Science

Science Department

Melanie Werner, Assistant Principal

Science Department

Room 600

(718) 919-1256 X 6000

It is the science department’s vision that all students deserve access to a rich curriculum within science education. Instruction and activities in the sciences are developed from students’ preconceived ideas about the world around them, built through standards-based practices, and applied to real-world models to stimulate understanding. Students are provided scaffolded expectations for knowledge acquisition; all students are trained to utilize logical and observational skills to solve problems of the physical world. It is the department’s hope that all students will become life-long learners.

Mission

• To provide students with engaging and rigorous instruction aligned with the Common Core State Standards

• To engage students in critical thinking and inquiry activities aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards

• To encourage awareness of opportunities for underrepresented students in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM)

Instructional Goals

• Content mastery is measured primarily through Regents-based assessment, and secondarily based upon scholarship, literacy, and group collaboration skills.

• Instruction, curriculum, and problem-based learning activities are geared towards historical and/or modern contexts that engage students’ individual goals and interests.

• The Common Core State Standards are used to enrich curriculum for the purpose of honing students’ reading and writing skills for higher education

• The scope and sequences of science courses are used as a tool for pacing of instructional content. It is the task of the instructor to develop essential questions that direct students to the key ideas and priority standards integral for knowledge of the sciences.