PSESD
Puget Sound ESD’s ClimeTime work engages teachers and district leader partners in professional learning using the NGSS climate science standards to ensure each of their students, especially those underserved in our current science learning systems, with relevant, phenomena-driven learning opportunities. We partner with community-based organizations to provide both professional learning for teachers and for district science leaders.
Teacher Professional Development
Collaborating for Ambitious Science Teacher Learning (CASTL)
CASTL is a partnership between Puget Sound ESD, Northwest ESD and Olympic ESD to engage teachers in the Ambitious Science Teacher (AST) framework and support their implementation of the AST practices through the examination of student work. In 2019-2020, PSESD will partner with Washington Green Schools to share an NGSS-aligned Air Quality learning opportunity with a cohort of elementary teachers. These teachers will gather monthly during the school year to receive support to implement Ambitious Science Teaching practices connected to the climate science standards at their grade levels.
Climate Science for Middle School
At middle school, we again partner with Washington Green Schools to engage life, Earth and physical science teachers in the climate science standards for their content area. In addition, we will support their identification and use of local, climate science-related contexts that are more likely to engage their curious learners.
Climate Science for High School Chemistry & Physics Teachers
Our high school project builds on previous work supporting chemistry and physics teachers as they embed science concepts in local climate science phenomena. This year, our high school participants will pay particular attention to climate justice phenomena.
Leadership Support
Puget Sound Science Leadership Collaborative
The Science Leadership Collaborative is a partnership between Puget Sound ESD, the North Sound LASER Alliance and the South Sound LASER Alliance. District science leaders come together several times a year to work together around common interests (e.g. instructional practices, cultural competence, curriculum-assessment resources). Climate justice and climate proviso resources will be shared at this years’ meetings. Compelling phenomena in this work include “Why do people living less than one mile apart have nearly a 10-year difference in life expectancy?” and “How could the immigration of Europeans to the Americas have contributed to the Little Ice Age?”
Partners & Collaborators
- University of Washington Ambitious Science Teaching group
- PASTL Teacher Leaders
- South Sound and North Sound LASER Alliances
- Washington Green Schools
- IslandWood
Success Stories from Puget Sound ESD
Elementary ClimeTime Online PLCs a Hit
Fifteen elementary science teachers are working hard to bring Ambitious Science Teaching (AST) practices to their classrooms. In August they participated in a three-day workshop with AST teacher leaders and the team from Washington Green Schools learning about why our...
Collaborating for Ambitious Science Teaching (CASTL)
CASTL teachers attended a three-day institute (June 30, 31 and Feb 7) exploring climate impacts on the Southern Resident Killer Whales to better understand the teaching innovations needed to support students with the Next Generation Science Standards. Teachers then...
Climate Change and Human Health
In late March, a dozen teachers from Puget Sound ESD gathered at the Tacoma Nature Center to learn about how human health is impacted by climate change locally. After grappling with some of the latest data on regional air quality and climate change, teachers engaged...