December 2015
Secondary Science
Grant News
It has been a busy first semester and many of you have been able to participate in various professional development opportunities related to our STEM grant. The goal of this grant is to support the acquisition of content knowledge and expertise to prepare teachers to be able to provide rigorous academic experiences for our students that will ultimately spark a pursuit of a STEM degree or career.
University of Houston Kickoff Partnership with Tier 1 Teachers
Bayou water/soil quality field collection
Our UHD partnership kickoff started with a bang as teachers learned about Houston's bayou and watershed health.
Lab methodology
Teachers learned what takes place in a college laboratory as they swabbed agar plates to see what bacteria may be in our watersheds.
Probeware experience
Teachers learned how to support student's critical thinking through the analyses of data. They also learned how to analyze larger sets of shared data through the PBWorks.com platform.
Tier 2 Teachers learned about Microgravity with our partners at San Jacinto Aerospace Academy
Day 1 Learning to build the frame of the Robot
Teachers participated in the ROME Challenge.
The Robotics, Ocean, Microgravity Explorers (ROME) Challenge is designed to engage teachers to explore the fascinating world of microgravity and the many benefits it brings our world.Day 2 Soddering the controls and....
They learned how to build underwater robots and to discover how astronauts adapt to working in a microgravity environment.
Final product: Underwater Robot
Teachers and students will soon take a field trip to NASA Buoyance Water Lab, where they will test their robots with a challenge against their instructors from San Jacinto College.
Student service learning project
As part of the grant we must facilitate a student service learning project. Here is just one of the things we have been working on. KMS students are creating a sustainable ecosystem with the donation of various plants and trees. Construction of this project in on its way.
Each campus will contribute to this project with: Birdhouses, rain barrels, and compost bins.
Aspiring Leadership meeting was held last night
Teachers from across the district participated in Sheldon ISD's Aspiring Leaders Institute. Read this article to see how you can begin to develop your leadership skills. Continuing to grow and learn is how we serve our students everyday. Two secondary science teachers were in attendance, great job!
TEA Updates
Curriculum Update: CTE Courses that Count for Science Credit. Revised TEKS implemented in 2017-2018.
Science TEKS will be Streamlined.
In the Spring of 2016 the process to "Steamline" the TEKS will begin. TEKS will not change grade levels but will be reworded for clarity. No new instructional materials will be provided. You will begin to see emails if you want to be on this State committee. Implementation will occur in 2017.