Engineering by Design (EbD)

Instructor(s): Eric Yoder, Peney Wright, Lisa Kruse and/or Dawn Lynn 
Description of Activity: With strong STEM integration anchored in real-world, place-based, learning Engineering by Design (EbD) facilitates in-depth learning for your students. Comprehensive, turn-key STEM engineering design processes, place-based and local “problems,” diverse realistic characters, as well as career connections are all woven into EbD’s curricula. EbD supports the New PA STEELS Academic Standards.

Engineering byDesign™ (EbD)™ is built on the belief that the ingenuity of children is  untapped. unrealized potential that, when properly motivated, will lead to the next  generation of technologists, innovators, designers, and engineers. 

Why EbD?    

Using Constructivist models, students participating in the program learn concepts and     principles in an authentic problem-/project-based environment. Through an integrative STEM environment,  EbD™ uses all four STEM content areas, as well as English Language Arts, to help  students understand the complexities of tomorrow. 

Join us for a free overview session where we will explore strong, guided and supportive online resources for teachers, digital and hardcopy storybooks, and materials/supply kits. In-person, hybrid and remote learning options are available.

SECTION 504 OF THE REHABILITATION ACT  OF 1973:  WHAT EDUCATORS NEED TO KNOW

• Gain an understanding of the federal and state regulations related to IDEA and Section 504
• Define the term “disability” related to Section 504
• Identify the anti-discrimination protections for all 504 eligible students
• Identify the components of service agreements and types of services and accommodations available
• Identify resources related to Section 504, Chapter 15, IDEA and Chapter 14

Facilitators: Nichole Kopco, PaTTAN Consultant  and Roni Russell, PaTTAN Consultant

LUNCH IS ON YOUR OWN  REGISTER HERE! 

 Questions: contact Kelly Zurybida at kzurybida@tiu11.org or call 814-542-2501

This meeting will be the first in a series of 3 SEL Networking events to be hosted this year. 

The topics to be covered this day include:

• Engaging Mindfulness practices for the classroom
• Focus on Social Emotional Learning Concepts
• The use of technology to further develop social emotional learning

This event is free and open to all General Educators who support special education students, Emotional Support teachers and staff, Learning Support teachers and staff, Guidance Counselors, Social Workers, and any professional team member who works with students in need of enhanced social-emotional skills training! Feel free to share the link and encourage your colleagues to attend.

Lunch will be on your own. Please be advised that there is a refrigerator and microwave available on-site, so feel free to pack something to eat.

Title: School Counselor Network (K-12)

Date: 12/13/24

Time: 9 am - Noon

Location: Virtual - https://paiu.zoom.us/j/4476176265

Department: Curriculum

Act 48: Yes

Description: The School Counselor Network is an opportunity for school counselors from around the region to come together to get some professional development and converse with other counselors on the biggest topics in our area.

The Huntingdon/Fulton County Transition Coordinating Council is a group of like-minded individuals that wish to support students with disabilities that are of transition age (14-21), as they work towards life after high school. The goal of the group is to strengthen their knowledge in the area of transition through training, resource sharing, interagency collaboration, and networking. 

Target Audience: Huntingdon and Fulton County Special Education Teachers & Administrators, Outside Agencies/Providers, Local Business Owners, Guidance Counselors, School Social Workers, Parents, or Secondary Students

*These meetings will be held via Zoom. Virtual Meeting Link will be sent to participants upon registration

If you have any questions please contact:

Staci Young, TIU 11 Educational Consultant

syoung@tiu11.org

814-542-2501x1126

The Mifflin/Juniata County Transition Coordinating Council is a group of like-minded individuals that wish to support students with disabilities that are of transition age (14-21), as they work towards life after high school. The goal of the group is to strengthen their knowledge in the area of transition through training, resource sharing, interagency collaboration, and networking. 

Target Audience: Mifflin and Juniata County Special Education Teachers & Administrators, Outside Agencies/Providers, Local Business Owners, Guidance Counselors, School Social Workers, Parents, or Secondary Students

*These meetings will be held via Zoom. Virtual Meeting Link will be sent to participants upon registration

If you have any questions please contact:

Staci Young, TIU 11 Educational Consultant

syoung@tiu11.org

814-542-2501x1126

Title: Health/PE Training

Description: Elementary HPE Teachers will be provided two individualized sessions.
Session 1 will include information on how to enhance health at the elementary level. Teachers will navigate building a strategic plan to enhance the delivery of health education. Session 2 will look at monitoring their equipment within and outside of the school. Teachers will look at new ways to utilize all available tools to maximize the use of equipment and materials in their physical education classes.

Secondary HPE teachers will be provided two individualized sessions. Session 1 will look at monitoring their equipment within and outside of the school. Teachers will look at new ways to utilize all available tools to maximize the use of equipment and materials in their physical education classes. Session 2 will evaluate their current PE program. The
purpose of this session is to provide teachers with tools to incorporate more lifelong fitness into their PE program.

Date: January 20, 2024

Time: 9 am to 3 pm

Location: Virtual - Teams link will be provided by PDE. 

Department: Curriculum

Act 48: Yes

Tuesday, January 7, 2025 (location will be the main TIU building)
 

This meeting will be the second in a series of 3 SEL Networking events to be hosted this year. 

The topic to be covered this day:

• Executive Functioning: everything you need to know!

