Teacher Testimonial: Susan Collins

Name: Susan Collins
Role: 4th Grade Teacher
District: The Solvay Union Free School District in the Village of Solvay, New York, has one elementary school for grades K-4 with an enrollment of 446 students. It is a Title I district and 70% of the elementary students qualify for free/reduced lunch.
Challenge: Implement a new science curriculum, the Smithsonian Science for the Classroom program from Carolina Biological Supply Company, and ensure the teachers are fully trained and supported during and after the transition.
Solution: Teacher Susan Collins, who has been a long-time Carolina-trained advocate for hands-on science, and Carolina support for the Solvay Elementary teachers.
Results: Solvay teachers confidently provide their students with exciting hands-on science lessons within the time available during their busy teaching schedules. Science is the students’ favorite subject and is also helping to reinforce their math and English language arts skills.

The elementary students of Solvay Union Free School District will one day look back and remember how the science they “did” during those early years impacted their lives. The “did” refers to the hands-on science curriculum the district provides to its students. Veteran elementary teacher Susan Collins has repeatedly witnessed the transforming power of hands-on science and its ability to engage young minds and enhance their learning and thinking skills. The Solvay district is supported by the Onondaga-Cortland-Madison Counties BOCES (OCM-BOCES). For many years, the OCM-BOCES Science Center staff built science lesson kits for districts to use in their elementary classrooms. Collins used those kits and was instrumental in helping other Solvay teachers get comfortable using them in their classes.

New York State BOCES

In 1948, the New York State legislature created Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) to provide shared educational programs and services to school districts across the state regardless of their enrollment, income, or tax base. Today there are 37 BOCES supporting the state’s school districts to help meet students’ evolving educational needs through cost-effective and relevant programs.

When the first Smithsonian science kit became available, OCM-BOCES shared it with their districts so they could “pilot test” it for future consideration. When the full Smithsonian Science for the Classroom curriculum became available through Carolina, the OCM-BOCES adopted it as the new recommended program for elementary science teaching within its member districts.

Challenge

Transitioning from one curriculum to another can be challenging for various reasons. Elementary teachers in particular have limited time for science among all the other subjects they teach. Plus, most have limited or no science background, making them uncertain about their ability to teach science effectively and efficiently.

Districts also face the challenge of providing effective teacher training and support. This is especially important when introducing a new curriculum. Who is qualified to conduct the training? Where will they find the time? Will it be required of teachers? Will they be paid for their time? Districts face these and other questions when devising teacher training and support.

Math and English language arts (ELA) are often prioritized by districts, which results in them being prioritized by teachers. This focus along with the time crunch that elementary teachers face can easily result in limited time set aside for science.

These are the top challenges the Solvay distract faced as the curriculum transition approached.

Solution

Fortunately for the Solvay district, Mrs. Collins was already adept at hands-on science teaching in a busy elementary classroom. She was also familiar with the Smithsonian program, having been introduced to it at the 2019 OCM-BOCES “It’s go time!” teacher training event. It was clear that Collins would be an important resource during the transition to the Smithsonian program at Solvay Elementary. The OCM-BOCES provided teachers with hands-on training during the summer before implementation of the new curriculum. The teachers were able to conduct several of the hands-on investigations to experience them from a student’s perspective. They also learned about the teacher resources included throughout the program, resources that can help them understand, prep for, and teach the lessons. The OCM-BOCES continues to provide training during the summer and the school year. At each training session the teachers conduct some of the hands-on investigations their students will be doing. Collins’ experience with the Smithsonian program enables her to help respond to questions from the teachers, such as those about particular lessons, student challenges, or teaching strategies. Collins is particularly committed to demonstrating to teachers and subject area coordinators how math and ELA are part of the science lessons. She notes, for instance, that students make quantitative measurements, use fractions and decimals, and perform unit conversions. Each student keeps a notebook to record the methods, results, and conclusions of their hands-on investigations. That means they are working on their handwriting, composition, spelling, and vocabulary skills – including science vocabulary. Clearly, the Smithsonian curriculum reinforces student learning in math and ELA.

Results

Sue Collins is happy to report that the transition to the Smithsonian curriculum went smoothly at Solvay Elementary. “The teacher support from OCM-BOCES and Carolina was great and helped give our teachers more confidence about teaching science with the new program.”

Teacher success is evidenced by the students’ responses – they wholeheartedly embrace science! “The students love their science lessons,” Collins reports, “It’s their favorite time of the day.” Collins describes how parents also got a taste of the excitement at a recent school open house. “The kids were practically dragging their parents over to the science table to see the science investigations being done!”

One important skill the students are learning through their science work is critical thinking. Students record their experimental methods and data in their notebooks. Collins then prompts them with “Let’s look at our evidence.” The students then evaluate their data, make claims based on that evidence, and defend their conclusions. This is life-skill building in action!

It’s an exciting time at Solvay Elementary thanks to Sue Collins, Carolina, and Smithsonian Science for the Classroom!