The Smithsonian Science Education Center’s The Science of Teaching Science

About this Professional Certificate

This online program consists of four online workshops, “Science: A Work in Progress”, “That’s So Meta(cognitive)!!”, “Fired up about Energy”, and “Conceptual Change: How New Ideas Take Root?”, supporting important ideas on the science of teaching science. Each workshop is based on ideas presented in Good Thinking! an original animated series developed by the Smithsonian Science Education Center (SSEC) and FableVision Studios as a professional development resource for K-12 science educators.

Good Thinking! brings viewers into the classroom of science educator Isabella Reyes as she explores “the science of teaching science.” Drawing from peer-reviewed research in science, cognition, and pedagogy, Good Thinking! distills valuable findings from hard-to-access journal articles to reveal common student misconceptions and promote effective classroom practices.

The format and organization of the workshops are designed to allow individuals to successfully complete the online learning activities independently as a self-paced class, without the need for outside input or feedback. At the same time, this format was designed to flexibly fit into PLC meetings, PD workshops, or any time that you and your colleagues can meet to absorb some new ideas and discuss your experiences as educators. While the content of the series is relevant to all levels of instruction, teachers working at the oldest and youngest ends of the K-12 range may need to include additional discussion during the post-viewing conversation that addresses the implications of the videos for their specific grade level.

Each workshop stands alone as a complete activity and can be taken in any order.

What you'll learn

• How to identify student misconceptions and mental models in science.
• How to develop plans for using the identified student misconceptions and mental models to teach new ideas.
• How to apply the instructional strategies presented in the videos to planning new instruction.

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