This course was designed to introduce and prepare science educators to implement the OpenSciEd 6.1 Light and Matter unit. 

How does a one-way mirror work? Though most everyone knows that one-way mirrors exist, having students model how they work turns out to be a very effective way to develop their thinking about how visible light travels and how we see images. Initial student models reveal a wide variety of ideas and explanations that motivate the unit investigations that help students figure out what is going on and lead them to a deeper understanding of the world around them. 

A video of an experience with a one-way mirror, gets students to organize and write down their initial ideas and then they dig in to test those ideas and figure out what is really happening. Students build a scaled box model of what they saw in the video to test out their ideas. Using two boxes combined together with a one-way mirror in between the two, students vary the presence of light in the two boxes to figure out how a one-way mirror works and improve their initial models so they accurately explain how light is reflected and transmitted through materials and the basics of how these behaviors of light result in the images we see.

As the first unit in the OpenSciEd program, during the course of this unit, students also develop the foundation for classroom norms for collaboration that will be important across the whole program

This training includes two 2-hour Zoom sessions and asynchronous work to be completed in Canvas. Teachers that complete the course are eligible to receive a $100 stipend and 10 STEM clock hours.

Participants should create an account with OpenSciEd in order to access the materials. The Zoom link will be sent out to participants the week before Session 1. Asynchronous course material will be hosted on Canvas, and participants will receive a link to the Canvas course before Session 1.

These courses are focused on Washington State educators' needs and standards, and all session times listed are Pacific Time.