Overview
Project Dates: 2017 – present
Since 2017, TLTL researchers, in collaboration with the Lemann Center for Educational Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Brazil, have partnered with educators from Sobral, Brazil to transform the teaching and learning of science and technology in the city’s public schools. The goal of the project is not only to develop new science standards for the city – based on research studies about learning, international experiences of success and constructionist principles – but also to provide the conditions and infrastructure needed to enable teachers to sustainably implement it. The proposed science education reform model is based on an integrative approach that comprises three interconnected elements:
- development of new science curricular standards by a working group that involves researchers, teachers, and administrators
- implementation of new spaces for learning (makerspaces)
- professional development for the science and makerspace teachers (here called lab teachers) participating in the working group, using a co-design approach