Principal Responsibility

Principals must understand this is a long learning process for students and staff. Total implementation may take several years for teachers to be confident that they are indeed teaching science to children.

• Teacher workshops that illustrated the process of experiments are important

  Inform all teachers and parent group members that the I. Science MaTe Program is the science curriculum philosophy that will be followed in school. Principals may want to suggest first year as a "pilot" with a limited amount of material to cover. For instances there are 34 weeks of lesson plans, a pilot program might only complete 10 or 15 weeks during the school year. Cooperation of all staff is essential for this program.
• Distribute and collect completed teacher survey. A Nucleus representative will help you evaluate the results. This will assist in planning staff development.
• Plan and schedule appropriate staff training to meet the needs of teachers.
• Help teachers understand they are expected to complete a minimum of 3 lessons (pre, during, post) per week at a scheduled time. During the first year, a shortened schedule may be warranted. The activity should be clearly outlined in individual teacher lesson plans. Complete teachers’ and lab schedules.

• Master copy of the curriculum should be kept in the office or other appropriate place. It can be downloaded from the web, and then customized to your school’s needs. Copy a set of curriculum and have it available in a teacher resource room. Grade specific labs should be copied for each teacher. Check out individual grade teacher book to each teacher with the understanding it will be returned at end of year, unless teacher is returning to that particular grade level. The need to keep one copy in one place will help teachers find updated materials as the Math/Science Nucleus develops new units specifically for a particular school.
• Must arrange storage area for materials. It can be ideally a science room, but a large closet, or a designated teacher's room can also work. For instance, all 5th grade material will be kept in Mrs. Jones, a fifth grade teacher's room. A central area for commonly used materials must be designated, like balances, rulers, and microscopes.
• Develop a check out system for materials and teacher use. This schedule should be adhered to. We suggest a voluntary system but if teachers or aides do not return material on scheduled time on more than several occasions, impose a "fine." If there is a designated science room, most of the material should be left in that room. Kindergarten materials may be keep in common area designated for easy access for those teachers.

• Arrange teaching schedule grid (see suggested samples) and distribute to all teachers. It is important to keep this schedule until it becomes a habit. Teachers should all have a designated day that they teach the hands on component. The Pre Lab should be completed a day or two before the Lab, and the Post Lab should be completed one or two days after the Lab. Sample Grid is given of a school with lab facility and one that will have teachers sharing materials. Every teacher should have copy of this grid.
• See that schedule is working and if not develop strategies to correct deficiency. Contact Nucleus if any problems arise.
• Appoint teacher to coordinate science materials and to act as contact with Nucleus representative (see responsibilities of Nucleus contact).

• Appoint teacher and PTA members to assist in coordinating community involvement. Community involvement outlined within individual cycle volume.
• Schedule meetings with community and industry leaders to get their input. Nucleus contact should be present.

• If funds are a problem, a principal can slowly purchase materials. The program does not have to be purchased completely at once. Teachers must be assured they do not have to spend their own money. Develop a system whereby teachers write down items they need.

Teacher Responsibility