Example of High Quality Design if Improved: Disruptions in Ecosystems

Disruptions in Ecosystems is a middle school unit developed by the Lawrence Hall of Science’s SEPUP as part of a collaborative project funded by the National Science Foundation to develop and evaluate a model instructional unit and professional development program and conduct research on teacher learning. The unit was designed for the middle school NGSS. Project partners are the American Museum of Natural History (lead partner, also leading the professional development), The Lawrence Hall of Science (instructional materials lead), and the University of Connecticut (research). The unit has undergone two rounds of classroom field-testing and expert review. It is currently undergoing a third field-test during the 2017–2018 school year. Based on this field-test and feedback from this review by the Peer Review Panel for Science, the unit will be revised and resubmitted for a final review in 2018.

The unit includes five chapters, each focused on a specific phenomenon related to ecosystem disruption, including questions around the reintroduction of wolves into Yellowstone and the invasion of zebra mussels in the Great Lakes and Hudson River.

The unit and review are posted on the Achieve website.