Curriculum Minutes - Creative Science Teaching for the 21st Century

 A Reflection of K12 Online Alignment to the Principles of Universal Design for Learning: the Khan Academy Online learning has increased in use in the past five years and students with identified disabilities make up a large portion of the student population. The flexibility of content and instruction delivery that online learning affords to students is potentially beneficial to students with exceptionalities (Smith & Harvey, 2014). The main question Smith and Harvey (2014) aim to answer is whether blended or fully online options for learning are effective for the K-12 learners with identified disabilities. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is the framework used to guide instructional goals, assessments, methods, and materials that meet the individual needs of students. Using UDL allows for instruction to cater to the individual student’s unique way of learning by designing curriculum based on the needs of marginalized groups (About universal design for learning. [AUDL] CAST, 202

Connecting the Creative Classroom to Cognitive Development It is essential to develop a culture of creativity in the technology supported classroom. To use technology in a meaningful way that is developmentally appropriate it is important. When this is achieved, students input their original ideas and can communicate them to a broad audience. Gura (2016) explains the importance of giving students limitations and time to be creative. Evaluation of these types of digital projects should focus on the development of original responses and allow time for reflection. Some of these projects using digital tools can involve producing a response, finding a solution to an open-ended challenge, and encouraging students to give personal responses (Gura, 2016). Everything involved in the creative classroom is fundamental in developing cognitive processes. Students who participate in planning and executing projects in a social environment can develop metacognition, executive functioning, and self-reg

Authentic Intellectual Work/Authentic Instruction and Assessment The nature of Authentic Intellectual Work (AIW) is mirroring the work that is being done by professionals in their respective fields and applying skills in the classroom to solve meaningful problems or answer interesting challenging questions (Newmann et al., 2007). According to Newman et al. (2007) the framework for AIW includes increased intellectual rigor for students, increased student interest in academic work, supporting teachers taking time to teach in-depth understanding as opposed to superficial coverage of content, provide commonality amongst professionals of students’ intellectual work that is interdisciplinary, and equip students with the skills to solve complex intellectual challenges of work, civic participation and managing personal affairs. This aligns with content I have learned in my graduate science education courses as we aim to create content that ties in with real-world experiences and developing stu