BSCS Storylines Writing Institute

The BSCS Storylines Writing Institute is a four-day virtual experience designed to support participants in gaining the understanding and skills to design units and lessons using the “Storylines” approach, which centers coherence from the student perspective. BSCS is a leader in the field of curriculum design and development—this is an opportunity to learn from and with our expert developers.

Institute Participants Will

• Use BSCS’s processes and tools for collaborative Storylines unit design and development
• Gain hands-on experience developing a lesson from a “writers’ storyline” and testing it out in “student hat” to ensure coherence across units
• Explore how student understanding is represented in models that build progressively across a unit
• Develop an educative teacher guide for a lesson that supports the Storyline model
• Navigate media and copyright issues specific to curriculum development and publishing
• Gain insights from experienced developers on overcoming writer’s block, managing complex timelines and other common challenges
• Receive a certificate of completion for full participation in the activities
  
  

Who should participate?

• Current or former classroom teachers with Storylines or Anchored Inquiry Learning (AIL) experience who are interested in part- or full-time writing.
• Science and/or education graduate students or researchers who are interested in curriculum writing
• Experienced curriculum writers who are new to the Storylines or AIL model and want to learn about BSCS’s approaches to development
• Those who identify with groups currently or historically underrepresented in science, science education, and curriculum development are especially encouraged to participate!
  
  

After participating in the program, participants will be better prepared to:

• Apply for roles on writing teams using the Storylines (or similar) model (at BSCS or elsewhere)
• Develop or adapt high quality instructional materials for schools and districts
• Support implementation of high quality instructional materials through deep understanding of design principles and processes
  
  

Details

Date: Late June/July (TBD)

Location: Virtual

Would you like to join us? Fill out a brief form and we’ll be in contact with you!

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Four-Day Progression of Writing Institute

Interested?

Questions?

For more information, please contact Jean Flanagan, Director of Resources for Science Teaching and Learning.

What Participants Love About The Storylines Writing Institute

“ The opportunity to see both the forest and the trees (with examples!). There were opportunities to learn about storylines and curriculum writing in general, as well as some of the specific routines and formats (e.g., modeling routines, TE formatting differences). ”

“ The perspective-taking activity! ”

“ Hearing from writers in the round tables. ”

“ Getting to attempt to draft a lesson and teacher guide. ”

“ I loved the shorthand description of storylines and coherence: Traditional teaching is coherent to the teacher, whereas storyline teaching is coherent to the student and the teacher. ”

“ The ‘Student hat’ is critical in revising lessons because it helps you think of the steps you skip as an adult or points out coherence issues you didn’t see. ”