Becoming Meddlers in the Middle

Science teachers from all over San Diego Unified School District got together to participate in their 3rd session of Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) professional development. They experienced learning from the student perspective, noticing what keeps themselves engaged and what makes their minds wander. They participated in a collaborative design process and then an experiment that helped concritize their understanding. From there teachers more deeply learned the content. The goal for our students is to come up with their own understanding and conclusions rather than regurgitating information from the “sage on the stage”. By becoming “meddlers in the middle” the teachers can allow students to gather data and make interpretations. When the teacher sees students going in the potentially wrong direction, they can give them more resources and more experiments that will help them in the quest for deeper learning opportunities.