Science, Technology, & Engineering Standards Review

Winter 2023 — Public comment sought, and public hearing held, on current standards

• On March 9, 2023, as part of the scheduled periodic review of the Maine Learning Results, the Maine Department of Education sought public comments regarding the current science and engineering standards. These comments were used to inform the work of the standards revision teams. The public comment period ended on April 6, 2023. This was advertised through the Maine DOE newsroom, Maine DOE social media outlets, and the Maine Science Teachers Association.
• On March 21, 2023, from 3-5 p.m., in Room 103 of the Burton Cross Building, in Augusta, Maine DOE held a public hearing. One person spoke and their testimony was submitted as, and included with, the written comments.

Spring 2023 — Steering Committee is formed and convened

• On April 5, 2023, the Maine Department of Education sent out invitations to educational leaders to join the science steering committee.
• The Steering Committee convened on May 19, 2023, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Room 103 of the Burton Cross Building in Augusta.
  • During the meeting the Maine Department of Education reviewed the steering committee's purpose and laid out the work ahead.
  • The work was divided into four areas for the committee to consider and provide guidance through the blueprint:
    • Current Standards – the committee was asked to consider the existing standards and provide guidance around areas where revision was necessary.
    • Public Comments – the committee was asked to consider the opinions shared through public comment and determine how they should be included in the guidance for the standards revision.
    • Relevant Statute – the committee was asked to provide guidance around how to implement the requirements of LD 1664, which expanded §4706. Instruction in American history, African American studies, Maine studies, Maine Native American history and the history of genocide.
    • Necessary Updates and Agreements – Each review cycle, based on feedback received over the previous five years, the Department determines some necessary updates and agreements regarding the standards revision that apply to all content areas. The Steering Committee's role is to provide guidance on how to best include the necessary updates and/or agreements in their specific content area. The necessary updates and/or agreements for this review cycle were:
      • Ensure that all content standards align to the common format and standardized language of: 1) strand: a body of knowledge in a content area identified by a simple title; 2) standard: enduring understandings and skills that students can apply and transfer to contexts that are new to the student; 3) performance expectation: building blocks to the standard and measurable articulations of what the student understands and can do.
      • Ensure that Wabanaki studies, African American studies, and the history of genocide, including the Holocaust, are incorporated in all content areas of the Maine Learning Results.
      • Incorporate conceptual understandings in each content area of the Maine Learning Results.
  • The committee worked throughout the day to come to consensus on guidance for each of these four areas. By the end of the day, the committee had succeeded in creating much of the guidance, but was not able to come to consensus around how to make the current standards align with the common format or how to incorporate conceptual understandings. It was agreed that the Department would reach out to try to reach consensus through committee email discussion.
  • During the conversations at the May 19 meeting, committee members made proposals about how to address these two remaining areas, but there wasn't time to fully get to consensus. The Department put together a form where the committee members could vote on the proposals and include comments and suggestions on what they supported or didn't support. This poll was sent to the committee on May 30.
    • The results of the poll showed that, though a majority of the members supported the proposals, there was not consensus. It was also clear from the comments entered by the dissenting members that the issue was that they did not support using a common definition of standards across the content areas and that they did not support incorporating conceptual understandings into the standards document.
    • More conversation was necessary, so the Department proceeded in trying to find a time for this committee to meet via video conference for two hours.
  • After several scheduling polls trying to find a time to meet, the committee reconvened on July 12, 2023, from 3-5 p.m. via video conference. During this meeting, the Department reminded the committee that their role was not to determine whether or not the agreements and necessary updates should happen, but rather to provide guidance on how the agreements and necessary updates should be incorporated into the science standards. Once that was clear to everyone, discussion commenced regarding possible guidance. The committee was able to come to consensus by the end of the meeting.
  • Following the meeting, the draft blueprint was shared with the committee for any further comments, that feedback was incorporated, and the finalized blueprint was shared with the steering committee on July 19.
  • View the Science Standards Review Blueprint 2023.

