Science Standards Review 2018

After careful consideration of the work of the Steering Committee and the public comments Commissioner Hasson charged the writing team with three tasks:

1. To name the new standards Maine’s Science and Engineering standards
2. To adapt NGSS to the Maine standards format
3. To include a piece on the historical role of controversy in science with the introduction to the new standards

STEERING COMMITTEE WORK SESSION SUMMARY

            The Science & Technology Standards Review Committee met for a total of sixteen hours spanning three dates in May of 2018 (May 2, 15 and 30).

Day One

            During the first meeting, the 2007 Maine Learning Results for Science & Technology were examined using a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) protocol. Careful analysis of the introduction and sections A through D was conducted by the end of that first meeting.

Day Two

The second meeting began with an application of the SWOT protocol to section E of the Maine Learning Results for Science and Technology. Then, the Committee discussed the possible role of computer science in Maine’s science standards. Concerns around pre-service teaching coursework and the coursework/training needed for all current science teachers seemed to outweigh the benefits of data and modeling matches with science standards. The Committee felt that computer science did not belong in the science standards.

Next, the committee reviewed the public comments submitted to the Department. Based on the number of public comments suggesting to do so, the steering committee felt that adopting the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) as Maine’s science standards should be considered. Copies of the Next Generation Science Standards were distributed to the committee for their review.

Finally, the second meeting concluded with a discussion around what the committee’s guidance to the writing team should be. It was suggested that the standards be renamed, “Science & Engineering Standards,” to better reflect the confusion around the term “technology”. The Committee adjourned its’ second meeting with the goal of taking some individual time with the NGSS before coming back together to complete the standards blueprint for the science standards Writing Team.

Day Three

The third meeting opened with a discussion of adopting the Next Generation Science Standards as Maine’s science standards. While many committee members were in support of the adoption, some committee members had concerns related to how the NGSS address evolution and climate change, and also concern about adopting a set of national standards. Because the committee could not come to consensus, they ended the meeting in deadlock. As the standards review process dictates, this then moved the responsibility of determining the blueprint for the writing team to the Commissioner of the Department of Education. Following the meeting, some members of the Steering Committee sent a letter to the Commissioner.

STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Amy Arata currently owns a real estate investment company and resides in New Gloucester with her husband, Mike, and their three teenage sons. Amy is a member of the Gray-New Gloucester School Board and the Maine State Board of Education. Amy graduated summa cum laude from Gordon College in Wenham, MA, with a B.S. in Biology before she earned an M.S. in Genetics from the University of California at Davis.  She has worked at the Naval Blood Research Laboratory at Boston University and in the Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology at UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, and in various other research laboratories. She has been published in the Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation.

Kate Cook Whitt, Ed. D. is an Assistant Professor of Education at Thomas College. Dr. Cook’s professional activities center around supporting pre-service and practicing teachers in implementing science instruction that engages students at the nexus of the three dimensions of science (science and engineering practices, disciplinary core ideas, and crosscutting concepts) and developing curriculum that engages students in three-dimensional science. She earned a B.A. in Neuroscience and Music History/Theory from Oberlin College, an M.S.Ed. in Secondary Science Education from Northwestern University, and an Ed.D. in Learning Organizations from Wright State University. Prior to joining Thomas College, Dr. Cook taught biology at the Dayton Regional STEM School in Kettering, Ohio. She has served as an educational consultant for a variety of organizations, including Next Generation Science Exemplar System, OpenSciEd, Next Generation Science Storylines, Teaching Channel, Yellow Springs School District, and the Dayton Regional STEM School Training Center.  

Amanda Hersey is the curriculum coordinator in RSU 73, where she leads curriculum and professional development as well as technology integration. During her 26 years in education, Amanda has also served as a school principal, interventionist, and classroom teacher. Amanda holds a C.A.S. in educational administration, a master's degree in literacy education, and is currently pursuing her doctorate in Curriculum, Teaching, and Learning at Northeastern University.

