California’s San Diego Unified School District Partners with PASCO to Bring Hands-On Science Into Their Science Courses
At San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD), science leaders and educators are transforming the way students engage with science by adopting a hands-on, student-centered approach.
Starting in 1854 with a single teacher and one rented building, SDUSD now represents over 200 facilities and 15,800 employees. The district has grown through their devotion to the education and success of their students. So when the district sought to incorporate more STEM solutions into their classrooms for students to thrive in science, they chose PASCO.
“At San Diego Unified, our goal is to prepare our students for any future they choose. That means providing them the tools to engage with science in their everyday life, in their decision making, and as a career if they are interested in the field,” said Tali Lerner, Science Catalyst for SDUSD. “We want to promote scientific identity and agency in our students, facilitating the development of real world projects with calls to action and the data to support it.”
With PASCO sensors and software, science students of all ages throughout SDUSD now have access to modern tools for investigations in biology, physics, environmental science, chemistry, and more. Our learner-centered approach to science education engages students by challenging them to observe, question, and test their hypotheses–just as scientists do.
“We try to prepare all students to love science and the process of inquiry and exploration while also developing critical thinking and communication skills around science. We want every student to be filled with both curiosity about the world and awe for the complex systems that surround us as well as feel capable and equipped to engage in scientific thinking in any situation they encounter.”
Not only do PASCO sensors allow students to explore science in ways that promote comprehension, curiosity, and achievement, but they also introduce students to similar tools that professionals in the field utilize every day. Tali recognized PASCO as an ideal solution for engaging students in authentic science experiences, while maximizing the district’s budget saying, “We want our students looking at data, identifying patterns and designing their own explorations. We want them to do that while working with tools that, as much as possible, are what scientists use in their own research.”
Since integrating their new science sensors and software, the district has received positive responses from both students and teachers. “For our teachers, PASCO sensors allow for a much smoother lab experience, focusing on the sense making and experimental choices, and not spending lots of time on the technical sides of documenting and plotting data. In addition to that, the clear interface allows for much more independent work by students, allowing them to personalize their questions and variables, and empowering them to tinker and work with the data themselves. Centering students in the experiment and supporting a student-centered classroom.”
PASCO has created innovative products to support educators in STEM since 1964. We’re confident that the integration of PASCO sensors and software into science lessons has undeniably enhanced SDUSD’s focus on student-centered learning, achievement, and career-readiness; SDUSD implemented our equipment last year, and they have already seen positive results in the classroom.
It’s PASCO's mission to strive for authentic scientific inquiry in the classroom to promote critical-thinking and build confidence in student understanding of science. Our recent partnership with San Diego Unified School District is helping us reach that goal.