This event is free and open to all General Educators who support special education students, Emotional Support teachers and staff, Learning Support teachers and staff, Guidance Counselors, Social Workers, and any professional team member who works with students in need of enhanced social-emotional skills training! Feel free to share the link and encourage your colleagues to attend.

Lunch will be on your own.

For more information contact Betsy Cox at ecox@tiu11.org

Tier #1 ENGINE of Central PA: Spring 3D STEELS Educator Community of Practice – Virtual

Instructor(s): Peney E. Wright, Jeff Remington 

Tier #1 Series Our goals are to begin conversations about the shift towards the new Pennsylvania Science, Technology, Engineering, Environmental Literacy and Sustainability Academic Science Standards (STEELS) that were fully adopted in June 2022. A series of ten interactive webinars will include an introduction to Phenomena-based science education, 3D teaching and learning, equity and inclusion, Science and Engineering Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, Disciplinary Core Ideas, Student Performance Expectations, PBL, Productive Student Discourse, Technology and Engineering Integration, 3D Assessments, and Reviewing and Critiquing for High Quality Instructional Materials (HQIM.) Sessions build upon knowledge, pedagogy and practices of the preceding ones. It is recommended that all are taken, in order, to develop a foundation for this shift in science education. 

Asynchronous work is required: pre-reading one STEM Teaching Tools Practice Brief, posted reflections regarding the readings, and applying what is learned to participants’ contexts. Participants may join virtually in-person, work completely asynchronously or attend as a hybrid mix. For a full list of sessions and dates, click on Spring 'SY 23-24 ENGINE 3-D STEELS Educator CoP
Series closes June 31, 2024. 

Recommended Prerequisite: read the National Research Council: A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts and Core Ideas (2012), free download

Date(s): Series: Tuesdays 1/7/25 – 5/13/25  

Number of Participant Activity 48 Hours: 35.0 

Location: Virtual 

Audience: Administrators K-12 educators, STEM teachers, library media specialists, special education educators

Instructor(s): Peney E. Wright, M.Ed.  TIU 11 STEM/STEAM Curriculum and Instruction Specialist

Description of Activity: Code.org CS Fundamentals: Fully supported, free computer science curriculum and activities for Elementary Teachers

Regardless of what subject you teach, computer science is foundational knowledge for all students in the 21st century. Incorporating it into your classroom will give your students a huge leg up. Besides, this is a subject the kids love learning. With the help of this Code.org, no cost, one-day workshop for elementary school teachers, you will receive support in teaching computer science even if you have no prior experience. In addition, the activities are really fun!

What’s in a workshop?

In-person instruction from an experienced computer science facilitator, including an intro to computer science, pedagogy, overview of the online curriculum, teacher dashboard, and strategies for teaching “unplugged” classroom activities. Over 10,000 teachers have participated in a workshop and the majority say it’s the best PD they’ve ever attended.

What you'll get from this workshop:

• In-person instruction from an experienced computer science facilitator.
• An intro to computer science and pedagogy.
• An overview of the online curriculum and teacher dashboard.
• A printed curriculum guide containing course lesson plans.
• Strategies for teaching "unplugged" classroom activities.

Sign up now so you can start teaching these life-changing skills!  Learn more about Code.org’s K-5 program at http://code.org/k5.  Please feel free to email Peney Wright for more details. pwright@tiu11.org

Audience: elementary educators, special education teachers, ELL teachers

Title: Gifted Support Network

The Gifted Network is an opportunity for teachers who work with gifted students to come together to earn some professional development and to network with other teachers about the latest topics in their field.  The specific focus of each PD session will be added at a later date.

Location: Virtual - https://paiu.zoom.us/j/4476176265

Department: Curriculum

Act 48: 3 Act 48  Hours

STEELS Special Topics, Session B

Instructor(s): Peney E. Wright 

Tier 3 Professional Learning. Please see prerequisites below. 

Session B includes: 
Equity, Inclusion and Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

• Review the CAST UDL Principles
• Engage with an interactive infographic that pairs principles of UDL with the 3-       Dimensions

STEM: Integrating TE Within STEELS K-12 
 

• In addition to the Science Standards, the Technology and Engineering (TE) Standards are for all students. Many of the new TE Standards will be part of STEM Program curricula.
• TE Standards are also to be integrated with the sciences, K-12.
• And, TE Standards are to be integrated within Project/Problem-based Learning, including multiple subject areas.
• Take a deep dive into the TE grade bands, noticing progressions before, within and after your grade level.
• Strategies and Examples for TE integration will be shared.
• Investigate integrated exemplars created by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology for all grade bands.
• Time to begin a grade level and/or K-12 STEM/TE Integration Plan will be provided.  
   

Critiquing and Shifting Towards Phenomena-based 3-Dimensional Curricula  

• NGSS Lesson Screener Tool
• Next Generation Science Storylines
• Ambitious Science Teaching S#2  Unit Plan Share-outs

Equity, inclusion and belonging are tenets of PA’s Equitable Practices.  The STEELS Standards are intended for all learners at every school. Use the principles of Universal Design for Learning to remove barriers to learning, invite all students to take advantage of tools and technology to support successful learning and share the variety of ways you encourage your students to show what they’ve learned. 

