Ask: What are considerations for the safety of all learners during science activities?

Engage: Review the NSTA position statements on Safety and School Science Instruction and Liability of Science Educators for Laboratory Safety.

Action: Review and amend the Safety Acknowledgement Form as appropriate for your grade-level/content area. Create a lesson using NSTA resources to orient your students to the practices of lab safety. Ask a colleague or your mentor to review the Science Activity Safety Checklist and lesson with you prior to enacting your next science activity in the classroom.

Ask: How can a teacher best organize classroom materials to enact science activities both safely and efficiently?

Engage: Interview your mentor and/or department chair about their classroom structures and procedures for science activities as well as departmental policies. Consider reviewing educator blogs or hosting a Twitter chat to gain additional perspectives.

Action: Using the Secondary Science Materials Management Considerations as a guide, create a materials management system for your classroom that aligns with your department/school's system. Ask a colleague or your mentor to review your plan.

Ask: What anchoring phenomenon may be used to guide students' thinking within a unit?

Engage: Review the Using Phenomena in NGSS-Designed Lessons and Units and the Scientific Phenomenon and Sensemaking video by Bozeman Science for considerations regarding why it is important to use phenomena to engage students in science learning irrespective of science content or standard sets.

Action: Using the Anchoring Phenomenon graphic, brainstorm anchoring phenomena that will assist student learning of science content within your next unit. Utilize a database such as #ProjectPhenomena or the Phenomena Library for content and grade-specific examples. With the assistance of a colleague or mentor, use the Qualities of a Good Anchor Phenomenon for a Coherent Sequence of Science Lessons tool to select the phenomena for your next unit.

Ask: What instructional strategies support implementation of science practices into classrooms?

Engage: Review the suggested readings and resources provided by the Instructional Leadership for Science Practices team for a deep dive into effective integration of science practices into classrooms to support student learning.

Action: Using the Science Instructional Strategies for Science Practices tool and the assistance of a colleague or mentor, revise your next lesson plan to include instructional strategies that will support student learning through science practices.

Ask: How can you scaffold students’ engagement in collaborative discourse involving arguing from evidence?

Engage: Review the Argumentation Toolkit Overview video as well as the Strategy: Stepping Back During Science Seminars video and consider the four elements around which students need extra support—1) evidence, 2) reasoning, 3) student interaction, and 4) competing claims. For additional resources, visit the STEM Teaching Tools PD Playlist: Incorporating Scientific Argumentation into Your Classroom.

Action: Create a plan through which you incorporate the Claim-Evidence-Reasoning (CER) framework into your instruction. Consult with a colleague or mentor and consider these suggestions; revise your scaffolding approaches to support your students’ argumentation skills as they progress.

Ask: How can you scaffold students’ engagement in collaborative discourse involving arguing from evidence?

Engage: Review the Argumentation Toolkit Overview video as well as the Strategy: Stepping Back During Science Seminars video and consider the four elements around which students need extra support—1) evidence, 2) reasoning, 3) student interaction, and 4) competing claims. For additional resources, visit the STEM Teaching Tools PD Playlist: Incorporating Scientific Argumentation into Your Classroom.

Action: Create a plan through which you incorporate the Claim-Evidence-Reasoning (CER) framework into your instruction. Consult with a colleague or mentor and consider these suggestions; revise your scaffolding approaches to support your students’ argumentation.

Ask: What are the steps to creating a three-dimensional, practice-based assessment task?

Engage: Review and complete the five steps of the STEM Teaching Tool #29.

Action: Ask your colleagues or mentor to review your initial assessment task and consider making revisions based upon their feedback. After trying the task in your classroom, consider how to improve your task to better assess all students.

Ask: What are expected student performances in science practices?

Engage: Review the suggested readings and resources provided by the Instructional Leadership for Science Practices team for a deep dive into effective integration of science practices into classrooms to support student learning.

Action: Using the Science Practices Continuum-Students' Performance tool and the assistance of a colleague or mentor, review a recent enactment and evaluate your students' abilities to engage in the science practices. Create a plan to support your students' performance over time.

Ask: What are considerations for assessing group work in science classrooms?

Engage: Review the article How can I assess group work? for considerations on group assessment (group product versus group process) as articulated by the Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence & Educational Innovation at Carnegie Mellon University.

Action: Using An A-Z of Assessment Methods resource for inspiration, create an assessment plan for your next group work assignment that will include measures and criteria for the group product and process. Ask a colleague or your mentor to review your assessment plan.