Summer 2023 — Writing Teams convened, and standards revised

• On April 10, 2023, the Maine Department of Education invited, via email, all science teachers to be part of the standards review writing teams. Additionally, the Maine DOE posted the call in our newsroom and on our social media sites. Educators were able to volunteer through June 2023.
• Scheduling polls were sent out to all who responded and four days during the summer were selected: July 18, 19, 26, and 27.
• To support the work of incorporating Wabanaki studies, African American studies, and the history of genocide, including the Holocaust, the Department brought in several community experts to support the writing teams.
• The writing teams met and created a draft of the revised standards.
  • Working with members from tribes of the Wabanaki confederacy, Maine African American community members, and experts from the Holocaust and Human Rights Center, the science standards revision focused on incorporating these groups into the further explanation sections in the performance expectations.
  • Additionally, the teams updated the standards to describe what a student knows and is able to do.
  • The introduction has been revised and updated to include an awareness of both how science has benefitted humanity and also how it has been used by those with power to oppress and abuse other people.
• The draft revision went through an internal DOE review and was approved to move forward.

Fall 2023

• Notice of the public comment period was filed with the Secretary of State's Office on October 4, 2023.
• The public comment period was open from October 11 through 5 p.m. on November 4, 2023, and included a virtual and in-person opportunity for the public to participate on October 30.
• PUBLIC COMMENT: Rule Chapter 132: Learning Results: Parameters for Essential Education; Science and Social Studies Standards

Winter 2024

• The Maine DOE prepared and submitted provisional adoption of standards revision to the Secretary of State and Legislative Council.
• The Legislature referred the rule as a legislative document to the Education and Cultural Affairs Committee where it was given LD 2182.
• The Education and Cultural Affairs Committee held a public hearing and work session before sending the proposed rules on to the full legislature.

Spring 2024

• As a result of the democratic process of major substantive rulemaking in Maine State government, the Education and Cultural Affairs Committee declined to authorize the proposed science content standards of the Maine Learning Results. The Education and Cultural Affairs Committee directed the Maine Department of Education to leave the science standards unchanged. These will next be reviewed in five years as part of the regular cycle of revisions in alignment with statute.
• Recordings of the public hearing and the submitted testimony can be found on the Education and Cultural Affairs website or through the State of Maine Bill Tracking site.

Dr. Lori Banks is an Assistant Professor of Biology, and an Africana program committee member, at Bates College. She has a BS in Biology from Prairie View A&M University and a Ph.D. in Molecular Virology and Microbiology from Baylor College of Medicine. Dr. Banks' research focuses on drug discovery-related protein structure-function studies from a range of microbial targets. She designs and implements curricular models that incorporate graduate-level scientific research and medicine into undergraduate learning and works to increase the representation of historically excluded groups in STEM curriculum resources. Outside of her technical classes, she is the advisor for the Bates student chapter of the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS), an instructor in the STEM Scholars program, and does scientific outreach work with Girl Scouts of Maine and other organizations.

Allison Braley works for RSU 25 in Bucksport Maine, as the District Technology Integrator, and teaches Computer Science at Bucksport Middle School. She has a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education, and is working towards her Masters of Science in Technology Education. Allison is the Vice President of the Maine chapter of CSTA (Computer Science Teachers of America), and won the 2022 CSTA Teaching Excellence Award for New England.

Beth Byers Small

Kim Charmatz, Ph.D. is an Associate Director in Advising and part-time faculty member in the Department of Environmental Science and Policy at the University of Southern Maine. She specializes in advising students in the natural sciences and teaching and research in environmental education. She is a facilitator for the environmental education curriculum Project WILD and Project WET. Prior to joining USM, Dr. Charmatz taught science and environmental education methods to pre-service education students in New York and Florida, and elementary and middle school science in Maryland. She earned a bachelor's degree in Biology from Virginia Tech, and a master's degree in Elementary Education and Ph.D. in Science Education, Curriculum & Instruction from the University of Maryland.

