SD Unified Science

Science: bit.ly/sdusdscience

STEAM: bit.ly/sdusdsteam

- Are doing something awesome and want to help increase the visibility of science in our district?

- Trying on Standards Based Grading in your classroom and/or PLC?

- Nothing out of the ordinary happening but you are willing to open your room to a colleague?

- Using our curriculum and it is going great? Or not great? Either is good to know & see!

- Have a field trip or lab that you want an extra science teacher around for?

Please understand that filling out this form does not guarantee that one of us will be able to come to your site. I will follow up with email when scheduling visits.

I am looking forward to visiting your classroom!

Form: https://forms.gle/2FKvQZHHYZuUDNd2A

💙🧡💚 Sarah & The Unified Science Team

Join us as we read Ambitious Science Teaching (book will be provided) and discuss this powerful framework for science teaching that promotes equity and rigor. This book is full of tools that you can put to use immediately. We will meet 4 times, with each meeting centered around one of the core practice sets. Find out more about Ambitious Science Teaching here: https://ambitiousscienceteaching.org/

Oct 20, Nov 17, Dec 15, Jan 19

4-5pm

Sign up in Professional Learning: #32247 AST Book Study

Who: SDUSD TK-12 Science Teachers

What: District Updates, Discussion, Community

When: Second Tuesday of the Month 4-5pm - Beginning October 12th, you can attend as many or as few as you like of these monthly meetings

Where: Zoom, for now

Why: To build a community of science educators. To know what is happening, to have a voice in it and a seat at the table. This is our table! Each meeting will be a chance to discuss and share with colleagues.

How: RSVP Here! Zoom Link will be emailed before the meeting.

October 12th Discussion Topic: Technology Help & Resource Share

Let's get together and talk about GVC! Sarah will be there to answer questions, listen for feedback and provide space for colleagues to collaborate.

Sign up in Professional Learning Today!

• Biology: The Living Earth GVC Support
Monthly, First Monday 3:30-4:30 PL Section #32248
• Chemistry in the Earth System GVC Support
Monthly, First Tuesday 3:30-4:30 PL Section #32249
• Physics of the Universe GVC Support
Monthly Second Monday 3:30-4:30 PL Section #32250

If you have not had a chance to check out this software, now is your chance! You can set up your account now and check it out through the end of October.

“These labs provide a solid introduction to topics including dissection without using live specimens. They are especially useful for students who may have missed in-person learning opportunities.”

If you would like access for the remainder of the school year, please complete this form: https://forms.gle/Z2wSn7JmYJMLZPhb7

Middle School and High School Science Teachers, please complete this short survey about the science department at your school. One of our district supports this year will be to convene department chairs for collaboration across sites.

Survey: https://forms.gle/cz9WhC7uAnKx69ET8

UC San Diego student branch of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) will host an upcoming virtual workshop targeted towards middle and high school students. Our event is designed to teach students the basics of programming using p5.js libraries as well as its online web editor in order to make a simple voice assistant.

It will be held on Saturday, October 9th, from 10am to 1pm PST. We believe this workshop will be a great entry point to give students a taste of what coding is like but have little to no experience. We hope this workshop will get them excited about programming, and potentially give them the starting tools to explore more on their own!

Students (or their parents) can sign up via a Google Form through this link:

https://tinyurl.com/IEEEp5jsUCSD. They will then be sent the link to the Zoom meeting where the workshop will be taking place. There is no cost to the event, and any student who signs up will be able to attend the workshop.

Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve is hosting a blended Teachers on the Estuary (TOTE) middle and high school science and math teacher training on October 27-29, 2021. The first two days are virtual and start at 3pm so you will need only one sub day. TOTE is a teacher training program that explores Authentic Data Literacy and brings coastal research into the classroom. Teachers will be able to spend time with estuary educators and scientists and get a van tour of the border, always a teacher favorite. See the link in the flyer to register or email Education Coordinator Anne Marie Tipton at annemarie.tipton@parks.ca.gov.

Link to Flyer | Link to Register

Join our Illumina Genomic Discoveries Industry Speaker series designed for K-12 Life Science and Biotech educators. Our next speaker series will be on Wednesday, October 20th from 4:00-5:00pm PST. We are excited to have the Global Agrigenomics Segment Manager at Illumina, Inc. Kahlil Lawless as our guest keynote speaker.

