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Ideas for science, math, and engineering classrooms

Practical answers to real classroom questions from Dr. Victor Sampson, Krista Sampson, and the ADI team.
Research & Policy What Do I Think of Florida’s Proposed Science Standards? Let’s Do the Math.Over the past week, my social media feeds have filled up with posts about Florida’s proposed B.E.S.T. Standards for Science, and several people have tagged me and asked what I think. Most of those posts link to news coverage that focuses on what the draft...Dr. Victor Sampson · 10 min read
District Leadership What Do I Do When Turnover Means I’m Always Starting Over?A district science curriculum coordinator sent me this question, and I suspect a lot of people reading this will recognize themselves in it: “Every year I...Dr. Victor Sampson · 4 min read Inside ADI What Makes an ADI Facilitator Institute Different from an ADI Workshop?A district science coordinator sent me this question last month: “We’ve had teachers attend ADI workshops before, and they loved them. Now someone has suggested we...Dr. Victor Sampson · 4 min read Inside ADI Why Are ADI Student Handouts Now Organized by Stage?A fifth-grade teacher who has used ADI for several years sent me this question: “The older books had one lab handout for the whole investigation. Now...Dr. Victor Sampson · 4 min read Inside ADI Why Do ADI Investigations Now Start with an Initial Model?A high school biology teacher who has been using ADI for years sent me this question after picking up one of our newer books: “The old...Dr. Victor Sampson · 4 min read District Leadership What Should I Look for Three Months After a Workshop?An instructional coach asked me this question recently, and it is one I hear from principals and district leaders all the time: “We sent a group...Dr. Victor Sampson · 4 min read Assessment What Is a Phenomenon-Driven Task™, and Why Should We Use Them?A middle school teacher asked me this question at a recent conference, and I realized I had never answered it all in one place: “I keep...Dr. Victor Sampson · 4 min read Inside ADI Are the Texas ADI Books Just the NGSS Books Aligned to the TEKS?A Texas science coordinator asked me this question while her district was reviewing materials:Dr. Victor Sampson · 4 min read District Leadership How Does a District Keep ADI Going When the Person Who Championed It Leaves?A curriculum director asked me this question after her district’s science coordinator took a job in another state:Dr. Victor Sampson · 4 min read Inside ADI What Makes K-2 ADI Different from 3-5 or Older?A kindergarten teacher asked me this question after seeing a colleague teach an ADI investigation in fourth grade:Dr. Victor Sampson · 4 min read Events On the Road This Fall: 14 Sessions on Sensemaking, Assessment, and DesignOver the next seven weeks I'll be presenting at six conferences in five states. The sessions share one question: how do we design instruction and assessment...Dr. Victor Sampson · 2 min read Teaching Strategies Seven Practices That Make Argumentation WorkTwo teachers can hand out the same argument template on the same day and produce two different lessons. In one classroom, the template puts the grounds...Dr. Victor Sampson · 8 min read District Leadership Is ADI a Curriculum or a Supplement? Our District Has to Pick One.A curriculum director asked me this on a call last spring, and she was not asking out of curiosity. She had a procurement form in front...Krista Sampson · 7 min read
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