About the Project

To support equitable access to place-based science learning opportunities, Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance and BSCS Science Learning are designing and testing high quality instructional materials and professional learning to support 3rd-5th grade teachers in making locally and culturally relevant adaptations to phenomena. 

The Current Classroom Reality:

Science class, much like science itself, is constantly evolving as we learn new information. Gone are the days (we hope!) of reading a passage and answering questions. On any given day, a teacher from Oklahoma, Maine, or Washington might be studying the topic of weathering and erosion with a discussion of the Grand Canyon and then a table top activity  with students modeling the formation. A common lesson, easily found on open-source platforms, that invites teachers who might be hesitant to teach science concepts to an easy entry point. It is fun, a little messy, and clearly shows the power of water. 

The Persistent Problem:

While watching water wash away sand is good fun, and can offer potential sensemaking opportunities, there exists a quiet but persistent problem in many classrooms. In this example, perhaps, it is quite likely that none of the rural or urban students have ever seen the Grand Canyon. While we don’t need to see the Grand Canyon to understand erosion, teachers know that there is great power in their elementary students, seeing the impact under their own feet. But where is a classroom teacher supposed to begin to find local examples of phenomena? How will they know if their ideas have merit? Can they still be rigorous? Is water washing away the ditch at the edge of our playground the same processes as the steady erosion of the Grand Canyon? 

The Solution:

The PeBLES2 team of researchers and educators is designing and investigating locally adaptable three-dimensional instructional materials and associated professional learning for elementary science to support educators in incorporating locally or culturally relevant place-based phenomena into their teaching. Working with teachers, scientists, and researchers to co-design locally adaptable units of instruction and accompanying professional learning to dig deeply into science sensemaking and the process of adapting phenomena. With the PeBLES2 materials, teachers will be able to confidently “choose-their-own adventure”, making small or big tweaks to base units to root the big science concepts into their “place”. Together with teachers, we are investigating how teachers use and grow with these materials over time.