Do you teach Middle School OpenSciEd?  

Have you been wondering how you could make OpenSciEd more culturally responsive and meaningful for YOUR students?  

This asynchronous course provides an opportunity to explore opportunities in a unit-specific Western Washington “localizing guide” that supports teachers in making meaningful and authentic connections between the science students are doing in their classroom and their region, community, and personal funds of knowledge. The guide was created and piloted by classroom teachers in collaboration with curriculum developers, school district leads, local ESDs, and IslandWood staff.  

The localizing guide has a wide variety of ready-to-use activities to choose from. You’ll find species cards that use local examples of animals impacted by resource depletion, articles that swap in local examples, schoolyard investigations, and many other possibilities. You will also learn how local phenomena, like how riparian zones are impacted by farming in Western Washington, can make the learning in the unit relevant to the changing climate in our region.  

Clock Hours: 2.5 STEM clock hours for watching videos, reading the unit’s localizing guide, and reflecting on your first impressions. Optional topics provide an opportunity to earn up to 5 additional STEM clock hours (half of which can be claimed as equity clock hours if desired).

Timing: Progress through the course at your own pace. Most topics can be done before you teach the unit. Clock hours will be turned in for those who complete a final survey by the closing date of the course (June 13th, 2027). You will then need to claim them through pdEnroller (with payment of a pdEnroller administrative fee).  

Important Note: This course is intended for Western Washington teachers who are teaching the Middle School OpenSciEd Ecosystem Dynamics and Biodiversity unit. One of the optional topics requires access to the unit, and another involves reflecting on your localizing efforts while teaching it.  If you are not teaching the unit, please consider taking our “Localize your Science Classroom Asynchronously” course or one of our “Introduction to Localizing” Workshops. They provide localizing strategies, examples, and scaffolding that can be used with ANY science unit at any grade level.