreviated kind of syllabus of your course?
Melanie Trecek-King (15:03):
So the course is called Science for Life. And the premise behind it is the kinds of skills and understanding of the process of science that they would need to make good decisions to be empowered in a world based on science. And so the very first lecture, I say, “OK, I’m gonna tell you a story and I just want you to listen to the story. And at the end I’m gonna ask you why I told the story.” And the story that I tell them is some of the history of the witchcraft trials in Europe. And I start with the Malleus Maleficarum, or the Hammer of Witches, from the Pope, and about how people would accuse witches of causing birth defects or storms or crops dying. And, the best evidence that they had to absolutely know somebody was a witch was if somebody accused them, and then if they were accused, if they confessed. OK? But the problem is, to get them to confess, they would torture them. Roasting over coals, or splitting until somebody broke. And so I tell my students, “OK, this was absolute proof that someone was guilty of witchcraft. I don’t know about you; I would confess to anything, right? Make it stop!” So this is where I get to ask students, “Why would I ask you this? Why would I tell you this story? And traumatize you on the very first day of lecture?” And they see the reasoning, right? They thought they had evidence. The question was, is that good evidence? And so, you know, I’m getting students to have a basic understanding of epistemology, right? Without calling it that, or without going into all of the philosophical background of epistemology. Apply this to your own reasoning. What are you wrong about? Well, you probably wouldn’t know. OK, how would you know if you were wrong? Like what kinds of things do you feel that you’re so right about? How good is your evidence for that? So what I want them to do is internalize the thinking about thinking, and analyzing how they come to conclusions, and proportioning how strongly they believe. Their confidence in how right they are. So I think starting with that kind of misinformation, and getting students to internalize that process is important. But I think the example is really useful, because most of my students don’t believe in witchcraft. Right? So it’s not an issue that would immediately threaten them in some way. So when, when a belief is tied to identity or how we see ourselves or is really important to us, then it’s very difficult to be objective about that belief. And so by starting with witchcraft, it’s not triggering. I get them to think about thinking and practice that muscle so that when we get to those more important issues, they have the skills they need to evaluate them.
Eric Cross (17:55):
So would it be fair to say that your Science for Life class is really applied scientific thinking for the real world?
Melanie Trecek-King (18:01):
Absolutely. That’s the idea. I mean, science is too good to keep to ourselves, right? And it’s everywhere. So how can you understand the world through a scientific lens?
Eric Cross (18:10):
What are the nuts and bolts of how you teach your students these strategies? What do you do? What are some strategies and techniques that we can maybe share with listeners? And then where I want to go after that is I wanna ask you, how early do you think this can be started? So lemme start off first with, what do you do?
Melanie Trecek-King (18:28):
So I use three different strategies. One is, I provide students with a toolkit. And the toolkit is one that I created and it is like my one toolkit to rule them all. It is trying to apply critical thinking and science reasoning all together in one place. So that if students are met with a claim, they’ve got the toolkit with an acronym. They can now start and have somewhere to go. In that if I gave you a claim and said, “Just critically think through this claim,” I mean, that’s a mighty task. But if you have a structured toolkit, then it’s hopefully a systemic way that’s helpful. The toolkit is summarized by FLOATER. I have published it on Skeptical Inquirer. It’s free. So it’s Falsifiability, Logical, Objectivity, Alternative Explanations, Tentative Conclusions, Evidence, and Reproducibility. So I provide students with a toolkit. The next thing I do is I use a lot of misinformation in class. Back to what Carl Sagan says: What I heard was we should use pseudoscience to teach students the difference between a pseudo-scientific process and a scientific process. So, I use science denial, conspiracy theories, and give my students a lot of opportunities to practice evaluating claims with the toolkit. And the other thing I do is, I use inoculation activities. So inoculation theory is based on William McGuire’s original research in the ’60s, which is basically like a vaccine analogy. Where you can inject a small amount of a virus or bacterium into the body, so that it creates an immune response, so that it can learn the real thing. And so in the real world, it can fight it off. Inoculation theory does the same thing, but with misinformation. So, what we can do is, in controlled environments, expose students to little bits of misinformation so that they can recognize it in the real world. There’s different kinds of inoculation, but I’m a big fan of what’s called active and technique-based inoculation. So technique-based means that students are learning not the facts of misinformation, not factually why this thing is wrong, but about the technique used to deceive. So maybe the use of fake experts. Or maybe the use of anecdotes. Or the use of logical fallacies. The other part of that is active, which is where students create the misinformation. So for example, my students, just now, we finished covering pseudoscience. And I teach students the characteristics of pseudoscience. And basically we have fun with it. Where they pretend to be grifters and they sell a pseudoscience product. And so they have to make an ad like they’d see on social media, using the different techniques. And the point there is that it’s supposed to be funny, right? And lighthearted. But in a real way, by using the techniques used to sell something like pseudoscience, it’s opening their eyes. You can’t unsee how every alternative product has, “it’s an all-natural and used for centuries and millions use it and look at this person who says, ‘Wow, it worked for me!’ And it’s certified by some society that doesn’t exist, but this doctor behind it says that it’s really great!” I mean, it’s all the same stuff. So they create the misinformation using their own techniques.
Eric Cross (22:02):
That’s one of my favorite things that you’ve talked about, and I want to dive in that a little bit more. But when you’re teaching the toolkit, FLOATER, what does that look like in the classroom, when you’re actually breaking all of those things down? What does it look like as you’re walking your students through this, and you’re kind of coaching them on all of those different things? ‘Cause I feel like some things might be like, “Oh yeah, I got that.” And then some of them might be, “Oh, what is that?”
Melanie Trecek-King (22:24):
Yeah, it takes me probably a good solid lecture to get through the basis of the toolkit. But then over the rest of the semester, I’ll spend more time going into different parts, different rules, a bit more in-depth. So, for example, logical fallacies and objectivity. So the rule of objectivity basically states that you need to be honest with yourself. I’m gonna quote Feynman here, so: “The first principle is that you must not fool yourself — and you are the easiest person to fool.” We don’t tend to think that we can be fooled. But of course we can. So actually, if you wanna talk about it, I start class by fooling my students.
Eric Cross (23:03):
Wait, what do you do? What do you do for that?
Melanie Trecek-King (23:05):
Oh, so this is really fun. Day 1 of class, after the syllabus, I tell my … so you’re in my class now, Eric. “So I have a friend, and she’s a psychic. She’s an astrologer and she’s pretty good at what she does. I mean, she’s got books and she’s been on TV and stuff. She knows I teach this course about skepticism. And so she’s agreed to test how effective she is by providing personality assessments to students in class. So if you wanna participate, what I need from you is your birthday, your full name, answer a few questions. Like, if your house was on fire and you could take one thing, what would it be? Or if you could get paid for anything to do anything for a living, what would it be? Um, there’s a third one. Oh! If you could have any superpower, what would it be?” So the next class, it’s usually over a weekend. The next class I say, “OK, I’ve got your personality assessments back, but remember, we wanna test how effective she is. So in order to do that, I need you to read your profile as quietly as possible. And then I’m gonna have you rate her accuracy on a scale of 1 to 5. OK? So close your eyes; rate her.” Over the years doing this, it’s about a 4.3 to 4.5 out of 5. They think she’s pretty accurate. OK? “So now, if you feel comfortable, get with a person next to you. And I want you to talk about what parts of the personality assessment really spoke to you and, and why, and why you thought she was accurate or not.” And it takes them 5, 10 minutes before they realize they all got the same one. So, this is not my original experiment. It was first done by Bertram Forer in … I think it was the ’50s. And it’s done in psychology classrooms. James Randi made it famous. But the personality assessment itself is full of what are called Barnum statements. So, named after P.T. Barnum. These are statements that are very generic. So, “You have a need to be liked and admired by people. You are often quiet and reserved, but there are times where you can be the life of the party.”
Eric Cross (25:13):
How do you know this about me, by the way? This is a — I feel like you know me right now.
Melanie Trecek-King (25:17):
“There are times where you’ve wondered whether you’ve done the right thing.”
Eric Cross (25:19):
This is getting weird.
Melanie Trecek-King (25:21):
I’m just on fire, right? So these are Barnum statements. They’re the basis of personality assessment.
Eric Cross (25:29):
Mel, can I pause you right there? You said Barnum. Is that the same Barnum, like Barnum & Bailey Circus?
Melanie Trecek-King (25:34):
Yeah. P.T. Barnum, who didn’t actually say “There’s a sucker born every minute,” but we attribute him with that kind of ethos. These statements though, if you read a horoscope or even like personality indicators, like the MBTI, it is basically pseudo-scientific. And it ends up with lots of these Barnum statements. They produce what’s called the Barnum Effect, which is, “Wow, that’s so me! How did you know me?” I could even do more. Like, you have a box of photos in your house that need to be sorted. Or unused prescriptions. And these can apply to nearly everyone, but they produce this effect where we go, “Wow, that is so me!” Right? So by fooling them this way, I get to … well, so the next thing is, “Yes, I lied to you. And I’d like to tell you I won’t do that again. But I’m not going to, ’cause I might. So be on your guard.” But I did it for free. And why did I do it? “I did it because I could tell you ‘I could fool you,’ but you wouldn’t necessarily believe me. So I fooled you, so that you would learn what it feels like to be fooled.” It’s not fun. But we’re gonna make a joke outta this. And students are almost never upset about this ’cause it’s a fun process and they’re all fooled. And again, the point is, I didn’t disprove psychic powers. I didn’t just disprove psychics with this exercise. But I did show you how easy it was to fake. So if somebody is gonna tell you that they can know these things about you through some way, hopefully the evidence they provide should be stronger than something that’s easily faked. Right? Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. If you claim to be able to read my personality based on my birthdate, then I need more than something that you can be taught to do in 15 minutes. So, I fool them to convince them that they could be fooled.
Eric Cross (27:27):
You’re giving them a practice scenario for thinking. And I was thinking about basketball. I grew up playing basketball. And my coach would have our own team be the defenders of the next team we were gonna play, so that we can be prepared for the defense. We were gonna see. Now, when I’m thinking about education, and what you just said reminded me of this, it’s like we’re often just teaching offense. We’re always teaching the plays. We’re always teaching what to do. But we rarely teach defense. What happens when someone comes towards you and, and they challenge you or they come at you with claims? How do we evaluate this? And I think in pockets we do it. We do claim-evidence-reasoning. We present claims and evidence and reasoning. But we don’t always have practice defending them. And I think there’s great resources. There’s Argumentation Toolkit and there’s all these awesome resources that do this. But does that fit? You’re kind of having them practice defense?
Melanie Trecek-King (28:26):
Yeah. You know, that’s brilliant. I never considered that analogy. But, yeah, in the real world, you don’t just get to always try to score all the time. Someone’s gonna challenge you and give you a claim that maybe you haven’t heard before. So how do you think through it?
Eric Cross (28:41):
Yeah. And you become better. So now I’m thinking about how early could we start doing this? For one, I love the idea of lying to your students, because I do that. And it’s just such a fun scenario. How early could we start implementing these strategies or these ideas or these toolkits? In your mind, what do you imagine? How early could we start this with young people?
Melanie Trecek-King (29:07):
Yeah. I’m so glad you asked that question, ’cause honestly, by the time they get to me, it’s almost too late. And I don’t wanna say it’s too late, ’cause it’s never too late. But, oh, we need to start so much earlier! That example that I gave about the selling pseudoscience argument? I have a wonderful colleague, Bertha Vasquez, who’s a middle school teacher in Miami and the director of TIES at CFI. She did this with her middle school students. And quite frankly, their examples were just as good, or in some cases better, than my college students. And they had so much fun with it, too. And she just said that, you know, <laugh>, they actually are more savvy with the kinds of things that they see online than we — I don’t wanna say give them credit for. But almost that we want to believe. My students give me examples of things that are from corners of the internet that I didn’t know existed. And quite frankly, that’s probably a good thing for my own mental health. But students are on there too, like middle school students, and we need to prepare them for the kinds of things that they see in the wild.
Eric Cross (30:13):
So in middle school, definitely. Now, you’ve also done some work in high school as well, right? In Oklahoma? Did you do some. …?
Melanie Trecek-King (30:17):
Yeah.
Eric Cross (30:18):
…some work with high schoolers? What was that like? Did you see any impact there?
Melanie Trecek-King (30:21):
So I didn’t actually do it in Oklahoma. I have taught the course … actually, you were talking about younger kids. I’ve taught the course to high schoolers in my area that are parts of dual enrollment. And they absolutely ate up the curriculum. And they were wonderful, wonderful students. And it was completely appropriate for … they were juniors, actually. But the course has also been taught in Oklahoma, through a dual enrollment program as well. And it was a small sample size. But we have pre-post testing that showed that it improved their critical thinking, their acceptance of science. But anecdotally the head of the program there said that in his years doing this, he’d never seen a course that helped them improve in their other courses so well. So, I felt very rewarded by hearing this. But apparently their critical thinking skills and information literacy skills helped them succeed in their other courses that they were taking. And I love that the students were transferring those skills to other classes. That’s the whole point.
Eric Cross (31:23):
And that’s a big … I think that what you just said is really the core, especially of what we’ve been talking about this season: What you’re talking about and what you’re teaching can transfer and supports literacy. And this is an example of science doing that across all other content areas. So I think that that’s huge, that that was said. What do people say about this course? I know I went on your website, and I looked at some of the comments that some folks were saying, and I know it’s just a snippet, but what do you hear from the education world about this? Because I don’t see it in many places. I see it kind of embedded, sprinkled into different content areas. But you’re actually teaching it explicitly. Do you tend to find positive feedback, overwhelmingly? Or do you get pushback on on some of this? What’s it been like for you?
Melanie Trecek-King (32:16):
I think the biggest pushback — and it’s good pushback, and I would agree entirely — is with inoculation activities, you do need to be careful to, when you debrief students, you wanna tell them why you did what you did and to use their powers for good and not for fooling other people. And I think importantly, for not putting misinformation out into the wild without having context around it. So if you do these kinds of inoculation activities, like if you have your students create pseudoscience ads, don’t just let them put them on social media. Obviously, you can’t control everything that they’re doing. But explain to them why you wouldn’t wanna do that. As far as everything else, I’ve heard really great feedback. You’re referencing my website. So, when I put together the course, I was trying to find resources for students to read. Textbooks are ridiculously expensive and I couldn’t find anything that I really wanted students to buy. So I just started writing, and I put it on my site. I have a site that’s basically the core of the curriculum. More in progress. And then I’ve got some of the topics that we explore and those are all assigned readings. My students are captive, in that I know they want a grade, and for four months they have to sit with me for the entire semester, in that I’ve specifically ordered the content in a way that would be most conducive to them learning these things. On the internet, though, and on social media, ’cause I post on there as well, people come in from all kinds of entry points, and so the goal would be to have them start at the beginning and go to the end. But people … I’m pleasantly surprised that there is an audience for critical thinking and science literacy content out there. And so that really warms my heart. But I am doing more and more for educators. And so I have a section for educators. I put content on there. I put assignments, the assignments that we’ve talked about and more, are on there. And the educators that I’ve had use it have just been really wonderful. Like, I hear great things. If I might, the biggest issue that I’m having is actually reaching educators. I’ve gone to — I met you at NSCA, actually, that was only last summer.
Eric Cross (34:30):
Oh, wow. Wow.
Melanie Trecek-King (34:32):
Right?
Eric Cross (34:32):
Yeah, you’re right. It wasn’t even a year.
Melanie Trecek-King (34:35):
Yeah, I think it was like July last year. So, um, you’ve been to the conferences. And I just went to the last one as well. But I have yet to figure out a way to really get in front of enough educators to share the content. So if anybody’s listening and is interested in learning more, please let me know! <Laugh>
Eric Cross (34:52):
Yes. And we talked about your website, but I didn’t say what the website was. So it’s ThinkingIsPower.com.
Melanie Trecek-King (34:57):
Yes.
Eric Cross (34:58):
And on there, there’s tons of resources. There is the toolkit. And it’s all free.
Melanie Trecek-King (35:06):
Yes.
Eric Cross (35:07):
And there’s a dope t-shirt on there that I just bought today, that Melanie’s actually wearing right now. It says, “Be curious, be skeptical, and be humble.” And I love that. Because I think one of the things that we can’t forget about teaching people how to think and critically evaluating information, sometimes those conversations can become very dehumanizing. And what I mean by that is it sometimes can become, like, intellectual sport, where we forget that there’s a human being on the other other side. And we lose that empathy and compassion. We can kind of see that. It just becomes this intellectual jousting and arguing. And one of the things I know about you, and when you talk about this or you talk about the work that you do, and even the shirt that you’re wearing, there’s this, “be humble.” There’s this human that is never lost in this. And you said it, too: When you’re teaching your students and you’re equipping them with all of these intellectual skills and all of these tools, to use it for good. So to maintain your humanity, to maintain your character, and then to use it to edify and lift people up, not to go out and do harm. That balance, I think, is so, so important. So it’s something that I really appreciate about you and how you teach.
Melanie Trecek-King (36:19):
I appreciate those kind words. Actually—
Eric Cross (36:21):
Oh, of course!
Melanie Trecek-King (36:22):
—and if I might, I sometimes see people using critical thinking like a weapon. It’s like, “I have learned fallacies and I’m just gonna use the tools of critical thinking to tell you why you’re stupid, or why you’re wrong, and why my position is right!” But real critical thinking involves applying those same standards to your own thought processes. And even something like argumentation: the goal of our argumentation is not to BE right; it’s to GET it right. And so we’re on the same team. If we’re arguing about something, if the idea is in scientific argumentation we’re trying to find the truth, which one of us is making a better argument based on the evidence? Can your perspective help me see my own blind spots and vice versa? And the more different perspectives that we have, the more able we are to find whatever reality is. But we are in this together. And so, yeah, I think … I’m glad to hear that that’s coming through. But if you don’t have the kind of humility that says, “You know, I could be wrong,” then you’re never gonna change your mind anyway. So having the humility to say, I’m wrong. <Laugh>
Eric Cross (37:33):
Yeah. You end up just seeing people just defend turf, as opposed to support “look for truth.” And I know for me, my own education journey, I end up with more questions than answers anyways. So I go in trying to find an answer for something and I end up with 10 more questions. And I go, “OK, this is kind of how it is.” You go down this rabbit hole and you just end up with all these different questions. And it forces the humility, because you’re like, “I don’t know! I think this is what it could be, but it could also be these other answers or explanations. So this is just where I’m at, based on what we know right now, at this present time, which might shift.”
Melanie Trecek-King (38:07):
And that sounds reasonable. Yes. Which might shift. Yes.
Eric Cross (38:11):
And especially for us as life-science biology teachers, our content is something that definitely shifts. I know some of the things I teach now are not things that I learned when I was even in middle school. Just because things evolve. They change. We learn, we get new data. That’s just the way it is.
Melanie Trecek-King (38:24):
<Sighs> And Pluto is no longer a planet.
Eric Cross (38:26):
I know. Rest in — well, no, Pluto’s still there. Yeah. It’s no longer a planet. But that was one part of my kindergarten memorizations <laugh> is Pluto being in there.
Melanie Trecek-King (38:36):
Gotta change your mind.
Eric Cross (38:38):
I know. Any words of advice for science educators out there who want to focus more on honing these critical thinking skills and strategies with their own students, but they don’t know where to start? Where would you point them? Or what advice would you give them?
Melanie Trecek-King (38:52):
I think start with what you want the students to know. And not necessarily the FACTS that you want students to know, but start with the skills that you want them to know. And then really be honest with your process. When I designed Science for Life, I started with, “these are the skills that I want students to know.” And everything was in service of that. So this sort of backwards design, I think, helped me follow a path that was more likely to be useful, if that makes any sense. But it really required doing it all over again. So don’t be afraid to question the things that you’re currently doing, even if that’s all you’ve been taught or all you know.
Eric Cross (39:41):
What I’m hearing is, don’t be afraid to question your own assumptions about what you’re doing. And don’t be afraid to adapt or change or modify. Kinda, pivot. Be flexible.
Melanie Trecek-King (39:51):
Yes, be flexible and pivot. And this is where I’m in a different position than middle school and high school educators. Because I have complete freedom over what I teach in my class.
Eric Cross (40:01):
Sure.
Melanie Trecek-King (40:01):
At the end of the semester, I always joke with non-majors that there’s nothing they have to know, which actually gives me a lot of flexibility, because I could teach ’em a lot of different things. So if there are things that you have to teach students, obviously that’s one thing. But I personally think that the way that we’ve been teaching science needs a refresher. A rethinking. And so I would say, “If you want your students to learn science literacy, honestly ask, what does that mean to you? And what would that look like to get to that point?” For me, though, it was also keeping in mind that maybe I didn’t already know the best way to do that.
Eric Cross (40:43):
One of the things you mentioned earlier is trying to reach out to educators. And I know that when we work together, it’s a force multiplier. And what you’re doing is developing skills. And there’s these skills that are happening right now in academia that you’re doing. And then how do we transfer that into middle and high school. Or, I’m sorry, middle and elementary school, high school. We need to get more people into this conversation to kind of brainstorm and figure that out. We have a Facebook group, Science Connections: The Community, where we have educators that gather. That can be one place we start the conversation. And again, I know on your website you’ve been super active on social media; you’ve grown your presence on Twitter and all these different places, engaging with folks. Which is awesome. ‘Cause I know I see your posts and I’m saving the things that you’re posting and I’m thinking of ways that I can do it in my classroom. I’m gonna take that product. By the way, is that on your website, the lesson that you do with the product?
Melanie Trecek-King (41:43):
No, actually. So the article, “How to Sell Pseudoscience” is … I know Bertha Vasquez wrote up a version of it.
Eric Cross (41:50):
Maybe we can grab that. ‘Cause we might be able to put that into the show notes for folks, because she’s a middle school educator. If there’s already something that’s been done for teachers like us, we’re like, “Yeah, let me get that and let me remix it and make it my own!” if there’s already a exemplar out there.
Melanie Trecek-King (42:04):
Yeah, she’s done it. And so I will absolutely share that with you.
Eric Cross (42:08):
So, all season long, we’ve been talking about science as the underdog. We kind of framed it, you know, science oftentimes takes a back seat to math and English. It’s kinda the first thing to go. Or the first area where time can get cut. Because of what gets tested gets focused on, oftentimes. And then in addition to that, when you’re a multi-subject teacher, elementary science isn’t just one thing — it’s every field. You know, you’re a biologist, which is different than a geologist. And when you’re teaching every subject, that’s a lot. And you might not have had a science class for years. And the realities that we’re seeing over and over with different researchers and practitioners is that science could actually enhance literacy, and building those skills. And I think you really talked about it with the critical thinking skills. Those can transfer. Or the administrator that said, “This is one of the only courses I’ve seen where it transfers to other areas.” Could you share maybe with our listeners, just any advice for advocating for science in their own world?
Melanie Trecek-King (43:13):
Wow, I’m not sure I’m qualified to answer that question! One of the things that comes to mind though — because I was listening to your last episode and educators … I honestly didn’t realize how little time they had for science. And how often science was then the first to go, to allow room for other subjects. But science overlaps with a lot of other issues. And so I feel like there could be a way to bring in science when teaching these other subjects. So, for example, argumentation and logical fallacies are easy to apply to reading and writing. Information literacy, and being able to find good information online, teaching students how to laterally read, to be able to check a source, or how to use Google effectively, to put in neutral search terms to find sources, or teaching students how to recognize the characteristics of conspiratorial thinking: All of these things can overlap with so many other subjects. So the scientist in me is a little biased towards science being important enough to do this. But try to bring it into the other subjects. It doesn’t have to be completely separate.
Eric Cross (44:43):
So integrating science into other things. And I … big believer. And a hundred percent agree with you. Now I’m gonna ask a question that kinda like takes us backwards. You shared an app with me when we first met that I thought was really cool. And I know it’s a friend or colleague of yours. But as a middle school teacher, I thought it was great, because it was something that my students could download and practice some of the skills that you’re talking about. Would you talk a little bit about the cranky uncle? Is it the Cranky Uncle app?
Melanie Trecek-King (45:17):
Cranky Uncle.
Eric Cross (45:18):
Could you share a little bit about that?
Melanie Trecek-King (45:20):
Yeah. Cranky Uncle is awesome. So, Cranky Uncle is the brainchild of John Cook, who is the founder of Skeptical Science and the author of the 97% Consensus study on climate change. Cranky Uncle … so he’s also a cartoonist. And Cranky Uncle is a cartoon game where … I don’t even have to explain who Cranky Uncle is to my students. Everybody inherently gets the, the character, right? So he’s like the guy at Thanksgiving that you don’t wanna talk to because he denies climate change and he’s just really cranky. But Cranky Uncle uses the techniques of science denial, which are summarized by the acronym FLICC: So it’s Fake experts, Logical fallacies, Impossible expectations, Cherry-picking, and Conspiratorial thinking. So he uses those techniques. Again, this is technique-based inoculation. So they recognize the techniques in the game, and you earn cranky points. And as you make Cranky crankier and crankier because you’re recognizing his techniques, you learn the techniques of science denial, and level up and open up other techniques. This is another one of those examples where climate change has a lot of science behind it, right? And if you wanted to get to the science behind climate change for any particular issue … so let’s say it’s cold today, so I’m gonna say there’s no climate change. OK? If I’m gonna unpack that at a factual level, and with science, we could be here for a while. But if I told you, “That’s like saying, ‘I just ate a sandwich so there’s no global hunger.’” OK? So that’s a parallel argument. Humorous. Love to use this kind of argumentation, ’cause it makes for some … I mean, it’s funny, but you get the point. It’s an anecdote. And anecdotes aren’t good evidence. So just like that, you could teach the technique of using an anecdotal fallacy for climate-change denial. So, I have my students play this game. You could do it when you’re studying argumentation. You could do it for science denial. I use an inoculation extension with that, where I have my students pretend that … um, actually, back up for a second. So I teach a class on critical thinking. And at the end of semesters I would get emails from students on, well, they’re failing the class, but they really shouldn’t, for all of these reasons. And reading these emails, I’m like, “If you think that’s a good argument, you clearly didn’t learn what I was hoping you would learn.” So I now have my students, early in the semester, after they play Cranky, pretend that it is the end of the semester and you’re failing the class and you’re failing because you didn’t do the work. Use at least four of the fallacies from class to argue for why you should pass. So they have to put it on a discussion forum, and they’ll say things like, “Well, if you fail me, then I won’t get into graduate school and then people will die and it will all be your fault.” Or, “My dog died, and so I was really sad.” Or, um, “You’re just a terrible teacher. And you’re short. So I don’t like you.” Or that kind of thing. So, oh, they love to attack my character. It’s really funny. But it’s supposed to be funny. And the point is, the students are using those arguments, they’re using the fallacies, to argue for something. And so by creating that misinformation themselves, they learn how those fallacies work. But taken together, I mean, everything that we just talked about there, Cranky Uncle, and the fallacy assignment, or whatever iteration you want that to be in, that doesn’t have to be in a purely science unit. Right? That could be sociology. It could be argumentation. It could be English.
