GST BOCES STEM Instructional Support Teacher Benjamin Link shared his optimistic view of the NYS P-12 Science Learning Standards and the direction of science education with the New York State Education Department at the recent Board of Regents meeting. The presentation was made with Dr. Santosha Oliver, Assistant Commissioner, Office of Standards and Instruction and Dr. Zachary Warner, Assistant Commissioner, Office of State Assessment.
Link excitedly shared “the real innovation in the New York State P-12 Science Learning Standards is the requirement that students operate at the intersection of practice, content, and connection. There is a lot of work being done in the field right now by my colleagues across the state to support this work. Gone are the days of rote memorization of facts and tables. Our science teachers are carefully choosing phenomenon that drive student inquiry and add relevance by showing students science in their own world. Imbedded is the real work of a scientist.
Link shared his previous experience as a Senior District Executive with the Boy Scouts of America and classroom teacher at Alfred-Almond Central School for ten years, and how those experiences led him to his current role and teaching philosophy. Link explained, “if I could teach science all day, every day, I still couldn't instill every nugget of knowledge to make a future scientist successful.” He added that content, while important, needs to be paired with the work of a scientist and the understandings and connections that work fosters. “The disciplinary core ideas, the content, is still very much here in our standards, but so is the work and the thinking. The science and engineering practices, like asking questions, or planning and carrying out investigations, in other words how we explore and investigate the world around us, are just as important as what we are exploring. The thinking and sensemaking, the connections we make across disciplines that exists in the crosscutting concepts like identifying patterns or using systems and system models. They're all present, too, with the same importance.”
Speaking directly to Commissioner Betty A. Rosa, Link thanked all the partners at the New York State Education Department who have been invaluable to this work. He credited specific members of the Offices of State Assessment and Standards and Instruction noting they are all proactive partners in education. Additionally, he highlighted the great work of BOCES professionals across the state as part of the SCDN Science Framework Group.
Link noted that NYSED has given the field many resources, such as the Performance Expectations and the Performance Level Descriptions. They specifically describe levels for emerging, developing, proficient, and excelling scientists. The nuance in the language between levels not only speaks to what an assessment might look like, but more importantly, gives insight into opportunities that need to be provided in science classrooms. “The SCDN Science Framework Group and BOCES across the state take these resources and design professional learning for teachers and administrators. At GST BOCES, we even embed mentors, like me, in school districts to support science learning and the shifts that we see with these new standards." Link added, "We are growing scientists.”
Assistant Commissioner Dr. Zachary Warner thanked Link noting how everyone at the Department was “inspired by Ben’s presentation at the Board of Regents meeting. His words were confident and expressive of someone who is devoted to the work of supporting students and building future scientists all over NY. The central theme of optimism about the future was a great springboard for the conversation and was infectious amongst the Board members who are now sharing in that optimism. We could not have asked for a better partner in this work or a more emphatic presentation on the efforts that are taking place at the state, BOCES, and local levels.”
Link’s statewide service with NYS Education Department’s Science Content Advisory Panel (now Inter-Disciplinary Content Advisory Panel), NYS Staff and Curriculum Development Network (SCDN) Science Framework Group, and Science Teachers Association of NYS, where he serves as Director-at-Large for Elementary Science, has been an asset, and we are thankful to have him represent GST BOCES. #PROUDTOBEGST