STANDARDS:

1. Science and Technology
2. Unifying Themes
3. Inquiry and Design
4. Biological Sciences
5. Physical Sciences, Chemistry and Physics
6. Earth Sciences
7. Technology Education
8. Technological Devices
9. Science, Technology and Human Endeavors

ENDURING UNDERSTANDINGS:

1. Science provides a means of explaining the natural world.
2. Problems can be solved efficiently through a systematic approach.
3. Science is an ongoing process of gathering information and asking testable questions to design experiments to answer those questions.
4. The students will understand that data gathered from observations and experiments can be applied to solve problems.
5. Organisms are linked in a complex, balanced web of life through the transfer of energy, transfer of genetic information, and modifications over time.
6. Students will understand that the structure of matter determines its properties and that transfer of energy drives physical and chemical behavior.
7. The universe is comprised of matter and energy, and there are physical laws that control their interactions.
8. The Earth/space systems (atmosphere, hydrosphere, geosphere, biosphere) are distinct, but interrelated and governed by physical laws.
9. Students will develop an understanding of the designed world by safely selecting and applying biotechnologies, information technologies, and/or physical technologies as appropriate.
10. Technology is the use of accumulated knowledge to process resources to meet human needs and improve the quality of life.
11. Students will be able to use and maintain technological systems by appropriately selecting and safely using various tools. They will also understand that these tools can be used to observe, measure, move, and make things.
12. Students will develop the ability to assess the impact of various products and services on society and the environment.

Environment and Ecology

1. Watersheds and Wetlands
2. Renewable and Nonrenewable Resources
3. Environmental Health
4. Agriculture and Society
5. Integrated Pest Management
6. Ecosystems and Their Interactions
7. Threatened, Endangered and Extinct Species
8. Humans and Their Environment
9. Environmental Laws and Regulations 

ENDURING UNDERSTANDINGS

1. There are relationships among the ecological cycles of water and the environment as well as positive and negative effects of living organisms.
2. The Earth provides us with a limited supply of renewable and nonrenewable resources that need to be conserved and recycled.
3. Enduring human and community health is inexorably linked to a living, healthy planet.
4. Local agriculture practices affect the environment.
5. Multiple strategies must be used for sustainable pest management.
6. Organisms and their environments are interconnected through abiotic and biotic factors; changes in one part of the system will affect other parts of the system.
7. Organisms respond to their environment, adapt to changes, or become extinct. 
8. The diversity of life is sensitive to human impact as well as natural processes.
9. Humans have the power to change and affect the environment, both positively and negatively, more than any other living thing.

CORE BELIEFS ABOUT INSTRUCTION:

1. Effective instruction actively engages students in a learning process that promotes higher-order thinking.
2. Students learn best when objectives are clear, achievable, and meaningful to their lives.
3. Effective instruction must meet the needs and interests of students through a variety of differentiated strategies.
4. Effective instruction is driven by continual assessment, teacher and student reflection, and modification to improve student achievement.
5. A consistently positive, safe, and respectful learning environment is integral for effective instruction.
6. Effective instruction builds shared accountability for learning.

BEST PRACTICES IN INSTRUCTION:

1. Teachers should provide opportunities for inquiry learning that will be creative, flexible, and student-driven.
2. Students must immerse themselves in doing science, conducting systematic inquiry through hands-on and discovery activities.
3. Teachers should build on students’ curiosity which leads to scientific, self-directed inquiry.
4. Teachers should adapt the curriculum to promote lines of inquiry and relevance while unifying scientific themes.
5. The teacher must encourage the students’ natural curiosity leading to self-directed scientific inquiry, thus discarding misconceptions and building student ownership of learning.
6. Students need opportunities to explore a deeper understanding of critical concepts that affect their lives.
7. Meaningful, ongoing assessments must correlate with the students’ inquiries.

PHILOSOPHY:

"To cultivate an exceptional, innovative learning community that enables all students to succeed in a changing world"

The Boyertown Area School District’s philosophy is to equip students for our changing world by providing daily exposure to 21st Century skills, knowledge, and tools.