The world faces compounding crises of infectious disease, climate change, environmental degradation, biodiversity loss, and food insecurity. With a growing population projected to top 9 billion, we will need to produce more food in next 50 years than in last 10,000 years combined or face massive malnutrition, which already affects as many as 2 Billion people worldwide. Kahlil will share his personal journey and relationship with Agriculture, Science, and Conservation, and explore the ways in which genomic technologies are being employed to address some of these monumental challenges including Genomic Selection, Gene Editing, Environmental DNA, Endangered Species, and Animal Health. Illumina, the global leader in Genomic Sequencing and Microarray technologies, will have a crucial role in this transformation, and must face its own challenges walking the talk of sustainability to a positive and plentiful future for all of us.

For more information and to register for this event click here.

There are separate teacher and student units designed to promote "One Earth" and "One Water Cycle".

Each Unit includes 8 modules based on U.S. standards (NGSS & Common Core) and incorporating global initiatives (e.g. UN Sustainable Development Goals) to educate and inspire young minds.

The curriculum is designed to elevate career awareness with workforce pathways woven throughout.

Visit https://aquaoptimism.org/ for more information.

The Jacobs Institute for Innovation in Education is excited to announce the 2022 Jacobs Teen Innovation Challenge! This is our 3rd annual worldwide event to help teenagers and teachers develop social good solutions and innovation skills. New this year: a virtual exchange option that will pair educators and students from different countries.

Applications to join the event are now open! Please share with any colleagues who may be interested.

Welcome back to school! Salk Institute has been eagerly awaiting the return to school and our SciChats @ Salk. SciChats are a free and unique opportunity to bring a scientist into your classroom virtually. SciChats’ mission is to function as an interactive learning experience for students and a hands-on communication exercise for scientists.

Your students will be able to learn about current research, what life looks like as a scientist, and how they too can become a scientist. If you and your students are interested in a specific topic, let us know! We might have the perfect fit for you.

Request a SciChat for your classroom or alternative learning here: https://bit.ly/scichat2021

If you have additional questions, please reach out through our email, education@salk.edu

The Elementary Science Network is a professional learning opportunity for all elementary educators looking for support and networking opportunities related to science teaching and learning. It will replace and expand on the former SDCOE Elementary Science Academy Follow-up Network or ESA-FUN.

This new network will focus on student curiosity and using science as a lever for literacy and language development.

Participants will continue to deepen their understanding of three-dimensional learning and phenomena-based instruction with an emphasis on student writing and productive talk.

Registration Link: http://sdcoe.k12oms.org/1022-206887

• Link to Newsletter
• Link to Amplify Help & Resources

Through a partnership with DonorsChoose, San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) has set aside $250,000 in shareholder funding to help local educators supplement classroom education with science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) projects. This is the second year that SDG&E has expanded the program to support needs caused by the pandemic, such as supplies that can no longer be shared among students or equipment needed for distance learning.

Teachers at public schools within SDG&E’s service territory can apply and view the matched projects at the link. Eligible projects at schools in disadvantaged communities as defined by CalEnviroScreen will have donations to their projects matched with $2 for every $1 that they raise. The campaign will run until funds are exhausted.

https://www.donorschoose.org/classroom-support/san-diego-gas-electric/21771198/

Tasks to Encourage Classroom Talk: Same and Different

Establish a culture of talk with activities that give all students an opportunity to engage in the discussion. Image sets related to grade-level science ideas are great, but any image sets can get kid thinking and talking. Providing space for students to be comfortable sharing their thinking before sharing their claims and ideas about phenomena and grade level science concepts is a valuable use of time. This helps practice the norms with topics and discussions that aren’t controversial.

A New Look at KWL

1. Observe, Wonder, Learn (OWL) https://ocde.us/ito/Documents/OWL_Lesson.pdf
2. Know, Learned, Evidence, Wonderings, Science Ideas (KLEWS) https://www.teachingchannel.com/blog/klews

What does it look like for students to progressively develop science and engineering practices? This inaugural post from NextGenScience’s new On The Same Wavelength blog explores the importance of attending to the development of both ideas and practices in the design of materials. Each On the Same Wavelength blog post will dive into areas of curricular design not explored elsewhere — questions that arise in NextGenScience’s materials review work and topics debated in the field.

See the post and follow the blog here.

STEM Teaching Tool #78 can support educators and school leaders to address the political nature of climate change while students are learning the ideas behind it in the science classroom. The tool provides context on why climate change is sometimes a political topic in the education field and shares resources and recommendations on how educators and leaders can continue teaching the subject, especially through the lens of socio-historical issues in a local context.

See the tool here.

One tectonic plate bumped into another and said, "Sorry, my fault"

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• Instructional Technology Department http://bit.ly/sdusdtechtips