How does a "hands-on" science publisher pivot to 100% online learning during a global pandemic? Answer - an amazing community of teachers, dedicated and knowledgeable staff, and of course, a curriculum that already lends itself to lots of student interaction.
Issues and Science is a hands-on, middle school science curriculum developed for the NGSS by SEPUP at the Lawrence Hall of Science and is published by Lab-Aids®. Instructional design brings out student ideas and learning through personal, concrete experiences while issue-oriented science helps students see how science is connected to their lives and communities. In a typical Lab-Aids classroom we'd see students working in groups asking questions in a DQB, collaborating on a lab, using card sorts or manipulatives to model a concept, discussing the best solution to a problem based on collected evidence, or role-playing a conversation between great scientists.
It certainly takes a shift in perspective to transfer these interactions from a real life scenario, to that of a digital classroom, but starting with a high-quality program that is already interactive in nature, will make this process much easier. Here's a few examples from one of our Lab-Aids teachers using SEPUP's Issues and Science.
For more information on how Lab-Aids has remained committed to our core philosophies while also supporting teachers in a remote setting, check out our page on Remote Learning Supports.