WSST Strands

The “No Child Left Behind” Act (NCLB) was signed into law by President George W. Bush on January 8, 2002. NCLB provides new opportunities and challenges for science teachers. For many years Eisenhower State Grants provided science teachers funding to attend professional development opportunities. This funding has been eliminated with the new NCLB law. NCLB Title II funds may be used to pay the costs associated with the attendance of workshops, conferences or conventions that WSST offers its members.  In order to receive funding with NCLB, it is necessary for teachers to provide evidence that the programs they wish to attend are part of a larger, systemic, professional development plan.  To assist teachers with this, WSST has identified four strands that their programs follow-- or fit into-- so teachers (and their districts) can include these strands into their professional development plans.

Learn More about the “No Child Left Behind” Act:

• www.nclb.gov

• www.nsta.org/nclb

• www.nasbe.org/NCLB/NCLB.html

Current WSST Strands  
(Note: These strands were adapted from the four strands established by Minneapolis NSTA Regional Convention Committee for their October 2003 Convention.)

The Teacher as Learner and Professional
This strand is concerned with the “learning of science and the science of learning.” Incorporating the ideas presented in the National Science Education Standards on learning and professional development, the strand’s key ideas involve the what, how, and why of learning for science teachers. Sessions focus on learning science content, staying current in technology and science issues, and the process of accessing science knowledge in the future.

Correlating Wisconsin Teaching Standards (learn more)
Teachers know the subjects they are teaching.
Teachers know how children grow.
Teachers are connected with other teachers and the community.
Assessment for Standards-based Systems
Key ideas of this assessment strand include forms and purpose of assessment, reporting systems and purposes, appropriate assessment designs, and professional development with assessment in mind.

Correlating Wisconsin Teaching Standards (learn more)
Teachers know how to test for student progress.
Teachers are able to evaluate themselves
Enhancing Teaching and Learning
This strand focuses on the effective teaching practices that increase learning for all students. Current educational research, personal action research, and learning from assessment can provide insights into effective teaching practices and their implications for the classroom. Key ideas of this strand include instructional strategies, applications of cognitive research to science instruction, and curriculum connections that enhance teaching and learning as well as provide safe learning environments for students in the lab and in the field.

Correlating Wisconsin Teaching Standards (learn more)
Teachers understand that children learn differently.
Teachers know how to teach.
Teachers know how to manage a classroom.
Teachers communicate well.
Teachers are able to plan different kinds of lessons.
Science, Technology, and Society
Instructional planning in science needs to use the “student in a future society” as key criterion in the selection or scope/sequence and instructional strategies. What does a student really need to understand and be able to do in order to achieve “science literacy”? Just as importantly, “why”? The STS strand should reflect not only what is going on in science and technology, but also the effects it will have on our students and the world in which they will live. Science and technology affect personal values, and those values taken together become the value structure held by society. “Relevance” and “application” are key words in this strand. Key ideas include concrete examples and strategies for curriculum integration of STS instruction; what students need to understand and be able to do related to the session topic chosen; examples of advancements in technology, historical perspectives on technology and the people involved in the advancement; and ethical, economic, and social concerns related to the session topic chosen.