Challenge
In 2021, the district began searching for new science curricula for grades K–5 and 6–8. The district formed an Evaluation Team that identified a set of criteria and used it to search for and screen potential programs. The team included Ms. Toothaker, elementary teachers, middle school science teachers, non-science teachers, and the head of curriculum. The district wisely committed to evaluating the candidates from many different perspectives.
The criteria included preferences, district challenges, and state requirements. One of the first things Toothaker noted was that “we wanted the new programs to take a uniform approach across the grades and be from the same provider.”
Also important was good teacher support from the provider, easy-to-follow preparation instructions and teaching tips, and an emphasis on hands-on learning. As Toothaker explains, “We didn’t want students doing all of their science experiments on a computer.”
Two key district challenges that the curricula needed to address were:
- Nearly one-quarter of district students were native Spanish speakers learning the English language, which demanded curricula with multi-lingual components that support both students and teachers.
- The range of science intensity and the time allotted for science varied between regular and magnet schools and among the different grade levels, necessitating agile curricula that could be adapted for all science classrooms.
Finally, the new curricula needed to be NGSS-aligned to meet the State of Connecticut’s science standards.
The screening process identified programs from three companies for pilot testing, including the Smithsonian curricula for grades K–5 and 6–8 from Carolina. The Smithsonian K–5 curriculum was pilot tested in 2021–2022, and the 6–8 curriculum in 2022–2023.
