FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
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STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION
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Jeanine Blomberg
Commissioner of Education
T. WILLARD FAIR,
Chairman
Members
DONNA G. CALLAWAY
DR. AKSHAY DESAI
ROBERTO MARTÍNEZ
PHOEBE RAULERSON
KATHLEEN SHANAHAN
LINDA K. TAYLOR
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Contact Information
Name:
Mary Jane Tappen
Phone: 850-245-0468
MEMORANDUM
E-mail:
mary.tappen@fldoe.org
TO:
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District Superintendents
FROM:
Jeanine Blomberg
DATE:
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July
6,
2007
SUBJECT:
SUPPORT FOR FLORIDA K-12 SCIENCE STUDENTS
The Office of Mathematics and Science (OMS) and K-12 Public Schools are implementing the following
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plans to support increased student achievement in science:
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Immediate Resources:
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The Bureau of School Improvement and OMS have worked with the contractor for FCAT Explorer to
develop online modules for fifth grade students to use to review key science concepts in preparation
for FCAT and for FCAT remediation. The online module for fifth grade is available at
http://www.fcatexplorer.com/.
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The OMS has reviewed content for online professional development modules for elementary and
middle grades science teachers to use in reviewing their own science content knowledge. These
materials are available free of charge to any Florida science teacher. Florida K-6 science teachers may
access the modules at http://fdlrshrd.nefec.org/elemk6/index.aspx. Florida 6-9 science teachers may
access the modules at http://fdlrshrd.nefec.org/ic/index.aspx.
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The OMS has provided a list of Web-site resources to teachers and district science specialists to assist
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with developing innovative science instruction to support improved instruction for Florida students.
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These resources are online via http://www.fldoestem.org/page169.aspx.
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Best Practices for Districts to Increase Student Achievement in Science:
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Map the district-level science curriculum to assure all assessed benchmarks and access points are
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included in required instruction for each of the grade bands; grades 4-5, grades 6-8, and grades 9-11.
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Disaggregate district-level science FCAT, alternative assessment, and ACT data to prioritize
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professional development science content activities, instructional resources allocations, and course
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offerings.
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Provide research-based teacher professional development opportunities that are both science-content
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specific and student grade-level specific.
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325 W. GAINES STREET • TALLAHASSEE, FL 32399-0400 • (850) 245-0505 • www.fldoe.org
District Superintendents
July 6, 2007
Page Two
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Provide schools and classrooms with science instructional technology tools, science lab equipment
that is appropriate to the science grade-level content, and safety equipment. (A portion of
instructional materials funding is specifically identified for purchasing science lab equipment.)
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Provide schools, students, and parents with information regarding local science summer activities
including: museum summer camps and registration information; community college science-related
course offerings; tutoring and instructional opportunities; and public or private enrichment
opportunities. (Example: Ichetucknee Springs Park has a “Parknership” with Fort White High
School. Through this endeavor, students in the middle grades are involved in Science at the Park.
There is classroom instruction and field study at the park.)
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Provide a science support site on your district webpage for teachers, parents, and students.
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Provide summer reading lists specific to science.
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Assign the strongest science teachers to the schools with the most struggling students.
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Provide school-based science lead teachers that are specialists in teaching science content.
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Provide professional development in teaching science and differentiating instruction for school-based
support facilitation teachers who work with students with disabilities.
Best Practices for Schools to Increase Student Achievement in Science:
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Assign the strongest science teachers (teachers who have degrees in science and in the science content
they are assigned to teach) in grades where science is assessed (grades 5, 8, and 11) and to the
students struggling the most.
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Ensure that eleventh grade students are enrolled in at least one science course during their eleventh
grade year.
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Ensure that students working toward a special diploma are enrolled in courses that provide instruction
in the access points.
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Provide lead science teachers to work with teachers at all grade levels to share and model best
practices for science instruction and to serve as resource teachers for science.
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Disaggregate school-level science FCAT data to prioritize professional development activities,
instructional resource allocations, and scope and sequence documents.
