PSESD
Puget Sound ESD works with school district science leaders and regional community-based organizations (CBOs) to bring climate science concepts through NGSS-aligned, phenomena-based teaching to students across the region. Our greatest area of leverage is the science leaders and teacher leaders in our local school districts who can engage greater numbers of colleagues in racially just, solutions-oriented climate science learning and teaching. Our partnerships with ClimeTime grantees and other CBOs in the region result in a variety of learning opportunities to meet the needs of district science reform and teacher professional growth plans. Some of these opportunities are described below.
Teacher Professional Development
Elementary ClimeTime: How Does a Seed Become a Tree? A Carbon Story
In this workshop series, science teacher leaders provide an exploration of the role of trees in climate change using supportive teaching strategies that spark student thinking and support student talk.
Climate Science for Middle School
Many school districts adopted middle science instructional materials early in the NGSS implementation process. These materials often come from national providers. This year, we will work with middle school teacher leaders to explore phenomena-based climate science content and facilitation, and to use new ideas to enhance current instructional materials with a localized focus.
Climate Science for High School Chemistry
OpenSciEd is an open educational resource (OER) being developed by science education researchers and field test teachers. It supports NGSS phenomena-based teaching. In the series, we engage chemistry teachers in a deep study of the carbon cycle using a soon to be released OSE chemistry unit.
Community Based Organization Partnerships
The Puget Sound region is blessed by a large number of community-based organizations dedicated to improving science learning outcomes for students. We are fortunate to partner with ClimeTime grantees including EarthGen, Inlandwood, Pacific Education Institute and the Institute for Systems Biology. We also partner with non-grantees including Sustainability Ambassadors, Arts Impact and the Educators of Color Leadership Collaborative.
Leadership Support
Puget Sound Science Leadership Collaborative
The Science Leadership Collaborative is a partnership between regional, school district science leaders, Puget Sound ESD, the Puget Sound LASER Alliance. In this collaborative, district science leaders come together monthly to work together around common interests (e.g. instructional practices, cultural competence, curriculum-assessment resources). Climate justice and climate proviso resources are shared at monthly meetings.
Partners & Collaborators
- Arts Impact
- EarthGen
- Institute for Systems Biology
- Islandwood
- Pacific Education Institute
- Puget Sound LASER Alliance
Success Stories from Puget Sound ESD
Seasonal Change in the Schoolyard Course for PreK-2 Teachers
PreK-2 Teachers came together in the Fall to explore how plants, animals and people interact with seasonal patterns and consider the impact of climate change. They learned to incorporate schoolyards and communities into their classroom learning and reflected on how...
Community-Centered Climate Change with Oxbow Farm & Conservation Center
During this two-month course, teachers learned about the impacts of climate change on snowpack in the Snohomish Valley, specifically the impact that Snohomish River flooding continues to have on nearby human and nonhuman communities. This is the second year IslandWood...
Computer Science Children’s Book Study
At our book study sessions, teachers meet in a cross-grade breakout to make sense of the computer science ideas embedded in the readings. They then meet in grade banded breakouts to apply their new understanding to learning opportunities that they share with their...