Spring Branch ISD Featured News

What does this mean for students in SBISD?

We talked to Dr. Rhoda Goldberg, Director of Science, K-12, in SBISD to learn more. Dr. Goldberg provided insights as to how these changes will directly impact SBISD and what can be expected. 

What specific changes have been made in the Revised Science TEKS?

A big change across all grade levels is a shift to three-dimensional teaching, or the use of science and engineering practices, recurring themes and concepts to teach, and the core content. 

Engineering practices and the use of phenomenon are new to the science TEKS. Regarding the core content TEKS, many of our existing standards stayed, with some minor changes and/or were moved to a different grade level.

The biggest changes in the content standards occurred in middle school where an intentional shift was made to vertically align standards across all science strands instead of having each grade level focus on a particular strand, which is how it used to be. 

What resources and training will be or have been provided to educators to implement the Revised Science TEKS effectively?

Over the past two years, we have been strategically building teacher's capacity to implement these TEKS. We have had teachers on every campus involved in choosing the new textbooks and various teachers helping us write curriculum.

In order to prepare for these experiences, teachers engaged in professional learning experiences provided by the Science Department that built their capacity in using three-dimensional teaching and understanding of the new TEKS. 

Additionally, we offered multiple opportunities throughout the 2023-24 school year for teachers to attend professional learning around the new TEKS. Both last year, during the district staff development days, and this year, teachers did/will experience their content through three-dimensional learning and will make explicit connections to the science and engineering practices, recurring themes and concepts, and the core content in science. This school year, in September, we are offering professional learning on the engineering design process to all teachers.

For fifth and eighth grade teachers, we are providing dinner and "Just in Time" learning experiences in which they can join us at the science center to experience critical investigations they will be using with students prior to starting each new quarter of learning.

How do the Revised Science TEKS align with college and career readiness standards?

The science and engineering practices build students ability to critically think, collaborate, problem-solve and to communicate their ideas both in writing and orally. Students collect, organize and analyze data, develop and use models, use mathematical calculations, evaluate designs, develop explanations using evidence and reasoning, communicate explanations and solutions, and engage in argumentation from evidence.

These are all skills that support the college and career readiness standards. Additionally, experiencing science through these practices will help students have a deeper understanding of the content, which will provide a foundation of learning that will help them understand expository text.

I want our school district to know that we are more than ready to introduce the Revised Science TEKS to the classroom. I also want to thank the teachers who have put in long hours to ensure the successful integration and execution in time for the start of the 2024-2025 school year.