Guiding Principles

• The materials will include options that are available for all students, at a teacher's discretion. We will, however, identify materials for the two grade bands that address specific objectives typically taught at these levels, and we will test these materials with students in these grades.
• We want to make generous use of pictures and video.
• Use a learning cycle, with question that stimulates student thinking, messing around, a pivotal experiment, analysis, applications, and self-assessment.
• Push continually for evidence: how do you know???

Designs Used in TELS

TELS units are guided by the design principls that can be found in a database This does not provide a fixed format like Rodger Bybee's "5 E's". It is more flexible, and more appropriate for technology-rich activities. It contains a small group of meta-principles like "make thinking visible" that should be part of every activity, and then sub-categories, and a large number of examples.