Eric Cross (49:01):
Absolutely. That could be totally a prompt in an English class. And practiced in there. And then this could be an interdisciplinary thing, going back and forth between English and and science. Just having these discussions and looking at it from different angles. And you’re practicing the skills in two different contexts. So you get into argumentation. And then that app, I know I had fun with it. And the questions on there definitely resonate with people in my own family. I’m like, “I feel like I’m talking to exactly somebody that I’m related to right now.” <Laugh> Melanie, anything else that you wanna share, or discuss or highlight, before we wrap up?
Melanie Trecek-King (49:39):
So we could talk about lateral reading, if you like. ‘Cause I know a lot of educators use the crap test.
Eric Cross (49:45):
Please, please, please talk about that.
Melanie Trecek-King (49:47):
So, when evaluating sources, a lot of educators teach what’s called the CRAP test. And I wish I remembered what it stood for. But basically what you do, a lot of us have been taught when you go to a website, to figure out if it’s reliable, you wanna go to the about page. Read the mission; see who they are; maybe read some of the content; evaluate the language. So is it inflammatory? Are they making logical arguments? Are the links to reputable sources as well? And the problem is that if a site wants to mislead you, they’re not going to tell you that it’s a bunk site, right? They’re just gonna do a good job of misleading you. And so, what you wanna do instead … the CRAP test basically is an evaluation of a site. And that’s what’s called vertical reading. So you’re looking through a site to determine if it’s reliable. Uh, I think his name’s Sam Wineberg at Stanford, proposed something called lateral reading. Where, instead of on the site, what you wanna do is literally open a new tab and into the search engine type the source. You could do the claim, too. And then something like Reliability or FactCheck or whatever it’s that you’re checking, and then see what other reputable sites have to say about it. So, in their study, actually, they did a really interesting study where they compared professional fact checkers to PhD historians to Stanford undergrads. And they evaluated — I wish you could … um, there’s two pediatrician organizations. One’s like the American Association of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Pediatricians, something like that. They’re very similar sounding. So you give them to students. I do this with my students as well, the same study. So I give my students those two websites. And I say, “Which one of these is more reliable?” And they do exactly what most of us do, which is spend time on the site looking around. And most of the time, if not nearly all the time, they come to the wrong conclusion. And so then I tell them what lateral reading is: “OK, instead of looking through the site, open a new tab, search the organization and reliability.” Something like that. And it takes probably 30 seconds before they realize one of them has been dubbed by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a hate group. As opposed to the other one, which is like a hundred year old huge pediatrician organization that produces their own journals and so on. But nearly all my students are fooled. And in the study, none of the fact checkers were fooled. I’m gonna get the number right. It’s something like 50% of the historians and 20% of the Stanford undergraduates got the correct answer. And they spent a lot more time on it. So it’s a great way to teach students how to use the power of the internet to evaluate sources much more quickly and, effectively. And yes, use Wikipedia, right? Wikipedia is not a final answer, but Wikipedia is actually pretty accurate. So if Wikipedia is the first place you stop, then yes, go there, see what Wikipedia says, and then follow some of their sources.
Eric Cross (52:47):
What popped in my head was like, Yelp reviews for websites. That almost sounds like what it was. It’s like when I search for a product, I don’t go and read the product description marketing. ‘Cause that’s all designed to sell me on something. But I’ll go and look in Reliability, if it’s like a car, or just other sites to cross-reference. And that sounds like what you were talking about is like cross-referencing. Seeing what FactChecker [sic] said about this site, versus seeing what a site says about itself.
Melanie Trecek-King (53:14):
Well, that’s a great analogy. Because if I wanted to know if a product was effective, what the manufacturer says about the product, clearly there’s a strong chance of bias. Right? They’re going to be on their best, um, put their best foot forward. Versus, what do independent reviewers say about this product?
Eric Cross (53:35):
Yep. And I am known to research something to death. And I get something called “paralysis by analysis.”
Melanie Trecek-King (53:42):
Ohhhh, yeah.
Eric Cross (53:44):
And it’s so bad that even if I’m trying to buy, like, towels, I need to find the best-bang-for-the-buck towel. I have to defer some of these decisions out, because I’m on the internet for three hours now. I’ll be a pseudo-expert in towels, and thread count, and all of that stuff. But yeah, that maybe that’s just the science person.
Melanie Trecek-King (54:03):
I mean, I feel your pain. I do the same thing. <Laugh> It’s annoying. Like, it’s just towels. What does it really matter? But yeah.
Eric Cross (54:10):
Coffee! It doesn’t matter what it is. I just need to go, “OK, I have to use these powers for good. Otherwise I’m gonna be researching forever.”
Melanie Trecek-King (54:16):
I wanna say one other thing. So, again, this is a college class and I have a lot of freedom. But one of the driving philosophies behind the class is a wonderful quote in a book, Schick and Vaughn, How to Think about Weird Things. And they said, “The quality of your life is determined by the quality of your decisions, and the quality of your decisions is determined by the quality of your thinking.” And I know my students want a grade. But I’m really trying to teach them how to be empowered through better thinking. That’s where the name “Thinking is Power” came from. I mean, we say “Knowledge is Power,” but it’s not enough to know things. And there’s too much to know. So being able to think and be empowered to have your own agency and not fall for someone’s bunk is my goal for my students.
Eric Cross (55:07):
And doing that is gonna help them through the rest of their lives. Not be swindled, not be taken advantage of, be able to make better decisions. There’s so many benefits to building that skill. And I know your students have definitely grown and benefited. I’m sure you’ve heard, long after you’ve taught them, heard back from them and how they’ve applied that course to their lives. Melanie, thank you so much for being here. For a few things. One, for providing and filling this space where there’s such a need. Again, the critical thinking resources, the tools that you used, are so, so important. If we ever lived in a time where they were critical, it was really what we experienced during the pandemic in the last few years. We watched people’s information literacy and science literacy play out in real time. And we literally saw life-and-death decisions being made based off those skills. That highlighted, I think how important this is. And then, taking the time to generate resources for educators like myself, that we can take and adapt and put into our classroom and start teaching our students. ‘Cause like you said, by the time they get to you, they’re, they’re so far downstream or so far in a system that, depending on the teachers that they’ve had and the education system they’ve been in, may or may not have even touched on these things. They might have learned a lot of facts, but they may not have built their muscle to be able to critically analyze and interpret the world around them. And you’ve just — even the last year, it hasn’t even been a year since we talked the first time — I’ve watched your resources continue to grow, and you share them. And so I, on behalf of those of us in K–12, thank you. And thank you for being here.
Melanie Trecek-King (56:49):
Oh, well, thank you so much for this opportunity. Thank you for everything that you do, reaching out to other educators and for giving me a platform to hopefully reach other educators.
Eric Cross (57:00):
Thanks so much for listening to my conversation with Melanie Trecek-King, Associate Professor of Biology at Massasoit Community College and creator of Thinking Is Power. Make sure you don’t miss any new episodes of Science Connections by subscribing to the show, wherever you get podcasts. And while you’re there, we’d really appreciate it if you can leave us a review. It’ll help more listeners to find the show. You can find more information on all of Amplify shows at our podcast hub, Amplify.com/Hub. Thanks again for listening.
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Meet the guest
Melanie Trecek-King is the creator of Thinking is Power, an online resource that provides critical thinking education to the general public. She is currently an associate professor of biology at Massasoit Community College, where she teaches a general-education science course designed to equip students with empowering critical thinking, information literacy, and science literacy skills. An active speaker and consultant, Trecek-King loves to share her “teach skills, not facts” approach with other science educators, and help schools and organizations meet their goals through better thinking. Trecek-King is also the education director for the Mental Immunity Project and CIRCE (Cognitive Immunology Research Collaborative), which aim to advance and apply the science of mental immunity to inoculate minds against misinformation.
About Science Connections
Welcome to Science Connections! Science is changing before our eyes, now more than ever. So…how do we help kids figure that out? We will bring on educators, scientists, and more to discuss the importance of high-quality science instruction. In this episode, hear from our host Eric Cross about his work engaging students as a K-8 science teacher.
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S3-04: Using AI and ChatGPT in the science classroom
In the latest episode of the Science Connections podcast, we explore AI in education and its impact on students. Listen as I sit down with teachers Donnie Piercey and Jennifer Roberts to discuss ChatGPT and how we can use it to build science and literacy skills in K–12 classrooms while preparing students for the real world.
And don’t forget to grab your Science Connections study guide to track your learning and find additional resources!
We hope you enjoy this episode and explore more from Science Connections by visiting our main page!
Jennifer Roberts (00:00:00):
If a kid graduates from school without knowing that AI exists, they’re not gonna be prepared for what they face out in the world.
Eric Cross (00:00:07):
Welcome to Science Connections. I’m your host, Eric Cross.
Eric Cross (00:00:12):
This season of the podcast, we’re making the case for everyone’s favorite underdog, science. Recently we’ve been highlighting the magic that can come from integrating science and literacy. So if you haven’t checked out those recent episodes, definitely go back in your feed after you’re done with this one. This time around, we’re going to deep dive into what artificial intelligence means for literacy instruction, and how science can be a force for good, in responsibly exposing students to AI. To help me out, I’m joined by two extremely accomplished educators. Jen Roberts, a veteran high-school English teacher from San Diego, who among many things runs the website LitAndTech.com. And I’m also joined by fifth-grade teacher Donnie Piercey. In addition to being Kentucky’s 2021 Teacher of the Year, Donnie also has an upcoming book about bringing AI into the classroom. Whether you’ve never heard of ChatGPT or whether you’re already using it every day, I think you’ll find this a valuable discussion about the intersection of science, English, and technology. Here’s Jen and Donnie.
Eric Cross (00:01:17):
So first off, welcome to the show. It’s good to see you all. What I wanna do is kind of start off by introducing both of you. And so we’ll just go K–12. So <laugh>, Donnie.
Jennifer Roberts (00:01:30):
Donnie goes first.
Eric Cross (00:01:31):
Donnie’s gonna go first. Donnie out in Kentucky. Just a little background. What do you teach; how long you’ve been in the classroom; and what are you having fun with right now?
Donnie Piercey (00:01:38):
Yeah, so my name is Donnie Piercey. I’m a fifth-grade teacher from Kentucky. Live and teach right here in Lexington, Kentucky, right in the center of the state. I’m the 2021 Kentucky Teacher of the Year. But I’ve been teaching elementary school for the past … I think this is year 16 or 17. It’s long enough where I’ve lost count, and I can’t even count on fingers anymore. My friends like to joke that I’ve taught long enough where now I can count down. You know, it’s like, “All right, only so many more years left.” But yeah, teach all subjects. Science definitely is one of the subjects that I don’t just try to squeeze into my day, but make sure that … it’s not even a devoted subject, but one that I definitely try to — don’t just have that set time, but also try to do some cross-curricular stuff with it. So definitely the rise of AI in these past few months, which feels like years by this point, has definitely played quite the role, in not just changing the way that I’ve been teaching science, but really all my subjects. So, excited to chat with y’all about it.
Eric Cross (00:02:47):
Nice. I’m excited that you’re here. And Jen?
Jennifer Roberts (00:02:51):
Hi, I’m Jen Roberts. I teach ninth-grade English at Point Loma High School, and that’s where I usually stop when I introduce myself. But for your sake—
Eric Cross (00:03:00):
I will keep introducing you if you stop there. <laugh>
Jennifer Roberts (00:03:04):
I am nationally board-certified in English Language Arts for early adolescence. I am the co-author of a book called Power Up: Making the Shift to 1:1 Teaching and Learning, from Stenhouse, with my fabulous co-author Diana Neebe. Shout out to Diana. I blog at LitAndTech.com about teaching and technology and literacy and the intersection of those things. And I’m looking forward to talking about how AI is showing up in my classroom and the fun things I’m doing with it.
Donnie Piercey (00:03:31):
And one of us is actually secretly a robot, and you have to guess which one.
Jennifer Roberts (00:03:35):
Have to guess which one. Yes. <laugh>
Eric Cross (00:03:37):
That would be super-meta. And you were the CUE — Computer-Using Educator — outstanding teacher or educator? Whatever. Either one. Of the year.
Jennifer Roberts (00:03:45):
I was the CUE ’22 Outstanding Educator. Yes. And I’ve won a few other things as well.
Eric Cross (00:03:53):
The gaming backpack.
Jennifer Roberts (00:03:54):
I’ve won a gaming backpack recently! Yes. I once won an iPad in a Twitter chat.
Eric Cross (00:03:58):
What?
Donnie Piercey (00:03:58):
What’s a gaming backpack? Hold on. We need to talk about that.
Jennifer Roberts (00:04:01):
We will talk about that. <laugh> And then, I was once a finalist for county Teacher of the Year. That’s as close as I got to Donnie. Donnie was the Kentucky Teacher of the Year. He got to go to the White House and stuff. That was exciting.
Donnie Piercey (00:04:13):
<laugh> I mean, to be fair, there’s only three million people in Kentucky, and about what, 50 million people that live in California? <Laugh> So odds are definitely stacked in my favor, I think.
Jennifer Roberts (00:04:23):
So you’re saying we’re even there? Is that, is that what you’re going for?
Donnie Piercey (00:04:25):
Yeah, evens out. Evens out.
Eric Cross (00:04:27):
So I’ve been looking forward to talking to you both for a while now, and talking about artificial intelligence. It’s like the big thing. And both of you, at different ends of the spectrum and in my life, have contributed to this. Donnie, you’ve been sharing so much great information online about how you’re using AI in elementary. Jen, you are the reason I got into education technology years ago, right when I was becoming a teacher. And so being able to talk with you both about it excites me a lot. So first off, for the listeners who may not have any experience with it — and there’s still a lot of people out there who have not been exposed to it, haven’t got their feet wet with it yet — I’m hoping we could start off maybe with an explanation of … we could do AI, ChatGPT, I know that’s the big one. But simply explaining what it is, just for the new person. And whoever wants to start off can tell us about it. Or maybe we’ll start … we’ll, let’s actually, let’s do this: Let’s continue going like K–12? So Donnie, maybe you could … what’s your pitch to the new person of, “Hey, this is what it is”?
Donnie Piercey (00:05:31):
All right. So, AI, artificial intelligence, probably the way that most people are exposed to it, at least since November when it launched, is through ChatGPT. Where if you Google it, you know it’s made by a company called OpenAI. The best way to describe what it is … when you go there for the first time, make an account, it’s free. You have like a little search window, looks like a Google search bar. And instead of searching for information, you can ask it to create stuff for you. So for example, like on Google search, you might type in a question like, “Who was the 19th president of the United States?” Where on ChatGPT, instead of just searching for information, it creates stuff for you. So you could say, you could ask it to, “Hey, write a poem about the 19th president of the United States.” Or, “Write a short little essay comparing, I don’t know, Frederick Douglass to Martin Luther King Jr.” And it would do that for you. You know, that’s most people’s first exposure to AI, at least in these past few months. Instead of … you know, it’s artificial intelligence, but it’s not just chatbots. There’s lots of other AI that exist out there.
Jennifer Roberts (00:06:47):
And I think that’s the thing: that people don’t realize how much AI is already in their lives.
Donnie Piercey (00:06:51):
For sure. Yeah.
Jennifer Roberts (00:06:52):
You know, they just haven’t seen … the term that I see being used a lot now is “generative AI.” AI that can produce something. It can produce writing, it can produce art, it can produce a script, it can produce a character. But the AI that has been helping you pick what to watch next on Netflix and the AI that’s helping Google help you get where you wanna go on Google Maps faster, those are forms of artificial intelligence as well.
Donnie Piercey (00:07:21):
Yeah. I mean, even those, when you get that that message in Gmail, and instead of having to type out that response that says, “Yeah, that sounds great,” you can just click the little button that says, “Yeah, that sounds great.” I mean, that’s been in Gmail for years, but that’s artificial intelligence too.
Eric Cross (00:07:39):
Absolutely. So why is it important, do you think, for educators to, to be familiar with it? Like, why are we all so excited about it?
Jennifer Roberts (00:07:47):
So, educators need to know what kids are into, and kids are obviously into ChatGPT. And anyone who’s an educator right now has probably already had something cross their desk — or more likely their computer screen — that was written by AI and passed off as a student’s own work. And that is, of course, the great fear among teachers everywhere, that this is what kids are just gonna do these days and they won’t be able to catch it and children won’t be doing their own work and this and this. But I think the big reason teachers need to know what’s going on is because teachers need to be futurists. Our clientele will live in the future. We teach kids, kids will become adults, adults will live in the world. And so if we’re not thinking about and trying to predict on some level what’s gonna happen 5, 10, 15 years from now … we might be wrong, but what if we’re right?
Jennifer Roberts (00:08:38):
And if we’re not at least trying to think about what is their future world gonna look like, then we’re not serving our students well. I did a whole night talk on that. So I think ChatGPT is part of that. I teach seniors. I had this moment of realization I felt a few months ago. I’m like, “This is gonna be the world they graduate into. They need to know what this is before they leave me.” If I don’t teach them how to use this well, and not the way they’re using it — which is to copy and paste the teacher’s assignment and drop it into ChatGPT and take whatever it spits out and turning that in without even looking at it — if I don’t teach ’em how to use it critically, if I don’t teach them how to write effective prompts, if I don’t teach them how to use the AI as a tool, as a collaborator, then they’re gonna graduate into a world where they lose out to people who do know how to do that. And I think the advantage goes to kids who have access and knowledge of what’s in front of them and what’s available, and can use all of the tools at their disposal. Because when you’re writing in school and you write with a collaborator, that could be considered cheating. But when you do that out in the adult world, that’s considered doing a good job. <Laugh> Being a team player. <Laugh> You know, adults don’t work alone for the most part. And adults are expected to churn out beautiful, perfect content no matter how they got there. So if I’m not teaching my kids how to use this, they’re not being ready. They’re not gonna be ready to be the adults that I want them to be.
Donnie Piercey (00:10:07):
A hundred percent agree. And I also believe … as you know, I teach elementary school. I also don’t think anybody is saying that on the first day of kindergarten, you hand a kid a Chromebook and load up an AI chatbot or ChatGPT and say, Hey, this thing’s gonna do all your work for you for the next 12 years; just coast through life. You don’t have to think creatively. You don’t have to learn how to develop a paragraph or learn how to write a speech or develop an idea. Like, I don’t think anybody’s saying that, because as an elementary school teacher, there’s many days when I’m like, “Y’all, we’re just putting the Chromebooks away today and we’re just gonna go old-school. We’re just gonna maybe just jot down five quick ideas and stand up and present those ideas to the class.”
Donnie Piercey (00:10:54):
Because while AI definitely will, like you were saying, Jen, play a significant role in the lives of our students who are, not just graduating, but the 10- and 11-year-olds in my classroom this year. A significant role in their lives. It’s also really important to recognize that we’re not saying that this means that “Hey, kids don’t have to work anymore.” They still have to put forth that effort. There’s still — one of the ways that you become a good writer is by trial and error. And sometimes that trial and error comes through talking to a teacher or talking like you were saying to a peer or collaborating with a peer and saying to them, “Well, this sentence here, this paragraph here, really doesn’t make sense.” And I do believe one of the ways — especially as AI starts to become more fine-tuned and starts to be embedded more and more in tools like Google Docs and Microsoft Word — is it’s almost going to be a tutor to students.
Donnie Piercey (00:11:56):
Mm-hmm. <affirmative> Where I could very easily see in a few years, or maybe a few months, who knows what Google or any of these other big companies has rolling out, where a student could highlight a paragraph that they wrote simply, and then say, “Hey, proofread this for me,” or “Check for coherence.” Or even just ask a simple question: “Does this paragraph make sense?” Because you can already do that. You can copy a paragraph over into a chatbot and say, “Hey, does this make sense?” You know, “Rate my idea from one to 10,” and it’ll do that for ’em.
Jennifer Roberts (00:12:26):
We did that last week <laugh>.
Donnie Piercey (00:12:28):
Yeah. Right. I mean, that’s the thing. That technology exists now. It’s just not totally embedded yet. But based on what I’ve read and what I’ve seen, that’s gonna happen sooner rather than later. And it’s really, really important that we teach our students that, “No, you’re not just gonna use this, this tool to cheat, but you can use this tool to help you become a more creative student.”
Jennifer Roberts (00:12:50):
This is the use case in my classroom. Can I talk about that? You ready for that?
Eric Cross (00:12:53):
Please.
Jennifer Roberts (00:12:54):
OK.
Eric Cross (00:12:54):
Please.
Jennifer Roberts (00:12:55):
So my ninth graders are writing a comparative analysis essay, where I took them to the student art gallery and I made them pick two pieces of completely unknown student art and take notes on it, so they could go back and write this essay. And as soon as we got back to class, I said, can ChatGPT write this for you? And they all kind of froze ’cause I didn’t tell them what ChatGPT was. And they weren’t sure if they were allowed to know or not. And finally one of them kind of bravely raised his hand and said, “No.” And I said, “Why not?” And he said, “Well, the AI hasn’t seen the art. How can it write an essay about art when the art is completely original that we just went and looked at?” I said, “It’s almost like I planned it that way, isn’t it?” And they laughed nervously. And then I said, “Does that mean it can’t help us with this assignment?” And they said, “Well, no — of course it can’t help us, because it has not seen the art.” And I said, “Well. …” And I open ChatGPT, and I typed in what they were trying to do: “I need to write a comparative analysis essay comparing two pieces of student art on these reasons. And I need to choose which one did it better, basically. Can you help me with an outline?” and ChatGPT produced a lovely outline. And I looked at that with my students and we looked at it together and I said, “This is what it gave us. Would this be helpful to you?” And they’re like, “Yeah, that would be helpful to us.” So we — to be clear here, I was the only one using ChatGPT in the room. They were not actually using it. We were using it together. I copied and pasted the outline that it gave us and put it in their learning management system where they could access it so they could use the outline that the robot provided, and then they could use that to make their own writing better. So then I let them write for a little while, and, after they’d written for a little while, I said, “Does anybody wanna let me share your first paragraph with ChatGPT and see what it thinks of how you’re doing?” And a brave student raised his hand and we took his paragraph and we put it in ChatGPT, and it spit back advice. We said, “This is what I have so far for my first paragraph. Do you have any advice for me?” And we gave it the writing, and the first piece of advice it gave back was very generic, you know, “Add a hook,” you know, like kind of thing. But after that, it started to get more specific about things he was actually doing in his writing. And it started to give him some feedback. And we looked at that together as a class. And I said, “Does any of that feedback help you?” And he said, “Oh yeah, absolutely. I’m gonna go add some revisions to my paragraph.” And other students did too. They looked at the feedback he got and used that to improve their writing. And so everybody went and revised. And I said, “Look, if you take what the robot gives you and you copy and paste it, and you turn it in as your own work, it’s gonna get flagged for plagiarism. And that’s not gonna go well. But if it gives you writing advice the same way I would give you writing advice, and you decide that advice is good, and you take that advice and you incorporate it into your own writing yourself, then the robot’s making you better, but you’re still the one doing your own writing.” And the writing they turned in from that assignment was, was better. It wasn’t written by ChatGPT; it was still about the student art that they found in the gallery. But I showed them a path. Like, it can help you with an outline, it can help you with feedback. Right? These are fair ways to use it that’s gonna make you better. And they really liked that. They really liked — no one had shown them that before. The idea that you don’t just take the teacher’s prompt and give it to it … like, these are new uses to students and worked well.
Eric Cross (00:16:17):
So right now, you both just laid out these ways that you’re using it. And I do this with people that I’m trying to introduce to ChatGPT or AI. ‘Cause I get excited. Anyone could write a 500-word persuasive essay on the use of color in The Great Gatsby or The Outsiders, and they can get something back within seconds. But for a lot of educators, it might feel like the sky is falling.
Donnie Piercey (00:16:43):
Oh, understandably! Understandably. I mean, that totally makes sense.
Eric Cross (00:16:49):
What would you say to them? Donnie, go ahead.
Donnie Piercey (00:16:51):
Yeah. Well, I feel like every teacher kind of goes through the same experience when they see like a generative chatbot. I mean, all these major companies are gonna start incorporating AI, the generative AI piece. And a lot of times, when they see it for the first time, two things. First they’ll say “Oh, but I’ll know that that’s not my students’ writing.” Which, frankly, I think is a good thing, because that tells me that the teachers know their students’ writing. They’ve seen them write in person. They’ve conferenced with them one-on-one. And if a student were to turn something in to me, who I know might be a struggling writer, maybe it’s not their strength, and all of a sudden they’re turning in this10-page dissertation-worthy thesis written at a PhD level, I’m like, “All right, man, you’re nine. Can we talk about where this came from?” <laugh> But I also don’t think that at like the heart, I don’t feel like kids want to cheat. I really don’t. I feel like sometimes like kids are in a situation where they’re like, “OK, I’ve got nothing left. I gotta get this assignment done.” And when those kind of things happen, that’s when we as teachers, we have those one-on-one conversations. Even when I showed my students ChatGPT and even some of the AI image-generating stuff for the first time, and I talked to them about, “What do y’all think about this?” Because, you know, they’re under 13. In my district, ChatGPT is blocked for students. Staff, we have access to it. And that’s just because one, it’s so new, and at the same time, we need to figure out, “What’s the best way they can go about using this tool?” But when we were talking about it as a class, you know, I didn’t want to ignore the elephant in the room. So I asked them, I said, “Hey, do you feel like this is something that you all would use to. …” I mean, I used the word. I said “cheat.” And to be honest, the majority of the students in my class, they were taken aback. They’re like, “What? You think we just would cheat all the time?” Right? <Laugh> And I’m like, “Oh, well good. I’m glad to know that integrity is still alive and well.” But yeah, that’s definitely my thoughts on it, as far as not only the student integrity piece — I think that that’s the big thing that you need to just bring up with your students. Because again, I like to think that I’ve seen my students write enough that if they were going to turn something in that wasn’t their voice, or it didn’t sound like them, like I could have that conversation. And don’t be surprised, too, if in the next … I don’t know, one month to a year, there’s lots of AI detectors that exist. A lot of them are these like third-party things. You can go ahead, but I would not be surprised if in the next year or so, like you start to see those AI detectors be built into Google Docs, into Microsoft Word, into even Canva. And honestly, it’s almost like a fail-safe button for teachers, that we could say “All right, this is telling me that this is 99% probably written by AI.” So you can have that conversation with a student that way.
Jennifer Roberts (00:20:03):
I mean, if you’re worried about it, Formative, right now, will even tell you if something is copy-and-pasted into the boxes that they give you for students to write in. I find that kids who cheat are desperate, you know. Especially at the high school level. They’re panic mode. And, and usually their panic comes from, “I have no idea how to even start this assignment.” And so part of what I wanna use ChatGPT for is to lower that barrier for them. Like, you’ve got an assignment, you don’t know where to start. Tell the robot, tell ChatGPT, about the assignment and ask it for a list of steps. You know, ask it for an outline. Ask it for a time management plan. I see so much tremendous potential for this to help many of my students with IEPs who have executive functioning issues.
