Earth Science Benchmarks
To start my summer this year I attended the Earth Science Benchmark workshop at Oakland Schools. I was
lucky to pick my favorite topic of weather to work on. I was completely impressed by the collaborative efforts of the
teachers involved. You have to visit the webpage we created together.
There is a wealth of information here!
http://earthscienceinmi.googlepages.com
In response to stated teacher needs, the Oakland Schools Technology Center offered a unique opportunity for Middle and High School teachers to increase content knowledge and develop inquiry-based learning experiences. At the conclusion of the workshop all participants received a complete set of lessons/activities developed during the week. Participants will then use these resources in the development of district Earth Science units. These materials will be developed around the new Earth Science Content Expectations as required by the state of Michigan.
Different teachers presented inquiry based lessons developed for the new state science guidelines. Teachers spent a week interpreting the grade level expectations assigned by the state of Michigan and developing interactive units to share throughout the state.
Coordinator of the project is Larry Sabath, a science educator with decades of experience in the Oakland County area. Mr. Sabbath was a wealth of knowledge and a true motivator to this group of teachers.
Mr. Sabbath says teachers have expressed two critical needs related to teaching Earth Science Content Expectations:
1) Scientific and conceptual understanding
2) Examples of inquiry-based investigations that can be conducted in the typical classroom
This workshop is designed to meet these needs.
Teachers from Rochester Hills, Avondale, Bloomfield, Southfield, Berkley, Oxford, Clarkston, Troy were all present in this intensive workshop sponsored by Oakland Schools.
