PD Notes for School and District Leaders

If you are planning to use the Inquiry Curriculum as part of your school or district science program and have questions, we are happy to talk with you.

We recommend providing all teachers who will teach the curriculum with an Implementation Workshop. The workshops are grade specific and can be presented in one 6-hour meeting, or in two 3-hour meetings. Each grade-level workshop helps teachers to become familiar with the curriculum and its aims. Planning guides for the workshops are available on this site. It is best if the workshop facilitator is familiar with the science and has taught one or more units from the curriculum.

Talk Science PD is designed for flexible use. The program can be facilitated by a science leader, organized by a team of grade-alike teachers, or pursued independently. Regardless of the facilitation mode, school and district leaders play an important role in encouraging and supporting serious teacher learning.

Student learning in science is closely related to teachers’ understanding of science. Encourage teachers to deepen their own understanding of the science and to become familiar with the ideas children might have about the science. Scientist video cases and the child and scientists essays are embedded within the curriculum for this purpose.

If you would like an outside consultant to work with you during your decision-making or to help facilitate the PD programs, please contact inquiryproject@terc.edu