Donnie Piercey (00:20:49):
Oh, a hundred percent, right?
Jennifer Roberts (00:20:51):
Yes, a hundred percent. This can be their personal assistant who, you know, instead of me sitting with them one-on-one and saying, you know, “This is the task you need to do, let’s break it down into these six discrete chunks,” the artificial intelligence can do that for them. And it can do that for teachers too. <laugh>
Donnie Piercey (00:21:09):
Jen, I was just thinking about, how long until we see like the phrase artificial intelligence written onto a student’s IEP? I could see that happening very, very soon.
Jennifer Roberts (00:21:20):
Right? They should be able to use that. And then, also, of course, all of its amazing beneficials for teachers. I had to completely rewrite a unit of my curriculum. I knew what I wanted to do. I had some ideas of things I wanted to put in there. And I resorted to, I went to EducationCopilot.com and typed in my stuff that I had: You know, what standards I wanted to cover, what outcomes I was hoping for mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And it generated an eight-week unit for me. And I actually told it then to go back and do it as a 12-week unit so that I’d have more stuff in there to go and cherry-pick to decide what I really wanted to do. But it gave me ideas. It gave me places to start. It saved me an hour of just brainstorming. And I don’t think that was cheating. I still got to go in and decide which ideas were valid. And I still got to … you know, I mean, I’m a teacher. Can I get accused of cheating? I don’t think that’s a thing. It’s—
Eric Cross (00:22:18):
That’s collaborating! It’s collaborating!
Donnie Piercey (00:22:20):
Collaborating! It’s a feature! It’s a feature.
Jennifer Roberts (00:22:22):
It’s Tony Stark talking to Jarvis. You know, they’re figuring it out together.
Donnie Piercey (00:22:26):
Oh, when you use the AI, Jennifer, do you call yours Jarvis? In my class we call him Jeeves. ‘Cause remember Ask Jeeves?
Jennifer Roberts (00:22:33):
I think Eric calls it Jarvis.
Eric Cross (00:22:35):
Yeah. Jarvis is gonna be the AI’s name when, when I can get that fully functioning. There are some things that you had said, I just wanna circle back on. Donnie, Jen — so what I heard was like, best intentions. The part you said about integrity and students wanting to cheat … even the mindset that we go in assuming our students, what they would want to do and assuming best intentions, really kind of frames how you look at this kind of technology. And then Jen, you kind of brought up why students cheat, and realizing that either they don’t feel equipped, or maybe it’s time management, or something else. But most people — and I believe this as an educator — most students want to learn, and they want to be able to perform and achieve. And when they cheat, it’s because they didn’t feel like they could, for whatever reason. Whether it’s it’s outside factors, whether it’s something internal, motivation, whatever it is.
Jennifer Roberts (00:23:24):
Or they were very disconnected and just didn’t care.
Eric Cross (00:23:27):
Sure.
Jennifer Roberts (00:23:27):
This is just busy work the teacher’s giving me, so I’m gonna give it very little of my time and energy. But I think, yeah, it can be that. But if the kid cares about it, if they wanna learn, they wanna learn, you know?
Eric Cross (00:23:40):
Right.
Jennifer Roberts (00:23:40):
This is the day of the internet. Any kid can learn anything they really want to learn. And we see that all the time in our classes. The kid who has zero interest in what I’m teaching in English, but he is an expert coder, and that’s what he wants to spend his time learning. He’s like, “Can I read this C++ book as my independent reading book?” And I’m like, “You know, actually, you can. Go ahead.” <Laugh>
Eric Cross (00:24:01):
Yeah. And for both of you, saying that this makes content more accessible … and I think Donnie, or Jen, you said something about IEPs. I actually put in having it write an IEP to see what would happen. I gave it a prompt for a student’s ability level and I asked it to create a plan. And then I asked it to create a rationale. And it did! And it was good! I went through and vetted it. And right now … you know, a lot of it is funny, ’cause the conversation I’m having with different teachers is kind of like the Wikipedia one. Remember when Wikipedia first got out and everyone was like trying to discourage everybody from using it, because, well, it could be changed by anybody? And now everyone’s like, “Oh, check Wikipedia, and then steal the sources, ’cause they’re already done for you.” Like, the mindset has shifted since then. And I was talking to someone and they said, “Well. …” And I said, “We can use AI, it could be a tutor, these other things. …” And they said, “Yeah, but what happens?” And then insert apocalyptic scenario. Like, what happens if you don’t have access to wifi? And it reminded me of, for some reason, cooking classes. So in the 1700s you probably had to be able to farm to be able to generate your food. Right? Like, you had to get it from somewhere. But if you take a culinary class now, you just go to the grocery store. And someone might say, “Well, but you should know how to farm, ’cause what if there was this worldwide apocalypse and nobody could go to the grocery stores?” <Laugh> And you’re like, “Well, balance of probability though.” You know, it’s like we’ve been really been living in these iterations of life, and I think this next step for some folks … like, we don’t even realize, even like something like bank statements, right? So many folks are paperless. And there’s always a what-if scenario. What if you need it and the internet goes down. But we get so used to to to technology advancing and making our lives different. This kind of seems like that next iteration. And I wanna ask you this question: Are we looking at like the next calculator? The next internet, with this tech? Or do you think it’s too early to say?
Donnie Piercey (00:26:01):
Well, I’ve seen a lot of people compare ChatGPT to a calculator. I’ve seen that pop up on social media. There’s, “Oh well, no, this is like when the calculator was invented. Everyone was up in arms about how ‘that’s not what math students should do.’ Math should be pencil and paper, math should be this.’” However, you can give a kid a calculator and you can give ’em a word problem and they can punch in all the numbers, but they could do the wrong operation or they could put the decimal point in the wrong place, ’cause the student is still the one who’s controlling what’s on the calculator. Where with AI, all you gotta do is just copy it and then paste it into the bot and it’ll spit out whatever the question asked it for. Whether it was, you know, a 500-word rationale or proof for something in geometry, or if it’s analyzing data on a chart, it’ll do all that.
Jennifer Roberts (00:27:00):
Yes. But it’s not that magical. It’s back to what Eric did with the IEP. He put in a prompt and then he knew enough to ask for a rationale and then he knew enough about IEPs to critically read the results he got and make sure they actually worked for what he needed. He had to know all that. He was an expert using it to do an expert thing. My husband’s a computer scientist; he got ChatGPT to help him write an app, and it was a new programming language to him, and he could put in the data and he could ask for things that I would’ve never thought to ask for. But because he knows the language of computer science, he knew what to ask for. And when it gave him results that were bad, he could see that, and he could say, “Yes, but do it again, but without this,” or “make this part more efficient.” He, again, knew what to ask for. So I think the generative AI is, as a partner with humans, a powerful thing. But if the human doesn’t know what they’re doing, yeah. You’re still not gonna get great results.
Donnie Piercey (00:28:03):
<laugh> And I think that’s why I’m coming at this from the elementary school perspective, right? Because in K–5 students are still learning, like, “Hey, where does the decimal point go?” They’re still learning, you know, if you’re dividing by a two-digit number, where does the first digit go, if you go in the old long-division algorithm? And so they’re still acquiring that base-level knowledge that … I don’t know, maybe this is similar to in Jurassic Park when Jeff Goldblum says, “It didn’t take any knowledge to attain,” you know, “they stood on the shoulders of geniuses,” that whole thing. Like they had to acquire the knowledge for themselves, was his whole point. And so that’s why I don’t think it’s exactly the same as the calculator. It is definitely going to change things, in a similar way that the calculator did. But to me it’s just a whole new animal. And I don’t know if it’s going to be like the next internet, Eric — if you’re gonna get little devices that have AI built into it, like a Star Wars kind of thing, like a droid or something that follows you around — all that would be kind of cool, not gonna lie. But whether it’s something that you’ll access through the internet, something that’s built into your TV, that part I don’t know. But I do know that there’s a reason why all of these apps and all these companies are investing so much — not just energy, but time and money into it. Because they’re recognizing. “OK, this really has the potential to change things.” But if used well, and used safely, to change people’s lives for the better.
Eric Cross (00:29:41):
So I definitely hear that you both agree with the statement that if AI ChatGPT was used in the classroom, it could be a force for good. And literacy development. And I wanna shift gears a bit and then come back to the AI. So with that said — and we’re gonna get into some best practices in a minute — in Science Connections right now in this season, we’re making the case for how science can do more in classrooms and in schools. And so I’m I’m curious about what both of you think about the role in science fostering a better future when it comes to AI and education. And this season we’re really talking a lot about literacy. You know, in schools, so often it’s taught in a siloed way. And Donnie, you’re doing multi-subject. Jen, you’re single-subject: English. And we’ve really been trying to make this case for how science can actually support literacy, and these skills that students are trying to develop. So we’re going a little old-school, kind of diving into your content specialty, but maybe even pre-AI, or maybe AI has a component in this. But Don, maybe we’ll start with you. How has science been a way that has been helpful for your own literacy instruction? I know you do a lot of science, because I see your Google Earth stuff and the thing you did with the solar systems back in the day. And I think —.
Donnie Piercey (00:30:54):
Oh my gosh! You remember my <laugh> … wow.
Eric Cross (00:30:58):
That was amazing!
Donnie Piercey (00:31:00):
We haven’t done that since the pandemic. But I had my students go out, and using Google Earth, we built a scale model. Each of the students partnered up and they planned out on Google Earth a scale model of the solar system. They picked an object from around their house and we talked about like, “Don’t pick something bigger than a beach ball, or else, you know, your Neptune’s gonna end up like 10 miles away.” But you know, they just picked like a small ball, like a basketball, soccer ball, something like that. Or football, for international friends. And then we calculated the size of every other planet. And then on Google Earth, using their front lawn as where the sun was, then we went and we calculated where other planets would be, and then we actually drove to those locations and like held up the objects that would represent Neptune, Jupiter, Saturn, and all that. But it was a lot of fun.
Eric Cross (00:31:59):
And is that still accessible? ‘Cause I know you have some websites that you put resources out there.
Donnie Piercey (00:32:03):
Yeah. Yeah, I can … I wanna say on my Resources page — Resources.MrPiercey.com — I’ve got a link on there to a couple of student examples that I can share. And if not, when we get off this call, I’m gonna go on and put them on there <laugh> so people can find it. I’ll even throw on there just the assignment itself. So if you wanted to copy that and do that with your students, you could.
Eric Cross (00:32:27):
Donnie, the reason why I brought that up is because I saw that you had posted that or shared it a long time ago, and I just thought it was the coolest thing that you could totally do with middle-school students or high-school students. Jen, when I became a teacher, you said, “We’re all teachers of literacy.”
Jennifer Roberts (00:32:43):
<laugh> Yeah. I think we forgot to tell them that I was one of your professors.
Eric Cross (00:32:47):
Yes. <Jennifer laughs> One of the people who’ve definitely influenced and shaped my teaching. And that statement has never left my mind: that we’re all teachers of literacy. And I want to ask you, at the high-school level, how can science educators, or how can science — how have you seen it, or how does it, support literacy, when it’s done right?
Jennifer Roberts (00:33:09):
Like I said, I think we’re all teachers of literacy, but I think literacy is bigger than just reading and writing. I don’t think someone is literate if they can’t talk somewhat knowledgeably about what’s happening with climate change. I don’t think someone’s literate if they don’t know what’s going on in the world. And I think so much of what’s going on in the world has to do with science. We’re doing that all the time. If I could teach English just by giving kids articles about science, things to read, that would make my day. Right? We would never read another piece of fiction again. It would all be, you know, what’s happening to the ice sheet in Greenland. My students thrive on reading non-fiction. And then whenever that non-fiction touches on science is even more interesting. And whenever I can get them writing about data, particularly their own data that they collected, I think that’s building those science literacy skills as well. So I think science and English blend together very, very well. I think the literacy aspects of that are fantastic. There are more subject-specific vocabulary words, advanced vocabulary words, in science than any other discipline. And I don’t see why those shouldn’t come up in English as well. You know, my seniors will do a unit at the end of the year on the new space race. Unless I replace it with a unit about generative AI, which I’m seriously considering doing, ’cause I think they really need to learn about bias in AI algorithms and things like that. And I would like to have them read a whole bunch about that stuff. And I wanna give them the open letter that all those CEOs signed that said that AI research should slow down, and make them part of that live conversation about what’s happening in that field. So science comes into that. You know, when we read Into the Wild, we start talking about a whole bunch of scientific concepts. And when it rains in Southern California, we pull up weather maps and look at radar and talk about that and how that works.
Donnie Piercey (00:34:59):
That’s like once every 10 years, Jen? <Laugh>
Jennifer Roberts (00:35:02):
Well, actually, this year it rained a lot. It rained a lot in San Diego. Which is actually very high-interest for them. ‘Cause they wanna know, is it gonna be raining at lunchtime?
Eric Cross (00:35:12):
Jen, you said something … you have your students writing about data?
Jennifer Roberts (00:35:16):
Oh yeah.
Eric Cross (00:35:17):
Can you tell me more about that?
Jennifer Roberts (00:35:19):
So, this is something we’ve done with the ninth grade team for a long time now, is writing about their own data. So it started with a unit about stereotypes and stereotype threat. And they would collect data individually and then they would enter that data into a Google form and then we would give them the spreadsheet of the aggregate data from the whole ninth grade. And then we morphed that unit into one about academic honesty, and they filled out a survey at the beginning of the unit about their feelings about academic honesty and about experiences with academic honesty and cheating and homework and things like that. And then we would do the unit. We’d do all the readings in the unit. And they’d have these “aha” moments about things that were happening at other schools. And then at the end of the unit, we would give them back their own aggregate data and ask them to write about whether or not academic honesty was an issue at our school. And then to support that answer with evidence from their own dataset. So they had that spreadsheet to comb through and figure out, you know, where am I gonna stand on this? We give them the multiple-choice questions we gave them as the graphs, in Google Slides, so that they could write about them and talk about them, too. So yeah, getting kids to write about data. And the the sentence frames we gave them were sentence frames out of, They Say, I Say, from the chapter on writing about science. And <laugh> as they write this stuff, they’re like, “I feel so smart writing this way.” And I’m like, “I know, ’cause you’re writing about big important topics!” Right? And writing about their own data come to think of it is another great way to make an assignment both very personal to them, but also make it ChatGPT-proof, you know, if you’re looking for something that kids can’t just hand to the robot, the robot doesn’t have that data set.
Eric Cross (00:37:08):
Absolutely. And Donnie, at the elementary level, do you, do you make connections between science and literacy? In your class? You talked about with math, definitely with the solar system, but now, I’m curious, what are your newer projects? What have you been working on lately?
Jennifer Roberts (00:37:23):
What’s up now, Donnie?
Eric Cross (00:37:24):
Yeah, what are you doing?
Donnie Piercey (00:37:25):
Oh, man. Well, let me think. I’m just trying to think of some fun projects that we’ve done this year. Science that we can tie in Literacy and also some student creation. Just recently we had a … so I’ve wanted to expose my students to famous scientists that weren’t just white dudes from Europe. So for this year, what I did — and I actually used AI for this — I went into ChatGPT and I asked for 64 famous scientists and it listed them all off. And then I asked it, like, how many of these were white? And I think it said like 61 of them. You know, it had like Neil DeGrasse Tyson, and a couple of other … I didn’t know who they were. So I’m like, “All right, so we need to make this more diverse and make this more equitable.” ‘Cause you know, with the student population in my classroom, try to find equal representation to make sure they can see themselves in some of these scientists. So, eventually got it narrowed down to where I had about 64 scientists. Half are women, half are men from all continents except Antarctica. I assigned these scientists to my students. Some got two; some got three. And their assignment was to go and one, do some individual research on this person, find out what they were famous for, what they were most well-known for, turn it actually into a persuasive piece, where I said, “Hey, you’re gonna have one slide.” And I’ll tell you why I gave him one slide in a minute. On that one slide, you’ve gotta convince the person who sees it that this scientist is the most important scientist since the dawn of creation. I said, “You could use images, text — I don’t care if they were famous for something that you didn’t even understand what it was. It’s a persuasive piece. You’re 10. Go all out. Add gifs, do that whole thing.
Eric Cross (00:39:21):
This is awesome.
Jennifer Roberts (00:39:21):
I wanna do this project.
Donnie Piercey (00:39:23):
And if you picked up on the number 64, and I did this in March, so what we did was throughout the weeks of March Madness of the women’s and men’s NCAA tournament, whenever a game was going on, we had another round of voting. I just paired ’em up. I was gonna like seed them, like 1 to 64 — that’s just way too much work for me <laugh>. So I just kind of did random kind of thing. But all the students had to do — they just saw the slides side-by-side, and the only question they had was, “Based on what you see here, who is the most important scientist? This person or this person?” And it eventually came down to Carl Sagan going up against Marie Curie.
Eric Cross (00:40:04):
OK, that’s a good matchup.
Donnie Piercey (00:40:06):
Yeah, well, the Marie Curie slide, they just liked the radium piece. So they added like some green glowing gifs. And I said, “Guys, it doesn’t always grow glow green.” But whatever. Anyway, eventually Carl Sagan, in case you wanted to know, according to the 10-year-olds in my classroom, is the most important scientist in the history of the world. So I don’t know if I agree with that per se — I think maybe Newton or somebody else might have had something else to say about it — but fun assignment. It was a unique way to expose my students to a bunch of ideas. I remember the student that I assigned Newton, the only thing that that she knew about Isaac Newton was “Didn’t he get hit in the head with an apple?” And I said, “Well, not exactly, I think you might have read or maybe seen too many like old-school cartoons or whatever.” But she ended up doing some research. She’s like, “Oh, I’ve heard of that before! That equal and opposite reaction thing.” Didn’t know what it meant. I had another student that just got really … you know, if you’ve ever been on one of those YouTube kicks where it’s just, you go like nine levels deep onto like, “What does this theorem mean?” Student sits in back of my classroom, I walked by one day and he’s just watching something on like the fifth dimension and what it might be. And I said, “Oh, your scientist got you started on that.” So definitely was a lot of fun. Unique way to combine reading, writing, but also expose my students to some ideas. And we’re definitely gonna do it again. I’ve actually done this assignment before. I picked 64 random elements on the periodic table. But their only slide that they have to make is “What’s your element? What is it used for? And then, why is this the most important element since the dawn of creation?” <Laugh> And, you know, there’s always that student that gets hydrogen. They’re just like “Sweet!” Right? They get excited about that one. <laugh>
Eric Cross (00:41:59):
Explosions.
Donnie Piercey (00:42:00):
Yeah. But then, for that kid who likes a challenge, or that student with the “gifted” label, you give them, like, einsteinium or palladium. Some of the more challenging ones. And they go all out with this. I didn’t use AI for that one, but it was kind of fun, and I figured it’d be neat to share an idea that another teacher could try.
Eric Cross (00:42:20):
Well you probably have at least two teachers right now that are gonna go and try that. And we’re both looking at you. So.
Donnie Piercey (00:42:24):
Go for it.
Eric Cross (00:42:25):
Thanks for that idea. I’m imagining my students coming in with jerseys with “neon.”
Donnie Piercey (00:42:29):
Oh yeah. <laugh>
Eric Cross (00:42:30):
“Neon” on it. Just all ’80s out.
Donnie Piercey (00:42:33):
The game behind it, too, is you tell kids — again, this is just so the 10-year-olds in my class don’t get their feelings hurt — but I say, “Hey, and if your element gets knocked out, you just have to start cheering for whoever beats you in the tournament.” So by the end, you kind of got half the class cheering for one and half the class cheering for whatever.
Jennifer Roberts (00:42:53):
So the only thing I got outta that whole story that I’ve got for you is, as a child I met Carl Sagan. That’s all I got.
Donnie Piercey (00:43:02):
For real?
Jennifer Roberts (00:43:02):
For real.
Donnie Piercey (00:43:03):
So did he talk with that cadence and tone?
Jennifer Roberts (00:43:06):
Yes.
Donnie Piercey (00:43:06):
Like in real life? Wow.
Jennifer Roberts (00:43:07):
Yes. My father was one of the cinematographers on the original Cosmos. And I got to go to the set a few times.
Donnie Piercey (00:43:14):
That’s incredible!
Jennifer Roberts (00:43:15):
I did not appreciate what I was seeing as a child. But as an adult, I’m like, “That was cool. I was there.”
Donnie Piercey (00:43:20):
“You can see my shadow off in the distance.”
Jennifer Roberts (00:43:23):
I mean, maybe that’s part of why I’ve always had an interest in science. I’ve always had fantastic science teachers. Every science teacher I ever had was amazing.
Donnie Piercey (00:43:31):
I credit mine to Mr. Wizard. I don’t know if you ever watched Mr. Wizard and Beakman’s World?
Eric Cross (00:43:35):
I remember Mr. Wizard. Yep. Yep. I definitely remember Mr. Wizard, Beakman’s World, all those. That was on Nickelodeon back in the day. I had to get up early to watch that one. But there’s a YouTube video—
Donnie Piercey (00:43:44):
Six am!
Eric Cross (00:43:44):
<laugh> It was! It was super-early! But there was one, Don, I don’t know if you’ve seen this on YouTube, but it said “Mr. Wizard Is Mean,” and it’s just clips of when he’s—
Donnie Piercey (00:43:56):
Yelling at kids!
Eric Cross (00:43:56):
Chastising. Or being really direct. It’s just one after another.
Donnie Piercey (00:44:02):
He always asked ’em a question and if the kid, you know, didn’t answer it right, he’d be like, “Well, you’re not right, but you’re wrong.” You know, whatever. <Laugh>
Eric Cross (00:44:14):
I have to make sure I’m not subconsciously saying Mr. Wizard quotes when I’m talking in the classroom, when things are happening. But yeah, that video’s hilarious. So I just want to bring us back to AI, and ask this question: Do you think science has a special role to play when it comes to teaching kids about AI responsibly? Does science have a special role in that?
Jennifer Roberts (00:44:36):
I think the responsible piece of AI I wanna teach my students about is the part about the bias in the algorithms and the bias in the training. And I want them to understand how it works, well enough to make informed decisions about how it impacts their lives.
Donnie Piercey (00:44:56):
Hmm.
Jennifer Roberts (00:44:57):
Because I do have concerns about a tool that was trained on the internet. And the answers it gives you is the average of the internet. And do we trust the internet? And the answer from kids is always, “Well sorta, no.” <Laugh> So I want them to understand the social science behind that.
Donnie Piercey (00:45:18):
Yeah. And just along that same point, having the students recognize that just because, you know, you copy-and-paste a question in, the answer it spits out might not always be correct. So, teaching them that just like you would with a source that you find about a topic that you’re researching, you’ve gotta fact-check.
Jennifer Roberts (00:45:44):
It’s just like being a good scientist. A good scientist wouldn’t always accept a single result or the first result. You know, you would look at multiple angles. You would try things different ways. Last week I took the article my seniors were reading about victim compensation after 9-11, and in front of them, I gave ChatGPT, I said, “Are you familiar with this article by Amanda Ripley? And ChatGPT came back and said, “Oh yes, this was written in the Atlantic in 2020 and it’s about these things, blah, blah blah.” And my students looked at that and went, “That’s not the article we read.” And I said, “I know. It got it wrong. That’s amazing!” Yeah. And I was so happy that it got it wrong! ‘Cause I wanted them to see that happen.
Donnie Piercey (00:46:21):
And I guess one of the big science questions there, or one of the big science components there, is that idea of inquiry. Right? It’s almost like you have to teach students how to ask those deep questions about what AI spits out.
Eric Cross (00:46:35):
All of those tips are great. And it leads me to this last question I want to ask. New teachers that are out there — it actually doesn’t even matter; new teachers, experienced teachers, all of us are kind of new at different levels of this race. We’re all kind of starting it together. I mean, it hit mainstream. We’re all getting exposed to it. You all really dive into it. When tech comes out, I know you two really like, “OK, how can we use this to transform education and do awesome things for kids?”
Donnie Piercey (00:47:04):
Usually, when new tech comes out, “How can this make my life easier?” is usually the question. Yeah.
Jennifer Roberts (00:47:09):
“How can I save myself time with this?” Yes.
Donnie Piercey (00:47:11):
“How can this result in me watching more TV and you know, less grading,” sometimes.
Eric Cross (00:47:16):
And I start there like you, but then I end up more time that I fill with another project. And I need to learn how to stop doing that. I’m like, “Oh! I got more free time! … to go take on this other task.”
Jennifer Roberts (00:47:28):
Oh, all of my tech adoption is driven by “how can I work less?”
Eric Cross (00:47:32):
So you’re you’re talking to a new teacher, teacher’s getting exposed to this, they’re starting the school year or they’re just getting their feet wet with it. What advice would you give them about AI, incorporated into content or even just best practices? Where you’re at right now in your own journey, and someone’s asking you about it —what would you share with ’em? And Jen, I want to start with you.
Jennifer Roberts (00:47:53):
So, the first thing I did is I was in the middle of grading, you know, 62 essays from my seniors about Into the Wild, when ChatGPT became a thing last November. And I wanted to see what would happen. So the first thing I did was take the prompt that I had given my students and gave it to ChatGPT, ’cause I had just graded a whole bunch of those essays and my brain was very attuned to what my rubric was doing and what I was expecting as the outcome. So I could take what ChatGPT gave me as that quote unquote “essay” and evaluate it critically. And I was ready to do that. So my first advice is take something you’re already asking students to do and ask ChatGPT to do the same thing. So that as you look at the student results, you can compare that to what ChatGPTgives you. If what you’re finding is that ChatGPT can generate something that would earn a decent grade from you, you might need to change that assignment. And it doesn’t need to be a big change, but it might need a tweak or something, so that it, it does rely on the student voice, the students to do something more personal. I’m finding very helpful in my classroom is having my kids do projects where they are recording themselves on — I like Flip. So they’re writing a scene together and they’re having to record the scene together. And I’m emphasizing more of the speaking roles than the writing roles necessarily. So yes, first, take something you’re already doing, paste in to ChatGPT, see what the results are, see how that fits with what your students are doing, and then do that for every assignment you give and just sort of see what comes out of that, and see which assignments are failing and which assignments are working. ‘Cause that’s gonna give you a sense, when you do see one of those results from your students, you’ll be able to recognize it. But it’ll also help you tweak your assignments and decide, “How can I make this a little more original or a little bit more authentic for my students?” And if the robot, if the AI, can’t generate a response, what could the AI do that would be helpful to your students? Would be my next question. So can you use the AI to help them generate an outline? Can you use the AI to help them generate a list of steps to help them get started? And when you’re comfortable enough doing that by yourself, then don’t be afraid to open it in front of your class. If it’s not blocked at your school site, which I hope it’s not. Because I think the advantage goes to kids who have access to this in the long run, or at least see what it is and know what it is. Right? Because if a kid graduates from school without knowing that AI exists, they’re not gonna be prepared for what they face out in the world. So give them a chance to see you using it. Model effectively using it. I have a blog post about that. I just wrote it. LitAndTech.com. You can check that out. “Introducing 9th graders to ChatGPT.” How it went, right? There’s a chart there you can have. It’s my very first draft of this, but it seems to be very popular. So, you know, show students how it can be used as their mentor. If I can’t come read your paragraph because I have 36 kids in my classroom and I cannot stop and read everybody’s first paragraph, can you, if you want to, give your first paragraph to ChatGPT and ask for advice? And will that advice be helpful to you? So showing students how it can be used responsibly is, I think, something every teacher should be doing right now. And don’t hold back just because you’re afraid you’re gonna be teaching them what this is. They know what this is. Right?
