Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
STEM
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
STEM

Innovative Science Conference Offers ‘Live’ Research Lessons on New State Standards

Tuesday, November 8, 2016, By News Staff
Share
School of Education

More than 300 educators from across Central New York are converging on Roxboro Road Middle School in Mattydale today for a science conference that offers four “live” research lessons in which students and teachers can engage in practices aligned with the new state science standards.

The event marks a unique collaboration between the Onondaga-Cortland-Madison Board of Cooperative Educational Services (OCM BOCES), the School of Education, the Smithsonian Science Education Center and several local teacher centers: Central New York/Oswego County; Jamesville DeWitt/Syracuse University; West Genesee/Syracuse University; Syracuse; and Cayuga-Onondaga.

The sold-out conference is especially significant because members of the New York State Board of Regents received the New York State Science Learning Standards (NYSSLS) in June and are expected to approve them soon. Reflecting the imminent nature of this action, the conference is called, “It’s Go Time! Seeing the Future through the new New York State Science Standards.”

“The intent of this conference is to help educators visualize the new standards in action through observation and discussion,” says Jessica Whisher Hehl, coordinator of the Center for Innovative Science Education at OCM BOCES. “This will allow the region to begin its collective learning to implement the new standards and provide science-learning opportunities for all students.”

Sharon Dotger

Sharon Dotger

Whisher Hehl has been coordinating the event since last year with Sharon Dotger, associate professor of science education and lesson study researcher in the School of Education.

The conference agenda incorporates lesson study, which Dotger defines as “a collaborative teacher professional learning and research model to promote collective learning about the relationships between standards, student thinking, curriculum materials and instructional practices.”

“We want participants to leave with a better understanding of the standards, a positive sense of excitement for what they offer, and a vision for how they might look in their classrooms,” she says.

The live research lessons include a second-grade lesson on preventing erosion, a fourth-grade lesson on energy transfer, a fifth-grade lesson on groundwater and a sixth-grade lesson on modeling the relationship between the moon, sun and Earth. Teams of teachers and students from the North Syracuse, Liverpool and Marcellus school districts will be on hand to teach the lessons as conference participants observe and take notes.

Kelly Chandler-Olcott

Kelly Chandler-Olcott

“To my knowledge, this is the first conference in the U.S. to focus on the intersection of elementary science and lesson study,” says Kelly Chandler-Olcott, associate dean for research in the School of Education. The university is “tremendously excited to be involved,” she adds.

In addition, national leaders in science education will offer context and inspiration for the work that lies ahead.

 

  • Author

News Staff

  • Recent
  • Arts and Sciences Hosts Inaugural Scholarship and Research Gala
    Friday, May 9, 2025, By Sean Grogan
  • Chancellor Kent Syverud Honored as Distinguished Citizen of the Year at 57th Annual ScoutPower Event
    Thursday, May 8, 2025, By News Staff
  • New Maymester Program Allows Student-Athletes to Develop ‘Democracy Playbook’
    Thursday, May 8, 2025, By Wendy S. Loughlin
  • From Policy to Practice: How AI is Shaping the Future of Education
    Thursday, May 8, 2025, By Christopher Munoz
  • Kohn, Wiklund, Wilmoth Named Distinguished Professors
    Thursday, May 8, 2025, By Wendy S. Loughlin

More In STEM

Chloe Britton Naime Committed to Advocating for Improved Outcomes for Neurodivergent Individuals

Chloe Britton Naime ’25 is about to complete a challenging and rare dual major program in both mechanical engineering from the College of Engineering and Computer Science and neuroscience from the College of Arts and Sciences. Even more impressive? Britton…

Graduating Research Quartet Synthesizes Long-Lasting Friendships Through Chemistry

When Jesse Buck ’25, Isabella Chavez Miranda ’25, Lucy Olcott ’25 and Morgan Opp ’25 started as student researchers in medicinal chemist Robert Doyle’s lab, they hoped to hone their research skills. It quickly became evident this would be unlike…

Biologist Reveals New Insights Into Fish’s Unique Attachment Mechanism

On a wave-battered rock in the Northern Pacific Ocean, a fish called the sculpin grips the surface firmly to maintain stability in its harsh environment. Unlike sea urchins, which use their glue-secreting tube feet to adhere to their surroundings, sculpins…

Distinguished ECS Professor Pramod K. Varshney Establishes Endowed Faculty Fellowship

Distinguished Professor Pramod K. Varshney has exemplified Orange excellence since joining the University as a 23-year-old faculty member. A world-renowned researcher and educator, he’s been recognized for his seminal contributions to information fusion and related fields, introducing new, innovative courses…

Earth Day Spotlight: The Science Behind Heat Pumps (Video)

Peter Wirth has a two-fold strategy when it comes to renovating his home. The Brooklyn, New York, native has called Central New York home for more than 40 years. Nestled on a quiet cul-de-sac in Fayetteville, New York, the 1960s-era…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • X
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2025 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.