ESSER funding provides an opportunity to support schools and districts with managing the impact of COVID.  Maximize your ESSER Funds with PEER Physics. 

PEER PHYSICS BUILDS TEACHER LEADERS THAT WILL GIVE BACK TO THE DISTRICT

  • All PEER Physics professional learning is led by teacher facilitators who have been and are successful in the classroom. They bring a nuanced view of the realities of evidence-based science instruction in the physics classroom and are experts in developing and sustaining adult learning communities.
  • PEER Physics has a teacher facilitator training program where all PEER Physics teachers have the opportunity to become national leaders 
  • PEER Physics facilitators build teacher capacity so that the learning doesn’t stop in single classrooms. PEER Physics teachers share their skills with teachers of all disciplines and grade levels which can have a positive impact on teacher turnover.

PEER PHYSICS TEACHERS EXPERIENCE SUSTAINED AND CONSISTENT PROFESSIONAL LEARNING THAT PROVIDES MODELS AND PRACTICE TO CREATE 3-DIMENSIONAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS.

  • All PEER Physics professional learning is led by teacher facilitators who have been and are successful in the classroom. 
  • The PEER Physics yearly professional learning cohort is a community of learners who build relationships and find support in one another.

THE PEER PHYSICS PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COHORTS ARE DESIGNED TO BUILD A SENSE OF CONNECTEDNESS AND EFFICACY.

  • PEER Physics professional learning is anchored in common classroom experiences and collaborative cohorts discuss and seek solutions to active problems of practice. Not only does this lead to a sense of collective support but it builds the confidence to be a leader for similar school-based issues.
  • Cohort participants have expressed that the PEER Physics learning experience has helped them to re-envision their teaching path and renewed their sense of purpose and effectiveness in the classroom.

PEER PHYSICS REMOTE LEARNING RESOURCES SUPPORT STUDENTS WHO NEED FLEXIBLE WAYS TO PARTICIPATE IN LEARNING

  • The PEER Physics remote learning resources, including eBooks, allow for the needed flexibility required in this moment of transitions between in-person and remote learning.
  • PEER Physics places a high value on collaboration and we have developed virtual collaboration documents that provide structure for small group data collection, supporting claims with evidence and models, and building consensus about scientific ideas.

PEER PHYSICS EXPERIMENTAL VIDEOS PROVIDE IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS OF SCIENTIFIC PHENOMENA WHETHER STUDENTS ARE FACE TO FACE OR REMOTE.

  • The experimental videos are a valuable tool for instructors to facilitate PEER Physics remotely. Videos are provided for each part of every PEER Physics experiment and for each simulation (although we do recommend encouraging students to manipulate the simulation themselves first).

PEER PHYSICS TEACHER AND STUDENT GUIDE EBOOKS ALLOW FOR ENHANCED FLEXIBILITY AND SHARED ACCESS FOR COLLABORATIVE ENGAGEMENT IN SCIENTIFIC REASONING

  • Teachers use one student guide eBook to create a screencast for asynchronous or synchronous instruction.
  • For synchronous instruction, each student has access to their own ebook and can collaborate using the screen share feature on their collaboration platform while working through the experimental steps and questions.

PEER PHYSICS HAS A DIVERSE SET OF FLEXIBLE RESOURCES FOR ADDRESSING LEARNING LOSS

  • PEER Physics resources can support students in multiple ways no matter their entry point into science. The shared nature of evidence collection and analysis puts all students in a place of responsibility, helping them feel safe and supported by the teacher and other students. 
  • eBooks, videos of experiments, collaboration documents support for teachers to engage students asynchronously, allowing for multiple ways of addressing learning loss. Whether creating an asynchronous tutoring session or screencasts using ebooks and videos these resources are standard equipment for helping students catch-up and keep up.

THE PACE OF PEER PHYSICS CAN SUPPORT LEARNING LOSS

  • So many students experienced learning loss during the pandemic. Teachers are supported to moderate the pace of PEER Physics in the classroom. This allows students to become successful slowly and ramp up over time. 
  • PEER Physics content and skills is sequenced so that students build concepts that are utilized in the next exploration.  As they move through the curriculum, students draw on previous knowledge and skills to make sense of new experiences and investigations.

PEER PHYSICS SUPPORTS BELONGING AND EQUITY TO BATTLE TRAUMA, STRESS, ANXIETY EXPERIENCED THROUGH THE PANDEMIC

  • PEER Physics systems and structures are effective in building student agency and empowerment. Students have the opportunity to construct, defend and revise their ideas through experimentation. Once a body of experimental evidence is collected students discuss their thinking and revise their models through consensus building with their peers. [agency, student empowerment.
  • The less supported instructional time has led to a sense of trauma, stress anxiety, and learning loss among students. PEER Physics allows students to work together and realize that they are not doing this alone. Because of the requirement for supporting claims with evidence rather than simply knowing the right answer, some of those students who have been less successful in science thrive in this environment. 
  • Consider the well-being and emotional support of your students in every classroom.  PEER Physics relies on high levels of student-to-student engagement and we help teachers create the conditions where all students feel a sense of belonging, a sense their work matters and that they can succeed. Discussion protocols provide structure for students to share their ideas and listen with the intent to understand. 
  • Collaborative norms are a consistent structure in PEER Physics classrooms. They provide the guide posts for everyone to share with humility, listen to understand, and be responsible for their own learning and the learning of others.

PEER PHYSICS PREPARES STUDENTS TO BE SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE IN A DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY (COLLEGE, CAREER, LIFE READINESS)

  • The PEER Physics pedagogy helps students learn to advocate for themselves because they do it using evidence they have collected in each activity. This approach helps students develop a growth mindset, seek feedback and pivot to develop the best explanations based upon their evidence.
  • PEER Physics requires that the class as a whole make decisions about the best idea to describe all the data. Students gather, manage and examine data to create conceptual models that they defend and revise based upon collaborative feedback.
  • Students are engaged in deep levels of collaboration which develop relationships that emphasize authentic and purposeful decision making and consensus building.

IN THE PEER PHYSICS CLASSROOMS STUDENTS DEVELOP A SENSE OF BELONGING AND WELL BEING

  • PEER Physics relies on high levels of student-to-student engagement and peer support. This forms their attitude about learning and when positive emotional connections are formed, students are more likely to remember the material and view the process of learning in a positive way.
  • The PEER Physics learning cycle, focused on real-world phenomena, provides multiple opportunities for students to revise their thinking. Collaborative discussions and consensus building in a classroom culture of revision helps students realize that their work matters and that they can succeed.