CMS teachers spoke at Montgomery County STEELS Expo

Colonial Middle School science teachers Brian Tanen and Kelly Wistreich recently presented at the Montgomery County STEELS Expo to help other educators in the area get up to speed on the new Pennsylvania science standards. 

The standards, known as STEELS, cover Science, Technology & Engineering, Environmental Literacy & Sustainability, and they go into effect across the state on July 1. While the content remains largely the same, the shift is in how the teachers will deliver their lessons. 

Mr. Tanen and Mrs. Wistreich shared the successes they had piloting a unit and incorporating the three main components: Science and Engineering Practices (drawn largely from the scientific method and the engineering design process), Crosscutting Concepts (like finding patterns and determining cause/effect that are useful in all subject areas), and Disciplinary Core Ideas (the science content).   

“With the new standards starting next year, we wanted to have a chance to get a head start on familiarizing ourselves with the new style of teaching needed to properly implement the STEELS standards,” said the pair. “The goal is to have students access higher levels of thinking in their science classes.” 

Colonial School District has been planning and experimenting with the new strategies in the classroom since 2018, when a similar system was proposed on the national level.