"The integration of these disciplines in the standards highlights the interconnectedness of scientific, technological, and engineering focused study; the integral relationship between humans and the environment; and the importance of integrating the teaching and learning of science, technology, and engineering.”  June 2022 PDE STEELS 

“Technology & Engineering - Focuses on the interactions among technology, engineering, society, the environment, and other disciplines, with a goal of developing individuals that can create, utilize, and assess current and emerging technologies. The standards are written as grade-banded performance expectations built around technology and engineering strands, practices, and contexts and integrated into a set of specific standards. These components are elaborated upon in Foundation Boxes (hyperlinked for each standard) providing support for design of curriculum"

The new STEELS Standards are intended to promote integration at all grade levels, in all ways:  

• the sciences integrated with technology and engineering
• technology and engineering integrated within all the sciences
• Elementary integration: STEELS with ELA and Math
• Middle and High School STEELS integration between all subject areas

“The difference in the verbs used in the NGSS tells the story. Gone is the conception of science education as an abstract recall of facts. Instead, students demonstrate proficiency in science by engaging in actual scientific practices — in this case, developing models, designing solutions and constructing arguments. In the words of one standards author, the NGSS requires that students move from demonstrating good note-taking skills to demonstrating true understanding of scientific practices, concepts and core ideas. The resulting implications for classroom practice could not be greater.”  2013, Achieve NGSS Workbook 

Our goals are to shift our teaching to engage 21st Century students in rigorous science learning.  

NGSS Conceptual Shifts 

• K–12 Science Education Should Reflect the real-world interconnections in science
• All practices and crosscutting concepts are used to teach all core ideas all year
• Science concepts build coherently across K-12
• The NGSS focus on deeper understanding and application of content 
   Integration of science and engineering
• Coordination with Common Core State and STEELS Standards

Strongly recommended: read the National Research Council: A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts and Core Ideas (2012), free download 

Prerequisites: At least one of these: STEELS Experience for K-12 Educators, Implementing the STEELS Standards: Developing Science Leadership Teams; ENGINE 3-D STEELS Educator Virtual Community of Practice (CoP)

Audience: 3-8 educators, library media specialists, special education educators

Title: Coaches Network

Date: 1/15/25

Time: 1 pm - 3 pm

Location: TBD

Department: Curriculum

Act 48: Yes

Description: The Coaches Network is an opportunity for academic coaches from around the region to come together to get some professional development and converse with other coaches on the biggest topics in our area.

Instructor(s): Peney E. Wright

Description of Activity: 

Prerequisite: Implementing the STEELS Standards: Developing Science Leadership Teams

Tier #2 Session For established school district STEELS Leadership Teams who have completed the Implementing the STEELS Standards: Developing Science Leadership Teams professional learning. Continued support for the STEELS Rollout towards full implementation beginning in SY ‘25-26. Sessions will include school districts’ updates, collaboration and application of district planning resources. All team members encouraged to attend; special topics will be featured. 

Special Topics to include:

• STEM for All Learners
• 3-Dimensional Assessments
• Integrating STEELS at the Elementary Level and Secondary Level
• Technology and Engineering Standards Integration
• Shifting and/or Selecting High Quality Instructional Materials
• STEM/STEAM and Computer Science with STEELS
• Planning for T & E Learning and Integration K-12
   

Advanced Projects may include:

• Developing a cohesive unit Storyline
• HQIM Reviews or Shifting Deep Dive and Working Session
• Developing STEELS aligned formative and summative assessments
• Supporting Leading Elementary Teacher Superstars “SLEETS” for STEELS
• Team Planning: Ongoing Professional Learning for teachers, STEELS Curriculum Mapping, etc.
   

Alternate dates which also offer these opportunities are Special Topics A on 11/16/24, Special Topics B on 1/15/25, Special Topics C on 11/14/24 or 2/25/25 and STEELS: Planning for T & E Learning and Integration on 2/26/25. A STEELS Special Topics a’ la carte 4/3/25 will also include choice of STEELS modules.

Ambitious Science Teaching (AST) Session #3 AST Practice 2 - Eliciting Students’ Ideas [Half- day AM]

Instructor(s): Peney E. Wright and Eric Yoder 
Tier #2 Professional Learning. See prerequisites below. 

Description of Activity: Why do we use these particular four practices? 
Our main objective as science teachers is to change students’ thinking over time, so we need to know what our students understand about the target science ideas in the first place. This set of practices—eliciting students’ ideas—is used at the beginning of a unit of instruction. It is designed to 1) reveal the range of resources that students use to reason about a set of science ideas (working theories, everyday experiences, language), 2) activate their prior knowledge about the topic, and 3) help you to adapt upcoming instruction, based on how students reason about the anchoring event. Please note that this set of practices is about more than “hooking” students or temporarily capturing their interest. 

In this session learn about the importance of Productive Student Discourse, using culturally relevant and their own words, to communicate, figure out and make sense of science concepts. 

During this session, we will focus on: 

• Modeling eliciting students’ questions and ideas as well as activating prior knowledge 
• Supporting students to represent their thinking publicly 
• Science and Engineering Practice of developing and using models: students modeling as a technique for explaining student thinking
• Making student thinking visible 

Highly Recommended: Visit https://ambitiousscienceteaching.org/ to preview the website (Getting Started) and watch the Eliciting students’ ideas video ,16;39. Also read Ambitious Science Teaching: Chapters 5-7, Appendix C 

Ambitious Science Teaching (AST) Book Study – Virtual Sessions begin September 29 th , 2024 and with Session #2 on October 16 th , 2024. 

