To go along with the state’s updated science standards, Weedsport has begun approaching science instruction differently. That means working with elementary teachers to provide the district’s youngest learners with engaging, thought provoking, and collaborative instruction that not only prepares them for the grades ahead, but helps them develop real world skills.

Assistant Superintendent of Instruction, Mindy Ervay, said to prepare students for the changes in the way we live and work, the district needed to keep pace with what it means to be scientifically literate and what it means to collaboratively problem solve.

She said that teachers at the middle school recently introduced students to a new science program called, “Amplify Science,” that will not only engage them, but challenge them to think through and solve real world problems using science knowledge and reasoning skills. 

“We needed a different approach to daily teaching and learning,” she said.

“Students in grade 6 started this program this school year, and Amplify will expand into grades 7-8 over the next two years. By 2024, all K-12 students will have been introduced to revised science standards.”

New York State last updated its science standards about 25 years ago. The New York State Education Department (SED) revised its standard based on the fact that students are growing up in a very different world than 15 years ago.

“Seismic changes in the labor market mean that we are living and working in a knowledge-based economy —one that demands advanced literacy and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) skills, whether for application in the private or public sector,” SED said during its introduction to the standards.

“Information moves through media at lightning speeds and is accessible in ways that are unprecedented; technology has eliminated many jobs while changing and creating others, especially those involving mathematical and conceptual reasoning skills. One characteristic of these fast-growing segment of jobs is that the employee needs to be able to solve unstructured problems while working with others in teams.”

To learn more, check out this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VM5H-MRauE&feature=emb_logo (3 minute overview video)

And check back for future updates to see our students in action.