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Map the school-level science curriculum to ensure all assessed benchmarks and access points are
included in instruction for each of the grade bands: grades 4-5, grades 6-8, and grades 9-11.
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Equip classrooms with the resources to conduct hands-on science, including lab equipment and lab
safety equipment; ensure all teachers and all students have access to these resources.
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Equip classrooms with science instructional technology tools such as probes; ensure all teachers and
all students have access to these.
Best Practices for Classroom Teachers to Increase Student Achievement in Science:
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Review each class group’s past performance in science and schedule science benchmark or access
point lesson timelines based on this review.
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Review each student’s past performance in science with the student and parents and develop an action
plan for improvement or continued high performance. If the student was assessed on the Science
FCAT in 2007, review the student report and identify areas of strength and weakness; if the student
scored below level 3 (proficient), identify remediation activities.
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Schedule regular follow-up meetings to monitor the student’s progress and the effectiveness of the
instructional interventions and remedial activities.
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Teachers may take online content courses in science content for both elementary and secondary
science courses with the Broward Virtual University online at
http://www.broward.k12.fl.us/CI/HTML/index.html.
District Superintendents
July 6, 2007
Page Three
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Tutoring
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Tutoring is an effective strategy for addressing the needs of low-performing students.
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Utilize a strong guiding purpose and step-by-step program structure that is grounded in
thorough and frequent diagnostic and prescriptive interaction.
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This rich cycle of feedback and tailored instruction allows the tutor to attend closely to the
academic needs of the learner, seems to be responsible for the effectiveness of tutoring, and
reflects the general relationship found between student success and performance feedback
that is timely and specific to the content at hand.
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Pre- and post-session meetings with the teacher to evaluate, customize, and reflect on session
interactions are important.
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Adequate logistical support is necessary for effectiveness (time, place, supplies, and
instructional materials).
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Peer Tutoring
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The teacher must clearly define roles and activities for the tutor and the student (time,
frequency, regularity, individual student goals based on recent progress monitoring, highly
structured tasks, motivation).
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In peer tutoring, strong encouragement from and close monitoring by the teacher is necessary
to ensure that students are actively engaged and following assigned roles.
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Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI)
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CAI uses a computer to present concepts or topics, monitor student growth, and adjust to
advancements or reteaching automatically. CAI has proven effective for meeting the needs
of at-risk and low-performing students for all grade levels and software designs. It is a good
source of immediate feedback, prescriptive instruction, motivation and encouragement.
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The role of the teacher in CAI is significant. The teacher must be trained in the program and
able to monitor progress and make interventions
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There is an indication that having at-risk students work in small groups at the computer is
more effective than having students work alone at the computer.
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Two examples of CAI resources in science are provided below.
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For K-6: http://www.uvm.edu/~jmorris/Sci.html
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NASA distance learning: http://dlcenter.larc.nasa.gov/
Long-term Plans for Additional Science Support:
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The OMS is working with FCAT Explorer to add additional online science modules for grades 8 and
11, scheduled to be available in January 2008 for grade 8, June 2008 for grade 11, and posted online
at http://www.fcatexplorer.com/.
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The OMS is working to revise the content standards for science to make them clearer, more concise,
and more teacher-friendly, and allow for teaching important science concepts in greater depth (see
http://flstandards.org for updated information).
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The OMS is leveraging US DOE Mathematics and Science Partnership (MSP) funding to create
expert science teachers, model science lessons, and model collaborations to support science education
for Florida students.
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The OMS is working with the Florida Center for Research in Science, Technology, Engineering, and
Mathematics Education (FCR-STEM) to create a clearinghouse of best practices and online
professional development modules for best practices related to science education.
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The OMS is working with FCR-STEM to support professional development for Florida middle
school and high school teachers with Content Enhancement Routines that can be used as instructional
strategies for the new standards. You may read more about this effort online at
http://www.fcrstem.org/page179.aspx.
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