Shifting Instruction to NGSS Engineering Practices: Strategies and Lessons Learned from Washington’s Statewide LASER Program

Please provide a concise description that includes the workshop’s learning objectives (maximum 750 characters). The abstract is used on the ASEE website, program materials, and other K-12 Workshop promotional activities. Learn the systemic model and strategies with which Washington State LASER has accomplished: 1) Building the capacity of the school districts to deliver quality science and engineering education through an emphasis on curriculum, instruction, assessment, professional development, materials and equipment support and administrative and community support, 2) Facilitating alignment of science and engineering instructional materials to state and national standards and, 3) Establishing a K-8 science and engineering program that is designed to improve teaching and learning in classrooms and schools across Washington State in the 21 Century. Immersive engineering experiences and our science/engineering notebook tool will be featured. P ge 1.27.3 WORKSHOP PROPOSAL FORM 2015 Annual ASEE K-12 Workshop on Engineering Education “Authentic Engineering: Representing & Emphasizing the E in STEM” Presented by Dassault Systems Saturday, June 13, 2015 8:00 A.M. – 5:00 P.M. Sheraton Seattle | Seattle | WA WA LASER 2015-ASEE-K12-Proposal-Form.docxPage 3 of 7 Workshop Description. Please provide a detailed description of the proposed workshop that, at minimum, explicitly addresses the following (maximum 4,000 characters): a. Learning objectives b. Hands-on activities and interactive exercises c. Materials that participants can take with them d. Practical application for teachers and outreach staff LASER (Leadership & Assistance for Science Education Reform) is a Washington statewide effort co-led by Pacific Science Center and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (operated by Battelle) in partnership with the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI). For 15 years, LASER has catalyzed and supported sustainable innovation and improvement in K-12 science education. LASER is accomplishing two goals: 1) to facilitate the successful adoption of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) across Washington state through professional development and a science/engineering notebook tool to integrate NGSS and Common Core State Standards (CCSS); and 2) to build leadership capacity for high quality STEM education in Washington through a STEM Leadership Institute. We developed training materials for a science/engineering notebook tool in preparation for professional development funded by OSPI. In Fall & Spring 2014 we hosted two 3-day intensive workshops for LASER Alliance Directors and their teams. These events built on events held in 2011-2014 to provide feedback on early drafts of NGSS, and supported adoption of the final version. We are preparing to hold a 5-day intensive STEM Leadership Institute in summer 2015. The Institute will support the integration of NGSS into CCSS efforts, working with school-based teams of teacher leaders, administrators and community members. In this workshop, participants will learn the systemic model and strategies with which Washington State LASER has accomplished: 1) Building the capacity of the school districts to deliver quality science and engineering education through an emphasis on curriculum, instruction, assessment, professional development, materials and equipment support and administrative and community support, 2) Facilitating alignment of science and engineering instructional materials to state standards and Common Core State Standards in order to help student be ready to succeed in college and careers, 3) Establishing, maturing and evolving a K-8 science and engineering program that is designed to improve teaching and learning in classrooms and schools across Washington State in the 21 Century. Immersive engineering experiences and the science/engineering notebook tool used in the intensive workshops delivered by Washington LASER will anchor this workshop. Participants at all levels in the school district will be able to adapt the model, strategies, and immersive P ge 1.27.4 WORKSHOP PROPOSAL FORM 2015 Annual ASEE K-12 Workshop on Engineering Education “Authentic Engineering: Representing & Emphasizing the E in STEM” Presented by Dassault Systems Saturday, June 13, 2015 8:00 A.M. – 5:00 P.M. Sheraton Seattle | Seattle | WA WA LASER 2015-ASEE-K12-Proposal-Form.docxPage 4 of 7 engineering experiences to their local contexts. In addition to providing immersive engineering experiences that illustrate the engineering practices and connect to CCSS, workshop leaders, who are also Washington LASER’s leaders, will conduct a facilitated experience and interactive discussion of strategies and lessons learned using the model for Washington’s successful statewide systemic STEM network. This model can be replicated in the context of a single school, a school district, consortia of school districts with external partners, as well as at the state level. The Washington LASER model is successful because of strong partnerships among formal education, informal education, and business. Participants who come from any of these sectors will come away from this workshop with a proven model for systemic change in STEM education institutions, strategies for implementing it, and new activities for shifting instruction to include engineering practices in the classroom.