Donnie Piercey (00:51:13):
They know what it is.
Jennifer Roberts (00:51:13):
Especially if you teach high school. They know what it is. I’ve had parents thank me for showing them how to use it responsibly. You know, this can actually be a really useful tool, but if you’re trying to make it do your work for you, it will probably fail you. If you’re trying to use it to help you do your work, it will probably be helpful. Sort of the way I’m breaking it down for them at this point. You want the great metaphor? The great metaphor is if you build a robot and send it to the top of a mountain, did you climb that mountain? No. If you build a robot and ask it to help you get to the top of the mountain, and you and the robot go together, did you climb that mountain? Yes.
Eric Cross (00:51:53):
I like that. I’m thinking through this. I’m processing that now.
Donnie Piercey (00:51:57):
Me too.
Eric Cross (00:51:59):
Yeah. I just imagine a robot holding my hand climbing Mount Everest and I’m like, “Yeah, I did it.”
Donnie Piercey (00:52:04):
If I got a robot though, like I would have to dress it like Arnold Schwarzenegger in Terminator 2. Like I would just have to.
Eric Cross (00:52:10):
Of course.
Donnie Piercey (00:52:10):
Of course.
Eric Cross (00:52:13):
Donnie, same question. Advice. Teachers getting immersed into it. Tips. What would you say?
Donnie Piercey (00:52:20):
So, I would definitely agree with everything that Jen said. Just, if anything else, to familiarize yourself with it. Almost like pretend like it’s a student in your classroom and it’s answering questions, just so that way you can see what it can do. And you’re kind of training yourself, like, “Oh, well, if I ever need examples, exemplars.” If you’re in a writing piece and you don’t wanna sit there and write out four different types of student responses — you know, advanced writer, beginning writer, whatever — great way to to do that is you just—
Jennifer Roberts (00:52:48):
Oh yeah. We did that.
Donnie Piercey (00:52:48):
—copy the prompt in and give a beautifully written piece that a fifth grader would be impressed with. Boom. It’ll do it for you. In my classroom, the way that I approach it is I kinda look at AI as almost like this butler that I don’t have to pay. That if I need it to do something for me, it’s just bookmarked. I can click it. And I mean, sometimes I just talk to it like it’s a person. And it’s almost like, in the chat window, I’m just rambling at it, what I’m trying to do. And it’s almost like I’m talking to a coworker, and I’m trying to hedge out some ideas for a lesson. Simple example: For a science lesson, if you’re trying to come up with … let’s say you’re a fifth-grade — or, sorry, I teach fifth grade. Say you’re a seventh-grade science teacher. And you’re trying to teach the students in your class about Newton’s third law of motion. You know, every action [has an ] equal and opposite reaction. Look around your room. See what you have. Maybe look around and you’re like, “All right, I got a whiteboard, microscope, I’ve got magnets, a cylinder. …” And you just copy all this stuff into ChatGPT. Say, like, “Hey, I have all of these items. Cotton balls, peanut butter, whatever.” And say, “I’m trying to teach students Newton’s third law of motion. Give me some ideas of some ways I could teach it using some of these materials.” And it’ll do it! It’ll give you like five to 10 ideas!
Jennifer Roberts (00:54:15):
And then tell it what your students are into. Like, my students are really into basketball. Can you work that into this lesson?
Donnie Piercey (00:54:21):
Yeah! They’re into the Avengers! Hey, find some way to tie Spider-Man into this. You know, that was a pun that didn’t go so well. But, you know <laugh> figure out some way that you could incorporate this and it’ll do it. And Eric, like you said, it won’t be perfect. Right? But if anything else, if you’re a starting teacher and you’re trying to brainstorm ideas — try it.
Eric Cross (00:54:44):
And Donnie, as you were saying that, I was thinking — first, I imagined Spider-Man shooting cotton balls with peanut butter all over them — and then my mind went to having students have these items, like you were saying. And then they create labs, working alongside AI. To do inquiry. To create a lab about something, and then going and performing and collecting data. OK, that’s — now I wanna go do that tomorrow!
Donnie Piercey (00:55:10):
Listen, it is so easy to do. If you have an extra computer in your classroom. … We were talking about Jarvis and Iron Man and Tony Stark earlier. Make a new chat in ChatGPT. Tell it, “I want you to pretend that you are Tony Stark. Only answer questions as if you are Tony Stark.” Or “Pretend you’re Jarvis.” Whatever. “Stay in character the whole time. I’m going to have sixth grade students come up to you and ask you questions about science or forces of nature, and only answer questions like you’re Iron Man.” And guess what? You keep that station in your classroom. Students are working on a project — you know, in elementary school, a lot of times we’ll have that, “ask three before me” — you’re supposed to ask three friends before you go and bug the teacher. Well, maybe one of those “three before me” can be that little computer station, where they go up and ask Tony Stark a question, and then it answers them as Jarvis or Iron Man. I mean, we’re really just scratching the surface with all this AI stuff. And as more and more companies and more and more creatives are gonna start to realize everything that it can do, we’re gonna start to see it more and more. And hopefully we as teachers can really figure out how to use this tool to, of course, help students, but also help them be creative and explore and learn on their own.
Eric Cross (00:56:35):
That’s amazing. And just both of you are just dropping gems right now. And I wanna wrap up by saying — and I’ve said this before on earlier podcasts I’ve done — but at this phase in my life, the people that I’m the biggest fans of are teachers. And it’s true. I don’t mean that in a cliche way. When I watch celebrities and things like that, when I watch professional sports, that doesn’t fill me the way it used to when I was a kid. At this point, as a professional, I get inspired by other educators who are just doing awesome things. And when I think about educators who are doing that, you two are on that list of people that make me better. And when I get better, I can do better things for my kids. And so, one, I want to thank you for staying in the classroom and continue to support students. They’re so lucky to have you both. The second thing I wanted to say is, Jen, I wanna start with you. Where can people — and I know we said at the beginning — but where can people find the stuff that you put out? You got blogs, your social, your book.
Jennifer Roberts (00:57:28):
I got lots of social. Twitter, I’m JenRoberts1 on Twitter. And then my blog is LitAndTech.com. And then I’m on lots of the new social too, the Mastodons, the Spoutables, the Posts — those kinds of things — as just Jen Roberts, because I got in early and I got my real name without a 1. And there was some other one I’m on recently that I’ve forgotten about. But there’s lots of ’em. They’re fun. And I’m Jen Roberts. You can find me there.
Donnie Piercey (00:57:56):
And I’m SergeantPepperD on AOL, if anyone’s interested.
Eric Cross (00:58:00):
If you wanna hit Donnie up on AIM. <Laugh>
Donnie Piercey (00:58:03):
SergeantPepperD.
Jennifer Roberts (00:58:04):
You know, speaking of rock stars and people who do amazing things, I did write a blog post about using ChatGPT in the classroom, but I hear Donnie wrote a whole book.
Eric Cross (00:58:13):
Oh yeah. So, Donnie! Donnie, that’s a great segue. Thanks Jen. Donnie, how do people find out more? And can you tell us about this book you wrote, that’s coming out in the summer?
Donnie Piercey (00:58:22):
Yeah, so the book I wrote is called 50 Strategies for Integrating AI Into the Classroom. It’s published by Teacher Created Materials. They reached out to me. They had seen some of the stuff that I was doing, not just with ChatGPT, but also some image-generating AI stuff. You know, I got featured on Good Morning America, which was kind of cool. And they saw that and they said, ‘Hey, that looks really neat.” Reached out to me and asked me to write a book. And the idea behind the book, that launches this summer, it’s just 50 ideas, 50 prompts, different things that, as a classroom teacher, that you can do. So, you know, I think there’s so many AI books that are out there now. A lot of them are big ideas, which I think are important. Definitely important discussions that need to be, have around, the ethics of AI. What’s the role that AI should play in the classroom. But I just wanted to write a book, kind of like the discussion that, that Jen and I were just having, which is like, “Can we just share a whole bunch of ideas, different things that we could try with our students?” So definitely check it out. And I appreciate you giving me a shout-out too. That was cool, Eric. Thank you.
Eric Cross (00:59:35):
Of course. Definitely. And Donnie, your Twitter is again. …
Donnie Piercey (00:59:39):
Oh, @MrPiercey, M R P I E R C E Y.
Eric Cross (00:59:44):
Follow Donnie. Follow Jen. Tons of stuff on there. Both of you, thank you so much. For your time, for talking about students and how we can take care of them, science, literacy, AI. I hope we can talk about this again. I feel like even if in just six months, we might be saying different things. In a year, the landscape might completely change. And that makes it really fun. But thank you both for being on the show.
Jennifer Roberts (01:00:04):
Thank you for having us, Eric.
Donnie Piercey (01:00:05):
Thank you so much, Eric. We appreciate it, bud.
Eric Cross (01:00:10):
Thanks so much for listening to my conversation with Jen Roberts and Donnie Piercey. Jen Roberts is a veteran English teacher at San Diego’s Point Loma High School and author of the book Power Up: Making the Shift to 1:1 Teaching and Learning. You can keep up with her at LitAndTech.com. And Donnie Piercey is a fifth-grade teacher from Lexington, Kentucky. He hosts the podcast Teachers Passing Notes. Stay up-to-date with him at Resources.MrPiercey.com. And let us know what you think of this episode in our Facebook discussion group, Science Connections: The Community. Make sure you don’t miss any new episodes of Science Connections by subscribing to the show, wherever you get podcasts. And as always, we’d really appreciate it if you can leave us a review. It’ll help more people and AI robots find the show. You can find more information on all of Amplify’s shows on our podcast hub, Amplify.com/hub. Thanks again for listening.
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Meet the guests
Jen Roberts is a Nationally Board Certified high school English teacher with 25+ years of experience teaching Social Science and English Language Arts in grades 7-12. She has had 1:1 laptops for her students since 2008 and is the co-author of Power Up: Making the Shift to 1:1 Teaching and Learning. A Google for Education Certified Innovator since 2011, Jen was named the CUE Outstanding Educator in 2022. Her interests include literacy instruction, standards based grading, and leveraging Google tools to make her teaching more efficient and effective.
Donnie Piercey, the 2021 Kentucky Teacher of the Year, is a fifth-grade teacher in Lexington, Kentucky. With a passion for utilizing technology to promote student inquiry, learning, and engagement, he has been teaching since 2007. In addition to being in the classroom, he runs a podcast, Teachers Passing Notes that is produced by the Peabody Award winning GZMShows, and holds several recognitions, including a National Geographic Fellowship to Antarctica in 2018. His most recent work in Artificial Intelligence has not gone unnoticed, earning him multiple appearances on Good Morning America, the Associated Press, and PBS. His upcoming book, “50 Strategies for Integrating AI in the Classroom” published by Teacher Created Materials, is written for educators looking for practical classroom approaches to using AI. All told, Donnie has been invited to keynote and present at schools in thirty-three states and on five continents.
About Science Connections
Welcome to Science Connections! Science is changing before our eyes, now more than ever. So…how do we help kids figure that out? We will bring on educators, scientists, and more to discuss the importance of high-quality science instruction. In this episode, hear from our host Eric Cross about his work engaging students as a K-8 science teacher.
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In this episode, Eric Cross sits with K–5 educator Janis Lodge to chat about building on her own science curriculum to create meaningful project-based learning experiences. Janis shares her work teaching Gifted and Talented Education (GATE), and how to use those practices to help accelerate the learning of all students. Eric and Janis also talk about making time for science within K–5 classrooms. Explore more from Science Connections by visiting our main page.
Janis Lodge (00:00):
To me, the reward of having those kids feel like they accomplished something and the way that they can take ownership of it and go in so many different directions, I cannot take that away from them. That’s such an opportunity that if I have the means to do it, I have to just take it and run with it.
Eric Cross (00:18):
Welcome to Science Connections. I’m your host, Eric Cross. My guest today is Janis Lodge. Janis is a third-grade teacher in Orange County, California, with a specialization in gifted and talented education. Recently, Janis was awarded the Orange County Council for the Gifted and Talented Education Classroom grant. This grant funds a project that provides an extension to her third-grade science unit about environments and survival. Through this project, students will think like a biomimicry engineer as they design a robot that is inspired by an innovation found in nature. In this episode, we discuss how she uses interdisciplinary teaching practices to make time for science learning; why gifted and talented education strategies can benefit all students; and her process for creating a problem-based lesson that ultimately earned her a grant for her classroom. And now, please enjoy my conversation with Janis Lodge. One, welcome! Thanks for being here.
Janis Lodge (01:14):
Of course, I am happy to do it. I’m excited for the opportunity.
Eric Cross (01:17):
Of course! Yeah. Elementary school teachers in science, I feel like there’s so many things to have conversations about. And some of the things that you’ve really focused on, I think, are, really, really important. But I wanna start off with your journey of you becoming a teacher in the classroom. And so, would you kind of give your background, your origin story? How did you end up as a third-grade teacher?
Janis Lodge (01:37):
Well, my story is definitely not a traditional story. Before I was a teacher, I was actually living in Maui, Hawaii. I moved there right after college. I went to Chico State in Northern California. And I got a degree in graphic design. And after I graduated, well, I should give a little bit of a backstory. My last summer before graduating, I spent the whole summer in Maui and I just fell in love with it. So when I graduated, I decided instead of applying for jobs in Northern California, I’m just gonna put some resumes out in Maui and see if I can get a job. And I did. I ended up getting a job doing graphic design and marketing for a kite surf company out there. And I ended up just staying for seven years on the island. And after about seven years, I kind of got a little bit of island fever and decided I wanted to come back to California. I wasn’t sure exactly what I wanted to do, but I just had this calling that I need to do something a little more fulfilling with my life. And I started thinking about different ideas and dreams I had. And I actually started thinking about when I was younger, right? I had this dream. If you were to ask me when I was 10 years old what I wanted to be when I grow up, it would be elementary school teacher.
Eric Cross (02:48):
Really?
Janis Lodge (02:48):
Believe it or not. When I was younger, I transformed my bedroom into a classroom. My stuffed animals were my students. I just thought I’m gonna be the next best teacher ever. And you know, as I went through life and kind of went in different directions, I kind of lost sight of that dream a little bit. But for some reason, when I decided to change careers, I just remembered that. And so I just decided to go get my teaching credential and see if it worked out. And it was probably the best decision I made. I feel like everything just fell perfectly into place. I ended up getting a job at an amazing school, and now, five years later, I’m a third grade teacher.
Eric Cross (03:28):
So one of the questions I have to ask, and talking to elementary school teachers, this comes up a lot: How do you make time for science as an elementary school teacher who’s teaching everything? And let me kind of premise this with, at least for those of us in California, and I’m sure the rest of the states too, but we know this; There’s kind of this pressure with pacing and then even, depending on what school you’re at, math and English tend to get the bulk of things. And maybe there’s this perception also of like, well, I gotta teach math and English, and sometimes science gets put to the back burner for different reasons.
Janis Lodge (03:57):
Well, you’re exactly right. The beginning of the year, we were provided with a pacing from the district. And you know, they try to keep us on track, saying, “You should be starting Unit 2 at this time.” But other than that, there’s really no specific guidelines of how many days we’re supposed to be teaching or for how long. But one kind of secret that I’ve discovered is that I can weave science into the other subjects, specifically with language arts. So quite often what I do is I take a look at the language arts standard, and if it’s identifying the key details and the main idea, well I can do that with the science books used from the curriculum. So I’ll just pull those readers and we’ll do the exact same skill, start with the same standard, but we’ll use the content from science. By doing that, we call that kind of like interdisciplinary study. And the students really enjoy that more, too, because they’re using the same skills but they’re diving deeper into the content.
Eric Cross (04:54):
Right.
Janis Lodge (04:55):
And so also that helps build the background knowledge. So then when it comes to time where, if I want to do a science lab or a science investigation, now they already have that background knowledge ’cause we already dove deep into the reading and they can apply that pretty quickly right away into their lab or whatever activity they’re doing.
Eric Cross (05:12):
Can you give an example maybe of how you might pull out something that might be a skill that you’re trying to develop, maybe in an English content, but you would pull that out in a science lesson, maybe? What would you do?
Janis Lodge (05:25):
We’re actually doing that right now. So we’re in our second unit of science and they’re studying inheritance and traits and they’re looking at different organisms to see how they have adaptations to help them survive in their environment. So coincidentally part of the literacy skills is to look at multiple sources, do research, and summarize and make analysis of what they’re reading. And so we have different varied resources. I have websites; I have books, ebooks, videos, and pictures. And they’re choosing which four sources they want to use. And then, then they’re coming up with a summary at the end and then putting together a Google Slides presentation based on whatever organism that they chose.
Eric Cross (06:05):
Did you have a science background before becoming an elementary school teacher?
Janis Lodge (06:11):
Um, none. Besides what I, you know, took in high school and college.
Eric Cross (06:16):
Did you find it easy to kind of lean into the science, or was it something you just kind of jumped into and said, “All right, I’m gonna get after it”?
Janis Lodge (06:23):
What’s interesting is if, you know, throughout my education, my favorite subjects were English and reading and writing and art. And quite honestly, science wasn’t my favorite subject. But I think because of that, that inspires me to come up with creative ways of presenting the information to them and making it exciting and engaging for them, because I don’t want them to feel that way. I want them to be excited about all subjects. And I think that’s the beauty of combining the different subjects like I mentioned before. Like I say, you know, “What would a scholar do? Think like a wildlife biologist. And like with my project, think like a biomimicry engineer.” And so it kind of shifts their thinking. Like, it’s not just, “Oh, we have to study science.” It’s like, “No, you are the scientist; you are a meteorologist; or you are an author. How would an author write about this? How would an illustrator capture this in a photo or a comic strip?” And so, when you really combine those disciplines, you can take it to another level. So even if science isn’t their favorite subject, like maybe it wasn’t for me growing up, they can still take something they’re passionate about and apply the science content to it and they really resonate with them.
Eric Cross (07:37):
You leaned into your strengths. Which are more like, coming into it, you had all these kind of creative strengths. You have that background as a graphics designer. You were into the arts. But then with those strengths, did that kinda give you more confidence to dive into the science work, because you approached it from your assets that you were already coming to the table with?
Janis Lodge (07:55):
Yeah.You said it perfectly. If you look at it from a different lens, there’s all these different ways you can approach science.
Eric Cross (07:59):
I find it in my own science class, too. We’re all teaching the same standards. But how I approach it is through Eric Cross’s kind of personality and understanding and my angle, and another teacher might do it a different way. But we’re all leading to the same destination.
Janis Lodge (08:14):
Exactly.
Eric Cross (08:15):
That kind of leads me to my next question, and this is having to do with the project that you just alluded to. The biomimicry project. So you did a biomimicry project. Would you consider that like a project based-learning assignment?
Janis Lodge (08:26):
Well, this will be the third year that I’ve taught this unit. And when I wrapped it up last year, it’s through the Amplify Science program, and they do a wonderful job of having a lot of investigations and really thinking like a biomimicry engineer. But the final part of the unit was to design a robot inspired by a giraffe, to eliminate invasive plants in a particular environment. And the project part of it at the end was to create a model using Popsicle sticks and pipe cleaners. And then the other part of it was a digital simulation where they would put in different shape structures of teeth, and kind of reconfigure the shape of the mouth. And then they’d put in what they think is effective, and then the computer would say, oh, you’re 98% successful or 70% successful. And I remember at the end of it the students were like, “OK, well when do we make the robots?” And I thought, “Well, we’re just doing the simulation, or we’re just doing this model out of Popsicle sticks; we’re not actually gonna make a robot.” And they just seemed so disappointed. And that’s kind of how the wheels started turning my head like, “Well, what if they actually could make a robot? The only thing stopping me is I don’t have the materials to do it.” So, shortly after that unit wrapped up, coincidentally I saw the email about this grant opportunity that was being offered through the Orange County Council for Gifted Education. And they said, If you have a project that you wanna get funded that would promote GATE strategies within the classroom, then you can submit this proposal. So that’s how the ball got rolling for that proposal. And I researched different robotics kits and different companies and I found one that was really user-friendly for third graders, and not so difficult for me to learn as well.
Eric Cross (10:10):
You’re a risk taker. Like, I’m already seeing this as I’m talking to you. Is that just who you are or do you have a network? Like what keeps you taking these risks?
Janis Lodge (10:18):
I don’t really consider it a risk, because it’s exciting for me. Like I said, I don’t know that much about robotics, but the idea of learning more and then teaching that to my students is exciting. And you know, there was a little bit of risk ’cause I’m deviating a little bit from the curriculum, from the standard lesson, but to me, the reward of having those kids feel like they accomplished something, and the way that they can take ownership of it and go in so many different directions, and on top of that, develop coding skills and computer science skills and robotic skills, to me it was just like I cannot take that away from them. That’s such an opportunity that if I have the means to do it, I have to just take it and run with it. So I think just being inspired by the potential outcomes of what could happen is what made me take that risk.
Eric Cross (11:05):
Did you just kind of create this from scratch? Did you work with a team of people? How did you come to the point where you were ready to present this for the grant?
Janis Lodge (11:12):
Pretty much from scratch. Like I said, the Amplify unit, it does teach them about robotics that were inspired by nature. So some of the materials that they read, and there’s some videos that show really great examples. There’s like a robotic arm that was inspired by an elephant trunk. There’s a book that shows what this field is, biomimicry engineer, they actually show like what they do in that field. And I thought this is a perfect way to apply it because the curriculum’s already pretty much set it up for me; now I just have to add this one final component to it. And essentially it becomes project-based learning at that point, because they’re taking their knowledge and their skills that they’ve learned up to that point. Even the unit that we’re doing doing right now is building up to it. So it’s kind of that final—instead of giving them a test at the end and saying, “OK, tell me what you learned about inheritance and traits and environments,” they can actually take that knowledge and apply it to an innovation or creation that comes out of their own mind, which is so much more powerful.
Eric Cross (12:11):
Do they connect to any other learning goals as they’re doing these projects?
Janis Lodge (12:15):
Well, I think first and foremost, the 21st century skills that from day one I tell them, the four Cs: collaboration, creativity, communication, and critical thinking. All of those are woven in through this lesson. From the beginning, we talked about the whole engineering design process. So from the beginning, they start with a question and oftentimes that actually can be the hardest for them to think about, “What’s a scientific question or a problem that I wanna solve?” If they’re passionate about, maybe, a sport or the environment or something within their school, I go, “There it is. OK, that’s the problem. How can you design something inspired by nature to solve that problem?” And then, from there they go into the planning and the designing and the testing and then the improving. So going through that engineering design process, I think, is what really makes them feel like they are the engineer going through this. And they can make mistakes. They can take risks. A lot of my students I’ve found are afraid to take risks. They wanna make sure they succeed. And they need that challenge to know that if they do fail, that’s OK. We can just revisit this. We can test it. We can look at it in a different way.
Eric Cross (13:27):
You maybe wonder about, how do you assess something like this?
Janis Lodge (13:30):
I think that’s where all those stages along the way are important. Because I wanna make sure that they have a plan and that it’s based on the knowledge that they’ve gained in the unit. I think one of the other things about project-based learning is the final product of how they demonstrate their mastery. And in my classroom I oftentimes give them a choice of how they’re gonna present that to me. So maybe they’re going to write it out like an essay. Maybe they’re gonna create a Google slide. Maybe they’re gonna make a video. Maybe they’re going to—obviously in this part they will have the model, but they’ll have to have some way to explain it to me. And I think giving them that choice gives them the opportunity to show it in the way that’s meaningful to them.
Eric Cross (14:14):
And are you using like a rubric when you’re grading these assignments? Or, how do you actually grade it?
Janis Lodge (14:20):
Yes. So we have a rubric that’s provided to us for the written component that all the students will do at the end. But I can take that same rubric and see if they’ve applied that to the project. So even the verbiage wouldn’t really need to change. I think it’s still important that the students are able to demonstrate this in written form and so all of them will still complete that written component, but to also give them the opportunity to show that in the modality of their choice. I think is really important too.
Eric Cross (14:48):
Right. And you have some students that feel much more comfortable being able to present orally versus—
Janis Lodge (14:53):
Exactly.
Eric Cross (14:53):
—versus writing versus maybe doing a video. I mean, we see that in middle school and in high school too. Students show their knowledge or their understanding of a topic depending on the medium in different ways, and some better than others. Some may find that they can communicate it a lot better orally, but when pen goes to paper or fingers go to keyboard, you might grade it completely different, ’cause they’re not able to transfer what’s in their mind into writing. And the way you’re doing it, and giving that student choice, they probably have so much more buy-in, I’d imagine, because they get to pick what they get to do.
Janis Lodge (15:21):
Right.
Eric Cross (15:22):
You said something earlier and I wanna come back to it. So you mentioned GATE, and GATE is not something that I hear a lot in my world, but it was something I heard a lot when I was in school. There were kind of all of these perceptions and ideas about GATE. You’re a GATE teacher, correct?
Janis Lodge (15:38):
Right.
Eric Cross (15:39):
What is GATE, and what is it like being a GATE teacher? What are the misconceptions, if any, that you might have heard or come across?
Janis Lodge (15:46):
Well, so GATE stands for Gifted and Talented Education. And first and foremost, I think a misconception is that we’re just kind of doing whatever we want; we come up with our own lessons and teach a totally different curriculum. Which is definitely a myth. Because we start with the exact same standards as any other third grade class that you’d walk into. That’s definitely where we start. But I think in addition to the standards, we also implement what are called GATE standards: So they’re Depth, Complexity, Acceleration, and Novelty. And there’s a lot of tools that we use in the classroom, different strategies. You’ll see things like the prompts of Depth and Complexity. We’ll use things like “think like a disciplinarian”; I’m doing “think like a biomimicry engineer.” But really, all they are are just thinking tools and strategies to elevate students thinking and kind of go below that surface level of the content to dive deeper. It also provides opportunities for acceleration. So for example, our last science unit, it was on magnetic force, and there was a handful of students that just grasped the concepts right away, and they’re ready for something else. They’re ready for more rigor. They need some challenge. And so at that point I can kind of pull that group aside and provide some differentiation for them. And I said, “OK, well, you understand the concept of magnetic force, balanced forces. So now what I want you to do is think about something that you’re really passionate about, and how could you use magnetic force somewhere in that field—again to solve a problem, problem-based learning—and present it to me?” So they create this form, it’s like a “think like a disciplinarian” frame, and one of them was “think like a hockey player.” And he’s trying to think of a way that he can incorporate magnetic force. Anyway, I could go on and on. But basically it’s finding what these students’ passions are. And I do that with all my students. And I should probably preface this by saying that even though these are standards that I implement in my classroom because it’s a GATE classroom, these are practices and tools that can be applied to any learner, at any age. And they really just enrich the education for all students.