Prerequisites include: 

• AST Session #1: Introduction to Ambitious Science Teaching and Culturally Relevant Science Teaching 
•  AST Session #2: Practice 1 - Planning for Big Ideas 

Note: Selected sessions will be recorded and made available for an asynchronous option. Asynchronous work to include pre-reading of the website and/or AST paperback, viewing AST videos, posted reflections regarding the readings and videos, and applying what is learned to participants’ contexts. Participants may join in-person, work completely asynchronously or attend as a hybrid mix. Please contact Peney at pwright@tiu11.org for complete details.

Ambitious Science Teaching (AST) Session #4 AST Practice 3 - Supporting on-going changes in thinking [Half-day PM]

Instructor(s): Peney E. Wright 
Tier #2 Professional Learning. See prerequisites below. 

Description of Activity: Supporting on-going changes in thinking 

Throughout any unit of instruction, students are frequently engaged in different types of activity. For example, students might do hands-on work with materials, use computer simulations, conduct observations of phenomena, design experiments, or collect and analyze different types of data. The purpose of this set of practices is to help students develop new ideas to use in revising explanations and models for the anchoring phenomena.

We want to make clear that this set of practices should be repeated multiple times throughout a unit. Multiple activities and multiple rounds of sense making are required to build towards a deep understanding of an explanatory model. A single activity is not enough to accomplish this.

Ambitious Science Teaching Practice #3 involves supporting ongoing changes in students’ thinking about scientific concepts. This practice recognizes that science learning is an iterative process that requires students to continuously revisit and revise their prior understandings and beliefs as they encounter new information and evidence.

In Session #4 we will delve deeply into meeting the Three Core Practices which support ongoing changes in thinking within an immersive experience:

• Introducing new ideas 
•  Engaging students in activity and sense making 
•  Collective thinking 

Highly Recommended:  Visit https://ambitiousscienceteaching.org/ to preview the website (Getting Started) and watch the Supporting on-going changes in thinking video ,21:52. Also read Ambitious Science Teaching: Chapters 8 - 11, Appendices D-E 

Ambitious Science Teaching (AST) Book Study – Virtual Sessions begin September 29 th , 2024 and with Session #2 on October 16 th , 2024. 

Prerequisites include: 

•  At least one Tier #1 PL 
•  AST Sessions #1 - #3 

Note: Selected sessions will be recorded and made available for an asynchronous option. Asynchronous work to include pre-reading of the website and/or AST paperback, viewing AST videos, posted reflections regarding the readings and videos, and applying what is learned to participants’ contexts. Participants may join in-person, work completely asynchronously or attend as a hybrid mix. Please contact Peney at pwright@tiu11.org for complete details.

The Huntingdon/Fulton County Transition Coordinating Council is a group of like-minded individuals that wish to support students with disabilities that are of transition age (14-21), as they work towards life after high school. The goal of the group is to strengthen their knowledge in the area of transition through training, resource sharing, interagency collaboration, and networking. 

Target Audience: Huntingdon and Fulton County Special Education Teachers & Administrators, Outside Agencies/Providers, Local Business Owners, Guidance Counselors, School Social Workers, Parents, or Secondary Students

*These meetings will be held via Zoom. Virtual Meeting Link will be sent to participants upon registration

If you have any questions please contact:

Staci Young, TIU 11 Educational Consultant

syoung@tiu11.org

814-542-2501x1126

The Mifflin/Juniata County Transition Coordinating Council is a group of like-minded individuals that wish to support students with disabilities that are of transition age (14-21), as they work towards life after high school. The goal of the group is to strengthen their knowledge in the area of transition through training, resource sharing, interagency collaboration, and networking. 

Target Audience: Mifflin and Juniata County Special Education Teachers & Administrators, Outside Agencies/Providers, Local Business Owners, Guidance Counselors, School Social Workers, Parents, or Secondary Students

*These meetings will be held via Zoom. Virtual Meeting Link will be sent to participants upon registration

If you have any questions please contact:

Staci Young, TIU 11 Educational Consultant

syoung@tiu11.org

814-542-2501x1126

Ambitious Science Teaching (AST) Session #5 AST Practice 4 - Evidence-based Explanations

Instructor(s): Peney E. Wright 
Tier #2 Professional Learning. See prerequisites below:

Description of Activity: Pressing for evidence-based explanations 

This final set of practices will help students construct a final, evidence-based explanatory model for an anchoring event. The goals of this practice are: 

• Engage all students in authentic disciplinary discourse around using evidence to support explanations. 
• Hold students accountable for using multiple sources of information to construct final explanatory models for the anchoring event (this accountability of course must be supported by scaffolding and guidance from you). 
• Support students in using evidence to support different aspects of their explanatory models. 

The goals are for educators to: 

• Support students in using evidence to account for different aspects of their explanatory model. 
• Hold students accountable for using multiple sources of information to construct final explanatory models for the anchoring event. 
• Engage all students in authentic disciplinary discourse around constructing and defending explanations. 

When we think about drawing together evidence-based explanations, we have to have a great deal of scaffolding and support to allow students to think across significant lengths of curricular time. 

