Teaching Strategies

Understanding math and science enables citizens to make critical, informed decisions that support individual wellbeing and civic participation. We see project-based learning (PBL) as a highly effective way to address these challenges. In order to harness the potential of these courses to improve the lives of all students, teachers need specialized support in leveraging PBL in math and science. Come learn with us about some of the basics of PBL, such as entry events, end products, checkpoints, and other core components. Walk away with the next steps to begin implementing PBL in your class.

What was groupwork like for you when you were a student? Do you want it to look similar or different? Are you enthusiastic about the idea of your students working in groups?In this workshop, teachers will learn how to leverage groupwork to provide students with more learning opportunities. Teachers will gain insights into productive groupwork while reflecting on their current groupwork practices. Facilitated by experienced teachers, participants will leave with small, practical changes that can be implemented to make groupwork structures more productive for all students.

In this workshop, teachers will learn how high cognitive demand tasks increase opportunities for students to access learning. Teachers will explore ways of modifying tasks to increase students' abilities to engage in sensemaking. This workshop will assist teachers in gaining the knowledge and confidence needed to design and modify tasks for their math classrooms to engage more learners.

How can we integrate engineering into math and science classes to help students develop a more meaningful understanding of real-world issues? We’ll use a Four-Level Empowered Engineering framework to explore how engineering integration in science and math offers students a range of opportunities for learning, engagement in community issues, and agency for solving problems in their world. Teachers will identify entry points in their curriculum to integrate engineering and social justice.

Discover how AI can enhance your teaching practice.  In this workshop, you’ll explore practical applications of AI tools that can support both classroom instruction and behind-the-scenes tasks like lesson planning. We'll provide hands-on opportunities to engage with AI and consider how it can be adapted to your specific teaching context. Whether you're just starting out or looking to deepen your AI literacy, you'll leave equipped with tools and strategies to confidently incorporate AI into your teaching. 

Project-based learning (PBL) can be utilized to engage students, but most importantly should be a powerful lever to provide rigorous mathematical and scientific experiences for students. Come learn with us about the Project Planning Pyramid Framework, a tool developed to strengthen the disciplinary content and practices present in projects, in order to help support all students in accessing rigorous math and science through your PBL courses. Walk away with key takeaways for your next project.

Moving students beyond rote memorization and fostering genuine inquiry and sense-making can be challenging. Our course supports educators in this journey, guiding them to become facilitators of student-driven exploration. Throughout the course, participants engage in hands-on explorations of phenomena, learning how to guide students in constructing, evaluating, and refining ideas. Participants learn to critically assess and redesign curricular materials to maximize student proficiency in science and math practices. Participants emerge with a newfound perspective on science and math education, equipped with tools and strategies to redefine their classrooms as vibrant hubs of exploration. They leave with a deepened appreciation for the transformative power of student-led inquiry and a renewed commitment to cultivating critical thinkers and lifelong learners.

How can students learn to integrate their content knowledge with effective communication skills to solve meaningful and complex problems in a collaborative setting? In this workshop, teachers will learn strategies and principles for establishing a classroom culture of effective and meaningful student collaboration through the clear and intentional setting of actionable norms—working persistently, communicating productively, and taking risks. Leave this workshop with strategies that leverage the use of the actionable norms to encourage more students to effectively participate in groupwork activities.

In this workshop, teachers will learn how high cognitive demand tasks increase opportunities for students to access learning. Teachers will explore ways of modifying tasks to increase students' abilities to engage in sensemaking. This workshop will assist teachers in gaining the knowledge and confidence needed to design and modify tasks for their math classrooms to engage more learners.