Eric Cross (18:02):
So your classroom is, is a mixed classroom. There’s GATE students and then general—
Janis Lodge (18:05):
Right.
Eric Cross (18:07):
—students, non-GATE students, in the same class. It’s interesting because I imagine GATE is kind of scaffolding up to a higher level, but then, you also said something that I’ve noticed when I’m creating scaffolds for my students to support them, who may not be at a grade level, maybe in reading or literacy or math, those same scaffolds can help all students.
Janis Lodge (18:27):
So yeah, I don’t just go, “OK, you’re my GATE students; I’m gonna use these practices on you.” I use it for the whole class. But I’m also surprised by having that mix of these different learning styles. A lot of times students are inspired by other students, or, you know, we have this big thing about one of the prompts is Multiple Perspectives. I try to do that as much as I can, because students are inspired by the ideas of their peers. And quite often, if they hear it from a peer, it could be exactly what I just said, but they heard their student say it in a different way and it just clicks and they’re like, “Wow, I get that.”
Eric Cross (19:00):
I think a lot of teachers struggle or, or maybe feel ill-equipped, to support higher-level students. Did you get trained to be a GATE teacher? First lemme ask that question: Did you get special training for this?
Janis Lodge (19:13):
Yes. I went through a course, I think it was like a six-week certification course, through my district.
Eric Cross (19:19):
OK, so you got a special training, which—I’ve been in the classroom for nine years; I teach at a university as an adjunct professor; but I’ve never been trained on teaching gifted or accelerated students. And I’m kind of wondering now, like, do you feel like it made you a better teacher?
Janis Lodge (19:33):
Absolutely.
Eric Cross (19:34):
And if so, how do I get to do this?
Janis Lodge (19:36):
Well, it’s through the county. I mean, anybody can get trained and certified how to teach this way. But, just like you said, I think coming out of that, my eyes were just open, and my biggest takeaway is that these practices, even though they are designed for gifted and talented, it really kind of reshaped my thinking about how I, number one, present material to the students, that I’m doing it in an engaging way, and I’m not just lecturing at them; there’s opportunities for them to collaborate and communicate and use multiple resources. So, you know, how I’m teaching has changed. And then also, how I’m providing opportunities for them to demonstrate their learning. And a lot of that is project-based learning, because once they have the knowledge and skills they need to do something with it. I mean, that’s really the true definition of innovation, is taking the skills or taking something that you’ve learned, and now go with it. Run with it.
Eric Cross (20:32):
How can we take what you’ve learned and then kind of spread it, so teachers have this in their toolkit, too? Like for me, I have multiple ways to be able to support reading and literacy and math and tools and sentence frames. And my students who have special learning plans, I have a have a lot of tool sets for that. I wanna build my tool sets for this other area for my students who want to continue, who wanna run, or go beyond, or even stretch themselves. I think we need to take some of the things that you’re doing and not make them kind of like this exclusive group, but also let’s share it with everyone, ’cause if everybody can access it—
Janis Lodge (21:03):
I agree.
Eric Cross (21:03):
—we might see a lot more potential or a lot more opportunities for students who might not otherwise have them.
Janis Lodge (21:08):
And one thing: My school, I’m really proud to say that my principal has seen that. You know, he’s like, “Well why are we just keeping this in the GATE classroom?” So he’s working on getting all of our teachers certified.
Eric Cross (21:19):
No, I love what you’re doing and your principal sounds, sounds awesome for doing that and recognizing that this can benefit more students than just the ones who, you know, pass the Raisin Test, I think it’s what it was called when I was taking it, or whatever it is back then.
Janis Lodge (21:31):
Exactly.
Eric Cross (21:32):
We’ve talked about project-based learning, the GATE classroom…I kind of wanna come back to you as we wrap up. Thinking about, like, the jobs that you and I do, and the people that listen to this podcast, we have one of the few jobs that people remember us for a lifetime. And I wanna ask you, who was someone that was maybe inspirational in your educational career, that inspired you, or is maybe one of the most memorable? You might have several…but who is someone that was memorable to you in your career, and why? Why were they memorable to you?
Janis Lodge (22:02):
Yeah. Well, obviously, when I was younger, I was definitely inspired by all my teachers. The fact that I turned my bedroom into a classroom…I just was just in awe of this profession. But I think one that really resonated with me was my junior year in high school. I was taking a newspaper class and the teacher was Mrs. Kavanaugh, and she really taught us everything from writing the articles to the editing, to putting the pages together. And I remember in that class I was working on this program called QuarkXPress. I don’t even know if it exists anymore. But I was just fascinated with putting all these pieces together that we’d worked on for so long and getting the articles, picking the pictures, the illustrations and the titles. And I remember her looking at me saying, “You really enjoy this, don’t you?” And I said, “Yeah.” And she said, “Well, I have a computer graphics elective class that you should take next year.” And I thought, “OK, I’d love to do this, this opportunity to expand my knowledge and my skills.” So because of that, I took the computer graphics class the next year and I just remember throughout the whole time, she was just constantly encouraging me and acknowledging my skills. And I find myself doing that as a teacher as well. ‘Cause that really resonated with me. And it’s funny, this summer I was going through some boxes of some old stuff from high school, and I found this handout that I had made, because I remember my senior year of high school, she said, “Janis, you know what? You’re doing such a great job; we have these new, incoming students coming into the newspaper class, and I’d love for you to actually teach them how to do this pagination on this QuarkXPress program. I want you to put something together and actually teach it to them.” I thought, “Wow, she believes in me that much that she’s gonna let me teach this to the incoming students.” But I think my takeaway from that was that she gave me the opportunity to take those skills and actually do something with them, to apply them right away.
Eric Cross (23:53):
Mrs. Kavanaugh. Miss Kavanaugh. Shout-out to Miss Kavanaugh. As you told that story, I heard you as a teacher because I’m hearing she’s applying these GATE strategies in that situation. That’s what that’s what I heard.
Janis Lodge (24:08):
Yeah, absolutely.
Eric Cross (24:09):
She personalized this learning. She created a specialized opportunity. You presented to a real audience that was authentic. It had this personalization in it and this rigor and this challenge and it made a huge impact. And it’s just amazing to listen to you and hear this come full-circle, and now you’re doing this with little ones. And I just wanna thank you for your time in doing the interview, sharing your story with how you became a teacher, your students, the projects that you do. And just like so many teachers, going the extra mile for your kids and bringing in these really important 21st century skills; they’re gonna be so much better off for it. And I know it makes my job easier when I get them in the classroom, so thank you.
Janis Lodge (24:49):
Yeah. Well, thank you for the opportunity.
Eric Cross (24:51):
My pleasure. Thanks so much for listening and we wanna hear more about you and the educators who inspire you. You can nominate them as a future guest on Science Connections by emailing STEM@amplify.com. That’s S -T-E-M at amplify dot com. And be sure to click subscribe, wherever you listen to podcasts, and join our Facebook group, Science Connections: The Community. Until next time.
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Meet the guest
Janis Lodge is a third grade teacher in Orange County, California. Her career in education started six years ago when she decided to follow her passion of making a positive difference in the lives of young scholars. Prior to teaching, Janis lived in Maui, Hawaii for seven years, working in the field of graphic design, marketing, and hospitality. She has found that her interest in innovation, project-based learning, and inquiry-driven exploration has helped shape her into the educator she is today. STEAM is integrated regularly into her classroom, and her students continually develop 21st century skills through a variety of unique projects. Janis is also a PAL (Peer Assistance Leadership) Advisor for her school, where she helps young leaders (4th-6th graders) cultivate their leadership skills and empowers them to make a positive difference in their school and community. Janis was recently awarded the Orange County Council for the Gifted & Talented Education Classroom Grant, which will provide an extension to the third grade Amplify Science Unit: Environments and Survival.
About Science Connections
Welcome to Science Connections! Science is changing before our eyes, now more than ever. So…how do we help kids figure that out? We will bring on educators, scientists, and more to discuss the importance of high-quality science instruction. In this episode, hear from our host Eric Cross about his work engaging students as a K-8 science teacher. Listen here!
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S2-03: Building meaningful student connections in the science classroom
In this episode, Eric Cross sits down with Indiana State Teacher of the Year, Sharita Ware, to talk about how to successfully build meaningful student connections in the science classroom. Sharita shares her journey from a corporate career to becoming Indiana’s 2022 Teacher of the Year, and her passion for creating project-based lessons for her students. Together, Eric and Sharita discuss how educators can teach students to love science content by building strong relationships, adding in other content areas, and supporting students’ imagination. Explore more from Science Connections by visiting our main page.
Sharita Ware (00:00):
I try to create that equal playing field where there’s nobody’s voice, that’s more important than anyone else’s and try to make them all feel that what they have to say is important.
Eric Cross (00:14):
Welcome to science connections. I’m your host Eric. My guest today is Sheta where Sheta is the 2022 Indiana state teacher of the year. And in her 10 year career, as an engineering and technology teacher, she has dedicated herself to helping students build knowledge and skills for high school and life. Beyond. In this episode, we discuss how she inspires her seventh and eighth grade students to build problem solving and critical thinking skills through hands on real world and collaborative projects. She is as humble as she is knowledgeable and through our conversation, it was easy for me to see why her students feel successful under her guidance. And now please enjoy my conversation with Sharita Ware.
Eric Cross (00:59):
Can I start off by saying congratulations on teacher of the year. Thank you for the state of Indiana. Um, that’s amazing. So I, I, I did watch, uh, your videos, uh, short interviews, and then you spoke, was it Purdue? Yes. You were there. And so, uh, to see if fellow seventh grade, eighth grade science teacher out there being celebrated, like I was so excited, so yeah, I wanted to congratulate you on that and, and just kind of talk to you about like your teaching journey and ask you, uh, maybe just kind of start off with your story about what brought you into, into the classroom, especially the middle school.
Sharita Ware (01:29):
Classroom. So what happened is when I was working in industry as an engineer and when my husband and I got married, we decided that I was gonna, um, stay home with the kids because, you know, we wanted, um, our influence to be greater on our kids than, you know, the people that would be watching them, you know, because they would ultimately spend more time with them than they would with us. And, and so, um, I stayed home and when my youngest was going to be going to kindergarten the next year, I was like, okay, what am I going to do? Cuz I really don’t necessarily feel like I need to stay at home. Mm-hmm <affirmative> but um, I knew going back to industry would be a challenge just because in my field, I, I was traveling a lot before I got married and had kids.
Sharita Ware (02:14):
And so I knew that that wouldn’t really be conducive to again, raising children. So I, I get this email, my inbox for Woodrow Wilson, teaching fellowship at Purdue. And they were just looking for people in stem fields to go into teaching. And I was like, okay. And it was a national search, you know, I filled out the application, we had to go in and do some sample teaching mm-hmm <affirmative>. And I was picked as, as one of the, the teachers to go through the program. And I started off thinking I wanted high school. And the really cool thing about this, uh, program is that we had long observation periods at high school and at middle schools. And so we would go to a school and we’d stay there two or three weeks. And so it, it kind of gave you right. A little bit more insight to what happened on a daily basis. And after those observations, I was like, I like middle school better than I, uh, like high school. And so I just kind of went that direction and you know, the rest is history. So
Eric Cross (03:19):
I feel like our stories are similar because I went into teaching thinking I wanted to do high school because I like the maturity and you a little bit more sophistication, advanced things, but yes, middle school, I felt like I can, I could get them more upstream before and kind of help shape mm-hmm <affirmative> that experience for them? Because I feel like at middle school is really where they kind of decide like what they can do based on their experiences.
Sharita Ware (03:39):
I found in the middle school that the kids, I mean, they just, they clamor around you and they’re like, what are we doing today? You know? And they get so excited and, um, they’re, they’re just, I don’t know, I guess in some ways, just more hungry in the sense of like they’re willingness to, um, now sometimes they’re a little reluctant, but you know, their willingness just to try new things. And I think, um, my students really what I have found over the years that they have found a safe space and I hear the kids, you know, say to me so many times that, you know, it it’s safe. I feel, I feel safe in here. And, and it’s not something that in my mind I’m thinking about, oh, I need to make this a safe place. It’s just, I guess part of just who I am as a person has created this environment of, of safety and, and the kids recognize that, you know, I don’t play favorites. You know, everybody starts out mm-hmm, <affirmative> on equal footing. I, I don’t care what your backstory is. I don’t care how many times I see you in the hallway when I’m walking during my prep. You know, when you hit my room, I’m, I’m gonna treat you the same way on day one, that I treat everybody else.
Eric Cross (04:54):
You really understand how to build culture with, in, with your classroom, with your students. And, and you said they feel safe, but is there anything that you do that someone could like apply? And like you found that you’ve gotten a lot of just relational capital through doing these things, or is it just your personality? Like how, how do you build those connections?
Sharita Ware (05:12):
You know, growing up being a, a very quiet person. I, I think a lot of times my voice was ignored because I was the quiet kid in the back of the room. And oftentimes I became seen or heard because of my work, you know, in the beginning it was kind of like, oh, she’s just this quiet girl in the back of the room. And then, you know, the first essay was due or the first project was due. And then it was like, oh, you know, then you’re the person to be on, you know, people’s teams. And, and that, I don’t know, that always kind of bothered me because, you know, I’m thinking just because you’re not the loudest person in the room doesn’t mean that you don’t have something to say, mm-hmm <affirmative>, you just might not be talking all the time. You know? And, and so for my students, I just, I try to create that equal playing field where there’s, nobody’s voice, that’s more important than anyone else’s and try to make them all feel like that what they have to say, or what they have to contribute is, is enough, is good.
Sharita Ware (06:14):
Enough is important as…
Eric Cross (06:16):
It is, as it is. And there’s probably a lot of things that you do. But in addition to building these relationships, what do you do? Like how do you make your learning fun for students?
Sharita Ware (06:25):
I think, um, I’m also a little bit on the silly side. Um, we do a, a Barbie prosthetic leg project, and this was after trial and error of having the kids make full size prosthetic legs. And I try to make it as real world as possible, but with none of the children being amputee or, you know, having access to someone, it was really hard for them to really visualize what needed to happen. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. And so, um, I found this Barbie that had a prosthetic leg and I was like, well, LA, so I just started collecting Barbies and chopping their legs off <laugh>. And so I have this jar of Barbie legs. And so, and I said, you’re gonna make prosthetic legs. And I lay this jar of legs on the counter and the kids are like, like they gasp and then they crack up and then they’re like, okay, this lady’s crazy. So…
Eric Cross (07:22):
That’s when you take off your scarf and there’s this necklace of just Barbie legs that are just around and you’re like, I’m a middle school teacher and they go, oh, okay. I understand. Yeah. Yeah. It’s totally fine. Is this a lesson that someone that you made up or is it something that you’ve re remixed? Is it something that someone could do if they looked it up anywhere?
Sharita Ware (07:38):
Um, so I think teach engineering has the, the full size leg that the kids make. And that’s where I initially got it from.
Eric Cross (07:47):
Is that the website teach engineering?
Sharita Ware (07:49):
Yes. And, um, I, in fact, I get lots of ideals from there. Um, and I, I always usually tweak them, but it’s, it’s one of those things that kind of gets your brain going. And so it was kind of a mixture of, uh, project lead the way gateway to technology and the teach engineering. And I think the project lead the way had us making like braces, uh, for, um, kids with, um, like cerebral palsy or, or something like that. And the kids did okay with that project. Uh, but I wanted to go just a little bit, uh, deeper with it because part of what I was wanting them to do is that context and that connection, that human connection, because for me, it’s not just enough for them to make a project. Uh, before we start this prosthetic leg, I read them a story out of a Scholastic magazine, and it’s a, a teenage girl that lost her leg in a boating accident.
Sharita Ware (08:42):
And she was super active, um, playing sports and running. And, and so I was, you know, trying to get the kids to, you know, make that connection, someone close to their age. Um, and then how it’s not, it’s, it’s more than about her physical healing. It’s also about her mental healing and how she had to, you know, talk to herself to say that she could, you know, recover and, and come back from this and still go on to do all of the things that she was doing before. Um, and in some ways it’s kind of cool because, um, you know, she has a running prosthetic, she has a, a swimming prosthetic, and she has her every day with the pain and toils prosthetic. So just trying to, you know, help them to see that it’s more than just the, you know, the biomedical mechanical engineering aspect of the project.
Sharita Ware (09:30):
And so they have to design for comfort. They have to design for, um, swelling. And then, um, they also can, if they, if they want to, they don’t have to, if they want to, they can create their own backstory. So when they get there, um, we have a day where they are introduced to their client, so they get to meet their Barbie and, and then they get to decide if they want a backstory and, and then do their research based off of that. So if it’s someone that was a runner, then they can design a prosthetic running blade. So just, they have lots of, uh, flexibility.
Eric Cross (10:04):
The, that aspect of adding the narrative. It does so much for like listening to it on the outside. It one, it adds this humanity to, you know, what can sometimes just feel like it may be cold, logical stem. We’re just, we’re just doing things. We’re fixing things. We’re, you know, we’re discovering things, but really the stem has value when we’re actually applying it to, to, to serve humanity or our ecosystem or whatever it is. There was a, a coding, uh, class I was doing with my students and I showed them this app called be my eyes. And it’s for people who are visually impaired and it pairs them with a volunteer. And when they call, and there’s a whole huge pool of volunteers and I’m one of them. And when my, when it happens in class, I answer and it uses the FaceTime. So the person who’s visually impaired is holding up their phone and you see what they see and you tell them and real time what’s happening.
Sharita Ware (10:54):
Oh, wow. That’s so cool.
Eric Cross (10:56):
These are, these were the things I think for students that the story, the, the human part of it, mm-hmm, <affirmative>, it must bring in so many more students into engagement.
Sharita Ware (11:05):
Yeah. I, I feel like it does because I, I think, um, and, you know, along the journey, they kind of lose, um, they lose sight a little bit because, you know, they get out in the lab and they have access to all of these different materials. And I think, you know, truly making it, you know, project based for me is I try not to control the materials too much. Um, I try not to make it so wide that they just get lost, but I try to throw a few curve balls in there, you know, of, of materials that really don’t make sense to use, but they kind of think they make sense to use. Um, because the, the, the meat of it is that the prosthetic leg is a similar size of the original leg and that the, the knee functions. And so I don’t limit, and I grade them off of efficient use of materials.
Sharita Ware (11:59):
So, and that just throws them off because I think, well, how many Popsicle sticks can I use? And I’m like, you can use as many as you like, but remember, this is a prosthetic leg that, um, your Barbie, which is one six scale, um, is going to be wearing all day. So you could think that a Popsicle stick, if you chose to use a Popsicle stick is kind of like dragging around a two by four <laugh>, you know? So do, is that what you really want to use as your material? And some of the kids really think about it and saying, okay, I’m, I’ve got this aluminum rod, okay. This is probably what I would use for my bone structure, because it’s lightweight, but yet it is supportive. And then sometimes they come up with their own ideas in terms of materials, like one student brought in his, um, 3d doodle pin mm-hmm <affirmative> and he made joints and everything with this pin.
Sharita Ware (12:54):
And I’m, and I had delayed buying one, cause I’m like, I, how do you have control over that thing? Mm-hmm <affirmative> he brought that in and he did probably two or three iterations of it and, and got it to work where even the knee where it bit back 90 degrees, but it stopped. He made like, so that it didn’t bend forward. It blows my mind. I’m like so many UN unexpected things have, have happened just from my, um, teaching style. Now I did have, my first few years, I had a, a teaching coach, um, come in and, um, I asked her to come into my room because I just wanted to make sure because I was not a traditional teacher. She said, this classroom is amazing. And, and I think the one thing that she helped me with was, was purpose and consistency and the sense of making sure that with the standards that all of these cool things and ways of being, um, that I was doing in my classroom, that, that I kept it purposeful and intentional. So many times as educators, I know in having student teachers again, ask yourself the question, what is the big picture I want the kids to take away. And once you ask that question, then everything that you have them do will lead to that big picture. Well, it should lead to that big picture.
Eric Cross (14:22):
So it sounds like they’re, you’re starting with this end goal in mind and then kind of backwards planning to get there. Yeah. Do you think you would’ve been the same type of teacher if you would’ve gone straight from college into the classroom? No. And if, if, no, as you’re shaking your head, what do you think it is about? Cause I’ve been asking myself these questions, like just over the years, what is it about coming from industry and going into the classroom? Do you feel like, is how has that impacted you in how you teach?
Sharita Ware (14:45):
Well, I think it’s twofold cuz I was older. I already had three children. I think the combination for me, I think is I was already a mom and I had worked in industry. So the behavior aspect of kids and, and then having that real world experience. And I, I just feel like whether it’s in the classroom, um, marriage, kids, to me, it’s 90% relationship, you know, and the rest will work itself out. That’s, that’s just my, my take on it. But I, I feel like having kids, so some of the behavioral things I kind of was aware of, you know, and just learned many times just not to react to some of the things that they did.
Eric Cross (15:31):
Which is huge. Right. Especially in middle school is controlling your reactions.
Sharita Ware (15:35):
Yes. Cuz that’s what they want. You know? And, and I had this student last year as well. She’s brilliant. And so if she cannot wrap her mind around the purpose of what you’re doing and, and you’re pushing her to do something that she doesn’t think is necessary, mm-hmm <affirmative>, she kind of has these meltdowns. And, and so we just had this, you know, I don’t know, we just came to this understanding and it, and it works to control the meltdowns. I tried to make sure. And, and I used her as a gauge because I knew she wasn’t, she wasn’t getting upset because she didn’t understand. She didn’t understand the why mm-hmm <affirmative>. And so I felt like if she got the why then so would everyone else. So when she, if she was okay with it, then I was like, okay, then I must have explained it well enough.
Sharita Ware (16:25):
And so in my mind that I really need to make sure they understand the, again, going back to that purpose <laugh> and intention, making sure that that is clear. And then I think that’s what gets lost. Sometimes mm-hmm <affirmative> uh, with us as teachers, we, we know where we want the kids to go and we want us to trust the process, you know, just do it because I said so, but sometimes, you know, empowering your children to under to understand the why, because that again is what allows them to be able to do bigger and greater things on their own. So on that next project comes along. They’re starting to tell you, well, first we need to make sure we understand what, um, we’re being asked to do to do. So we have to define the question. We have to make our driving question that will help us stay focused. And, and you’re just standing up there going, okay, now you don’t need me. I’ll go here and sit down. <laugh> so it’s, uh, it is really cool.
Eric Cross (17:28):
Now I’m thinking about my own kids. Like, do my students know the why behind the lesson we did today? It’s one area of growth that I wanna make sure I do this year with my students. And so I really appreciate that. So the, and you just hit on something that is, has been in the forefront of my mind lately and math and English as you know, tend to be prioritized in schools everywhere because it’s what state tested. And it’s what, you know, this is a whole other conversation, but I’ve been talking to math teachers frequently about one of the challenges that they experience or they’ve been telling me is that math is kind of taught. Like it’s just computational, you’re solving these problems, but it’s really separated from any real life application. A lot of times, you know, it’s pizza or gumballs or, or just fictional scenarios and students don’t perform well many times. And some of the reasons why is cuz just no connection. I don’t want to solve puzzles. Like it’s not my jam. Do you have any just inside or, or perspective on how math is, is taught in maybe a way that you think it would students would benefit more?
Sharita Ware (18:32):
You know how kids learn in elementary school, you’ve got this, the same teacher teaching all of the subjects. And so wouldn’t that be an awesome opportunity for you to have like these, these projects where I feel like you could, a class could legit work on the same project for a whole entire year. And so couldn’t the English be writing your persuasive letter to the mayor, asking him to do this or do that. And the process of doing that they’re, they’re, they’re writing with a purpose with a true purpose. Um, and then when they’re doing math, you know, they want, they want a new neighborhood park. So, you know, well how much is this gonna cost? Well, math, what size is it gonna be math? Let’s see what it looks like, art, you know, you just, you have all of this things. And then of course then science.
Sharita Ware (19:32):
So if it’s on a heel, how can we, you know, deal with erosion? And you know, you can just pull so many different things into that. And so not only are they learning, but they’re narrowed in and focused on a project, they’re, they’re able to dive deep into, you know, learning more of learning, how to express themselves and communicate with real people. So it’s more of taking these compartmentalized learning that we do in middle school and high school. Mm-hmm, <affirmative> where you’re almost learning apprenticeship style. Mm-hmm <affirmative>, you know, you have these master educators and it’s not about them being the best at math or being the best at this or that. Cuz there’s so many tools now that could help you through that. But you’re, you’re giving, you’re teaching them so many life skills and so many ways to think and problem solve that, that we’re just that the kids just don’t have.
Eric Cross (20:27):
I think that that is amazing. And I think that in that situation, what I’m hearing is we’re going deeper, not wider because there are a lot of different concepts that kids are expected to learn. Or I should say there are several concepts that teachers are expected to teach doesn’t necessarily mean that our kids are learning, but we’re teaching them. And this way you’re embedded it into an authentic context. Students are able to go through this cycle just like real life. And then they’re also able to build these kind of really transdisciplinary skills. Not only am I learning the math, the English, the the, but I’m also learning the interpersonal skills of being able to sell myself and present myself in a way that’s winsome. And it’s especially powerful coming from someone from industry. Last question, even just listening to you, I know you, you are this for a lot of people, but I wanted to ask you who inspires you?
Sharita Ware (21:14):
I think there have been lots of people over the years. Like I’m thinking of my shop teacher who has since, uh, the last few years passed away. Um, he was one of those people, I think similar personality to me, super quiet person, but he was always in the background on my journey and his name was Joe Mo and we called her Madam Carol was my 10th grade English lit teacher. And she was the one that started reading my work out in front of the class. And you know, and that just gave me courage, not so much to be seen. Uh, but that the work I was doing was, was good. And, and I think I needed that kind of encouragement. Lastly, my students inspire me because when I look at their faces and see the excitement, I think of those students for the first time and, and, and think about this seventh and eighth graders for the first time feeling like they really have something to say, they really have something to contribute of value. And, and I do it for them. You know, the reason why I am here in this moment is because of them. Um, without them, you wouldn’t be talking to me <laugh>
Eric Cross (22:37):
This is, this is true. This is, this is true. You would probably never say this about yourself, but you just exude a humility and a service in how you talk about your students and yourself. And I just wanna thank you for using your gifts, but I don’t wanna just call them gifts because it makes it sound like you didn’t earn ’em and your skills that you’ve earned and worked very hard to acquire over the years to go back into the classroom and leave industry, cuz you, you could have gone back to industry too, but you decided not to. And you could have worked in the industry and your hours were a little different pay is a little different, but you came back to serve the kids of Indiana and because of you and because of that choice, those students have a brighter future and believe in themselves and they’re finding their voice. And I want to thank you for that and for representing all of us stem teachers who are in middle school and being that leader. So thank you for that and thank you for being on the podcast.
