1. Florida Department of Education Bureau of School Improvement Office of Curriculum Support

2. Sally Sanders Science Curriculum Specialist  Topics –Textbook Adoptions –School Chemical Cleanout Campaign –PASS Materials –Resources –Sunshine State Standards Revision

3. Textbook Adoptions  The Science Textbook Committees met in September and October to make recommendations.  Commissioner Winn will make the final approval based on committees’ recommendations.  List of approved science textbooks will be available by end of the year.

4. SC3 – School Chemical Cleanout Campaign  Partnership between the DOE and the DEP  Goals –Assist schools with chemical disposal –Identify dangerous chemicals –Promote safe chemical management –Provide teacher training –Comply with local, state and federal guidelines

5. PASS Materials  Supplementary resources for secondary classes with diverse learning needs and achievement levels; available from the Office of Workforce Education (850) 245-0452  PASS Science Books: –Biology –Earth/Space Science –Physical Science –Marine Science –Integrated Science (in development phase)

6. Resources  Professional Development in Science Curriculum  Florida Space Research Institute’s Advanced Learning Environment offers free web-based courses for math and science teachers: www.advancedlearningenvironment.org www.advancedlearningenvironment.org

7. Sunshine State Standards Revision

8. Revision Process In 2005, the SSS were reviewed by  The College Board in Language Arts and Mathematics  The International Center for Leadership in Education under Bill Daggett An Internet stakeholder input system in spring 2005 was posted on the DOE website so that stakeholders could suggest changes to individual benchmarks in all subjects.

9. Reviewer comments on the SSS  The rigor of the early curriculum is not carried forward through the middle and high school years.  A lack of specificity in the middle grades contributes to a lack of rigor  This lack of progressive development or spiraling across grades levels represents the most pressing issue to be addressed

10. Blueprint to Guide Revision Process  The original SSS were designed for use by curriculum developers rather than for direct use by teachers, even though teachers are most often the curriculum developers. It was intended that the standards would be placed in the instructional context of a lesson or learning activity that would provide more specific expectations of students. A lack of specificity was intentional to allow flexibility in local curriculum development. The new benchmarks will be designed for more direct use by teachers and will need to provide more specific guidance to teachers as to what needs to be taught and, even, how it might be taught.

11. Blueprint to Guide Revision Process  Standards will be benchmarked at each grade for K-5 in every subject.  Language Arts standards will be benchmarked for each grade 6-12.  Mathematics will be benchmarked at each grade K-8.  GLEs and benchmarks will be substituted for each other, combined or eliminated. There will be only benchmarks in the new SSS and no GLEs.

12. Blueprint to Guide Revision Process  Only language changes that are necessary, according to the blueprint, will be made. It is important to preserve the language or most of the language of as many existing benchmarks as possible in order to minimize the impact of change.

13. Blueprint to Guide Revision Process  All benchmarks and GLEs must be reviewed to determine those that represent the absolute essential learning for which the state will hold schools and students accountable.  All benchmarks and GLEs must be reviewed to determine those that represent the absolute essential learning for which the state will hold schools and students accountable.  The standards level will not be revised, thus preserving broad content coverage.  The benchmarks, for which the state holds schools and students accountable, may address only selected content at a particular grade or grade cluster.

14. Blueprint to Guide Revision Process  If the benchmark or GLE is not absolutely vital to a representative core of knowledge and skills in the subject that students must master to be successful in the 21st century, it should be deleted or incorporated into other items.

15. Blueprint to Guide Revision Process  As a rough guideline, all the benchmarks for a grade should be able to be taught and learned in about 100 days throughout the school year, leaving the remaining instructional time for reteaching, remediation, review, maintenance and for additional content. It is expected that as a guideline 25- 30% of the benchmarks or GLEs should be eliminated in each subject.

16. Blueprint to Guide Revision Process  Benchmarks must be developmentally appropriate and rigorous by spiraling knowledge and skills up through the grades. This scaffolding must be done very carefully to differentiate true levels of increasing rigor and complexity.  In summary, a majority of benchmarks must delineate, with more precise specificity, a clear and coherent, developmentally appropriate sequence of progression of expected knowledge and skills across grades that reflect increasing rigor and relevance.

17. Blueprint to Guide Revision Process  Benchmarks must require relevance by applying prior knowledge and experiences of students and in addressing real world applications that interest them and for which they must be prepared in the adult world of postsecondary education, in the workplace and to be a responsible family member and citizen.  Benchmarks must require relevance by applying prior knowledge and experiences of students and in addressing real world applications that interest them and for which they must be prepared in the adult world of postsecondary education, in the workplace and to be a responsible family member and citizen.

18. Blueprint to Guide Revision Process  K-2 benchmarks will emphasize the development of mathematics and language skills, particularly reading, with limited benchmarks at this level in other subjects (science, social studies, arts, health, phys ed, etc). Benchmarks in these subjects will focus on the development of inquiry and thinking processes, background knowledge and vocabulary important to these subjects rather than specific content.

19. Blueprint to Guide Revision Process Any changes that will impact state assessment require approval from Assessment staff. There will be widespread stakeholder review of the revisions. An On-line website along with focus groups and stakeholder meetings will occur in the fall of 2005.

21. Questions  Sally Sanders – Science Curriculum Specialist  Sally.Sanders@fldoe.org Sally.Sanders@fldoe.org  (850)-245-0813  Richard Hardy- Director of Curriculum Support  richard.hardy@fldoe.org richard.hardy@fldoe.org  (850)-245-0764