Welcome to the Massachusetts Mathematics Science Partnership Program

The goal of this program is to establish a formal consortium arrangement among the school districts of Randolph and Braintree and collaborate with Bridgewater State College (BSC) to strengthen the teachers′ knowledge of middle school science content and pedagogy.

The Randolph Public Schools, a high needs district, in partnership with the Braintree Public Schools, Bridgewater State College′s Science Department and Center for the Advancement of Science Exploration (CASE) and Teachers²¹ intends to create a network of high quality professional development offerings that will better prepare its grade 5 - 8 teachers to deliver rigorous science curriculum to improve student achievement.

The goal of this program is to establish a formal consortium arrangement among the school districts of Braintree and Randolph, with Bridgewater State College (BSC). The intent is to strengthen the teachers′ knowledge of middle school science content and pedagogy.

Bridgewater State College and its Center for the Advancement of Science Exploration will develop and implement inquiry-based science courses aligned with the appropriate standards of the Massachusetts Frameworks.  In addition, CASE will serve as a dissemination and communication vehicle as well as the foundation for sustaining the project beyond the grant funding period.  Teachers²¹  will provide customized professional development that hones the leadership skills of teachers and maximizes their ability to meet the needs of all students in their classes.  Randolph and Braintree Schools will recruit a cohort of highly committed teachers at varying junctures of their careers, who have the desire to improve their content and instructional skills, while possibly pursuing additional credits and/or credentials.

MMSP Participating School Districts

Lead District:                      Randolph Public Schools

 

Primary:                               Braintree Public Schools

 

Interested students from the lead district are given first choice on registration.  Registrations are then open to other member districts, and then other Southeast area school districts.

 

Additional Information:

 

Because this is a grant-sponsored course and all costs are covered by the grant, there are additional expectations for students.  Please read the teacher participant responsibilities before registering for any of the courses. 

 

Teacher Participant Responsibilities form (doc)

 

PROPOSED SEQUENCE OF COURSES AND WORKSHOPS
Year	Fall	Spring	Summer
1 2008-2009	Watersheds	PLC: Inquiry; Data; Inclusion; Reading	Chemistry
	Building a PLC for Increasing Student Achievement	PLC: Inquiry
	Using Data to Improve Student Achievement
2 2009-2010	Topics in Earth & Space Science	Topics in Life Science	Watersheds
	Content Area Reading Strategies
	PLC: Inquiry; Data; Inclusion	PLC: Inquiry; Data; Inclusion; Reading	PLC: Inquiry; Data; Inclusion; Reading
3 2010-2011	Topics in Physical Science
	PLC: Inquiry; Data; Inclusion; Reading	PLC: Inquiry; Data; Inclusion; Reading	PLC: Inquiry; Data; Inclusion; Reading

 

Massachusetts Department of Education Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Frameworks http://www.doe.mass.edu/frameworks/scitech/1006.pdf 
Explore Learning: www.explorelearning.com  Videos and Projects for Math and Science teachers.
National Science Digital Library: www.nsdl.org  Resources for Math and Science as well as Health, Social Studies and Technology.
Performance Assessment Links in Science http://pals.sri.com/ 
The US Mint Coin Composition http://www.usmint.gov/about_the_mint/index.cfm?action=coin_specifications 
The US Mint for Kids http://www.usmint.gov/kids/
Chemistry for Kids - Teacher's resource http://www.chem4kids.com/
Science Resource for grades 1 -8 classrooms http://www.internet4classrooms.com/science_elem.htm
American Chemical Society - Activities for Children https://portal.acs.org/portal/acs/corg/memberapp?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=PP_TRANSITIONMAIN&node_id=878&use_sec=false&sec_url_var=region1
American Chemical Society - Teacher's guide K-8 https://portal.acs.org/portal/acs/corg/memberapp?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=PP_TRANSITIONMAIN&node_id=180&use_sec=false&sec_url_var=region1
Science Classroom Safety http://www.flinnsci.com/Sections/Safety/generalSafety/stepsProve.asp
Mount Washington Observatory Outreach Program http://www.mountwashington.org/education/outreach/ 

For more information about the MMSP courses, contact Mary Price at mprice@bridgew.edu