Best Practices

STEM outreach at UNI offers teachers access to information on the Iowa Core and video examples of best practices teaching methods in action. The Iowa Core provides academic expectations for all Iowa K-12 students and seeks to provide a world-class curriculum. The Core focuses on a well-researched set of standards in literature and mathematics and essential concepts in science, social studies and 21st century learning. For more information, go to the Iowa Department of Education’s Web page on the Core.

Another recommended source of information on best practices is the Modeling Method™ of High School Physics Instruction, developed at Arizona State University.  The Modeling Method corrects many weaknesses of the traditional lecture/demonstration method, including fragmentation of knowledge, student passivity and persistence of naïve beliefs about the physical world.  In 2000 the program was extended to physical science and in 2005 to chemistry, and work is under way on a new program in biology.  For articles, presentations and recommendations for educators, resources for the modeling classroom, Web links for modelers and curriculum resources for modeling instruction, visit the AMTA Modeling Instruction website.