IU 13 continues to provide leadership in the delivery of science instruction to the 22 school districts in Lancaster and Lebanon counties. By offering professional development in best practices and networking groups for teacher leaders and administrators, IU 13 assists schools as they work toward improving the science knowledge and skills of their students.
Science Professional Development
Professional Development Workshops
IU 13 offers regional professional development for science educators in kindergarten through Grade 12. Sample topics include:
- Enhancing Your Standards-Aligned System for Science Education
- PA Academic Standards
- Assessment
- Curriculum Development
- Research-Based Instruction
- Materials and Resources
- Interventions
- Content Deepening for Elementary Science Teachers Using FOSS and STC Kits
- Process-Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning for Secondary Science Teachers
- Teaching Evolution in the Secondary Science Classroom
- Environmental Science Series
Please click here for the current listing of science workshops and registration information on MyLearningPlan.
On-site Consultation and Technical Assistance
IU 13 offers on-site consultation and technical assistance with enhancing a standards-aligned system for science education at the district, school, and classroom levels – especially in the area of curriculum alignment and prioritization.
Math-Science Partnership Grant Program
IU 13 has received a federal Math-Science Partnership grant, which is supporting a 3-year professional development program and action research study called Project ARRMS (Achieving Rigor and Relevance in Math and Science). Project ARRMS will operate through the 2012-13 school year, and currently involves over 100 teachers from 22 school districts and 6 nonpublic schools. Click here for more details on Project ARRMS.
Networking/Learning Community Opportunities
The Science Department Chairpersons/Supervisors Group is comprised of science supervisors, department chairpersons, and curriculum consultants responsible for science education leadership in their local school districts.
The Science Department Chairpersons/Supervisors Group provides science education leaders and with opportunities to:
- Network with other “job alike” colleagues responsible for science education at the building and/or district levels.
- Engage in shared learning experiences and collaborative projects for building science education leadership capacity.
- Serve as a collaborative resources and an advisory structure for Science POC meeting topics as well as regional professional development activities and events either partially or fully funded by the Math/Science Consortium.
Science Points of Contact
The Points of Contact group consists of a diverse group of elementary, middle, and high school science education leaders (district, building, and classroom levels) from each of the 22 public school districts as well as representatives from nonpublic schools and local higher education institutions. Science Department Chairpersons, Curriculum Coordinators, and Supervisors are encouraged to participate if they are unable to join the Science Department Chairpersons/Supervisors Group.
The Science Points of Contact meetings give science education leaders (current and aspiring) an opportunity to:
- Keep abreast of the most current information from PDE and science professional organizations, and share that information with colleagues back in their home district.
- Engage in collegial professional development activities for the purpose of building their own capacity to strengthen standards-aligned systems at the classroom, building, and district levels.
- Serve as a collaborative resource for regional professional development activities and events either partially or fully funded by the Math/Science Consortium.
For more information, please call 717-606-1746 or email instructional@iu13.org.