Instruction Partners’ work supporting OpenSciEd in schools and districts starts with building the capacity of science leaders at every level to establish a vision for science teaching and learning through transformative professional learning opportunities that center OpenSciEd materials as a model. We design and lead professional learning that allows participants to engage as a learner in order to experience the impact of phenomena-driven, three dimensional instruction. We work shoulder-to-shoulder with schools and districts to establish and refine leadership systems that allow for the successful implementation of OpenSciEd materials, such as consistent professional learning structures, observation and feedback protocols, and internalization processes to support teacher planning. In addition, we support teachers in becoming familiar with the design and content of OpenSciEd units so that they are able to navigate the material’s resources and make instructional decisions that lead to deeper student understanding.

We believe that lack of access to high quality science instruction is a significant barrier to equity and that every student deserves to experience science in a way that is meaningful and relevant to their own personal identity and community. Additionally, we have learned that high quality materials such as OpenSciEd are one of the most effective levers in shifting teacher practice and student experience in the classroom. Therefore, our work with schools and districts advocates for the adoption and implementation of these materials and provides educators with the opportunity to internalize OpenSciEd materials in a way that reveals the components of the design meant to encourage centering student voice and autonomy within the classroom. With leaders we seek to remove systemic barriers to equitable science instruction by engaging in system audits to identify needs and planning for responses that address barriers such as instructional time, professional learning gaps, and ineffective coaching models. We also build the capacity of leaders to identify and address evidence of inequitable experiences for students through walkthroughs and leadership coaching using tools such as our Science Classroom Observation Tool.

We spend time getting to know the needs of the educators, leaders, and schools we serve, allowing our team to custom-build service plans to support our partners’ goals. Within our partnership model, we support schools through recurring cycles of improvement, grounded in the needs of priority students and bookended by a beginning-of-year launch and end-of-year review. Throughout the year, we collect and observe evidence by leading classrooms walkthroughs, conducting focus groups, and collecting implementation data. Additionally, our science content experts build leaders’ capacity to better support teachers with content-specific, side-by-side coaching and instructional planning.