RAFT Hands-On Education

Middle Grades Learning Progression Voted on at November 6, 2013 SBE Meeting On November 6, 2013 the State Board of Education approved a modified recommendation from CDE regarding the adoption of the middle school progressions proposal. Rather than approve an "integrated only" option for schools, the Board approved both the integrated model as proposed by the Science Expert Panel as California's preferred model AND a domain-specific model that will be developed by the same SEP. Districts will have the option to choose what best meets the needs of their students. More information to follow. Commentary: The State Board of Education adopted an “option” for California school on Nov 6th. School in California can either adopted an “integrated” approach to science or a “domain” specific model as has been done previously in the past. This is a relief for teachers who have been in the “game “for years as “domain” specific has been the route taken in California by most distri...

Last week 1,800 excited teachers descended on Palm Springs for the 2013 CSTA science conference. Every session focused on the Next Generation Science Standards was packed!  I learned volumes listening as teachers shared questions and ideas. I heard very few "why" questions - everyone understands why NGSS is being implemented.  Most of the questions I heard were " how ".  Conference attendees wanted practical tools to launch NGSS in their classrooms. During he RAFT session, I was honored to present to a standing-room-only crowd. Amazingly, the eager audience built four RAFT kits in under one hour. In addition to asking questions, teachers shared solutions of their own. They described creative ways to apply RAFT-style learning in their classrooms. Project-based learning, inquiry-based instruction, and design challenge thinking are at the forefront now.  The teachers were answering the "how" question for themselves! At the conference, it was also intere...