GEMS-Net Newsletter

GEMS-Net is proud to partner with engineers, researchers, and school districts across Rhode Island to advance high-quality education practices in science classrooms.

Engaging deeply with the scientific research community strengthens our instructional approaches. We strive to equip teachers with best practices to inspire meaningful learning in the science classroom.

Welcome back everyone!

Our team is excited to welcome West Warwick Public Schools and Central Falls School District as middle school partners for the 2025-2026 school year!

GEMS-Net has moved into Pastore Hall on the University of Rhode Island's Kingston Campus.

Check out your workshop invite email for information about parking on the Kingston Campus. Participants should park in a visitor spot in the Welcome Center parking lot and follow the GEMS-Net signs to Pastore Hall!

Remember to snap a picture of your license plate to register for a parking pass once you get to your workshop classroom!

We look forward to another year of collaboration and partnership!

As always, if you have any questions or need support, please email gemsnet@etal.uri.edu.

In partnership,

The GEMS-Net Team

Teachers-in-Residence (TIRs) are selected to work alongside GEMS-Net staff. TIRs ensure the voice of the classroom is heard while strengthening their expertise in high-quality curriculum and instruction. GEMS-Net TIRs facilitate ongoing, grade-specific, curriculum-based professional learning workshops for all educators in our partnership. Using a student-centered coaching model, TIRs also mentor teachers and support them with setting goals and continuing to develop their teaching practice to help students move their science thinking forward.

Email: chawthornekocak@uri.edu

Email: catherine.knasas@uri.edu

Email: sarah.reis@uri.edu

Email: ctuttle@uri.edu

Last spring, the GEMS-Net team and fourteen teacher leaders headed to Pittsburgh, PA, to explore the OpenSciEd elementary program. Collaborating with educators from across the country, this experience left us energized and full of ideas to bring back to our wider network—especially around the routines, supports, and design features that align with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).

Our work didn’t slow down over the summer! The GEMS-Net Team hosted our annual Summer Institute, bringing together our broader network of teacher leaders and mentors. Together, we explored key instructional routines and prepared teachers for a pilot of OpenSciEd this fall.

Fall 2025: Fifteen elementary teacher leaders are piloting OpenSciEd in their classrooms this fall. These educators are bringing science to life through rich, student-driven investigations and sense-making discussions that spark curiosity and deepen understanding.

Winter 2026: Piloting teachers in grades 3–5 will share their experiences during our advanced sessions, reflecting on the pedagogical shifts that support effective implementation of High-Quality Curriculum Materials (HQCM).

Educators who are new to their position attend initial workshops. Our goal of facilitating Initial OSE Workshops is to provide teachers with practical resources, learning experiences, and support to understand the pedagogical shifts in successful implementation of the OpenSciEd curriculum.

Teachers in year two of implementing OpenSciEd attend our advanced workshops. Our goal is to provide teachers with a deeper understanding of OpenSciEd and continue to build capacity in our districts. In these sessions, we give teachers the time to explore the pedagogical shifts and curriculum resources that will support their implementation.

As part of our ongoing work to ensure the successful implementation of OpenSciEd (OSE) in grades 6–8, we invite school and district level administrators to participate in workshops throughout the year. These sessions create space to discuss how best to support educators as they implement OSE in their classrooms and to address areas of teacher need and concern.

This year, our focus includes developing a shared vision for middle school science, deepening understanding of the OSE curriculum, working with teachers to use implementation tools that help them identify progress and next steps, and reviewing curriculum-embedded opportunities for assessment and grading. Together, these efforts move us beyond simply “rolling out” OSE toward implementing it with integrity, centering around student engagement, pedagogical shifts, and high-quality science education for all students.

Community building is at the heart of deep student sensemaking. When students feel ownership of their learning and see themselves as valued members of a classroom community, they are more willing to share ideas and engage in meaningful discussions. Investing time in cultivating an equitable and respectful classroom culture creates the conditions for richer discourse and supports every student in making sense of complex ideas together.

Creating and maintaining meaningful classroom norms takes time and intentionality. Here are some powerful strategies to help students take ownership and keep norms alive throughout the year. When norms are built with students and actively integrated into learning, they become powerful tools for fostering respectful dialogue, collaboration, and deep engagement in science.

• Co-Create Norms with Students – Invite students to lead discussions about how the classroom should run and feel, ensuring norms reflect their voices and values.
  
  

• Weave Norms into Daily Lessons – Make them a natural part of science learning, not just a poster on the wall.
  
  

• Revisit Norms in Key Moments – Review them before class discussions or when challenges arise to ground your learning community in shared expectations.
  
  

• Set a Norm Focus – Highlight one or two norms at the start of a lesson to keep them front and center.
  
  

• Reflect and Self-Assess – Give students regular opportunities to consider how well they are living up to the agreements.
  
  

• Evolve Norms Over Time – Treat them as living agreements—revising, adding, or refining as situations unfold and new ideas emerge.

On October 6th, GEMS-Net's NavySTEM Teachers-in-Residence Charlene Tuttle and Rachele Limberakis, along with Dr. Gretchen Macht and Sara Nunes from the College of Engineering, facilitated an engaging workshop for middle and high school social studies teachers titled Educating for Democracy: Engineering Solutions for Civic Engagement. The session explored innovative ways to connect civic learning with engineering design. Teachers were invited to share how they might use resources created to deepen student thinking and learning in their own classrooms.