Sharita Ware (23:24):
You’re welcome. Thank you for having me.
Eric Cross (23:28):
Thank so much for listening. Now we wanna hear more about you in the amazing work you’re doing for students. Do you have any educators who inspire you? You can nominate them as a future guest on science connections by emailing stem, amplifycom.wpengine.com. That’s ST E M amplifycom.wpengine.com. Make sure to click, subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and join our Facebook group science connections, the community until next time.
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Meet the guest
Sharita Ware, a Purdue University graduate, is in her 10th year of teaching engineering and technology education to middle school students in the Tippecanoe School Corporation. Ware challenges her students with real-world, problem-based design scenarios that will help them contribute to global technology and integrated STEM. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram.
About Science Connections
Welcome to Science Connections! Science is changing before our eyes, now more than ever. So…how do we help kids figure that out? We will bring on educators, scientists, and more to discuss the importance of high-quality science instruction. In this episode, hear from our host Eric Cross about his work engaging students as a K-8 science teacher. Listen here!
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S1-01: The journey from student to SpaceX engineer: Juan Vivas
In this episode, we join Eric Cross as he talks to supply chain engineer Juan Vivas of SpaceX about his experiences growing up as a Latino in STEM. Juan shares his story of moving to the United States to study engineering and becoming successful in his career as a scientist. Juan openly discusses the experiences that made a difference in his life and the teachers that inspired him along the way. He also shares his experience as an engineer in different fields, as well as what it’s like to work in the supply chain during COVID.
Explore more from Science Connections by visiting our main page.
Juan Vivas (00:00):
But to me, based on my experience so far, I think the best way to put it: An engineer is a technical problem-solver.
Eric Cross (00:28):
Welcome to Science Connections. I’m your host, Eric Cross. My guest today is Juan Vivas. Juan is a supply chain engineer for SpaceX. His career in STEM has pivoted from chemical engineering to working on foods like Cinnamon Toast Crunch to his current role at SpaceX, where he’s responsible for his work on Starlink, a technology that uses low-orbit satellites to provide internet access across the world. In this episode, Juan shares his story of how he became an engineer and how a thoughtful teacher used robotics to inspire him. I hope you enjoy this great conversation with Juan Vivas. Juan, thanks for being here.
Juan Vivas (01:14):
Yeah, yeah, of course! Super-excited to be here.
Eric Cross (01:19):
Hey, and starting off, I kind of like to ask your origin story. We were talking earlier about Marvel, and your journey of one working for…what I consider the closest thing that we have to SHIELD in the Marvel stories is SpaceX. Like with my own students, we talk about SpaceX like it’s a fictional thing, and we watch the rocket launches together and we watch the recovery and it’s so cool.
Juan Vivas (01:45):
Yeah.
Eric Cross (01:46):
And so when I knew that we were gonna be able to talk to you, I was excited. Like, I felt like I was a kid.
Juan Vivas (01:51):
<Laugh>
Eric Cross (01:51):
So I’d love to hear your origin story of you ultimately landing at SpaceX. And begin wherever kind of seems most natural to you.
Juan Vivas (01:59):
Yeah, yeah, of course. You know, I wasn’t one of those kids at from a young age I said “Oh, I’m gonna be an engineer.” Right? “I want to go and build all these things.” Where I grew up, and the social circle that I had, a lot of people were like doctors or lawyers. Just figured, you know, I’ll go to med school and go down the same path that 90% of like everyone else was gonna take. But in high school, I actually got into robotics. And, kind of like I mentioned, I wanted to do med school, that is what I figured I would end up doing. And then I got into robotics in high school. And I think that was what really kind of like changed my perspective of what I wanted to do, because basically these competitions were just—it was full-on driven by students. So we designed, programmed, and manufactured, like, the entire robot itself. And so through that I ended up doing a summer engineering program at the University of Maryland, the summer before going into my senior year in high school. And there we worked on a competition with underwater robots. And so we spent the entire summer, kind of similar scenario, designing a robot, manufacturing it, programming it. And then in the end it was like a competition in the buoyancy tank with different teams. And, you know, I think one thing that was really neat about that experience is that I got to hear Dr. John C. Mathers, who is a Nobel Prize physicist, speak to us in a room with, like, only 10 high school students. And just hearing his experience of where he started and the accomplishment that he’s been able to do, down in the STEM path, was really neat. And that summer was my final decision that I’m “OK, I know I want to be an engineer.” What’s interesting is I ended up choosing chemical engineering, instead of mechanical, which a lot of people, you know, based on all the experience that led me up to be an engineer, they asked me why I didn’t choose mechanical engineering. And I think one of the reasons why I chose chemical engineering is it’s very process-based. So one thing needs to happen, and there’s different inputs to that one step, and that step has an end-to-end reaction to it, right? So certain things need to happen in step one in order for step two to occur. And however the inputs happen in step one, it’s gonna affect the rest of the process. Honestly, very different than what I thought it was really gonna be. But what’s neat about chemical engineering is that it’s one of the most versatile engineering majors that you can have. Chemical engineering, because you work with a lot of process bases. Everything has a process, right? Everything needs to start with step one, and with, you know, step 10, whatever. And it’s all about optimization and improvement along those processes. So you can really take chemical engineering principles and apply ’em to different areas of a career, which is essentially the experience that I had in college. I had three internships with Dow Chemical where I did environmental health and safety, production, and supply-chain improvement. I then did research and development with Clorox. And then I did manufacturing engineering with General Mills. So really different job roles, different aspects, but same methodology applied.
Eric Cross (05:36):
I feel like there’s so much that you just said, <laugh> and I was trying to always, “I wanna ask him about that!” And in there, what I heard was there was a real pivotable, pivot moment in your life. Was the club…or was it a club, the robotics program? Or was that a class?
Juan Vivas (05:53):
You know, it was actually…it was VEX Robotics, specifically.
Eric Cross (05:56):
It was VEX! OK. Yeah, yeah. Really popular. And they still have it; I think we actually have some downstairs. So it was a club, and not necessarily a formal environment, where you were able to build. And it’s both collaborative and competitive, right? Like, there’s both aspects.
Juan Vivas (06:11):
Yep. Yep.
Eric Cross (06:11):
And, and then you had access to one of the only two facilities in the country that have these…were they buoyancy tanks?
Juan Vivas (06:20):
Buoyancy tanks, yep.
Eric Cross (06:21):
And there’s this book, Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers, and then another similar book called Balance. It talks about how some of these innovators, like Steve Jobs and, and Bill Gates, they had access to things that other people didn’t. So, like, Bill Gates, I think at the University of Washington, had a computer that, you know, no one else did. And Jobs had one at, like, Hewlett-Packard. So it gave you this awesome headstart, where you’re able to test things in a real-life environment that kind of transfers into real-world skills. And then a few internships, so like, internships and mentors. So you had these people in the industry or people who were front-runners that were able to pour into you and give you these opportunities. And so it’s really neat to see how a program that starts as a club, kind of a competitive thing that introduced you to it and hooked you, then led to unfolding all of these opportunities that ultimately led you up to being here. And there’s one part—in looking at your LinkedIn profile, there’s a couple of really cool things that stand out. There’s a lot of cool things, but there’s two that really stood out. So one, working at SpaceX, and we’ll talk more about that, but I wanna go to General Mills and Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Because Cinnamon Toast Crunch is amazing.
Juan Vivas (07:39):
Yeah.
Eric Cross (07:39):
And you were part of the supply chain for that. In my head, I’m thinking, OK, like, what is he like responsible for? Like, getting the cinnamon and sugar?
Juan Vivas (07:51):
<Laugh>
Eric Cross (07:51):
What was, what did your job entail, when you were running that?
Juan Vivas (07:55):
There, I didn’t even know what I was gonna be doing until my first day. It was just, whatever the business need is, that’s where you’re gonna be put. So this was actually a high-priority plan for General Mills. And the production line that made Cinnamon Toast Crunch was split up into processes. So you have, they call it the process-process side, which is like literally raw materials, like making the cereal from scratch, baking it, adding the sugar, and then sending it to be packaged. And then you have the packaging-process side. so I was then placed as a packaging process lead, for the packaging side of that production line. So I was accountable for two packaging lines that packed out Cinnamon Toast Crunch. And that is where—that was actually my first real, you know, call it “real job,” like graduated college, going straight into the industry. I was a process lead for the packaging side of Cinnamon Toast Crunch.
Eric Cross (08:54):
So you went from cereal to rockets, <laugh>, which which is an amazing trajectory to have.
Juan Vivas (09:03):
Yeah. Yeah.
Eric Cross (09:04):
And when you kind of mentioned, back in your story about medical school, and, you know, it’s kinda like, what you see people doing, and you’re “OK, this is what I think I wanna do.” And then we have a perception in our mind about what a certain job’s gonna be like. And then reality hits. I think a lot of—when I ask my students, “What do you wanna do?” They think, like, “lawyer!” and when they think “lawyer!” they’re like, “I’m good at arguing!” Right? And until they find—until they talk to some lawyers and they find out like what that career can look like.
Juan Vivas (09:28):
Yeah.
Eric Cross (09:28):
You’re not just in the courtroom showing off your arguing skills. But, like, an engineer, when I talk to my students about what does it mean to be an engineer, often it’s very linear. It’s “I build bridges,” or, you know, maybe cars, but you’re a supply chain engineer. And, and that’s something that I think, now more than ever, it’s probably an incredibly critical role, especially considering that all of these supply constraints. Can you—what is a supply chain engineer? And what does it look like in your day-to-day? How is engineering rolled into that?
Juan Vivas (10:03):
Yeah, yeah. I think that’s an excellent question. I, too, once thought that engineering was just “I’m gonna be actually making something physical,” and like being super engineer-y about it. But, to me, based on my experience so far, I think the best way to put it: An engineer is a technical problem solver. As a supply chain engineer, specifically right now in my role at SpaceX…you know, as you can guess, the supply chain in the entire world is crazy. There’s no raw materials anywhere, and nothing can ever get on time. And so what I work on is I help our suppliers develop processes to meet the design criteria that we set up for like a specific part. As my job as a supply chain engineer, it’s “Can I take this design and make it manufacturable?” Right? “Can I go to any supplier and can they actually make this to the tolerance that the design engineer set them to be?” Nine out of 10 cases, the answer is no, essentially, is the best high-level way to put it.
Eric Cross (11:10):
When you’re solving these problems, is it this iterative process of going back and forth? Or is it just this aha-moment when you finally figure things out? ‘Cause I imagine they’re coming up with a design; you’re going back and saying, “Can this be manufactured?” or “Can it be done?” They’re saying no 90% of the time. And then are you the one responsible for kind of iterating on this, or changing it and then going back to them and telling them, asking them, until you get a yes? Is that—
Juan Vivas (11:33):
Yep. Yep, yep. Exactly. So we go through a process called Design for Manufacturing, DFMing. And where I essentially take, you know, the design engineer’s proposal, and then I have conversations with the suppliers, and then, that’s where the iteration begins. Where we go back and forth, back and forth, until we kind of meet in the middle to have something that can be manufacturable. Most of the times, in my experience, suppliers will always tell you no, just because they always want something that is manufactured really easily. And so you just gotta learn through experience. Like, when are they actually telling you something that’s a fact, versus when they’re just trying to you know, get out of a tolerance, or that “all right, all right, they mentioned that would just like make their jobs a little bit more difficult.”
Eric Cross (12:17):
So I’m hearing like there’s soft skills that are woven into the technical skills that you also need to be able to have.
Juan Vivas (12:23):
Oh, yes, absolutely. Yeah. I think, you know, as an engineer—and this is something, again, that I feel like you can only learn through experience—you’re gonna see that it’s not just you working to solve this one problem. Especially for a supply chain engineer. You’re talking with marketing; you’re talking with an industrial design team; you’re talking with logistics; you’re talking with procurement, materials management—just a whole set of people that don’t necessarily have technical background. Right? So sometimes, depending on the audience that I’m targeting, I’m always very, very peculiar on what is my target audience, right? How can I—how deep in my technical knowledge do I need to go? Because if I just, you know, talk straight Engineer, they either don’t care or they’re gonna be really confused about what I’m saying. So there is a stronghold of soft skills that definitely go into engineering, which I think are really important to communicate, you know, to, let’s say, students that are really interested in engineering. So you can be extremely smart and intelligent and really good at problem-solving, but if you don’t have those soft skills that you apply in the real world—’cause in the real world, you’re never only gonna be working with engineers, no matter like where you’re at—so having those soft skills to be able to manage with different backgrounds and different sort of people and different ways of thinking, it’s, I feel, really critical, for, for an engineer in the real world.
Eric Cross (13:50):
No, I think that’s a great point. It reminds me of teaching! And so many other professions where your ultimate goal is to really pour into this person in front of you and help develop them and create a sense of inquiry and wonder and personal growth and inspiration. But you’re also working within constraints and people and relationships. You know, you have your other teachers, you have parents, you have administrators, you have a district, you have communities, stakeholders. You have all of these different dynamics that you have to kind of navigate in order to ultimately help this child thrive. Versus just, like, being in the classroom: “OK, I just got <laugh>, the hundred or 200 students, just you and me. That’s it.” But that’s not the real world. And there’s this report that came out, I think Google ran it, Project Oxygen and Project Aristotle, and they asked the question, “What are the most effective traits of a good team and a manager?” And the top seven skills were all soft skills. So it is like exactly what you’re saying, where, yeah, it’s great that you have this technical aptitude, but if you’re not able to work with other people, problem-solve together, work with people of different backgrounds and perspectives, then you’re gonna run into some roadblocks. And that kind of dovetails, like, looking at things like if you looked at education from the perspective of an engineer. So you’re all about optimizing, right? Optimizing, working with what you got. When you look at education, are there any things that you would optimize to help improve the experience of students? Like, looking back, that you would fine-tune, that you think could provide better outcomes in the classroom?
Juan Vivas (15:28):
You know, I feel…I don’t know. Obviously I’m not a teacher. And I’m sure teachers just have so much stuff going on. But I think just like, finding…giving a chance to those students that you see a lot of potential in and really taking the time to mold them. You know, I did have a teacher who was able to mold me and give me that kind of one-on-one personal experience, right? I think honestly to me it just comes down to mentorship, and motivating students on what, you know, they’re passionate for. Like, putting them in front of engineers, right? Like finding engineers to come volunteer and explain to them. I genuinely believe it just takes one spark to really get a student on a trajectory where they can make an impact in the future. So to me, it comes down to, really, exposure. How much are you really exposing your students to…you know what, something I’ve learned, when I joined SpaceX, is that Elon doesn’t believe—well, you know, there there’s a lot of things that Elon believes and not believes in; there’s a whole different type of conversation!—but he doesn’t think that you can just take a curriculum, let’s say, and just apply it massively to everyone and expect like everyone to be it. That’s just naturally not how it works, right? Students learn at different paces; they have different sort of interests. This is actually why he created his own school for his kids in LA, called Ad Astra. You know, if you take that mentality, what that school is doing is that they’re working at the students’ pace and at the student’s interests, right? And I actually have a coworker who has his kids in that school. And I mean, these are one of the most brilliant kids I’ve ever known. Like, they are taking differential equations in the eighth grade. And I didn’t know what differential equations was until I was in college already and they told me, “This is a class you have to take.” <Laugh>. But it’s finding that crossway where, where is the curiosity of the student? What are they really interested in? and exposing them to that.
Eric Cross (17:51):
Yeah. And what I’m hearing of that is, in teacher-speak, a lot of personalized learning. Like you were talking about…is it Ad Astra?
Juan Vivas (17:59):
Ad Astra? Yep.
Eric Cross (18:01):
Ad Astra. You know, every student learns in their own way and they develop knowledge in their own way. And being able to personalize learning according to the students’ abilities and needs, and then accelerate or slow down, really produces some amazing effects. I know this is something that we as teachers try to do with the classroom. Scaling it is the challenge. But it’s great because even with people who are in charge of policy or people who have decision-making ability, hearing people from the top down saying, “Hey, look, this is what worked for me. This is how I was able to become successful. I had a teacher that was able to be a mentor to me because they knew me, they had a relationship with me, they were able to tap into my passions and use those passions to drive me to do or put me in programs that I might not have known about because they, they knew who I was.” And it’s not one-size-fits-all for everyone. So having—maybe it’s curriculum or learning experiences that are kind of modular, where students are able to maybe try on different things and get that exposure, I’m a big, big believer, like you are, in mentorship. That was a huge, huge thing in my life. Having mentors. It’s the reason why I became a science teacher. In seventh grade, I had a mentor who had us doing college-level science, you know, at UC San Diego. And it completely changed the trajectory of my life, in a direction that I wouldn’t have had without him. So I think that’s great. And it’s something that we as teachers would appreciate hearing. Going back to what you said…earlier you said your wife is a supply chain engineer as well. And so that means that there’s two people who are process-minded in the household. And this is kind of a lighter question, but I gotta wonder, do you have the most optimized flow for grocery shopping? <Laugh> Because…
Juan Vivas (19:49):
Yeah, I think we don’t spend more than like 20 minutes at a grocery store. Mind you, we only shop at Trader Joe’s and we have a very specific list before going in. And if you ever shop at Trader Joe’s, you just know where everything is ’cause it’s always there and it’s small, right? But yeah, like we’re, we’re in and out in like 15, 20 minutes. It’s great.
Eric Cross (20:11):
I love it. I love it. I feel like I’m that way by design. I go in with a purpose and this is exactly what I want. I know where the cookie butter is, <laugh>, I know where my coffee is, and then, OK, I’m in and out. Apple Pay or whatever I’m using. And then we’re good to go. Do you think…so as someone listening to this or some people even just becoming aware of supply chain engineering, what advice would you give someone that’s interested in pursuing this career path? If you maybe reverse-engineered your process, knowing what you know now, you were gonna give advice, you were that mentor, what are just some kind of tips or ideas or thoughts or trajectories that you’d think that they should aim for? I’m assuming like robotics….
Juan Vivas (20:56):
Yeah. You know, I think I would say definitely finding some sort of program that exposes you to a lot of things that you won’t be exposed to, like on a day-to-day basis, or something that you just can’t be exposed to naturally at school. And mentorship, honestly. I was born in Colombia and my parents were both—they’re still both professionals, but they were both professionals in Colombia. And when we moved to this country, this was like December of 1999. My parents started from scratch, and so they didn’t really grow up in the States, right? So when it was my time to go to college and do all of this stuff, it was just like me on my own figuring this stuff out. And, you know, they definitely made some mistakes when it came to college applications and whatnot. But once I was in college, I knew that the best way for my success was gonna be through mentorship. And that’s when I joined the, Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, which is a nationwide organization. And each college, well, most college campuses, have their own chapter. In joining that, I was exposed to resume workshops, mock interviews—basically how do you even talk to a recruiter? Which is so critical, right? And personally that that organization was really what molded my actual professional career.
Eric Cross (22:19):
There’s this theme that I’m hearing, kind of weaving through this. And in addition to—as we’re talking about STEM and technical skills, in addition to that, there’s this thread that I’m receiving of…being able to form relationships with other people, for our students, is an important skill to teach and should be taught explicitly. Which isn’t…it’s not really a curriculum, right? Like, you don’t get tested on your ability to….conflict resolution or how to write an email or how to develop a relationship. And then the other part in I think what you just said is the aspect of community. Through this organization, you learned kind of some of these hidden rules, maybe I would call it.
Juan Vivas (23:04):
Yep.
Eric Cross (23:04):
It’s not that you didn’t have the…you had the aptitude. You had the drive. But there were these kind of hidden rules, and from moving to the US, you needed a community to be able to show you, so that you can kind of go through the proper steps.
Juan Vivas (23:16):
Exactly.
Eric Cross (23:17):
And so that created a lot of value for you.
Juan Vivas (23:19):
Yep.
Eric Cross (23:20):
Well, the last question that I have is, is just kind of a wondering. You have this awesome story, and the story continues to unfold. I gotta say, <laugh> I’m gonna be following your LinkedIn profile, because I think you just have kind of the coolest trajectory of going from, you know, General Mills, working in chemical engineering, and then ultimately it’s SpaceX. And every time I see the rocket taking off and landing, I’m gonna be thinking, thinking about you. So cool!
Juan Vivas (23:47):
Yeah. Yeah.
Eric Cross (23:49):
And personally, I have a hope that one day, one of my students will be at a company, you know, like SpaceX or Tesla or wherever, and one day I get to interview them and talk to them and see what they say. But the last question I want to ask is, is there, is there a teacher who inspired you, or a memorable experience that you have that made an impact on you?
Juan Vivas (24:16):
Yeah, yeah, of course. It was kind of you know, middle school going into high school. The way my school worked, everything was divided from pre-kindergarten, whatever, first to sixth grade, and then seventh grade to 12th grade. So I had a high school science teacher, Ms. Brown, Ms. Velda Brown, who, came from a small little island town on the east coast of Canada. Somehow landed, in the high school that I went to, to teach science. Going back to the beginning of the story where I mentioned that I figured whatever, I’ll go to med school. I played soccer, basketball, and, you know, I said, “I’ll figure it out once I graduate.” It might have been like life science in the eighth grade or something like that. But then she went on to teach me chemistry and physics as well. And when I was in the 10th grade, she approached me and she asked me if I wanted to join the robotics club. And I remember saying robotics? I don’t know. You know, naturally, in school, it’s different sorts of crowds: people that play sports and people that are like in like STEM clubs or whatever. And I was, “Ah, I don’t know; I don’t know how I feel about robotics; not really my thing….” But somehow she convinced me to join robotics. It’s me, coming into this group of kids that already knew each other, and they were all working on robotics. And I’m, “Yeah, I mean, I guess I’m just here to try this thing out.” It was a thing where we met every single Saturday at like seven in the morning. And there were times where I literally had to choose, “Do I go to like a soccer game or do I go to you help my team with robotics?” And I completely loved it. Like, I fell in love with the aspect of building something from scratch, and just making it operative. And she ended up just being a huge mentor for me in high school, actually. With her, with the help of her, I ended up opening the robotics club at my school. And before I left, we opened it up to middle schoolers. And then, you know, later, years later down the road when I was in college, I found out that it was now a whole-school thing. So there was an elementary robotics club at the school, the middle school one, and then the high school one were still a thing like years after I left. And that was like just so amazing to hear. But yeah, it was Ms. Velda Brown, my high school science teacher, that really took her time to mold me and get me into robotics, and really mentor me. And honestly, I’m sure you as teachers, you guys probably hear about it a lot, but you can have a lot of power in shaping a kid by just telling—believing in them, right? She believed in me so much that I would go on to be a successful engineer. And I’m. “OK, yeah, yeah, you’re just saying it.” But she spoke life into her students up to this day. I still speak about it with my wife, and when I’m in conversations about this, that if it wasn’t for my high school science teacher, I would not—well, no, I would probably not be an engineer right now.
Eric Cross (27:38):
Wow. Shout out to Ms. Velda Brown <laugh>. Would you say she spoke…I think one thing that just resonated with me is when you said she “spoke life” into you.
Juan Vivas (27:46):
Yeah.
Eric Cross (27:46):
That was really powerful. And I think we as teachers have that power and we don’t realize it. Because, you know, we get so we’re so familiar and living day-to-day, but we do have the power of life, speaking life, into our young people. And, yeah, that was—
Juan Vivas (28:03):
Absolutely, yeah. You know, I think obviously people grew up with different backgrounds, different communities, life situations, right? So imagine having like a student that is similar in that environment and then they just hear someone at their school, like, “Hey, you’re really good at this. why don’t you consider doing this?” And that’s when I feel teachers have that power. Where like they don’t necessarily know the background, but they can make that opportunity, or make that decision in the moment, to really shape a student’s life.
Eric Cross (28:37):
And we need to hear that. And I think, I hope that other teachers listening to this will be reminded that many times we don’t get to reap the harvest. We don’t get to see the <laugh> Juan Vivases at SpaceX. They just kind of go, and they disappear, and we hope for the best, and we get a new group. But every once in a while they come back, and we get to see what our watering or seed-planting was able to produce. And so, just know that you sharing your story for educators, and for definitely Ms. Brown, makes a huge difference and is a huge encouragement. So.
Juan Vivas (29:11):
You know, I think we touched on earlier, you know, how do I end up going from cereal to rockets, right? And I think it ties along with what I mentioned earlier of just taking—as an engineer, you’re really a critical problem solver, right? And you think that methodology. And if you find a way, you can apply it to different sectors. When I was doing a lot of like the packaging process stuff at General Mills, being a lead on a high-volume manufacturing line, what I do for SpaceX specifically, right now, I’m actually on the Starlink project. So if you’re up to date with Starlink, it’s, it’s essentially high reliable, fast internet that we’re providing to areas where usually people don’t have access to internet, right? Or maybe they do, but it’s extremely expensive. Because to an internet provider company, the benefit is not there, if they extend an entire internet fiber line out to their place because it’s only directed to them, right? So that’s, that’s essentially what Starlink is trying to solve. And this is the first time that SpaceX is facing a consumer packaging scenario. Before it was just rockets. And now they’re selling a product to consumers. They had never done that before, especially in a high-volume manufacturing setting. And so I am the supplier development engineer for all the consumer-facing packaging for the Starlink product itself. And that’s essentially how all those thoughts connected, where I had this experience coming from General Mills and packaging high-volume manufacturing. And then when Starlink started, they’re all, “Right, well, who knows anything about packaging?” Right? “We know so much about rockets, we need someone with this technical background.” And that’s essentially how I bridge over to SpaceX.
Eric Cross (31:11):
And so while you’re working at SpaceX, you’re working on Starlink, which I know you mentioned that—you said that it’s providing internet globally, which in and of itself, we—especially those of us that live in major cities—we kind of take for granted. Internet is like a utility. But we don’t maybe realize that in many parts of the world, internet is not reliable or even accessible.
Juan Vivas (31:33):
Right. Right.
Eric Cross (31:34):
I see every once in a while, I think, the StarlinK satellites sometimes are visible?
Juan Vivas (31:38):
Yep.
Eric Cross (31:39):
Low orbit?
Juan Vivas (31:39):
Yeah. Yeah. You can go—they’ll kind of be like a little train of bright stars that move along together. Yep.
Eric Cross (31:46):
And that must—that must feel…I mean, we all have jobs and we’re all doing different things, but you’re working on a project and you’re engineering something that actually can provide a lot of opportunities or close a gap in some parts of the world where they don’t have access to internet. They’re gonna be able to have access and be connected all over. I dunno, the word would be “existential.” Existential value. Like, what you’re doing is actually providing a service for people. Humanity. Like, addressing a critical need in many, many places around the world.
