Open Earth Systems: An Earth Science Course for Maryland Teacher Professional Development
Participant Evaluation Guidelines
Final Product
Each participant must submit four lesson plans; each lesson must address content from the units
covered during the OES course:
 Plate Tectonics & the Rock Cycle
 Earth History & Fossil Record
 The Global Climate System
 Natural Disasters
Participants may select units based on the Earth Science content focus for their grade level(s).
Participants may choose to do 1 or 2 lessons for a given unit (but not 3 or 4 lessons for a single unit).
Participants may work on the lesson plans individually; they may also collaborate in teams of 2 or 3,
based on common or sequential grade levels.
Lesson plans must address the categories “Demonstration of Learning” and “Implementation of Course
Content” from the Evaluation Rubric on the following page. Lesson plan must include an instructional
component, with a clear description of the Earth Science content to be addressed (ideally,
corresponding to grade level standards); and a hands-on component, with an overview of the intended
activities. The resources to be used for each component must be clearly identified, and citations must
be provided for previously published sources of the information. Whenever possible, include examples
of visual content to be used in the lesson.
Lesson plans must also clearly identify the Earth Science standards addressed in the lesson from each
of the following:
 MSDE Voluntary State Curriculum or Core Learning Goals
 Next Generation Science Standards
 Common Core State Standards
Identify each standard addressed using the following notation:
NOTATION
TRANSLATION
VSC
Voluntary State Curriculum Grade 6, Standard 2, Topic B,
6.2.B.2.b (+ text…)
Indicator 2, Objective b
CLG
Core Learning Goals, Goal 2, Expectation 1, Indicator 2
2.1.2 (+ text…)
NGSS
Next Generation Science Standards, name of performance
MS-ESS2-2 (+ text…)
expectation
CCSS
Common Core State Standard, Anchor Standard, Grade Level,
ELA-Literacy.RI.6.4 (+ text..) and Indicator
Work on lesson plans must be submitted to the PD facilitator, David Nelson, as electronic files to
DNelson02@bcps.k12.md.us according to the following schedule:
 List of unit(s) from grade level curriculum addressed by each lesson and corresponding Earth
Science standards by Tuesday, July 7
 Lesson 1 draft by Wednesday July 8
 Lesson 2 draft by Friday July 10
 Lesson 3 draft by Tuesday July 14
 Lesson 4 draft by Wednesday July 15
 Final versions of all four lesson plans no later than Wednesday July 22
Open Earth Systems: An Earth Science Course for Maryland Teacher Professional Development
Final versions of the lessons will be published online as pdf files on the “Course” section OES website,
http://openearthsystems.org/course/. Be sure to indicate the names of the contributing participants on
each lesson. Refer to the file “Hawaii Lesson” as a lesson plan exemplar (5E format, grade 6).
Evaluation Rubric
Outstanding
Satisfactory
Needs Improvement
Not Demonstrated
Participant has clearly
and accurately
demonstrated (through
multiple examples) their
knowledge of new
content, techniques and
instructional strategies.
Participant has
demonstrated their
knowledge of new
content, techniques and
instructional strategies.
Participant vaguely
demonstrates their
knowledge of new
content, techniques and
instructional strategies.
(May not full grasp
concepts)
Participant does not
demonstrate their
knowledge of new
content, techniques and
instructional strategies.
Implementation
of Course
Content
Participant has clearly
and accurately
demonstrated (through
multiple examples) their
implementation of new
techniques and
instructional strategies.
Participant has
demonstrated their
implementation of new
techniques and
instructional strategies.
Participant has vaguely
demonstrated their
implementation of new
techniques and
instructional strategies.
Participant has not
demonstrated any
implementation of new
techniques or
instructional strategies.
Reflection on
Practice
Participant has clearly
and accurately
demonstrated their
reflection on new
techniques and
instructional strategies
by engaging in all of the
presented opportunities
to consider outcomes
and next steps.
Participant has
demonstrated their
reflection on new
techniques and
instructional strategies
by engaging in most of
the presented
opportunities to
consider outcomes and
next steps.
Participant has vaguely
demonstrated their
reflection on new
techniques and
instructional strategies
by engaging in some of
the presented
opportunities to
consider outcomes and
next steps.
Participant has not
demonstrated their
reflection on new
techniques and
instructional strategies
and has not engaged in
any of the presented
opportunities to
consider outcomes and
next steps.
Sharing of
Experiences and
Best Practices
Participant has clearly
and appropriately
presented their work to
peers and instructor in a
variety of formats.
Participant has presented
their work to peers and
instructor in a variety of
formats.
Participant has vaguely
and sloppily presented
their work to peers and
instructor. (A variety of
formats was not utilized)
Participant has not
presented their work to
peers and instructor.
Collaborative
Feedback
Throughout the
professional
development experience
the participant was able
to give/ receive specific
and meaningful
feedback to/from their
facilitator and peers.
Throughout the
professional
development experience
the participant was able
to give/ receive
feedback to/from their
facilitator and peers.
Throughout the
professional
development experience
the participant rarely
gave/received feedback
to/from their facilitator
and peers.
Throughout the
professional
development experience
the participant did not
give/ receive feedback
to/from their facilitator
and peers.
Demonstration
of Learning
The expectation for successful completion of the course is that, by the end of the course, each
participant will perform at the level of satisfactory or above in all five domains.
Attendance Policy
To receive credit for completion of the course, participants must attend and complete a minimum of 7
full days of activities (out of 8)