- Year 2023
- NSF Award #1758392
- Registration Current Noyce Scholar
- First Name Kevin
- Last Name Knack
- Discipline STEM Education (general)
- Institution Kalamazoo Public Schools
Abstract
We have established a KPS District Problem Solving PLC to address general issues within the middle school science department and implementation of Mi-STAR. We collect data by surveying teachers. One issue that is consistently brought up is the need for ELL support and modifications. What are best practices for implementing the Mi-STAR science curriculum for students with a range of English proficiency? Working with our Newcomer Coordinator/ELL expert, we met monthly to discuss strategies for both the newcomer class and mainstream science classes with ELL push-ins. Using elements of SIOP (Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol), we identified strategies and where they could be implemented in the Mi-STAR framework, as well as developed ready-made resources for district use. We are currently wrapping up our collaboration for 6.4 (Forces) and moving into collaborating with 7.3 (Thermal Energy). We are anticipating a list of suggested practices for ELL modifications that work well with the Mi-STAR framework and a resource bank for in-district use. Results from this work will be pushed out into KPS middle school science classrooms to supplement and augment the Mi-STAR curriculum for our ELL and newcomer students. ELL strategies look to have overlap with our SPED population and may provide an avenue of differentiation for that population as well. Resources developed will also be shared with Mi-STAR developers to see if it merits inclusion as a general resource.
