Scaling for depth and Master Teacher Fellows ABE Italy

The depth scaling strategy of ABE Italy's IBSE (Inquiry-Based Science Education) project has been highlighted in the ABE newsletter (click here to subscribe). This is what the ABE Program Office had to say:

ABE Italy has focused on integrating inquiry-based science education into teacher practice, a priority for the national science curriculum as well. The team invites veteran ABE teachers to the PDIs to share examples and strategies for integrating inquiry, thereby inspiring and supporting newer teachers to try using an inquiry-based approach on their own. Dedicated and progressive sessions during PDIs support teachers in implementing this strategy through ABE, thereby aligning their professional learning with existing teacher needs. Initial data from surveys, teacher reports, and lesson plans indicate that teacher practice is changing at the classroom level as a result.  

Furthermore, among the 12 "ABE Master Teacher Fellows" of 2021-22, two of them were selected from ABE Italy: Salvatore Stira and Paola Travascio. Salvatore stira has been teaching in a scientific high school in Palermo (Sicily) since 2001, and he also is the local head of the Science Olympiad; Paola Travascio teaches at the "Pitagora" high school in Pozzuoli (Naples). Click here for more information about the program and the ABE Master Teacher Fellows.

This scholarship will allow Paola and Salvatore to cooperate between December and June with colleagues from multiple ABE sites (Greater Los Angeles Area, Metro Washington D.C. Area, Massachusetts, Puerto Rico, Turkey, Australia) and international staff to develop a curricular project that interests them personally. They will also have access to experts from Amgen and other STEM organizations around the world, in order to further support their professional development.