Due to the restrictions brought by the COVID-19 global pandemic, classrooms within Florida moved new learning platforms including fully virtual, a hybrid of virtual and face-to-face or socially distant face-to-face formats. The transition challenged interactions among students, which could potentially lead to decrease in engagement. To support teachers within ten districts of Florida, the project Engaging Quality Instruction through Professional Development (EQuIPD) has been providing one-on-one coaching and technology training focusing on methods and tools that encourage collaboration and student engagement. EQuIPD training and one-on-one coaching highlight the use of a blend of modeling, system thinking and technology in structuring learning experiences for student engagement. The use of the concept of modeling helps teachers identify an intentional and purposeful model to create and structure the lesson storyline. Using a system thinking framework supports the important role of teachers in conceptual development for students and helps distinguish instruction from curriculum. Focus on technology allows teachers to facilitate students’ a shared experience while ensuring students’ creation of best-fit models. Teachers utilized grant training to create new instructional models for engaging students to collaborate together in order to build core models tied to matter, energy and chemistry precepts across grade levels K12. This study presents the framework used in training teachers to design engaging classroom learning experiences and examples of they were experienced by the students.

Balancing the equation: Collaboration within classrooms for chemical concepts

ACS Fall 2021

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.