In Session #5, we will model and practice Pressing for Evidence-Based Explanations including: 

•  Co-constructing a “Gotta-Have-List”
•  Synthesizing learning with Consensus Models and Summary Tables 
•  Pressing for Gapless Explanations 
•  Assessing for Understanding 

Highly Recommended: Visit https://ambitiousscienceteaching.org/ to preview the website (Getting Started) and watch the Eliciting students’ ideas video ,16;39. Also read Ambitious Science Teaching: Chapters 11-12, Appendices F-G 

Prerequisites include: 

• At least one Tier #1 PL 
•  AST Sessions #1 - #4 
   

Note: Selected sessions will be recorded and made available for an asynchronous option. Asynchronous work to include pre-reading of the website and/or AST paperback, viewing AST videos, posted reflections regarding the readings and videos, and applying what is learned to participants’ contexts. Participants may join in-person, work completely asynchronously or attend as a hybrid mix. Please contact Peney at pwright@tiu11.org for complete details.

Ambitious Science Teaching (AST) Session #6 Culturally Relevant Pedagogy

Instructor(s): Peney E. Wright 
Tier #2 Professional Learning. See prerequisites below. 

Description of Activity: Culturally Relevant Pedagogy 

To make science learning available and relevant to all students, teachers should create learning experiences that are designed to involve students' different levels of knowledge, appreciate cultural and language differences and help them feel like they belong in the classroom. A student's experiences are important in helping them understand science in a way that is relevant and meaningful to them and when we create a space for these ideas to be shared, learning flourishes. 

Students do not come to school as” blank slates.” They have varied experiences with the natural and man-made/designed world that build their funds of knowledge. This prior learning contributes to the learning space that can universally support the instruction of the whole class. 

To ensure that science teaching and learning is accessible and relevant to all students, educators need to prioritize intentionally designed learning tasks that engage students' varying knowledge bases, value cultural and linguistic diversity, and promote a sense of belonging. 
To make sure that science is taught in a way that everyone can understand and connect with, teachers should focus on creating learning experiences that take into account the different backgrounds and experiences of their students. This includes considering their cultural and language diversity and helping them feel like they belong in the classroom. 

In this session, we will focus on methods of

• Drawing on student prior knowledge 
• Maintaining rigor and high expectations for all students 
• Creating a safe space/community of learners where all feel safe to participate 
• Valuing cultural and linguistic diversity by framing cultural and linguistic diversity as an asset 
• Applying Cultural Relevance to the unit you begun planning in Session #2 

Highly Recommended:  Visit https://ambitiousscienceteaching.org/ to preview the website (Getting Started) and watch the Eliciting students’ ideas video ,16;39. Also read Ambitious Science Teaching: Chapters 13-14 

Prerequisites include: 

• At least one Tier #1 PL 
• AST Session #1 - #5 

Note: Selected sessions will be recorded and made available for an asynchronous option. Asynchronous work to include pre-reading of the website and/or AST paperback, viewing AST videos, posted reflections regarding the readings and videos, and applying what is learned to participants’ contexts. Participants may join in-person, work completely asynchronously or attend as a hybrid mix. Please contact Peney at pwright@tiu11.org for complete details.

Title: Nurses Network

Date: 2/21/25

Time: 9 am - Noon

Location: Virtual - https://paiu.zoom.us/j/4476176265

Department: Curriculum

Act 48: Yes

Description: The Nurses Network is an opportunity for school nurses from around the region to come together to get some professional development and converse with other nurses on the biggest topics in our area.

Instructor(s): Peney E. Wright 

Tier 3 Professional Learning. See prerequisites below.

Our goals are to shift our teaching to engage 21st Century students in rigorous science learning.  

Conceptual Shifts: 

•  K–12 Science Education Should Reflect the real-world interconnections in science
•  All practices and crosscutting concepts are used to teach all core ideas all year
•  Science concepts build coherently across K-12
•  The NGSS focus on deeper understanding and application of content
• Integration of science and engineering
•  Coordination with Common Core State and STEELS Standards

Description of Activity: 
Tier 3 Professional Learning. Please see prerequisites below. 

Must read: read the National Research Council: A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts and Core Ideas (2012), free download 

Session C includes participant choices of: 
Developing a cohesive unit Storyline

•  Transition your current science units or curriculum towards Phenomena-base, 3-Dimensional Teaching and Learning where students can clearly make connections between activities and lessons. See Next Generation Science Storylines for a preview. 
   

HQIM Reviews or Shifting Deep Dive and Working Session

• Explore recommended High-Quality Instruction Materials to assess their STEELS alignment and use in your district or classroom. Select and use HQIM to support aligning your current district curriculum and make recommendations to K-12 educators for the first year of STEELS implementation.
•  Resources include: OpenSciEd , Ambitious Science Teaching , Lessons and Units: Quality Examples of NGSS Design , American Museum of Natural History’s Five Tools and Processes for Translating )the NGSS) STEELS Into Instruction and Classroom Assessment 
   

Integrating T&E into Science Units with T& E / EL&S Bundling 

•  Technology and Engineering are advancing at exponential rates and permeate many aspects of our lives. All grade levels are expected to integrate the STEELS Technology and Engineering Standards. Use the technique of “bundling” the STEELS Standards to make your teaching more effective and time saving as well as planning for students to better understand the world around them.
•  Resources to support T&E integration: Engineering is Elementary (EiE)/ YES! (Youth Engineering Solutions)  and Engineering by Design (EbD)
•  Resources include: Science Assessment Task Screening Tools 
•  Page Keeley’s Uncovering Student Ideas in Science , Science Probe Formative Assessments 
   

Team Planning: Ongoing Professional Learning for teachers, STEELS Curriculum Mapping, etc. 

