I’M CLAIRE CROUSE AND I HELP SECONDARY SCIENCE TEACHERS RE-ENVISION THE POSSIBILITIES OF SCIENCE TEACHING WITH SUSTAINABLE CLASSROOM PRACTICES AND TRANSFORMATIONAL CURRICULUM DESIGN.

Can I be honest with you?

 

Teaching can be a lot to handle these days.

 

Especially in science.

 

From unpacking the newly released Next Generation Science Standards to districts everywhere upgrading their performance and evaluation systems to the rising influence of students’ social media, we as teachers, are being stretched in every way possible.

 

Heck, I’m 10 years into teaching and even I have felt like I’m back at square one some days!

 

But, if there’s one thing I’ve learned throughout the years, it’s that with great challenge comes great opportunity. And right now, science teachers around the country have an incredible opportunity in front of them.

 

  • If there was ever a generation that needed strong critical thinking and argumentation skills to sift through news, research, and social media influences…

 

  • If there was ever a generation that needed strong collaborative and innovative capabilities to devise global solutions for present humanitarian issues…

 

  • If there was ever a generation that needed strong work ethic and resilience to tackle an ever-evolving career landscape…

 

It’s the generation of students sitting in our classrooms right now.

Truthfully though, I haven’t always felt this passionate for education. In fact, for years I struggled in the classroom.

 

As a new teacher, I craved to teach science lessons that were more than just science. I wanted to teach science lessons that inspired a growth mindset in students- critical thinking, curiosity, global citizenship, and self-expression!

 

But that is hard to do in practicality. And over time I stopped trying and settled on simply making science lessons entertaining and understandable for students.

Fast forward to the pandemic. I had just moved to a new state and gotten a job in a new public school district when I found out I was slated to teach 4 special education inclusion science classes that August. The pressure was on!

 

I had only 6 weeks to develop a transformational curriculum that would allow our post-pandemic students to re-engage in a love for learning, re-integrate into structure, and re-build their work habits.

 

The demands on this curriculum were high. It needed to be comprehensive enough to meet not only the variety of academic abilities in my classroom, but also the range of socio-emotional and motivational needs. Easy, right?

 

But that year, after intense learning and trial and error, I finally figured out  practical strategies to making science lessons holistic and transformational. Science lessons became so much more than just science!

 

And now I want to share all those strategies with you and more!

 

So, are you ready to re-envision the possibilities of your science classroom?

 

Are you ready to get inspired? Me too! 

 

Let’s dive into this work together and have some fun!

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