Mapping Energy in the Boston Public Schools Curriculum
Energy is a cross-cutting concept that can be used to integrate all scientific disciplines. However, most curricula are not organized, taught, or learned from this integrated energy perspective. As science becomes increasingly interdisciplinary, K-8 science teachers often teach all scientific disciplines, and many scientific concepts are taught repeatedly in different curricula, we hypothesize that using an integrated energy approach allows for more efficient learning of science as a whole. This idea is consistent with the Next Generation Science Standards being introduced in the United States with a major cross-cutting concept being Matter and Energy. To examine how energy pervades the Boston Public Schools (BPS) curriculum, grades 1–12, the Boston Energy in Science Teaching (BEST) project gathered 12 teacher leaders (one representing each grade) to identify where energy was most prominent in the curriculum they teach and how these energy ideas, activities, and examples were connected horizontally across science disciplines and vertically across grade bands. After 3 days of an Energy Institute devoted to this task, the teachers’ inputs resulted in a matrix of 162 connections among the 105 curriculum units (grades 1–12) that featured energy most prominently. Identified energy ideas were consistent with four energy subthemes: Forms and Transformation, Systems, Conservation of Energy, and Energy Resources. The most critical energy ideas and activities were identified and crossed all disciplines and grade bands equally. Challenges remain in aligning the energy map in BPS with energy learning progressions and making the energy content map more generalizable for use across many districts as the Next Generation Science Standards are adopted.
Developmental growth in students' concept of energy: Analysis of selected items from the TIMSS database
The aim of this study was to develop a model of students' energy concept development. Applying Case's (1985, 1992) structural theory of cognitive development, we hypothesized that students' concept of energy undergoes a series of transitions, corresponding to systematic increases in working memory capacity. The US national sample from the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) database was used to test our hypothesis. Items relevant to the energy concept in the TIMSS test booklets for three populations were identified. Item difficulty from Rasch modeling was used to test the hypothesized developmental sequence, and percentage of students' correct responses was used to test the correspondence between students' age/grade level and level of the energy concepts. The analysis supported our hypothesized sequence of energy concept development and suggested mixed effects of maturation and schooling on energy concept development. Further, the results suggest that curriculum and instruction design take into consideration the developmental progression of students' concept of energy. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Randi Weingarten, the American Federation of Teachers, and the Challenges of Policy Leadership in a Hostile Environment
Randi Weingarten is the president of the most vocal and influential teachers’ union, the American Federation of Teachers. Since rising through the ranks to AFT president in just two years, Weingarten is now a major, if not the most prominent, nongovernmental player in national education policy. She has earned deep respect from many educational policy actors. Likewise, Weingarten elicits withering criticism from others. This fascinating profile explains why, in such a brief period, she has proved to be a fierce, fearless, and effective leader under extraordinarily difficult circumstances. Her experience offers invaluable lessons applicable for others working in similarly intense policy arenas.