Cross-Disciplinary High School
Teacher Professional Development
Presentation for DIMACS Conference
04/29/05
Linda J. Morris
Science Curriculum Coordinator
Jeffco Schools, Golden, CO.
ljmorris@jeffco.k12.co.us
Paradigm Shift
•
•
•
•
•
•
High School Teachers
Students
Parents
Core Structures of High Schools
Curriculum
Professional Development of Teachers
3 Central Principles of Effective
Instruction
• How Students Learn History, Mathematics, and Science in the
Classroom, National Research Council, 2005.
• How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School, National
Research Council, 1999.
Principle #1
Address students’ initial understanding
and preconceptions about topics.
Lionni, Leo. Fish is Fish, Alfred A.Knopf, Inc., NY, 1970.
Principle #2
Provide a foundation of factual/procedural
knowledge and conceptual understanding.
Annenberg, Minds of Our Own: Lessons From Thin Air,
1997.
Principle #3
Implement teaching strategies to help
students take control of their learning.
• Problem solving and inquiry strategies
• Metacognitive strategies
Curriculum
“ get …students hooked on mathematically
fascinating biological problems early…”
Lynn Arthur Steen
http://chronicle.com
Evaluating Instructional Materials
• Genes, Environment, and Human Behavior,
BSCS, 2000.
• Bioinformatics and the Human Genome Project,
BSCS, 2003.
www.bscs.org
Funding- Department of Energy