#ILSciCom events are always free, virtual experiences using the Zoom platform which can be utilized from any device with internet connection. We encourage participants to connect with a microphone and camera so that they can fully participate and interact with our guest speaker(s) and community. The goals of all #ILSciCom events are to foster a supportive, statewide, virtual professional learning network of science educators, find new ideas, share the wonderful things happening in science education in the state of Illinois, and spread the joy and wonder of science.

Upcoming Events
  • Wednesday, December 11, 2019: Angela Box from Southern Illinois University Carbondale will be joining us to discuss the Illinois Science Assessment. She will be giving us updates for the 2020 test and sharing plans for the future. Register for this event here: https://forms.gle/zVBJpVC6Z1v66bKQ7

#ILSciCom Video Archives and Resources:

  • Creating a Positive Classroom Climate (November 14, 2019): On  our first ever cross-curricular #ILCom, guest speaker Krystal Clifton discussed strategies for fostering a positive classroom environment. Krystal is a 4th grade teacher in a diverse school district where 100% of the students in the district receive free lunch. One of the biggest struggles her district faces is a 28% chronic absenteeism rate. Krystal shared with us strategies for fostering a positive classroom environment by building relationships and rapport to support the risk-taking and authentic learning we want to see in the classroom.​ A copy of Krystal's slide deck can be found at: http://bit.ly/CreatingPosClassEnv  Please take a moment to  help us measure our impact by taking the pre and post surveys: http://bit.ly/Nov14PrePost
  • ​Talk Science (November 11, 2019): This month we were joined by Dr. Sarah Michaels. Dr. Michaels is a Professor of Education and Senior Research Scholar at the Hiatt Center for Urban Education at Clark University. A sociolinguist by training, her work emphasizes the ways that teachers can support academically productive talk in the classroom, as a tool for promoting powerful learning for students. She is the co-author of the often referenced, and highly regarded "Talk Science Primer" and the Illinois Science Educators' Book Club book, Ready, Set, Science: Putting Research to Work in K-8 Science Classrooms. Together we discussed the importance of students making their thinking visible and how to accomplish this in science classrooms.  These are some of the resources that were referenced in this session:
  • Science and Writing (October 14, 2019): For this event we will combined #ILSciCom with #IL_ELACom to discuss the topic, "Science and Writing:  Connecting to the Science and Engineering Practices." We discussed how ELA standards overlap with Science and Engineering practices and ways that science and ELA teachers can support each other in delivering these standards.
  • Dr. Heidi Schweingruber (September 25, 2019): We were excited to talk to the director of the Board on Science Education at the National Research Council, Dr. Heidi Schweingruber. Dr. Schweingruber co-directed the study that resulted in the report A Framework for K-12 Science Education. She is also a co-author of Ready, Set, Science! Putting Research to Work in K-8 Science Classrooms, which is the subject of the Illinois Science Educators Book Club this fall. In this event, Dr. Schweingruber will be shared the goals in the writing of Ready, Set, Science!, the impact she is hoping it makes, and why it is important for science educators to be reading the book today. 
Please take this pre/post survey if you watch this recording. Thank you!
  • Phenomena Finder Tool (May 9, 2019): Barbara Hug, along with graduate students James Planey, Harrison Davis, and Danielle Cozzola, shared the Phenomena Finder tool they have created to help teachers identify grade-level appropriate, standards-aligned phenomena as they plan for phenomena-driven instruction. This team will introduced us to the tool and walked us through all the features it has to offer. This link will take you to the google doc of supporting information they shared. After watching, complete this brief post survey. 
  • Phenomena Driven Instruction (April 4, 2019): Rebecca Rudemacher, 6th-grade teacher at Hickory Creek Middle School, and Nicole Vick, high school science teacher at Abingdon-Avon School District, shared some examples of Phenomena Driven Instruction they have facilitated in their classroom as well as the resources they use to support this instructional shift. We discussed how their students’ learning has evolved as they move toward full implementation of the Illinois Learning Standards for Science. After watching, complete this brief post survey.
  • EdReports (December 18, 2018): Lacey Wieser, an EdReports Science Content Specialist, shared information about the science curriculum review process and the reports that will be released February 28, 2019.
  • Stanford NGSS Assessment Project (October 18, 2018): Dr. Jill Wertheim from the Stanford NGSS Assessment Project, and she’ll be shared insight on designing NGSS aligned classroom assessment items and the resources hosted at SNAPGSE.