Teacher Professional Development

Explore strategies that encourage and center student curiosity during learning using the Nature Museum’s model of inquiry. Discuss classroom routines that build a culture of inquiry and collaboration among students, and teacher moves that keep all students both engaged and challenged. Participate in hands-on inquiry that inspires classroom activities, and receive support in planning inquiry-based lessons.

Excited by the potential of the NGSS to elevate science teaching and learning at your school? Looking to explore how 3-Dimensional, phenomenon-driven units can increase the engagement, rigor, and accessibility of science? Whether you are looking for a comprehensive overview or a deep dive, the Nature Museum will use real-world phenomena to bring the standards to life, and provide opportunities for teachers to unpack NGSS-aligned resources.

Connect students to the nature they see everyday. Getting students of any age outside to experience and observe nature close-by is a great way to explore science and connect students to their communities. Explore hands-on, interdisciplinary techniques and activities for using the natural resources right outside your school to get students interested and engaged in science learning. Practice ways to involve students in the process skills of observation, data collection, and conducting investigations, using the schoolyard or a local park as inspiration.

Using Science as a starting point, we can continue to strengthen our students’ critical thinking skills across subjects like reading, math, SEL and the arts by incorporating them into the inquiry process. Explore strategies for engaging students in using complex non-fiction texts, analyzing and interpreting data, drawing for understanding, and using evidence to support arguments as part of ongoing science units. Build students’ academic language and content understanding through integration of hands-on activities and authentic student-driven discussion. Support social and emotional learning through relevant connections to local, observable nature and ecosystems.