Juan Vivas (32:26):
Yeah. We’ve had stories where we have sent Starlink kids to a small school in a village in rural Chile, right in South America. And for the first time ever, they’ve had internet. We have supported disaster relief in Europe. I think this past summer, Europe had really bad floods. We sent Starlink kits out there. You know, the vision of working at an Elon Musk company and SpaceX and Starlink—this is all stuff that is being done for the first time in history. We have never, ever done anything like this before until now. And to be able to provide those that don’t have the access to—to your point, it’s kind of wild, right? Like we, we just take it for granted. “Oh yeah, I just have internet. Let me log on.” There are people on Earth right now that have never been on the internet. Or don’t even know what the internet is. And that’s essentially the, the gap that Startlink is starting to close.
Eric Cross (33:26):
Yeah. We think about that while my students are doing TikTok dances. <Laugh> And there are people who, you know, never, never been connected. And, it kind of makes me more like, just inside, if I can ask: What’s it like working at SpaceX? I showed my students what it’s like working at some of the Silicon Valley companies. ‘Cause just to show them there’s slides and food and, you know, they kind developed this ecosystem inside so that it’s really kind of homey to kind of keep you there, you know. When you’re working and there’s bikes and things like that. And that’s a very Silicon Valley type of thing. But, you know, in listening to you talk about SpaceX and Elon, you know, you’re with a really visionary kind of company, and when I hear you talk about it, there’s I can hear this passion, this, “we’re doing something.” Is that culture, like, pervasive everywhere? Are you around folks that kind of are on that same wavelength? Because I definitely get it from you as you talk about what you do.
Juan Vivas (34:28):
Yeah, yeah. Definitely. I think, as an engineer, you know, going to SpaceX and working at SpaceX, it’s essentially—personally, I believe right now in the US it’s like the mecca of engineering, right? Like, it is where engineering in this most, you know, shape and manner, it’s being applied. I think what’s really interesting is that the way that Elon looks at it is just iterate, and iterate fast, right? Like, fail and fail fast. I think as an engineer, you always want to have things perfect, right? And so you spend a lot of time in making a decision or investigating something or whatever. And working at SpaceX is the complete opposite. It’s just you know, “Assume, state your assumptions—like, what are you assuming right now? What are the risk at it? And just make a decision and then see what the result is.” You know, so it’s an environment where you learn, really quick.
Eric Cross (35:28):
You said something that I think was powerful and I hope, I think <laugh>, this is definitely, I’m gonna get a clip of this <laugh> of you saying it. Because it speaks directly to, I think, what a lot of students struggle with in the classroom, is there’s this competition or feeling that you always need to be right. And you need to be right the first try, on the first time. And a lot of times it’s because students will compare themselves to each other, or there’s a tremendous amount of pressure to be successful. But you said, “Fail and fail fast, iterate, state your assumptions.” And it sounds like this critical part of being an engineer or in what you do, like there’s no room for ego or attaching your identity or your sense of value or worth or ability to whether you’re able to solve a problem in the first try.
Juan Vivas (36:13):
Yep.
Eric Cross (36:14):
Like, you have to be OK with the cycle, is kind of what I’m hearing from you. Is that, is that right?
Juan Vivas (36:19):
Yep. Exactly. It only took six months to develop the product from scratch and launch it to the public, which is insane. Nowhere in the world will any company ever iterate that fast and come up with a brand-new project. But it’s because of that mentality—like you’re saying, it’s not about like just trying to make it perfect and have all this information. And I think Elon has learned this personally, you know, through Tesla and the beginning of SpaceX. It’s, “I can wait to have all this information, and most likely I’m still gonna be wrong after I make the decision.” So it’s, “Might as well take the risk, do the decision, and then just see where you learn from it, right?” And then you keep applying that, applying that. So it’s like you iterate, iterate, iterate, iterate until you get what you want.
Eric Cross (37:00):
I think this is even, like, great advice. I’m taking this personally because I get paralysis by analysis <laugh>.
Juan Vivas (37:06):
Yep.
Eric Cross (37:07):
You know, I’ll research something to death but then not actually execute. Like, I need to make a decision and do it and then course-correct along the way. Somebody once told me it’s a lot easier to turn a moving car than it is a car that’s sitting still. And so as you’re kind of flowing, you’re just making these adjustments along the way until you end up on the path that you want to be. So I think that there’s so many gems in the things that you’re saying right now. What I’m thinking through the lens of my seventh graders that want to work in any STEM field—I mean, really, any field in general, but especially engineering, especially the STEM fields—knowing that, pick it, make a decision, move forward, and then course-correct along the way. That’s what science looks like in the real world.
Juan Vivas (37:49):
Yep. Exactly. Yep. And definitely most important—and I feel like this is sometimes where, not necessarily education in general, but it’s just, we want students to, “OK, you need to get it right the perfect time, right?” But it’s like, every student is gonna think differently. A student is gonna take a different assumption based on their background and experiences. And I mean, you know, we can go a lot deeper in that, but the way a student is shaped, they’re gonna take certain assumptions. So that’s where it gets interesting. OK, why are you assuming that? Where’s your thought process in this?
Eric Cross (38:25):
And we all come from different backgrounds and mindsets and filters and biases that cause us to look at something a certain way. And it’s not just like calling it out, just going, “Hey look, this is what it is.” Like autopsy without blame, this is what I’m working with. Let’s discuss it openly. Right? And if we started that process earlier, you know, younger, in classrooms, we can de-stigmatize the right answer being the best answer more, as opposed to focusing on process as opposed to outcome. And then you kinda get used to wanting to go through the process. I look at it like video games and I talk to my students. I say, “You know, you don’t pick up a video game that’s brand-new and then play it and then you die once and you’re ‘Ah, I’m never gonna play this game again.’ You know, it just doesn’t work that way. You’re going through this iterative process, and no matter what you play, you’re trying things differently. You’re data collecting. And then you’re making new decisions based on the data that you collected.” And for some of my kids, they’ll just raise their hands, say, “No, I just get mad and throw the controller across the room.” <Laugh> But I go, “Yeah, and then you’ll try it again.”
Juan Vivas (39:33):
The best way to know how not to do something is to fail. And so you already…I mean, what is that famous quote? I think that’s why Thomas Edison’s, “Oh, I, did not fail 99 times. Right? I only found 99 times…” I mean, that is that is true. And I feel like at work in a SpaceX, that is something that probably the core of it comes from there. It’s you know, any failure, quote unquote, that you may take it as a failure, it’s really not. You’re just “OK, we, we tried that. It didn’t work. Like what are we gonna do next?” So it’s just like taking that learning and like moving off with it quickly.
Eric Cross (40:09):
I heard a couple of teachers say, “Things fail: First Attempt In Learning: F A I L.” And then another teacher, one of my mentor teachers, she said, “There’s no such thing as failure, just data, in science.”
Juan Vivas (40:20):
Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. Exactly. Yep.
Eric Cross (40:23):
And so I’ve always taken that to heart. And I share that with my own students, just, “A ‘no,’ a lot of times, will tell you more information than a ‘yes.’” ‘Cause if something works in the first try, you may not exactly know why it worked. It just did.
Juan Vivas (40:34):
Yeah. Yep.
Eric Cross (40:37):
So yeah. Well, I went on your time, brother. Dude. <laugh>. The time flew. It was…
Juan Vivas (40:46):
Yeah.
Eric Cross (40:47):
There were so many things I was trying to write out as you were talking, that I just felt like, “This guy is sharing so many gems!” But yeah, I want to thank you for taking time outta your day and for sharing that information for your passion for what you do. And, I don’t know, I think that students and teachers that listen to this will get an insight from a perspective that really matters. ‘Cause ultimately we’re, we’re trying to really prepare our students for real life. Maybe I’ll email you privately if I order a Tesla, if you can move me higher up the Cybertruck line. <laugh>
Juan Vivas (41:22):
Yeah. No promises.
Eric Cross (41:24):
<laugh>
Juan Vivas (41:25):
Yeah. No, I appreciate you guys having me, having me here, and be able to speak on my experience. And hopefully it sparks a couple, one, even if it’s just one teacher that will spark another student, that is already success there. So.
Eric Cross (41:42):
Well I know, I know what you said resonates with me and it fills my cup. And I’m excited. So I’m already thinking of some ideas of things that I can do, just because of this conversation, and I know other people will as well. And, again, this is Juan Vivas, who’s a supply development engineer at SpaceX. He’s worked at some amazing places. And someone who believes deeply in not only the power of the technical skills, but the heart skills, and how community makes a huge impact in his life. It made a huge impact in him ultimately becoming a scientist, and now working on a project at SpaceX, Starlink, that is going to provide access to the world, to the web. And that’ll ultimately help us solve more problems and innovate and create some solutions that will benefit everybody. Thank you, sir. Appreciate you.
Juan Vivas (42:30):
Yeah, thank you. Thank you so much, Eric. Appreciate it.
Stay connected!
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Meet the guest
Juan Vivas is a chemical engineer currently working as a Supplier Development Engineer at SpaceX. Juan got his start at the University of Florida, where he led the Society of Hispanic Engineers (SHPE) as vice president. He’s worked for companies like Clorox, Dow Chemical, and General Mills. Juan lives in Los Angeles, California with his wife and two dogs.
About Science Connections: The podcast
Welcome to Science Connections: The Podcast! Science is changing before our eyes, now more than ever. So…how do we help kids figure that out? We will bring on educators, scientists, and more to discuss the importance of high-quality science instruction. In this episode, hear from our host Eric Cross about his work engaging students as a K-8 science teacher.
¡Les damos la bienvenida, familias de Amplify ELA!
Nos complace darles la bienvenida a usted y a su estudiante al programa Amplify ELA para el nuevo año escolar y brindarles oportunidades de aprendizaje excepcionales a través de ELA. Hemos reunido una serie de recursos y guías que ayudarán a que su estudiante aproveche al máximo nuestra plataforma. Ponemos a su disposición estos materiales para que también usted pueda brindar apoyo a su estudiante a lo largo de todo el año.
Para la versión en inglés, haga clic aquí.
¿Qué es Amplify ELA?
Amplify ELA ayuda a los estudiantes de los grados 6 a 8 a leer y comprender textos complejos que los alientan a abordar ideas interesantes y a descubrir, por sí mismos, la relevancia de estos textos. Amplify ELA es un programa mixto que incluye materiales digitales e impresos, pero también se puede utilizar solo de manera impresa. Los estudiantes que usan Amplify ELA leen textos con atención, interpretan lo que encuentran, comparten sus ideas con sus compañeros y desarrollan sus ideas por escrito. La estructura de la lección es fácil de seguir, pero lo suficientemente flexible para permitir diversas experiencias de aprendizaje y lo suficientemente variada para mantener a los estudiantes interesados.
Las características incluyen:
- Funcionalidad que permite a cada estudiante trabajar en su propio nivel y enfrentar, al mismo tiempo, desafíos adecuados.
- Herramientas integradas que permiten a los maestros realizar un seguimiento y responder al trabajo de los estudiantes.
- La biblioteca digital (Amplify Library), que contiene más de 700 libros completos de ficción y no ficción descargables.
- La aplicación de vocabulario (Vocab App), que utiliza actividades lúdicas para ayudar a que los estudiantes dominen las palabras clave de los textos del programa. (Los estudiantes que utilicen materiales impresos verán las palabras clave resaltadas.)
- Tareas de escritura independientes llamadas Solos, disponibles en dispositivos móviles.
- Proyectos interactivos llamados Quests que acompañan a ciertas unidades para proporcionar práctica adicional en las habilidades analíticas de lectura, escritura, habla y escucha.
Primeros pasos
Cómo apoyar a su estudiante en casa:
- Si es posible, lea con su estudiante a diario; incluso 15 minutos de lectura juntos al día pueden tener un gran impacto. Pueden leer juntos en voz alta secciones del texto; a muchos estudiantes de secundaria les gusta adoptar el papel de un personaje de una obra de teatro e interpretar parte de sus diálogos o añadir un toque dramático a un poema en el que estén trabajando. Si su estudiante tiene dificultad para leer en voz alta, intente leerle el texto con expresividad y después pida a su estudiante que haga lo mismo. Los días flexibles del programa (Flex Days) tienen una variedad de actividades de fluidez en la lectura que sirven como práctica adicional. Pídale a su estudiante que le ayude a encontrar estas actividades.
- Busquen momentos para conversar sobre lo que están leyendo y descubriendo. Por ejemplo, usted podría preguntarle:¿Qué te llamó la atención de lo que leíste hoy? ¿Alguna frase o palabra te resultó confusa? ¿Qué te sorprendió más? ¿Qué crees que intentaba comunicar el autor? ¿Estás de acuerdo con sus ideas o descripciones? ¿Qué conexiones puedes establecer entre lo que lees y tu propia vida u otros temas que hayas escuchado?
- Escuche a su estudiante leer sus respuestas escritas o pídale que las comparta con un amigo por teléfono o en una videollamada.
- Explore Amplify Library para encontrar libros que su estudiante pueda disfrutar y leer con fluidez por su cuenta.
- Consulte el artículo Proteja a los niños en internet de la Comisión Federal de Comercio, cuyo tema es la seguridad digital.
Cómo acceder a textos en Amplify Library.
¡Invitamos a que los estudiantes utilicen los textos básicos de Amplify Library en casa! Por favor, siga los siguientes pasos para poder descargar un texto y poder leerlo sin contar con acceso a internet:
1. Diríjase al menú Programs & Apps (Programas y aplicaciones) ubicado en la parte superior de la pantalla y desplácese hacia abajo hasta encontrar el icono de Amplify Library. Cuando lo seleccione, Amplify Library se abrirá en una nueva pestaña.
2. Si se le solicita, siga las instrucciones para configurar un pin para Amplify Library; de lo contrario, continúe con el siguiente paso.
3. En la esquina superior derecha de la pantalla, busque el libro que desea descargar. Por ejemplo: The Secret of the Yellow Death: A True Story of Medical Sleuthing.
4. Seleccione el botón Download (Descargar).
5. Si pierde el acceso a internet mientras está en Amplify Library, podrá seguir accediendo y leyendo los libros descargados. Si la página se actualiza sin tener conexión a internet o usted intenta iniciar sesión en otro dispositivo sin tener conexión, perderá el acceso a los libros descargados hasta que se restablezca la conexión.
Para recuperar los textos descargados:
- Desde la aplicación de Amplify Library, abra el menú desplegable My Library (Mi biblioteca) ubicado en la esquina superior izquierda.
- Seleccione Downloaded (Descargados).
- Elija el texto que desea leer de entre todos los textos previamente descargados.
Vistazo general a los materiales
No todas las escuelas funcionan de la misma manera, pero los estudiantes que asisten a escuelas que tienen las ediciones impresas y digitales del programa probablemente tienen los siguientes materiales impresos en casa:
- Edición para estudiantes (Student Edition): Incluye todas las lecturas y actividades necesarias para la instrucción a lo largo del año. Los estudiantes pueden leer las selecciones tanto en formato digital como impreso y anotar en ambos formatos. Las lecciones de la Edición para estudiantes impresa reflejan cada lección digital, pero se han modificado para que funcionen eficazmente en formato impreso.
- Diarios de escritura (Writing Journals): Este espacio proporciona a los estudiantes la posibilidad de responder a indicaciones de escritura (Writing Prompts) y completar otras tareas escritas.
En el caso de que los estudiantes no tengan acceso a dispositivos o Internet, pueden continuar completando tareas clave de lectura y escritura utilizando las Ediciones para estudiantes impresas y los Diarios de escritura para estudiantes.
Los maestros también pueden acceder a, imprimir y enviar por correo las guías de novelas (Novel Guides) para estudiantes. Las guías abarcan hasta 12 novelas que suelen enseñarse en las escuelas. Seis de estas novelas están disponibles en Amplify Library y la mayoría debería estar disponible en una biblioteca pública.
Reseñas de unidades
A continuación, se presentan breves descripciones generales de cada unidad que su estudiante estudiará en su grado a lo largo del año. Con cada unidad se incluye una guía descargable que ofrece un repaso más detallado del contenido cubierto y de cómo puede ayudar a su estudiante a profundizar en la comprensión de los temas.
Unidad 6A
La narrativa de Dahl
Cada estudiante comienza con escritura narrativa para aumentar rápidamente su producción de escritura, aprender la destreza básica de enfoque y familiarizarse con los hábitos y rutinas clave del salón de clases que utilizarán todo el año. Luego, aplica su nueva capacidad de observación a entretenidas lecturas de la biografía de Roald Dahl, Boy, y aprende a trabajar de cerca con evidencias del texto.
Unidad 6B
Misterios e investigaciones
Cada estudiante lee con la atención propia de un investigador, embarcándose en un estudio del cautivante mundo del trabajo de detective en distintos géneros literarios. Al final de la unidad, el niño o la niña escribe una composición para explicar cuál es el rasgo más útil de un investigador en la resolución de problemas.
Unidad 6C
Colección acerca del chocolate
Los aztecas lo usaban como moneda, Robert Falcon Scott lo llevó a la Antártida, los nazis diseñaron con él una bomba para matar a Churchill. La historia del chocolate se remonta a 3,700 años en el pasado y está repleta de vicisitudes que la vuelven un tema de investigación gratificante. En esta unidad los y las estudiantes analizan documentos de primera fuente y conducen investigaciones independientes para entender mejor la extraña y maravillosa gama de roles que el chocolate ha desempeñado en el mundo a lo largo de los siglos.
Unidad 6D
Los griegos
Los mitos griegos nos ayudan a entender no solo la cultura griega antigua, sino también el mundo que nos rodea y la función que cumplimos en él. Partiendo de las rutinas y destrezas establecidas en las unidades anteriores, estas lecciones motivan a cada estudiante a dejar atrás el enfoque en una sola persona —él mismo o ella misma o un personaje— para contemplar cuestiones más amplias sobre el papel que las personas desempeñan en el mundo y en las comunidades donde residen.
Unidad 6E
El verano de las mariposas
Las tierras fronterizas de Estados Unidos y México son lugares poblados de leyendas, tanto verdaderas como ficticias. El verano de las mariposas, de Guadalupe García McCall, implanta una versión de la Odisea en este entorno, embarcando a cinco hermanas en una aventura que transcurre en un mundo de héroes y malhechores inspirado en mitos aztecas y leyendas latinoamericanas. La experiencia ayuda a las hermanas a aceptar la disolución del matrimonio de sus padres y a encontrar fortaleza renovada en su identidad de hermanas y en su conexión a un linaje azteca. En esta unidad, cada estudiante analiza el uso que McCall da a la estructura de una epopeya para crear una narración emocionante de aventuras, y cómo la autora hace uso de la narración para celebrar el poder femenino, su herencia latina y una definición más amplia de lo que es una familia. Cada estudiante también tiene oportunidad de comparar el viaje ficticio de las jóvenes a México con la descripción del viaje real de un jovencito a Estados Unidos.
Unidad 6F
Colección acerca del Titanic
Para aprender a diferenciar las fuentes primarias, secundarias y terciarias, determinar si una fuente dada es fiable y entender los usos éticos de la información, cada estudiante formula sus propias preguntas de investigación y busca las respuestas en internet. Asumirá así el papel de uno de los pasajeros o pasajeras de la lista de embarque del Titanic y considerará cuestiones de clase y género, a medida que investiga y escribe relatos desde el punto de vista de los viajeros.
Unidad 6F y unidad 6G
Comenzar a escribir un cuento
En esta unidad cada estudiante puede poner en práctica sus destrezas de escritura creativa, para aprender elementos de narración y desarrollo de personajes, y la importancia del lenguaje vívido. Cada estudiante consigue una noción de propiedad sobre su propia escritura a medida que experimenta los diferentes impactos de sus decisiones autorales en oraciones, lenguaje, rasgos de personajes y giros de la trama.
Unidad 6F
Gramática
En esta unidad cada estudiante completa instrucciones para seguir un aprendizaje autoguiado y practica lo que el maestro y la maestra le asignará durante el año.
Unidad 7A
La narrativa y La joven del pañuelo rojo
En esta unidad se presenta la autobiografía sumamente cautivante de una joven cuya vida transcurre en China durante la Revolución Cultural. Cada estudiante aprende la historia y el contexto político de este periodo, enfocándose en el relato de alguien que vivió en la época de la revolución. A medida que cada estudiante recorre el camino de la protagonista en ese mundo convulsionado, puede apreciar los cambios que se produjeron en los sentimientos y motivaciones de la joven a lo largo del tiempo.
Unidad 7B
Carácter y conflicto
Leyendo Una pasa al sol y Inocentón, cada estudiante explora el tema de las personas que, al enfrentar adversidades, pueden infligir daño en quienes los rodean sin intención de hacerlo. Las dos narrativas se complementan para brindar a cada estudiante oportunidades de analizar las respuestas de los personajes al conflicto y el desarrollo de ideas del autor o la autora en una obra de ficción.
Unidad 7C
La ciencia del cerebro
¿Podrías sobrevivir después de que una vara de hierro te atravesara el cráneo? Phineas Gage lo hizo y su historia, escalofriante pero real, permite desarrollar la información de contexto y analizar otros textos informativos, incluyendo los contemporáneos El hombre que confundió a su mujer con un sombrero y el obviamente relevante La desmitificación del cerebro adolescente.
Unidad 7D
La poesía y Poe
Los textos de Poe siempre tienen mucho para observar, descifrar, comentar y… crisparnos los nervios. Dado que las cosas no siempre son lo que aparentan, cada estudiante usa las destrezas de lectura atenta para cuestionar si debería creer lo que el narrador de Poe les está contando.
Unidad 7E
Colección acerca de Frida y Diego
Los artistas más famosos y provocativos de México, Diego Rivera y Frida Kahlo, formaron una pareja extraordinaria que vivió en tiempos extraordinarios. Eran almas gemelas con personalidades totalmente opuestas. Las obras de Diego Rivera y Frida Kahlo y sus vidas multifacéticas ofrecen a cada estudiante un tema fértil y fascinante para examinar documentos de fuente primaria y conducir investigaciones independientes.
Unidad 7F
Colección acerca de La fiebre del oro
Cada estudiante elige entre una extensa colección de fuentes primarias y secundarias para aprender acerca de la amplia diversidad de personas que participaron en La fiebre del oro de California.
Unidad 7G
Escribir un cuento: nivel intermedio
En esta unidad cada estudiante puede poner en práctica sus destrezas de escritura creativa para aprender elementos de narración y desarrollo de personajes, y la importancia del lenguaje vívido.
Unidad 7
Gramática
En esta unidad cada estudiante completa instrucciones para seguir un aprendizaje autoguiado que el maestro o la maestra le asignará durante el año. Las sub unidades están organizadas por temas clave de gramática, de manera de que el maestro o la maestra pueda asignar el contenido que mejor se acomoda a las necesidades de sus estudiantes mientras se asegura de que trabajen con temas clave de gramática apropiados para su grado.
Unidad 8A
Perspectivas y narrativa
Esta unidad procura enseñar a cada estudiante a leer como un escritor o una escritora. Así, pone en práctica la destreza de prestar atención al oficio de la escritura: las decisiones que toma un buen escritor o escritora para darle forma a nuestra percepción de una escena o a nuestros sentimientos hacia un personaje, y para despertar nuestras emociones, sorprendernos o dejarnos pensando en lo que podría suceder después. Cada estudiante lee atentamente ejemplos de narrativas de no ficción, analiza las técnicas que usa cada autor para que sus textos evoquen emociones y practica la aplicación de estas técnicas en sus propios textos narrativos.
Unidad 8B
Libertad e igualdad
Analizamos las palabras de varios creadores —desde el poeta Walt Whitman hasta el abolicionista Frederick Douglass y el presidente Abraham Lincoln— para descubrir cómo sus escritos y obras contribuyeron a los cambios extremos de la organización social: un concepto totalmente nuevo de lo que significaba considerar a las personas “iguales”.
Unidad 8C
Ciencias y ciencia ficción
Cada estudiante leerá la obra Frankenstein de Gris Grimly, una novela gráfica que integra ilustraciones cautivantes en una versión abreviada de la edición de 1818 del libro de Mary Shelley. Combinadas con el texto de Shelley, las inquietantes —y a veces espeluznantes— representaciones de la criatura de Frankenstein diseñadas por Grimly impulsan a cada estudiante a contemplar algunos de los temas centrales del texto: el origen de la humanidad y la raíz del mal. Luego escribe un ensayo, en el cual, después de argumentar a favor de ambos lados de la cuestión, determina si en última instancia la criatura de Frankenstein debería considerarse humana.
Unidad 8D
Romeo y Julieta, de Shakespeare
Romeo y Julieta combina romance y acción, ofreciendo una amplia gama de temas y escenas que cada estudiante puede leer y representar actuando. Cada estudiante de nivel intermedio tiene la edad adecuada para identificarse con los sentimientos intensos de los amantes, y ha alcanzado la madurez suficiente como para analizar de forma crítica las decisiones que toman Romeo y Julieta.
Unidad 8E
El Holocausto: memoria y significado
Esta unidad usa una variedad de artículos, imágenes y videos de primera fuente, así como textos de no ficción literaria y no ficción gráfica, para estudiar los sucesos que hicieron posibles las atrocidades del Holocausto. Cada estudiante investiga cómo se generó y se empleó la propaganda para crear un ambiente político que llegó a corromper a toda una sociedad. Las Olimpiadas se observan a través de la lente de una campaña de propaganda internacional, al amparo de la cual los nazis comenzaron a eliminar de su cultura a las personas que no eran de lo que consideraban “raza aria”. La sub unidad final examina los resultados de la doctrina nazi y su impacto en las víctimas y sobrevivientes judíos.
Unidad 8F
Colección acerca de La carrera espacial
Cada estudiante usa internet para poner a prueba sus destrezas de investigación y lectura atenta, y distingue entre fuentes fiables y fuentes no fiables.
En esta colección los estudiantes exploran documentos primarios y llevan a cabo investigación independiente para comprender mejor esta carrera espacial entre los dos superpoderes del planeta. La dramática historia de la carrera espacial ofrece a cada estudiante un generoso tema de investigación para explorar, mientras desarrollan destrezas de lectoescritura informativa, y aprenden cómo elaborar sus propias preguntas de investigación y exploran Internet en busca de respuestas.
Unidad 8
Gramática
En esta unidad cada estudiante completan instrucciones para seguir un aprendizaje autoguiado que el maestro o la maestra le asignará durante el año. Las sub unidades están organizadas por temas clave de gramática, de manera de que el maestro o la maestra pueda asignar el contenido que mejor se acomoda a las necesidades de sus estudiantes mientras se aseguran de que trabajen con temas clave de gramática apropiados para su grado.
Unidad 8G
Escribir un cuento: nivel avanzado
En esta unidad cada estudiante pueden poner en práctica sus destrezas de escritura creativa, para aprender elementos de narración y desarrollo de personajes. También aprende la importancia del lenguaje vívido para enganchar a sus lectores y atraerles al cuento.
Actividades adicionales
Quests:
Quizás observe que su estudiante trabaja con sus compañeros en el mismo proyecto interactivo durante varios días, intentando resolver un misterio o explicar un acontecimiento histórico. Eso es lo que sucede cuando un maestro asigna una misión (Quest): una exploración minuciosa de una semana que requiere colaboración y ayuda a profundizar la interacción con los textos y con los temas tratados.