Doug Hodum is a science teacher at Mt. Blue High School where he served as the Department Head for 5 years. In 2016-17 Doug was an Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellow where he worked in the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and the Workforce. He is past District II Director for the National Science Teachers Association and has been the president of the Maine Science Teachers Association.

Jason Judd, Ed.D. is the Project>Login Program Director at Educate Maine, a business-led education advocacy organization where he works with K-12 schools, higher education institutions, and employers to grow the number of Maine people with tech skills. He chaired the Maine Computer Science Task Force and works with leaders from other states to grow computer science efforts nationally. He is a current member of the Maine STEM Council, Maine STEM Collaborative, and serves on the Advisory Committee for the Code.org Regional Partners. He is the past chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Maine School of Science and Mathematics. Jason has a bachelor’s degree in English secondary education from the University of Maine at Farmington, a master’s degree in educational leadership from the University of Southern Maine, and a doctorate in organizational leadership studies from Northeastern University

Dr. Robert Kuech is an Associate Professor of Science Education at the University of Southern Maine where he has taught science methods and science content for in-service and pre-service teachers for the past 18 years. Prior to his service at USM, Dr. Kuech taught high school Physics and Chemistry for 20 years

Sara McQuarrie has been a middle school science teacher at Hodgdon Middle/High School for 13 years, as well as leader of afterschool STEM classes. Sara has a B.S. in K-12 Education. Outside of the classroom, she conducts hands-on science classes for all ages at local recreation centers and at her Nature Center.

Tonya Prentice has been teaching for 11 years and is currently the fifth-grade teacher at Woodstock Elementary and the district elementary science curriculum leader in MSAD 44. Tonya is a National Board Certified Teacher and has a B.S. in Marine Science, K-8 teaching certification, and an M.S. in Science and Mathematics Education. For eight years, she worked as a STEM Instructor and Counselor for University of Maine Bryant Pond 4-H Learning Center. She is currently a board member of the Maine State Teachers Association and Lead Teacher for the Gulf of Maine Research Institute for Western Maine Community Teachers. She has trained as a Lead Teacher for 3D Teaching of Science and Engineering with the Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance. Currently, as a member of the PK-5 Science Resource Task Force with the Maine STEM Partnership at the RiSE Center, she helps to review and evaluate current available science instructional resources available for Maine students.

Ann K. Putney has filled the roles of lab assistant for biochemistry and immunology at the Scripps Clinic & Research Foundation (La Jolla, CA) and cell biology & tissue culture UCSD Cancer Center (San Diego, CA). She also has business experience as a Marketing Manager for Calbiochem Biochemicals & Immunochemicals in La Jolla, CA. She has served both as a science educator for grades six through eight in the Biddeford School Department and the K-12 Science Coordinator at the Biddeford School Department. Ann earned her B.S. in Genetics from the University of California at Davis, and completed graduate study in Bacteriology from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. She completed training in teacher preparation at the University of New England.

Phil St. Onge taught history at Mt. Blue High School before entering his current role as the assistant principal at Nokomis High School. He graduated from the University of Maine at Farmington in 1983 and completed a master’s degree in Sports Science from Ashland University and a master’s in computer education from Thomas College. He currently resides in Winslow with his wife, Crystal, and their 12-year-old son, Giovanni, while his two older daughters are attending Wesleyan University in Connecticut.

Michael C. Wittmann is Professor of Physics at the University of Maine. He specializes in physics education research. He teaches courses for both undergraduate and graduate physics majors, as well as for future teachers as part of the Master of Science Teaching program. He helped create the new doctoral program in STEM Education Research at the University of Maine. After spending several years studying advanced students' understanding of physics and extending theories to help model learning, he has more recently worked intensively with middle school teachers who are teaching energy, motion, and topics in space science. Since 2010, he has guided teachers in more than 400 hours of professional development activities. He has published 2 workbooks and over 60 peer-reviewed articles and has presented his work over 240 times at conferences and in other settings. In 2015, he was named a Fellow of the American Physical Society for "foundational research into student learning of physics, pioneering work in K-12 teacher development, and leadership in building community for physics education researchers."