CU Boulder project earn highest rating for next generation of science curricula
For nearly 10 years, the , has been developing and testing a new model for helping school districts effectively implement student-centered curricula in mathematics and science. Their latest digital unit in biology, “Why Don't Antibiotics Work Like They Used To?,“ was recently recognized by ., a nonprofit education organization that helped to develop the .
The curriculum was awarded the highest quality rating given to date to NGSS-aligned curricula, an “image of the possible” for 21st century science teaching. Reviewers noted that it was “ambitious, comprehensive, and purposefully designed. Students are repeatedly challenged with rigorous content and expected to make important connections between and across storylines. Students also are exposed to and engage in authentic scientific research.” The unit will be released to schools and districts in the coming years for adoption into their curricula.
iHub is led by the Institute for Cognitive Science's Tamara Sumner and the School of Education's Bill Penuel. To design and test the curriculum, iHub partners CU Boulder with Denver Public Schools and Northwestern University to coordinate with high school teachers and teacher educators in Colorado, Michigan, and Illinois. To support the NGSS standards, the team created and piloted innovative curriculum in which students from 22 local high school biology classes in Denver Public Schools took part in a design challenge to create infographics that warned and informed the public about the increased prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
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