Teaching Resources
Everything you need to bring hands-on, student-driven science into your classroom!
Curriculum Packets & Lesson Plans
At Headwaters, we think every classroom deserves access to high quality science education, and every teacher deserves the tools to make that happen without hours of extra prep. That’s why we’ve made our full library of Student Driven Research curriculum free for educators.
Each project packet includes a ready-to-use lesson plan, materials list, and student investigation pages, so you can bring authentic, inquiry-based science into your classroom with everything already built for you. We also have an extensive library of interactive video lessons to explore!
Lunch With A Scientist
Lunch With A Scientist (LWAS) is a YouTube Video Series that provides students an insider’s glimpse into the lives of working STEM professionals and their research. These talks can either be standalone activities or serve as the beginning of a longer term research project.
How to use LWAS at school:
- Bring a specific scientist to your classroom: We can arrange a video meeting with a scientist from a field that matches your curriculum, and have your students submit questions they’ll answer after the presentation. Download our program proposal below for more information, or schedule a meeting with us to discuss.
- Use with a research project: beginning a unit with a LWAS talk is a great way to introduce students to the field and show them what kind of research is possible. After watching the talk, you can move into a full-length Headwaters Research Program or lead one of your own.
- Use as a standalone activity: each talk includes a worksheet and list of associated resources. You can use a talk as a one-time exercise to fill a class block or use for 2-3 classes by incorporating the resources.
Professional Development
We offer unique professional development workshops where teachers step into the role of students and experience our Student-Driven Research protocol firsthand. This immersive approach is effective because it allows educators to truly understand how the process works from a learner’s perspective and see how these methods can be adapted for their own classrooms.
Framework
Headwaters Science Institute is passionate about bringing authentic student driven research (SDR) to classrooms. What is student driven research? We engage students’ natural curiosity, guiding them to design and perform experiments that answer their own questions through the scientific method. We have created professional development framework to build capacity within your school or district. Our professional development can be done in person or online. This experience immerses teachers into the SDR process and enables them to implement it within their classroom.
Hands-on experience
Students are the center of our programs. Headwaters staff work with teachers to drive student projects using the SDR framework. Content is covered, and standards are met while students design and implement their own inquiry-based research. This process not only benefits the student experience, but it also provides teachers with a template to facilitate this process with any content they desire.
Strategies to succeed
To build confidence and aptitude with student driven research projects, Headwaters offers a scalable professional development trajectory for educators. This program builds skills with student driven research through visualization, curriculum development, onsite assistance, and a “critical friend” mentor observation protocol.
Our Playbook
We offer collaborative time to work with teachers to take the next steps of using student driven research in their class. Each teacher will leave with a completed unit and all course materials. We offer a variety of programs to fit your needs.
1-Day Professional Development Workshops
We offer 1-day and 3-day professional development workshops customized to fit the needs of your school district. Below you can find a sample schedule for a 1-day workshop. Interested in our workshops? Reach out to jenn@headwatersscienceinstitute.org for more information!
3-Day Professional Development Workshops
We offer 1-day and 3-day professional development workshops customized to fit the needs of your school district. Below you can find a sample schedule for a 3-day workshop. Interested in our workshops? Reach out to jenn@headwatersscienceinstitute.org for more information!