•  Develop or refine a STEELS district Mission Statement, plan for Act 80 and other professional learning days for teachers in your district, create a cohesive K-12 Curriculum Map for your district using A Framework for K- 12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts and Core Ideas, free download , to inform the grade 
  band progressions
•  Resources include: NGSS District Implementation Indicators , Guide to Implementing the Next Generation Science Standards, free download (and one copy per district) 
   

Supporting Leading Elementary Teacher Superstars “SLEETS” for STEELS: developing science and engineering content knowledge and pedagogy to apply to one lesson or unit 
 

Strongly recommended: read the National Research Council: A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts and Core Ideas (2012), free download 

Prerequisites: At least one of these: STEELS Experience for K-12 Educators, Implementing the STEELS Standards: Developing Science Leadership Teams, ENGINE 3-D STEELS Educator Virtual Community of Practice (CoP), either Ambitious Science Teaching Sessions 1-6 (three full days) or participate in the Ambitious Science Teaching Book Study Best to complete STEELS Special Topics A and B as they are foundations for the project work embedded in STEELS Special Topics C

Audience: 3-8 educators, library media specialists, special education educators

Instructor(s): Peney E. Wright

Description of Activity:  

Our goals are for students to learn how scientific knowledge is acquired and how scientific explanations are developed. Secondly students learn how science is utilized, in particular through the engineering design process, and they should come to appreciate the distinctions and relationships between engineering, technology, and applications of science. The iterative cycle of design offers the greatest potential for applying science knowledge in the classroom and engaging in engineering practices.  (Framework, Chapter 8 Dimension 3 Disciplinary Core Ideas – Engineering, Technology and Applications of Science, 2012)

We’ll answer What is Engineering? What is the Engineering Design Process? and What is meant by the “applications of science?”

Read beforehand: A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts and Core Ideas, Chapter 8, pgs. 201-213. Free download and available by chapter at the National Academies Press (NAP) site here.

STEELS Technology & Engineering - Focuses on the interactions among technology, engineering, society, the environment, and other disciplines, with a goal of developing individuals that can create, utilize, and assess current and emerging technologies. The standards are written as grade-banded performance expectations built around technology and engineering strands, practices, and contexts and integrated into a set of specific standards. These components are elaborated upon in Foundation Boxes (hyperlinked for each standard) providing support for design of curriculum and instruction.  (STEELS K-12 Standards, pg. 2, 2023)

This deep dive will include a focus on:

T & E Long-term Transfer Goals

Students will be able to engage as technological and engineering literate members of a global society, using their learning to:

1. Analyze a problem in its entirety while recognizing the subcomponents interacting with human-made and natural environments.

2. Apply investigation, imagination, innovative thinking, and physical skills to accomplish goals.

3. Employ hands-on problem solving, i.e., designing, making/building, producing, and evaluating outcomes.

4. Acquire, analyze, and evaluate information to reach an informed conclusion, using logic and reasoning skills.

• Layer in computational thinking: decomposition (breaking down the complex into smaller, simpler essential parts), pattern recognition (making connections between similar problems and experiences), abstraction (determining what is important and what unrelated or irrelevant), and algorithms (detailed and precise step by step instructions or directions)

5. Investigate better solutions through a belief that opportunities can be found in every challenge.

6. Collaborate as part of a team, valuing the contributions of all members.

7. Exchange and explain ideas by sharing information with a larger community.

8. Demonstrate integrity and conscientiousness, considering ethical issues involved

T & E Multi Dimensions:

Technology & Engineering Strands 

• What all students should know and understand
• What they should be able to do
• And their attitudes towards each
   

Technology & Engineering Practices

• 21st Century Skills and Engineering Habits of Mind
• Essential Skills for TE Literacy
• Attributes and Personal Qualities towards each

Technology & Engineering Contexts – rigorous and high level 21st Century Contexts

• Practices apply across contexts
• Essential Skills for TE Literacy
• Attributes and Personal Qualities towards each
   

STEELS T & E Standards and Curriculum Framework
Intentional Planning and Integration of T & E

• K-5 ELA, Science and Math Integration
• 6-12 Project-based Learning Integration
• Planning with STEM Teachers and/or Library Media Specialists
• Links between Engineering, Technology, Science, and Society
   

Read beforehand: A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts and Core Ideas, Chapter 8, pgs. 201-213. Free download and available by chapter at the National Academies Press (NAP) site here.

  Audience: administrators, K-12 STEELS educators, STEM teachers, library media specialists, special education educators, paraprofessionals, substitutes
 

Title: Coaches Network

Date: 2/26/25

Time: 1 pm - 3 pm

Location: TBD

Department: Curriculum

Act 48: Yes

Description: The Coaches Network is an opportunity for academic coaches from around the region to come together to get some professional development and converse with other coaches on the biggest topics in our area.

Instructor(s): Peney Wright, Eric Yoder 

Description of Activity: All of central Pennsylvania is part of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed and there are five other watersheds that our state impact. Pennsylvania is committed to protecting these precious natural resources. A water shed is land area whose runoff drains into any river, stream, lake, and/or ocean. However, runoff from fields, lawns, pavement, and construction sites could carry potentially harmful materials from our watersheds to our rivers, bays and oceans. Even if you live, work, or play far from a river, your actions could have an impact on the quality of the water in many areas. Grants are available to fund MWEEs. 