Olivia Griset (she, her) serves as the Executive Director of the Maine Environmental Education Association (MEEA). MEEA is Maine's statewide network that supports educators, youth and individuals in building environmental awareness and action by centering equity and advancing systemic change. Olivia works in collaboration to innovate solutions that result in more equitable, sustainable, and healthy Maine communities. Olivia is deeply engaged in movement building at national and state level holding leadership positions at the North American Environmental Education Association and at the Maine Nature Based Education Consortium. Olivia's experiences as a fisheries biologist, as a rural Maine public high school life science teacher, community-based environmental educator, and family nature club organizer lend a unique perspective on environmental education movement-building. While a classroom teacher Olivia was recognized as a National Project Learning Tree Outstanding Educator, one of only 5 in the country in 2009. When not working on environmental education and equity projects you can find Olivia playing music, working in the garden, or skiing through the woods with her partner Todd and their daughters Lucy and Charlotte and puppy Cora.

Dr. Tom Keller

Allison Miller

Shelly Mogul entered the teaching profession upon graduating from University of Maine at Farmington. Most of her career was spent in Auburn first as a biology teacher at Edward Little High School (her alma mater) and then as the district's Curriculum Director. In the fall of 2021, after 26 years in Auburn, 14 of those years as the Curriculum Director, Shelly made the move to the role of Curriculum Director in MSAD 44. Shelly has been an active member of the professional education community throughout her career. She was the 2014 Curriculum Leader of the Year and served two terms as the President of the Maine Curriculum Leaders Association (MCLA). Currently Shelly serves as a member of the Professional Standards Board. Throughout her career, she has maintained a passion for science education, developing active, NextGen aligned, engaging elementary science units with teachers in Auburn and now working with Telstar teachers to support innovative learning pathways with a science focus.

John Neptune

Angela Oechslie

Julianne Opperman

Leigh Peake joined Gulf of Maine Research Institute as Chief Education Officer in 2014 to direct the evolution of GMRI's STEM education programs across Maine and the Northeast. Leigh came to GMRI after a long career as a curriculum developer, educational publishing executive, and entrepreneur, including fifteen years at Heinemann Publishing in Portsmouth NH, four years as President of Corwin and Sr. VP of SAGE Publications in California, and origination of the role of Director of New Enterprise Initiatives at Education Development Center (EDC) in Waltham MA. Leigh brings her entrepreneurial spirit and product development experience to creating models of education that break down the walls between in- and out-of-school learning. On the national scale, Leigh brings a practitioner perspective into dialogues around advancing STEM education. She places high value on creating genuine partnerships between researchers and practitioners and is Principal Investigator on numerous federal awards that reflect this commitment. In that vein, she established GMRI's Learning Sciences Lab and hired its first Principal Investigator to explore how people across the lifespan gain knowledge, interest, and agency around data, models, climate science, and climate change adaptation. Leigh started her career as a teacher and comes from a family of educators, including a grandfather who ran a one-room schoolhouse in rural Virginia. She is an alumna of Smith College and received her Master's Degree from Brandeis University.

Lacey Todd

John Van Dis is the education director at Hurricane Island Center for Science and Leadership, working with Hurricane Island educators and teachers to create and facilitate student-centered learning opportunities through place- and community-based education. John has taught grades 4-12 over the past 10 years, most recently at Islesboro Central School before joining Hurricane Island. John has a B.S. in Biology and Environmental Studies from Bowdoin, and a M.S. Ed in Teaching and Learning from the ETEP program at USM. He holds K-8 General Ed, 7-12 Life Science, and 7-12 Physical Science certifications in Maine, and is qualified to teach AP Env. Science, AP Biology, and AP Physics 1.

• Public Comments Received on Current Science Standards

After careful consideration of the work of the Steering Committee and the public comments, Commissioner Hasson charged the writing team with three tasks:

• To name the new standards Maine's Science and Engineering standards
• To adapt NGSS to the Maine standards format
• To include a piece on the historical role of controversy in science with the introduction to the new standards

The Science & Technology Standards Review Committee met for a total of sixteen hours spanning three dates in May of 2018 (May 2, 15 and 30).

