Driving Change in Science Education

What’s at stake for science education? Centering Call to Action in Science Education + recommendations/challenges from Horizon Landscape/Carnegie Report.

Tiffany Neill • Research Scientist, University of Washington, Institute for Science + Math Education

Why are we here together? What is the need, importance, and potential of strong advocacy around education?

Moderator: Jim Cowen • Executive Director, Collaborative for Student Success

Autumn Rivera • 2022 Colorado Teacher of the Year

Amanda Aragon • Executive Director, NMKidsCAN

Tafshier Cosby • Senior Director for Organizing and Partnerships, National Parent Union

This session will explore the processes, policies, and variation surrounding state + local curriculum adoption and implementation efforts. The session will cover key characteristics of the high-quality instructional materials policy landscape and invite participants to identify potential areas for action to expand access to quality materials, elevate curriculum-based professional learning, and consider strong implementation data practices.

Jocelyn Pickford • Senior Affiliate, HCM Strategists

Kate Poteet • Project Administrator, HCM Strategists

Education policy is increasingly a flashpoint in state legislatures, and multiple actors and interests from across the spectrum are engaging ever more aggressively and loudly. It is more important than ever that reasonable, fact-based voices on the front lines of implementation are equipped to constructively engage in the policymaking process – and, crucially, the political environment in which it happens. Effective advocacy is critical to making sure those voices – your voices – are not just heard, but ultimately influence outcomes.

This session is intended to introduce participants to: an overview of the policymaking and political landscape, a greater understanding of how it works in reality vs. on paper, and the key components of building an effective advocacy plan.

Patrick Dillon • Partner, Hilltop Public Solutions

This session teaches the key tenets of successful opinion-writing for an advocacy campaign. That includes teaching attendees: the “how to’s” of effective persuasive writing for mass media; how to think like a reporter or editor to improve the writing; and, how to make their commentaries newsworthy, thereby improving the probability of being published. Participants will get the chance to outline/explore an idea for their own OpEd.

Eric Rosenberg • Principal, EMR

Kate Baker • Principal, EMR

Participants will be provided with an:

• Understanding of target audiences (state legislators, district leaders) and digital advocacy landscape
• Grounding in the best pathways of key digital channels to reach our target audiences (Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and Email)
• Background on native digital platform tools, content strategy and ways to review and optimize performance.

Michelle Austin • Senior Vice President, GMMB

Julia Rothenberg • Vice President – Digital, GMMB

CSS leads a brief reflection on the day, encourages state teams to discuss takeaways amongst themselves, and previews the agenda/state team time tomorrow before closing out the day.

How investing in/increasing science education actually helps math and English language arts performance/test results.

Moderator: Erica Shugart • President, NSTA

Stephen Pruitt • President, Southern Regional Education Board

Respondent: Tiffany Neill • Research Scientist, University of Washington, Institute for Science + Math Education

States are moving from adoption of high-quality instructional materials (laying the foundation) toward implementation through curriculum-based professional learning. Where in the process of implementation - early use, ongoing implementation, and sustainability - are different states (or districts)? How can we use lessons learned from different states to support implementation in our state? In this session, we will start conversations among the states to begin figuring out the answers to these questions.

The National Academy of Sciences' Call to Action for Science Education recommended that "State Departments of Education should act now to include science in their accountability systems for K-12 education." What key components should a state-level assessment system include? How do we ensure that these assessments drive positive change, like the adoption of high-quality curricular materials and access to resources in all classrooms? What are lessons learned from different states to avoid pitfalls and build successful accountability systems? In this session, participants will share insights and experiences from their state to explore answers to these questions.

During this time, state teams will reflect on the sessions from Day 1, will engage in guided discussions around their state contexts and priorities, and will develop a draft team agenda and aligned next action steps.

NASEM Action Collaborative & State Team Learning Network Group

• Heidi Schweingruber • Director, Board on Science Education
• The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine
• Jim Cowen • Executive Director, Collaborative for Student Success