What is a MWEE? 
A MWEE is…students exploring real world issues…in the field and in the classroom…students using evidence to draw conclusions and… take action! MWEEs use project-based methods, as well as, student voice and choice to engage learners in Local Issues Definition and Research, Outdoor Field Experiences, Synthesis and Conclusion, all leading towards Stewardship and Civic Action. These essential 4 student supporting practices are structured by active teacher support, local context, classroom integration and sustained activity. 

Environmental Education and Advocate Stakeholders urge all school districts to engage learners in at least one MWEE in elementary, one MWEE in middle school and one MWEE in high school. MWEEs support the STEELS Standards. During MWEE Session #1 we’ll 
walk you through a MWEE in action. In Session #2 we will spend most of the day engaging is an Outdoor Field Experience. There will be time during the second session for preliminary planning for your own MWEE. 

Prerequisite: Online MWEE 101 Course 
Asynchronous work: One MWEE unit plan must be completed within 30 after the workshop.

Audience: all PreK-12 educators, library/media specialists, STEM Specialists,

March Location - TIU11 & Mapleton Riverside Park   

Title: School Counselor Network (K-12)

Date: 3/28/25

Time: 9 am - Noon

Location: Virtual - https://paiu.zoom.us/j/4476176265

Department: Curriculum

Act 48: Yes

Description: The School Counselor Network is an opportunity for school counselors from around the region to come together to get some professional development and converse with other counselors on the biggest topics in our area.

STEELS Special Topics, Session A

Instructor(s): Peney E. Wright 

Tier 3 STEELS PL. See prerequisites below. 
Session A includes: 
Equity and Inclusion 

•  Engage with PA’s Equitable Practices Hub
•  Review the Smithsonian Science Education Centers Zero Barriers in STEM Education  
  * Strategies for Teaching All STEM Learners 
  * Instructional Strategies for All STEM Classrooms 
   

3D Assessments 

•  Explore the features of equitable, high quality formative and summative assessments
• Critique sample summative assessments
• Determine “must haves” for 3D assessments 
   

Integrating STEELS and ELA K-5 
Participants provided with: 

•  Varied daily/weekly science and engineering scheduling options
•  Sample unit plans including project-based integrated learning
•  Q & A Session

Meeting the pedagogical shifts to move towards the new STEELS Standards is more than just learning the 3-Dimensions. It requires that educators engage students in frequent opportunities to talk with one another to “figure out” the phenomena and to make sense of investigations and data collected. One framework to do this is Project/Problem-based learning, which integrates subject areas, encouraging students to use their strengths and represent their learning in multiple ways. 

For 3-Dimensional Formative and Summative Assessments we “test what (and how) we teach. Frequent formative assessments monitor changes in student’s thinking. Summative assessments have a variety of question/response types and several open-ended questions to allow students to “show what they know.” 

Prerequisites: 
Tier 1: At least one Tier #1 Professional Learning Session 
Tier 2: Ambitious Science Teaching Sessions #1-#4 

Strongly recommended:  read the National Research Council: A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts and Core Ideas (2012), free download

Audience: administrators, science leads/department chairs, instructional coaches, K-12 teachers, paraprofessionals, substitute teachers

STEELS Special Topics, Session B

Instructor(s): Peney E. Wright 

Tier 3 Professional Learning. Please see prerequisites below. 

Session B includes: 
Equity, Inclusion and Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

• Review the CAST UDL Principles
• Engage with an interactive infographic that pairs principles of UDL with the 3-       Dimensions

STEM: Integrating TE Within STEELS K-12 
 

• In addition to the Science Standards, the Technology and Engineering (TE) Standards are for all students. Many of the new TE Standards will be part of STEM Program curricula.
• TE Standards are also to be integrated with the sciences, K-12.
• And, TE Standards are to be integrated within Project/Problem-based Learning, including multiple subject areas.
• Take a deep dive into the TE grade bands, noticing progressions before, within and after your grade level.
• Strategies and Examples for TE integration will be shared.
• Investigate integrated exemplars created by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology for all grade bands.
• Time to begin a grade level and/or K-12 STEM/TE Integration Plan will be provided.  
   

Critiquing and Shifting Towards Phenomena-based 3-Dimensional Curricula  

• NGSS Lesson Screener Tool
• Next Generation Science Storylines
• Ambitious Science Teaching S#2  Unit Plan Share-outs

Equity, inclusion and belonging are tenets of PA’s Equitable Practices.  The STEELS Standards are intended for all learners at every school. Use the principles of Universal Design for Learning to remove barriers to learning, invite all students to take advantage of tools and technology to support successful learning and share the variety of ways you encourage your students to show what they’ve learned. 