Day One

During the first meeting, the 2007 Maine Learning Results for Science & Technology were examined using a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) protocol. Careful analysis of the introduction and sections A through D was conducted by the end of that first meeting.

Day Two

The second meeting began with an application of the SWOT protocol to section E of the Maine Learning Results for Science and Technology. Then, the Committee discussed the possible role of computer science in Maine's science standards. Concerns around pre-service teaching coursework and the coursework/training needed for all current science teachers seemed to outweigh the benefits of data and modeling matches with science standards. The Committee felt that computer science did not belong in the science standards.

Next, the committee reviewed the public comments submitted to the Department. Based on the number of public comments suggesting to do so, the steering committee felt that adopting the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) as Maine's science standards should be considered. Copies of the Next Generation Science Standards were distributed to the committee for their review.

Finally, the second meeting concluded with a discussion around what the committee's guidance to the writing team should be. It was suggested that the standards be renamed "Science & Engineering Standards," to better reflect the confusion around the term "technology". The Committee adjourned its second meeting with the goal of taking some individual time with the NGSS before coming back together to complete the standards blueprint for the science standards Writing Team.

Day Three

The third meeting opened with a discussion of adopting the Next Generation Science Standards as Maine's science standards. While many committee members were in support of the adoption, some committee members had concerns related to how the NGSS address evolution and climate change, and also concern about adopting a set of national standards. Because the committee could not come to consensus, they ended the meeting in deadlock. As the standards review process dictates, this then moved the responsibility of determining the blueprint for the writing team to the Commissioner of the Department of Education. Following the meeting, some members of the Steering Committee sent a letter to the Commissioner.

Amy Arata currently owns a real estate investment company and resides in New Gloucester with her husband, Mike, and their three teenage sons. Amy is a member of the Gray-New Gloucester School Board and the Maine State Board of Education. Amy graduated summa cum laude from Gordon College in Wenham, MA, with a B.S. in Biology before she earned an M.S. in Genetics from the University of California at Davis. She has worked at the Naval Blood Research Laboratory at Boston University and in the Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology at UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, and in various other research laboratories. She has been published in the Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation.

Kate Cook Whitt, Ed.D. is an Assistant Professor of Education at Thomas College. Dr. Cook's professional activities center around supporting pre-service and practicing teachers in implementing science instruction that engages students at the nexus of the three dimensions of science (science and engineering practices, disciplinary core ideas, and crosscutting concepts) and developing curriculum that engages students in three-dimensional science. She earned a B.A. in Neuroscience and Music History/Theory from Oberlin College, an M.S.Ed. in Secondary Science Education from Northwestern University, and an Ed.D. in Learning Organizations from Wright State University. Prior to joining Thomas College, Dr. Cook taught biology at the Dayton Regional STEM School in Kettering, Ohio. She has served as an educational consultant for a variety of organizations, including Next Generation Science Exemplar System, OpenSciEd, Next Generation Science Storylines, Teaching Channel, Yellow Springs School District, and the Dayton Regional STEM School Training Center.

Amanda Hersey is the curriculum coordinator in RSU 73, where she leads curriculum and professional development as well as technology integration. During her 26 years in education, Amanda has also served as a school principal, interventionist, and classroom teacher. Amanda holds a C.A.S. in educational administration, a master's degree in literacy education, and is currently pursuing her doctorate in Curriculum, Teaching, and Learning at Northeastern University.

Doug Hodum is a science teacher at Mt. Blue High School where he served as the Department Head for 5 years. In 2016-17 Doug was an Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellow where he worked in the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and the Workforce. He is past District II Director for the National Science Teachers Association and has been the president of the Maine Science Teachers Association.

