Over the course of the 2024-25 school year, more than 60 teachers from across Western Washington connected Amplify Science units to their students’ funds of knowledge, experiences, and communities. They were introduced to a unit-specific “localizing guide” that included adaptations, regional information, and advice on making the science unit meaningful and engaging for their students.
Participating teachers reported increased excitement from both their students and themselves, a greater understanding of how to connect science to students’ lives, and a significantly improved understanding of the units each guide supports.
Three of the localizing guides were at a “pilot” stage this year, and each benefited greatly from the feedback provided by participating teachers. The fourth was released in its final form via an asynchronous online course that teachers could engage with on their own time before and during the teaching of the unit. Next year, asynchronous courses will be offered for all four guides. Each course will open in August and remain available for participants for the entire school year.
The guides would never have existed without ClimeTime’s funding of close collaboration between teacher teams, IslandWood staff, Education Service District Leads, and the Lawrence Hall of Science (developers of Amplify Science) during the 2023-24 school year. This year, new teams have developed additional guides for both Amplify Science and OpenSciEd, and IslandWood is looking forward to piloting and releasing them in the upcoming year.
Visit IslandWood’s localizing webpage beginning in late August for information on upcoming asynchronous courses, pilots, and localizing workshops.
