CATALyST

IMPACTS! in Science

IMPACTS! (IMproving Practice And Content knowledge for Teachers and Students) in Science is a three-year US Department of Education/Louisiana Math-Science professional development project partnering Monroe City School System and Louisiana Tech University's CATALyST which began in 2004. The project is designed to provide science teachers with content knowledge and experiences that enable them to confidently teach hands-on, minds-on science to their students. Participants are actively engaged in the investigative processes of science throughout the course. Each year targets a different branch of science with physical science first, life science second, and earth science third.

Content areas to be emphasized are taken from the Louisiana Benchmarks for Science and their corresponding GLEs. Teacher completed Needs Assessments serve to focus the content for each year of the program.

A strong emphasis is placed on conceptual understanding and assessing conceptual understanding as course instructors model standards-based instruction and assessment in a student-centered classroom. The program integrates mathematics and writing into the study of science. Staff model how to develop connections between classroom learning and students' daily lives.

Instructional strategies to be used in presenting the science content include: teaching through inquiry, using the learning cycle to design standards-based lessons, using cooperative groups effectively, using graphical organizers to positively enhance student learning, addressing multiple learning styles in the classroom, and writing to improve student learning. Strategies used to assess the science content and conceptual understanding include card sorts, concept maps, carousels, pictorial questions, writing assignments, higher level questioning (both selected and constructed response items as used on LEAP and GEE tests), and demonstration assessments.

For each year of the series, teachers participate in a 12 day summer session, five academic year meetings, and an electronic "Blackboard" community. Teachers demonstrate their classroom integration of IMPACTS! methods through project presentations, videos of their lessons, and classroom visits by CATALyST staff.

For more information or to apply contact Ms. Cathi Cox at ccox@latech.edu