On June 6th, local Tucson school administrators & teacher collaborator teams attended the 2023 PULSE Summit (Principals Understanding Leadership in Science Education) at Pima Community College Downtown Campus. The summit was opened by Debbie Black, Tucson Unified School District (TUSD) Science Professional Development Academic Trainer (PDAT), followed by a video welcome from Pima County Superintendent, Dustin Williams. From there, participants were quickly engaged in an investigation of electric currents from the 4th grade FOSS module on Energy led by Meg Gebert, TUSD Project Coordinator & Science Educational Consultant. Meg’s facilitation of the investigation included opportunities for notebooking and talk moves, including sense-making circles.
Rebecca Garelli, Arizona Science Teachers Association Professional Learning Specialist, helped everyone connect their hands-on/minds-on experiences to the 3-dimensions of the Arizona Science Standards. Following a brief break, Rebecca dug deeper into how science education has changed, and what principals should look for in a 3-D science classroom. During lunchtime, Sara Torres, Executive Director of Arizona Science Teachers Association addressed the audience, highlighting the importance of science education for students. Following a catered lunch, Rebecca shared the ADE timeline for science assessments and how performance assessments reflect the 3-D nature of science instruction and the standards.
Participants then chose between two break-out sessions. Rebecca led participants through an exploration of the shifts in teaching needed to meet the Arizona Science Standards. Caryl Crowell, PESI Professional Development Committee Chair, offered participants experiences in addressing both science and ELA standards simultaneously. The summit ended with time for school-level planning of next steps, including ways that PESI could support them.
PESI looks forward to supporting the participants with additional science professional development sessions that will help address the needs that were identified by each school.
presented by
Partners for Equitable Science Instruction (PESI), in collaboration with Arizona Science Teachers Association (ASTA), PIMA Community College (PCC), PIMA County Department of Education, SCITECH Institute & the University of Arizona College of Education.
