In April 2016, Indiana adopted new science standards to be implemented in the 2017-2018 school year.  A curriculum review committee met and reviewed newly revised curriculum to ensure that ISI partner schools will have that same access to high quality science curriculum that is aligned to the new 2016 Indiana Standards for Science.  The curriculum review was done by ISI teachers (past and present) and district science curriculum facilitators.  The new ISI curriculum matrix is shown here.

The new matrix does not consist of entirely new materials, but integrates old and new materials to ensure alignment to the new standards.  Many of the current ISI curricula have been revised to match the Next Generation Science Standards and the committee reviewed them to ensure they align to Indiana’s standards as well.

Indiana has also added computer science standards for grades K-8.  To meet these requirements, I-STEM recommends using the free resources from Code.org (www.code.org).  Teacher professional development is also available from Code.org.  In Indiana we are fortunate to have an organization, Nextech, which is dedicated to expanding the CS skills for all ages (see www.nextech.org).  Nextech delivers the Code.org curriculum and training in Indiana.

Additionally, professional development can be arranged for your school or district.  If you would like training for your school please contact Jenny Hicks at hicks12@purdue.edu.

I-STEM will communicate updates to any aspect of the ISI program as available.  If you have any questions, please feel free to contact I-STEM at isikits@istemnetwork.org.