Science: It’s Elementary ASSET Inc. and

Introduction Located in Pittsburgh Part of National Science Education reform through NSRC as a LASER site

Brief History 1992 Bayer convened group to initiate science education reform 1994 ASSET becomes independent nonprofit NSF grant sfor Professional Development serving 30 School Districts 2001 Transition to fee for service 2006 Pending legislative approval expanding through Science: It’s Elementary

Current Status 48 school districts, charter and private schools 2,500+ prepaid professional development participants 6,000 kits delivered per year 125,000 students impacted per year Growing number of university and community partners

National Model for Science Reform Quality hands-on curriculum materials Materials Support Center Effective Professional Development Assessment Community Support

Beliefs for Teaching of Science Children need to experience science Children need to engage in hands-on activities Children need to be problem solvers Children need to be THINKERS

ASSET Provides Curriculum Materials for grades K-8 Professional Development More than 100 opportunities in the form of courses, institutes, and colloquia R&D to develop new products and services, eg Science Notebooks, Environment & Ecology toolboxes Partnerships Universities Regional resources Corporations

Characteristics of Ongoing PD Teachers teaching teachers Directly related to standards-based curriculum Driven by research- based effective classroom practices

Materials Support Center

Science: It’s Elementary Expansion of the K-6 ASSET Model Introductory Institutes in partnership with NSRC Up to 150 School Districts/Schools or + 1,400 teachers Evaluation by Horizon Research Inc.