Lunar and Planetary Institute






Menu of Opportunities for Scientist Involvement in Teacher Preparation

Adjust and Adapt Existing Educational Resources for Use by the Pre-Service Community

This Site is a work in progress--please send any comments, suggestions, and concerns to
Christine Shupla at the Lunar and Planetary Institute.

Why

There are science educational materials that need adaptations to be used by pre-service teachers.  Their needs are different from experienced teachers—they do not have the ability to easily adjust activities or edit content to match the standards and level for a specific grade, their understanding of science content and the nature of science varies greatly, a significant number of elementary education students are uncomfortable with science, and they are not aware of the challenges of the actual classroom and how it will affect their instruction.

A quality resource that has been adjusted to meet the needs of future teachers will also better serve the needs of teachers currently in the classroom.

Best Practices for Success

    1. Read the "Before You Begin" information.
    2. Examine the resources with input from (or in partnership with) appropriate individual(s) representative of the target audience, to have a better understanding of their needs.
    3. Make the resources easy-to-find by having them located on a site already widely used by educators.
    4. Write clear descriptions of the resources, including the targeted grade level.
    5. Add or rewrite the information to make the resources easy to use, with clear instructions detailing the materials and sources for those materials, examples of the set-up, and explicit procedures.
    6. If possible, create and distribute a video recording of the resources being used in the classroom.
    7. Make the resources accessible; pre-service teachers may not have the skills to adjust resources for special needs or diverse communities.
    8. Resources for the classroom need to explicitly address appropriate national science standards; pre-service teachers may not be aware of the standards or how to adapt resources to specific standards.
    9. Ensure that the resources will be available for many years, so they will still be available when the pre-service teachers graduate and enter the classroom.

Paths of Involvement

Models of Existing and Past Work

If you have questions, please get in touch with us.  We’re the Pre-Service Education Working Group.