As part of a three-year professional development project for elementary and middle school science teachers, the directors and coaches wanted to have a culminating activity to demonstrate what the teachers had learned. In addition to the questionnaires and surveys, they decided to do a local version of The Iron Science Teacher. I was invited to be one of the judges. Here’s how it worked.
—Ms. Mentor, reporting from Sidman, PA
For three years, 60 teachers from 15 school districts participated in an ongoing professional development project at the Appalachian Intermediate Unit in Pennsylvania., as part of the Mathematics and Science Partnership program, funded through the PA Department of Education. An intensive two-week summer program was hosted by faculty from St. Francis University who then regularly visited the participating teachers’ classrooms during the school year. The project helped schools to purchase materials and technology for the science classes. Four teachers assisted their colleagues as coaches. The coaches set up a Ning networking site for teachers to share lesson plans, photographs, ideas, and suggestions. But there was a nagging question: How to pull this all together and provide teachers with an opportunity to demonstrate what they learned?
They found their answer in a takeoff of the Iron Chef television program done at The Exploratorium in San Francisco, California: The Iron Science Teacher. The coaches and project directors decided to host a local version as the culminating activity for the project. This activity would provide a way for teachers to demonstrate their ability to plan hands-on science lessons.

Fifteen teams of 3–5 teachers received a box of common materials (rubber bands, a cork, craft sticks, plastic bottles, balloons, paper clips, some beans, wooden blocks, tape, and more). Each team had access to a laptop and printer, and general supplies such as glue sticks and staplers were available. One of the participating school districts volunteered the use of their labs for the competition. The teams had one day to develop a lesson using any or all of the materials, but all lessons had to incorporate a cork as the “secret ingredient.”
The lesson had to include three components: a student hands-on activity, based on a concept from the state science standards for that grade; a related technology resource (such as an online simulation, access to additional information, enrichment activities, or an online graphing site); and a connection to another content area such as mathematics or writing.  Rubrics were provided for all three components.
In the judging, each team evaluated the other lessons in a peer-review process. The lessons were also critiqued by a panel including a university faculty member, the project director, two project evaluators, and me.
The results were an amazing collection of ideas. With the cork as the secret ingredient, it was no surprise that several investigations related to buoyancy. Other lessons included fermentation (using beans in a corked bottle) and combining simple machines to make catapults and wind generators.  Unfortunately, there was not enough time for live presentations, so the descriptions had to be detailed enough that someone could understand and implement the lessons without much explanation.

It was difficult to judge, but the rubrics helped. All of the lessons showed the teachers understood the science content. But the lessons also showed the ability to work collaboratively and a high level of creativity in incorporating technology and in designing an interdisciplinary component. These were all included in the goals of the project, and the Iron Science Teacher activity was an effective culmination. As one elementary teacher remarked, “When I started this professional development project, I never thought I could design something like this myself—a hands-on inquiry activity with simple materials.” The lessons have been posted on the project Ning.
If they do this again (and I think they will), I’d advise video recording the teachers at work to capture some of the conversations. I’d also suggest video recording each team describing and demonstrating their lesson. These videos could be used in other professional development projects.
On another note, if you’re in San Francisco next spring for the NSTA conference, be sure to visit the Exploratorium. It’s a science wonderland, and the home of the original Iron Science Teacher!