Jason Judd, Ed.D. is the Project>Login Program Director at Educate Maine, a business-led education advocacy organization where he works with K-12 schools, higher education institutions, and employers to grow the number of Maine people with tech skills. He chaired the Maine Computer Science Task Force and works with leaders from other states to grow computer science efforts nationally. He is a current member of the Maine STEM Council, Maine STEM Collaborative, and serves on the Advisory Committee for the Code.org Regional Partners. He is the past chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Maine School of Science and Mathematics. Jason has a bachelor's degree in English secondary education from the University of Maine at Farmington, a master's degree in educational leadership from the University of Southern Maine, and a doctorate in organizational leadership studies from Northeastern University.

Dr. Robert Kuech is an Associate Professor of Science Education at the University of Southern Maine where he has taught science methods and science content for in-service and pre-service teachers for the past 18 years. Prior to his service at USM, Dr. Kuech taught high school Physics and Chemistry for 20 years.

Sara McQuarrie has been a middle school science teacher at Hodgdon Middle/High School for 13 years, as well as leader of afterschool STEM classes. Sara has a B.S. in K-12 Education. Outside of the classroom, she conducts hands-on science classes for all ages at local recreation centers and at her Nature Center.

Tonya Prentice has been teaching for 11 years and is currently the fifth-grade teacher at Woodstock Elementary and the district elementary science curriculum leader in MSAD 44. Tonya is a National Board Certified Teacher and has a B.S. in Marine Science, K-8 teaching certification, and an M.S. in Science and Mathematics Education. For eight years, she worked as a STEM Instructor and Counselor for the University of Maine Bryant Pond 4-H Learning Center. She is currently a board member of the Maine State Teachers Association and Lead Teacher for the Gulf of Maine Research Institute for Western Maine Community Teachers. She has trained as a Lead Teacher for 3D Teaching of Science and Engineering with the Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance. Currently, as a member of the PK-5 Science Resource Task Force with the Maine STEM Partnership at the RiSE Center, she helps to review and evaluate current science instructional resources available for Maine students.

Ann K. Putney has filled the roles of lab assistant for biochemistry and immunology at the Scripps Clinic & Research Foundation (La Jolla, CA) and cell biology & tissue culture UCSD Cancer Center (San Diego, CA). She also has business experience as a Marketing Manager for Calbiochem Biochemicals & Immunochemicals in La Jolla, CA. She has served both as a science educator for grades six through eight in the Biddeford School Department and the K-12 Science Coordinator at the Biddeford School Department. Ann earned her B.S. in Genetics from the University of California at Davis, and completed graduate study in Bacteriology from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. She completed training in teacher preparation at the University of New England.

Phil St. Onge taught history at Mt. Blue High School before entering his current role as the assistant principal at Nokomis High School. He graduated from the University of Maine at Farmington in 1983 and completed a master's degree in Sports Science from Ashland University and a master's in computer education from Thomas College. He currently resides in Winslow with his wife, Crystal, and their 12-year-old son, Giovanni, while his two older daughters are attending Wesleyan University in Connecticut.

Michael C. Wittmann is a Professor of Physics at the University of Maine. He specializes in physics education research. He teaches courses for both undergraduate and graduate physics majors, as well as for future teachers as part of the Master of Science Teaching program. He helped create the new doctoral program in STEM Education Research at the University of Maine. After spending several years studying advanced students' understanding of physics and extending theories to help model learning, he has more recently worked intensively with middle school teachers who are teaching energy, motion, and topics in space science. Since 2010, he has guided teachers in more than 400 hours of professional development activities. He has published 2 workbooks and over 60 peer-reviewed articles and has presented his work over 240 times at conferences and in other settings. In 2015, he was named a Fellow of the American Physical Society for "foundational research into student learning of physics, pioneering work in K-12 teacher development, and leadership in building community for physics education researchers."

• Clark, Jennifer – (PDF)
• Griset, Olivia – (PDF)
• Strauch, Nancy Fogler – (PDF)
• Moon, Jean – (PDF)
• Sanborn, Megan – (PDF)
• Gorham High School Science Teachers – (PDF)
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• Crafts, Kevin – (PDF)
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