"The integration of these disciplines in the standards highlights the interconnectedness of scientific, technological, and engineering focused study; the integral relationship between humans and the environment; and the importance of integrating the teaching and learning of science, technology, and engineering.”  June 2022 PDE STEELS 

“Technology & Engineering - Focuses on the interactions among technology, engineering, society, the environment, and other disciplines, with a goal of developing individuals that can create, utilize, and assess current and emerging technologies. The standards are written as grade-banded performance expectations built around technology and engineering strands, practices, and contexts and integrated into a set of specific standards. These components are elaborated upon in Foundation Boxes (hyperlinked for each standard) providing support for design of curriculum"

The new STEELS Standards are intended to promote integration at all grade levels, in all ways:  

• the sciences integrated with technology and engineering
• technology and engineering integrated within all the sciences
• Elementary integration: STEELS with ELA and Math
• Middle and High School STEELS integration between all subject areas

“The difference in the verbs used in the NGSS tells the story. Gone is the conception of science education as an abstract recall of facts. Instead, students demonstrate proficiency in science by engaging in actual scientific practices — in this case, developing models, designing solutions and constructing arguments. In the words of one standards author, the NGSS requires that students move from demonstrating good note-taking skills to demonstrating true understanding of scientific practices, concepts and core ideas. The resulting implications for classroom practice could not be greater.”  2013, Achieve NGSS Workbook 

Our goals are to shift our teaching to engage 21st Century students in rigorous science learning.  

NGSS Conceptual Shifts 

• K–12 Science Education Should Reflect the real-world interconnections in science
• All practices and crosscutting concepts are used to teach all core ideas all year
• Science concepts build coherently across K-12
• The NGSS focus on deeper understanding and application of content 
   Integration of science and engineering
• Coordination with Common Core State and STEELS Standards

Strongly recommended: read the National Research Council: A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts and Core Ideas (2012), free download 

Prerequisites: At least one of these: STEELS Experience for K-12 Educators, Implementing the STEELS Standards: Developing Science Leadership Teams; ENGINE 3-D STEELS Educator Virtual Community of Practice (CoP)

Audience: 3-8 educators, library media specialists, special education educators

STEELS Special Topics, Session C

Instructor(s): Peney E. Wright 

Tier 3 Professional Learning. See prerequisites below. 

Our goals are to shift our teaching to engage 21st Century students in rigorous science learning.  

Conceptual Shifts

• K–12 Science Education Should Reflect the real-world interconnections in science
• All practices and crosscutting concepts are used to teach all core ideas all year
• Science concepts build coherently across K-12
• The NGSS focus on deeper understanding and application of content
• Integration of science and engineering
• Coordination with Common Core State and STEELS Standards 
   

Description of Activity: 

Tier 3 Professional Learning. Please see prerequisites below. 

Must read: read the National Research Council: A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts and Core Ideas (2012), free download 
 

Session C includes participant choices of:

Developing a cohesive unit Storyline 

• Transition your current science units or curriculum towards Phenomena-base, 3-Dimensional Teaching and Learning where students can clearly make connections between activities and lessons. See Next Generation Science Storylines for a preview.

HQIM Reviews or Shifting Deep Dive and Working Session 

• Explore recommended High-Quality Instruction Materials to assess their STEELS alignment and use in your district or classroom. Select and use HQIM to support aligning your current district curriculum and make recommendations to K-12 educators for the first year of STEELS implementation.
• Resources include: OpenSciEd , Ambitious Science Teaching , Lessons and Units: Quality Examples of NGSS Design , American Museum of Natural History’s Five Tools and Processes for Translating the NGSS) STEELS Into Instruction and Classroom Assessment

Integrating T&E into Science Units with T& E / EL&S Bundling  

• Technology and Engineering are advancing at exponential rates and permeate many aspects of our lives. All grade levels are expected to integrate the STEELS Technology and Engineering Standards. Use the technique of “bundling” the STEELS Standards to make your teaching more effective and time saving as well as planning for students to better understand the world around them.
• Resources to support T&E integration: Engineering is Elementary (EiE)/ YES! (Youth Engineering Solutions) and Engineering by Design (EbD)

Developing STEELS aligned formative and summative assessments 

• Resources include: Science Assessment Task Screening Tools 
• Page Keeley’s Uncovering Student Ideas in Science , Science Probe Formative Assessments

Team Planning: Ongoing Professional Learning for teachers, STEELS Curriculum Mapping, etc. 

• Develop or refine a STEELS district Mission Statement, plan for Act 80 and other professional learning days for teachers in your district, create a cohesive K-12 Curriculum Map for your district using A Framework for K- 12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts and Core Ideas, free download , to inform the grade band progressions
• Resources include: NGSS District Implementation Indicators , Guide to Implementing the Next Generation Science Standards, free download (and one copy per district)

Supporting Leading Elementary Teacher Superstars “SLEETS” for STEELS: developing science and engineering content knowledge and pedagogy to apply to one lesson or unit 

Strongly recommended: read the National Research Council: A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts and Core Ideas (2012), free download 

Prerequisites: At least one of these: STEELS Experience for K-12 Educators, Implementing the STEELS Standards: Developing Science Leadership Teams, ENGINE 3-D STEELS Educator Virtual Community of Practice (CoP), either Ambitious Science Teaching Sessions 1-6 (three full days) or participate in the Ambitious Science Teaching Book Study 

Best to complete STEELS Special Topics A and B as they are foundations for the project work embedded in STEELS Special Topics C 

Tuesday, April 9, 2025 (location will be the main TIU building)

This meeting will be the third in a series of 3 SEL Networking events to be hosted this year. 

The topics to be covered this day include:

• TBD

This event is free and open to all General Educators who support special education students, Emotional Support teachers and staff, Learning Support teachers and staff, Guidance Counselors, Social Workers, and any professional team member who works with students in need of enhanced social-emotional skills training! Feel free to share the link and encourage your colleagues to attend.

Lunch will be on your own. 
 

For more information contact Betsy Cox at ecox@tiu11.org