Vocab App:
La aplicación de vocabulario (Vocab App) ayuda a los estudiantes a dominar las palabras del vocabulario a través de actividades lúdicas que los hacen pensar en la morfología, la analogía y los sinónimos y antónimos, y a descifrar el significado a través del contexto.
¿Tiene alguna pregunta sobre Amplify ELA?
Visite nuestra biblioteca de ayuda (en inglés) y busque respuestas a sus preguntas sobre el programa en nuestros artículos de ayuda.
Para obtener apoyo curricular adicional, comuníquese con su maestro.
Resources for teachers: Bring the world to students with knowledge!
The Science of Reading shows that literacy develops best on a foundation of knowledge. In other words, the more you know, the easier and faster you learn!
The Amplify CKLA literacy curriculum intentionally builds students’ background and academic knowledge—along with comprehension strategies—that fuel their capacity to understand texts, answer questions, and grapple with ideas.
Explore resources for teachers from educators across the country who are bringing Amplify CKLA Knowledge Domains to life in their classrooms!
Kindergarten
In kindergarten, students develop phonemic awareness with storybook characters like Zack and Ann Chang; draw a chart to identify different smells; learn about the Lenape, Wampanoag, and Lakota Sioux; and pay homage to classic nursery rhymes by jumping a candlestick.
Domain 1: Nursery Rhymes and Fables
To celebrate the end of the Nursery Rhymes and Fables unit, students participated in a Nursery Rhyme Olympics.
Credit: Kelly O’Connor, Huber Street Elementary School, NJ
BONUS VIDEO: Watch this video to see Nursery Rhyme Olympics in action!
Domain 2: The Five Senses
As a special activity for the Five Senses unit, students explored their sense of taste with a pop-up farmers market.
Credit: Debbie Braaten, Abraham Lincoln Elementary School, OH
BONUS VIDEO: Hear how Jamie Vannoy, a teacher in Wirt County, WV, plans a braille activity for this unit!
Domain 3: Stories
Kindergarteners worked in groups to construct houses using straw, sticks, and bricks to commemorate the reading of “The Three Little Pigs.”
Credit: Manal Abuhouran, Clarendon Elementary School, NJ
Domain 4: Plants
To apply their learning, students at Superior Elementary planted grass seeds at the beginning of the Plants unit, then cared for and observed the grass daily to ensure it flourished.
Credit: Emma Fynbu, Superior Elementary School, NE
Domain 5: Farms
To celebrate the Farms unit, students visited a local farm to study the equipment and farm animals!
Credit: Kirsten Tingley, Cumberland Valley School District, PA
Domain 6: Native Americans
To showcase their knowledge, students created a gallery walk that displays information about the Lakota Sioux, Wampanoag, and Lenape tribes.
Credit: Dalphne Harrison, Aldine ISD, TX
Domain 7: Kings and Queens
To mark the end of the Kings and Queens unit, this class hosted a royal tea party in the cafeteria, featuring cloaks and handmade crowns.
Credit: Chrystal Wise, Malvern School District, AR
Domain 8: Seasons and Weather
Teach your students more about seasons and weather: Invite your local meteorologist to visit, like this classroom did!
Credit: Chrystal Wise, Malvern School District, AR
Domain 9: Columbus and the Pilgrims
Students create illustrations of Columbus’s journey to present their knowledge for this unit!
Credit: Mandy Collins, Fayette County Public Schools, TN
Domain 10: Colonial Towns and Townspeople
As you wrap up this unit, take inspiration from this school: Make shop signs and tables to create your own colonial town!
Credit: Andrea Gatten, Propel Schools, PA
Domain 11: Taking Care of the Earth
We love this culminating activity! Students create awareness for a cause by creating persuasive signs, videos, and a class petition. This multimedia display shows them embracing the values of environmental stewardship.
Credit: Heather Keating, Gulliver Prep, FL
Domain 12: Presidents and American Symbols
To close the Presidents and American Symbols Domain, hold a sample election in your classroom! Create a voting booth, ballot box, ballot cards, election music, campaign posters, stickers, balloons, and confetti! Before announcing the winner, discuss the importance of voting, the voting process, what a campaign looks like, and what to look for in a great leader.
Credit: Andrea Gatten, Propel Schools, PA
Grade 1
In Grade 1, students sing about a fabulous fox, learn to tell the difference between fairy tale heroes and villains, write an opinion statement about the worst part of going to the moon, and learn ancient Egyptian techniques for mummifying an apple.
Domain 1: Fables and Stories
To celebrate the Fables and Stories domain, students participated in a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” race while teachers dressed as fable characters.
Credit: Brittany Sachs, Monon Trail Elementary School, IN
BONUS VIDEO: Hear how Brittany planned a Fable Olympics for her Grade 1 students!
Domain 2: The Human Body
To showcase their knowledge of the topic, students participated in a “hospital day.” The classroom was transformed to look like different operating rooms. Stations included blending and segmenting CVC words with Band-Aids, a Tricky Words eye exam, sentence writing, an X-ray light table, food sorting according to the food pyramid, and an operation game!
Credit: Erin Chester, Thompson Crossing Elementary School, IN
BONUS VIDEO: Erin explains how she planned the activity, and shows us snippets of the culminating activity in action.
Domain 3: Different Lands, Similar Stories
Take inspiration from this classroom and have your students create a Thumbelina floral craft to round out the unit’s celebration of folktales.
Credit: Elizabeth Sillies, Three Rivers Local School District, OH
Domain 4: Early World Civilizations
Looking for a culminating activity for this domain? Plan an ancient Egypt day filled with crafts and activities, including pyramid-making, writing in hieroglyphics, trying Egyptian food, and mask-making.
Credit: Camy Stirling, Brevard Academy, NC
BONUS VIDEO: Watch this short video about how to make pyramid-making easy in your classroom!
Domain 5: Early American Civilizations
Students can apply their learning about early American civilizations by creating their very own Moctezuma headdresses.
Credit: Emmett J. Hoops, Moriah Central School, NY
Domain 6: Astronomy
A surefire way to ignite your students’ excitement about astronomy is to create a moon phase Oreo chart!
Credit: Shelby Varchmin, Fred Wild Elementary School, FL
BONUS IDEA: Have your class send postcards to space through the Club for the Future program.
Domain 7: The History of the Earth
Students channeled their inner geologists during this unit and dug for rocks.
Credit: Ronda Scott, Dixon Public Schools, IL
Domain 8: Animals and Habitats
Students can express their creativity by drawing animals, plants, and environments on rocks, then sorting by habitats or comparing by Venn diagram.
BONUS: Check out these students’ creative and colorful dioramas that were showcased at the end of this unit!
Credit: Christine Thomas, The School District of Palm Beach County, FL
Domain 9: Fairy Tales
To wrap up the Fairy Tales unit, sharpen your students’ drama skills by having them act out their favorite stories.
Credit: Elizabeth Sillies, Three Rivers Local School District, OH
Domain 10: A New Nation: American Independence
Posters beautifully summarize the learning from a unit. Pair students up to create and present to their classmates!
Credit: Tracy Hatch Gagnon, Holy Name Parish School, MA
Domain 11: Frontier Explorers
Students can celebrate this unit by hosting a Pioneer Day and making Daniel Boone hats!
Credit: Shelby Varchmin, Fred Wild Elementary School, FL
Grade 2
In Grade 2, students thrill to the crimes of the Cat Bandit, assemble books about ancient Chinese culture, write their own Greek myths, and learn the story of the people who escaped to freedom from slavery by “follow[ing] the Drinking Gourd.”
Domain 1: Fairy Tales and Tall Tales
To celebrate the end of the Fairy Tales and Stories Unit, encourage students to showcase their favorite stories by crafting paper collages and clay figures.
Credit: Jessica Berg, Arlington Public Schools, VA
Domain 2: Early Asian Civilizations
Second-grade teachers worked together to create an amazing dragon at the end of their Early Asian Civilizations Unit. Each student created a scale for their grade-level dragon!
Credit: Emma Bridgeforth, Windsor Elementary School, WI
BONUS: This class at Windber Elementary, PA, celebrated this unit by hosting a Chinese New Year dragon parade.
Domain 3: The Ancient Greek Civilization
This class had a great time becoming world travelers and celebrating all the knowledge gained throughout the Ancient Greek Civilization domain. The students started their day getting their passport stamped. After entering ancient Greece, they engaged in many centers. They built the Parthenon and Athena’s throne, wrote facts about Sparta, created locks for Pandora’s box, built a harp for Apollo, and played vocabulary games. In addition to centers, the students learned that they all qualified for the Olympics, and were led by teachers on a victory walk as the entire school cheered for them!
BONUS: Take inspiration from this Louisiana educator and plan a potato Olympics day with your students!
Credit: Terri Hart, Jefferson Parish Public School District, LA
Domain 4: Greek Myths
Students wrote and shared their very own Greek myths, made props, and dressed in togas to celebrate this unit!
Credit: Chelsey Steinmetz, Cornell Elementary School, WI
Domain 5: The War of 1812
Bring a battle to life by having students create boats out of foil and other common household materials to participate in a boat race!
Credit: Jerica Falevai, Pacific Heritage Academy, UT
Domain 6: Cycles in Nature
To bring the Cycles in Nature unit to life, students learned how to make their own greenhouses and watched lima beans germinate and sprout.
Credit: Amber Taylor, Corbin Primary School, KY
Domain 7: Westward Expansion
To commemorate the end of this domain, this class had two grandparents come to the classroom to bake bread, make trail mix, and pan for gold.
BONUS: In another classroom, students made people, animals, and their very own pioneer wagons out of paper.
Credit: Jennifer Murphy, John E. Bryan Elementary School, AL
Domain 8: Insects
These students celebrated all the knowledge they gained by researching and writing about an insect, then using household items to build a model of their chosen insect!
Credit: Tamara Gore, Harrison Hill Elementary School, IN
Domain 9: The U.S. Civil War
Have your students showcase their knowledge of the U.S. Civil War by creating posters of important historical figures of the time!
Credit: Heather Griffin, Rochester School District, NH
Domain 10: The Human Body
We love this culminating activity! Students made digestive-system models out of air-dry clay and traced themselves on large paper to make a life-size model of the body systems!
Credit: Olga Cabrera, Aldine ISD, TX
Domain 11: Immigration
Students participated in an Ellis Island simulation in their classrooms at the end of the Immigration Unit, and even created their own passports!
Credit: Sandra Garcia, Austin Independent School District, TX
Domain 12: Fighting for a Cause
To wrap up this unit and showcase their knowledge, students created VIP books about important historical figures!
Credit: Meghan Scheffler, Community Unit School District 300, IL
Grade 3
In Grade 3, students write a newspaper story about the invention of the telephone, go on a digital quest with Viking explorers, reflect on the stars with astronomy lab notes, and learn the secret to writing an excellent narrative ending.
Domain 1: Classic Tales: The Wind in the Willows
To immerse themselves in the Classic Tales domain, students hosted a party inspired by classic literary celebrations.
Credit: Laurie Valente, Secaucus Public School District, NJ
Domain 2: Animal Classification
A great way to shift perspective and get students to apply their knowledge? Transform your classroom into a vibrant “rainforest café” that showcases students’ published writing. Each student can create an informational piece about a specific vertebrate, learning how to introduce a topic, group related information, and support it with facts and details. They turn their writing, complete with text features, into restaurant-style menus! Dressed as rainforest and safari guides, students can present their work to other students and staff, answering questions about their animal and its classification.
Credit: Nicole Desmond, Riverside School District 96, IL
BONUS: To celebrate the Light and Sound unit as well as all units about animals in grades K–4, take a cue from Windber Elementary and plan an animal-themed glow show with your students!
Domain 3: Human Body
Get crafty in this unit by having students make body parts out of household supplies: a pipe cleaner becomes the spinal cord, noodles represent the vertebrae, and gummy Life Savers turn into cartilage. You can also make X-rays by tracing hands and wrists on construction paper. Students can color around the bones with a dark crayon, then use vegetable oil and a Q-tip to “paint” the bones. When held up to a light, the project resembles an X-ray!
Credit: Crystal Chwatek, Muhlenberg Elementary Center, PA
Domain 4: The Ancient Roman Civilization
Have your students put their knowledge of ancient Roman civilization to the test: Challenge them to use packing peanuts to build iconic Roman landmarks.
Credit: Melissa Vasquez, Eureka City Schools,CA
Domain 5: Light and Sound
To celebrate the Light and Sound unit, your students can make colorful suncatchers and witness the science of light and color in action.
Credit: Stephanie Schuettpelz, Marion Elementary School, WI
BONUS VIDEO: Watch how another teacher plans a black light party for this unit!
Domain 6: The Viking Age
CKLA students love Vikings! In this classroom, students made paper swords before participating in a special ceremony.
Credit: Kerri Lintl, Merrimac Community School, WI
Domain 7: Astronomy
As a culminating activity for the Astronomy unit, an Oreo moon phase exercise really motivates students to apply their knowledge.
Credit: Stephanie Schuettpelz, Marion Elementary School, WI
Domain 8: Native Americans
Flex your students’ creativity at the end of the Native Americans unit by having them gather natural materials and creating Native American shelters!
Credit: Alisa Byrd Fesmire, Roane County Schools, TN
BONUS VIDEO: Hear how a teacher in Wisconsin plans a basket-weaving activity for her students during this unit!
Domain 9: Early Explorations of North America
To help your students visualize North American exploration, they can draw maps of the studied expeditions and use yarn to show the various routes!
Credit: Maria Woytko-Morris, Manitou Springs School District, CO
Domain 10: Colonial America
Take inspiration from this classroom and set up a colonial town where students can barter goods and work as apprentices at the general store, blacksmith, tailor shop, and cobbler shop.
Credit: Heidi Graci, Sporting Hill Elementary School, PA
Domain 11: Ecology
For this unit, these students practiced their speaking and listening skills by presenting about an endangered animal to the rest of the class.
Credit: Stephanie Schuettpelz, Marion Elementary School, WI
Grade 4
In Grade 4, students take part in a dramatic invention competition judged by Thomas Edison, George Washington Carver, and Hedy Lamarr; use writing to investigate the function of a mysterious contraption; become poets; and bring their reading skills to bear on the classic novel Treasure Island.
Domain 1: Personal Narratives
To celebrate the Personal Narratives domain, students created posters using information about their names.
Credit: Daphne Long, Steele Elementary School, AL
BONUS VIDEO: Hear how an educator in New York plans an engaging culminating activity for the Personal Narratives unit!
Domain 2: Empires in the Middle Ages
Flex your students’ creativity: Have them create their very own shields and write a paragraph describing them.
Credit: Elisabeth Freligh, Spring Hill Elementary School, AK
BONUS VIDEO: See how students in Minnesota participated in a stained glass art project to celebrate the Middle Ages.
Domain 3: Poetry
Empower students to apply their knowledge of this writing discipline with poetry journals.
Credit: Elizabeth Sillies, Three Rivers Local School District, OH
Domain 4: Eureka! Student Inventor
Encourage students to showcase their innovation at an Invention Showcase! Here, they pitched their ideas using the slides they created and the models they made.
Credit: Daniella Cucunato, Merchantville School District, NJ
Domain 5: Geology
Geology offers great opportunities to facilitate hands-on learning! Students can examine rocks and fossils, or bust geodes to supplement their lessons.
Credit: Spring Choate, Overton County Schools, TN
Domain 6: Contemporary Fiction
Students can take their favorite stories off the page in this unit! For example, lead students in a craft activity creating their own house inspired by The House on Mango Street.
Credit: Lara Andree, Aldine ISD, TX
Domain 7: American Revolution
Work a STEM activity into this Knowledge Domain by inviting students to recreate the Boston Tea Party with sticks and items of various weights.
Credit: Maureen Elliott, West Irondequoit CSD, NY
Domain 8: Treasure Island
To celebrate the end of the Treasure Island domain collaboratively, students can build their very own map sections and put them together.
Credit: Daphne Long, Steele Elementary, AL
Grade 5
In Grade 5, students learn about villanelles and Mayan codices, read and perform Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” use their writing skills to teach a robot about human emotions, and solve a scientific mystery involving ancient fossils.
Domain 1: Personal Narratives
Have your students refine their personal narratives into graphic stories to celebrate the end of this unit.
Credit: Anna Barba, Arlington Traditional School, VA
BONUS VIDEO: Hear how a teacher plans name posters for her students to wrap up this domain.
Domain 2: Early American Civilizations
To celebrate this unit, have your students create codices and Mayan mythical character sculptures using clay!
Credit: Anita Trolese, TASIS Portugal
Domain 3: Poetry
Transform your classroom into a poetry café where students share their work with the rest of the class.
Credit: K.D. Meucci, Bethel Park School District, PA
Domain 4: Adventures of Don Quixote
These students are an inspiration! To celebrate they reenacted scenes from Adventures of Don Quixote by choosing a chapter, summarizing its plot, writing scripts, and acting out their chapter for their classmates. They even chose their own backdrops and props to help embody the characters.
Credit: Riley Montgomery, Hamilton Local School District, OH
Domain 5: The Renaissance
The arts and the Renaissance go hand in hand, so have your students get creative and create their own Leonardo da Vinci portraits.
Credit: Windber Elementary, PA
Domain 6: The Reformation
Immerse your students in the Reformation era by having them make stamps and write out some text as a great way to mimic the effect of the printing press!
Credit: Jessica Kingery, Jefferson City School District, MO
Domain 7: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Turn your classroom into a theater for this unit and have your students read the play using character cards and donkey headbands.
Credit: Daphne Long, Steele Elementary, AL
Domain 8: Native Americans
A successful extension project for the Native Americans unit is personal totem poles! Have your students determine their own personal totems, write paragraphs to explain totem poles and why they selected their own personal totems, and use a template to create their own totem pole.
Credit: Kristin Rea, Cicero School District 99, IL
Domain 9: Chemical Matter
A great way to bring knowledge to life in this unit? Make fossils out of clay molds!
Credit: Teresa Karney, Reese Public Schools, MI
What makes a literate brain, with Lori Josephson
Transcripts and additional resources:
Book:
Calling All Neurons! How Reading and Spelling Happen
Read:
Towards a dynamic, comprehensive conceptualization of dyslexia
Meet Our Guest(s):
Lori C. Josephson
Lori Josephson is an expert in dyslexia who is a Fellow of the Orton Gillingham Academy and holds a master’s degree in special education–learning disabilities. She has had the privilege of teaching hundreds of struggling students how to make sense of print and text. She has also had the honor of working with thousands of teachers, training them how to teach and reach their students using methods based upon the complex brain processes involved in attaining literacy—the body of knowledge now referred to as the Science of Reading.
Meet our host, Susan Lambert
Susan Lambert is the Chief Academic Officer of Elementary Humanities at Amplify, and the host of Science of Reading: The Podcast. Throughout her career, she has focused on creating high-quality learning environments using evidence-based practices. Lambert is a mom of four, a grandma of four, a world traveler, and a collector of stories.
As the host of Science of Reading: The Podcast, Lambert explores the increasing body of scientific research around how reading is best taught. As a former classroom teacher, administrator, and curriculum developer, Lambert is dedicated to turning theory into best practices that educators can put right to use in the classroom, and to showcasing national models of reading instruction excellence.
Quotes
“I firmly believe that no matter how old you are, you still need to learn the same information.”
“In my mind, I use this equation. Knowledge equals motivation, equals active learning, equals resilience, equals success.”
“Creating a literate brain is a team sport. Everyone needs to be involved. The parents, caregivers, teachers—they need to be engaged in an interactive way.”
“Literacy is a civil right. It's also a gift. It's an opportunity to share thoughts, feelings with others that can be revisited and saved.”
Celebrating many meanings: Language comprehension and the importance of Black English, with Jasmine Rogers
Transcripts and additional resources:
Meet Our Guest(s):
Jasmine Rogers
Jasmine Rogers is a manager and coach with the In Schools program at the DC Reading Clinic, serving the District of Columbia Public Schools. In this role, she manages professional development on structured literacy best practices. For nine years, she was an elementary teacher serving in kindergarten and special education as well as a reading specialist. She also mentored at the DC Reading Clinic in its 2019 inaugural cohort. She holds masters degrees in sports administration, elementary education, and special education. She is currently an early literacy intervention lead at American University, pursuing her doctorate in education policy and leadership.
Meet our host, Susan Lambert
Susan Lambert is the Chief Academic Officer of Elementary Humanities at Amplify, and the host of Science of Reading: The Podcast. Her career has been focused on creating high-quality learning environments using evidence-based practices. Susan is a mom of four, a grandma of four, a world traveler, and a collector of stories.
As the host of Science of Reading: The Podcast, Susan explores the increasing body of scientific research around how reading is best taught. As a former classroom teacher, administrator, and curriculum developer, Susan is dedicated to turning theory into best practices that educators can put right to use in the classroom, and to showcasing national models of reading instruction excellence.
Quotes
“As a teacher, a Black woman, who speaks Black English, who knows the language, who is very well versed in structured literacy, if I overlooked this, if that caught me off guard a little bit, then that means that could potentially catch someone else off guard.”
“With language comprehension, and considering in your native language, there may be a word that doesn’t necessarily match up with a language that you are learning in the classroom. So you have to then use your incredible cognitive skills that speak two completely different codes, comprehend what is happening, and then tie that back into, of course, the Rope to become a fluent reader.”
“I consider Black English to be a very complex and complicated language…but I think typically in society it has been viewed very negatively. You can see in the media and in research where people have talked about it and used negative connotations. And I think those beliefs from society have seeped into the classroom.”
“A strength of children that are bidialectal is the similar strength to students that are bilingual—they have an ability to take language that is different from theirs and translate it. That right there is an asset.”
“The languages that we speak and bring from home also are not wrong. They’re simply different. And we’re gonna work together so that we take what we know differently and come together with a common language so that we’re communicating with one another.”
“We have got to give our students access to this code so that they can become literate and run our society one day.”
Featured Episodes
Supporting K–8 science students in the digital world: Ricky Mason
Meet Our Guest(s):
Ricky Mason
Ricky Mason is the dynamic CEO and founder of BrainSTEM, an ed-tech company that developed a metaverse for education. His corporate career included lead engineer roles at the DoD, NASA, and CIA. Ricky transitioned to education as adjunct faculty at the University of Kentucky. While there, he started BrainSTEM to bring innovative technology and an inspirational curriculum to STEM education. Today, BrainSTEM serves public school districts, private schools, and nonprofits.
Follow Ricky on all social media @rickymason502
Meet our host: Eric Cross
Eric Cross is a seventh grade science/technology teacher, grade level lead, and digital learning innovator for Albert Einstein Academies, International Baccalaureate schools. He is also an adjunct professor of learning and technology at the University of San Diego and a Google certified innovator. Eric earned a bachelor’s degree from Azusa Pacific University and a Master of Education from the University of San Diego. He had 17 years of experience working with at-risk youth and underserved populations before becoming a middle school teacher. By building relationships with students, colleagues, and the community, he has become an empowered leader in and out of the classroom. Through meaningful learning experiences centered around student agency, STEM has become accessible to students through highly engaging lesson design, thoughtful integration of digital tools, and pedagogy that engages students from all backgrounds.
Transcripts and additional resources:
Quotes
We just have to get behind [students] and back them with the same enthusiasm that we back sports…because I longed for that community when I was in school.
Stay connected
From football to phonics, with Malcolm Mitchell
Meet Our Guest(s):
Malcolm Mitchell
Malcolm Mitchell, a native of Valdosta, Georgia, and an Under Armour All-American football player, developed a love of reading during his freshman year in college. He authored and published the children’s book, The Magician’s Hat, created a youth literacy initiative called Read with Malcolm, and went on to establish the nonprofit Magic Foundation organization, with a sole purpose—to transform children’s lives through literacy.
His inspirational story has been featured nationally on CBS Evening News, CBS Sunday Morning, CBS Sports, ESPN, in USA Today, CNN, MSNBC and the NFL Network and has been used by many schools as encouragement for students to embrace the importance of reading. In May 2016, Malcolm was drafted by the New England Patriots, and in 2017 he became a Super Bowl champion. Malcolm has earned numerous awards and accomplishments both on and off the field, but considers discovering a love of reading one of his greatest achievements.
Meet our host, Susan Lambert
Susan Lambert is the Chief Academic Officer of Elementary Humanities at Amplify, and the host of Science of Reading: The Podcast. Her career has been focused on creating high-quality learning environments using evidence-based practices. Susan is a mom of four, a grandma of four, a world traveler, and a collector of stories.
As the host of Science of Reading: The Podcast, Susan explores the increasing body of scientific research around how reading is best taught. As a former classroom teacher, administrator, and curriculum developer, Susan is dedicated to turning theory into best practices that educators can put right to use in the classroom, and to showcasing national models of reading instruction excellence.
Quotes
“Reading is the most self empowering tool a person could possess.”
“So many of these successful people were saying the same thing. I thought to myself, if I want to have any sustainable success in my life, whether I'm an athlete or not, I need to be a proficient reader.”
Showing up as your full self, with Dr. Jasmine Rogers
Transcripts and additional resources:
Meet Our Guest(s):
Dr. Jasmine Rogers
Jasmine Rogers, Ed.D., is a manager and coach with the InSchools program at the DC Reading Clinic, serving the District of Columbia Public Schools. In this role, she manages professional development on structured literacy best practices. For nine years, she was an elementary teacher serving in kindergarten and special education as well as a reading specialist. She also mentored at the DC Reading Clinic in its 2019 inaugural cohort. She holds masters degrees in sports administration, elementary education, and special education. She is currently an adjunct professor and early literacy intervention lead at American University, where she recently completed her doctorate in education policy and leadership.
Meet our host, Susan Lambert
Susan Lambert is the Chief Academic Officer of Elementary Humanities at Amplify, and the host of Science of Reading: The Podcast. Her career has been focused on creating high-quality learning environments using evidence-based practices. Lambert is a mom of four, a grandma of four, a world traveler, and a collector of stories.
As the host of Science of Reading: The Podcast, Lambert explores the increasing body of scientific research around how reading is best taught. As a former classroom teacher, administrator, and curriculum developer, Lambert is dedicated to turning theory into best practices that educators can put right to use in the classroom, and to showcasing national models of reading instruction excellence.
Quotes
“The history of our country, the history of who we are as individuals in our families, absolutely impacts who we are as teachers and how we show up in the classroom.”
“I'm just thinking of all these beautiful teachers and trying not to cry. They are showing up fully as who they are for their students … by being themselves they end up creating an environment that just makes it a great place to learn and a place where students feel loved and a place where students can be themselves.”
“You address people as human beings because they're human and that's the right thing to do. And if you engage and see your kids as humans, then it's really helpful to get them engaged.”
“If I was able to make a change, you 110 percent can make a change. And a lot of that is just being open to feedback, being curious, and ensuring that whatever you are doing, you are not causing harm to students.”