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| | Summary
The purpose of MAIS K-6 Standards-Based Science Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment, or for short, MAIS K-6 Science Standards, is to lead and assist 25 MAIS schools in aligning their K-6 science curricula, instruction, and assessment with those of Project AERO (American Education Reaches Out) complemented by the USA National Science Education Standards (NSES) and to share their implementation successes with other international schools worldwide. The ultimate beneficiaries will be K-6 students in international schools who will be better prepared to succeed in academic science programs, utilize science in their daily lives, and compete successfully in a global economy and world increasingly dependent upon science and technology.
The 25 MAIS schools are located in 8 countries in Europe and North Africa: Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, Cyprus, Morocco, Tunisia, and Egypt. Need for the project has been confirmed recently by surveys of 20 teacher leaders from 16 of the MAIS schools and by more than a dozen of the MAIS school directors. Findings show that science is a low priority in most schools, that there is little or no emphasis on the development of inquiry, process, and problem-solving skills, and that most existing science curricula currently in use are more than ten years old--- five or more years before the USA National Science Education Standards and Project AERO were developed and published. MAIS administrators and teachers recognize the need for improvements in their K-6 school science programs and clearly welcome assistance.
This two year project (January 2002 to June 2004) will include four overlapping phases: Preparation (January 2002-April 2002), Information (April 2002-November 2003), Implementation (November 2002-June 2004), and Dissemination (November 2002-June 2004). The Preparation Phase will include acquisition and customization of the standards for MAIS, design of curriculum alignment tools, identification of instructional and assessment strategies, and development of component delivery tracks for directors, principals, and teachers. The Information Phase will include K-6 Science Standards information and leadership programs for directors at MAIS Directors' Conferences, for K-6 principals at MAIS Fall Conferences, and for K-6 Principal-Teacher Leadership Teams at MAIS Fall Conferences and in individual schools. Two cohorts of Principal-Teacher Teams will be prepared, the first at the 2002 MAIS Fall Conference in Rome and the second at the 2003 fall conference in Seville, Spain. The Implementation Phase will focus on the implementation of standards initiatives within MAIS schools. And finally, the Dissemination Phase will spread K-6 Science Standards techniques and successes throughout MAIS schools and beyond to all international schools worldwide. Information technology will be a strong component of this project. Information, standards, curriculum alignment matrices, instructional strategies, and assessment models will be shared via e-mail, through an established web site, and on a CD to be distributed to schools throughout the world.
The impact of this project will be substantial. All 25 MAIS directors will be directly involved in leadership training, 24-30 principals will be trained and participate on school leadership teams, 350 K-6 teachers will participate in standards alignment and implementation, and more than 4,000 K-6 elementary children will be receiving modern science instruction, curricula, and assessments based on best practices.
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