Carolina Biological Supply Company Partners with OpenSciEd to Offer High-Quality Science Materials

Carolina announces complete, certified OpenSciEd middle school units providing teachers with easy-to-implement science lessons supported with hands-on materials

BURLINGTON, N.C.--()--Leading school science supplier Carolina Biological partners with nonprofit science developer OpenSciEd to launch a Certified Version of OpenSciEd science units for Grades 6-8 with complete lab kits, and print and digital teaching resources. OpenSciEd’s mission is to give teachers the materials, support, and power to get kids excited and curious about the world around them and confident in their ability to figure it out through questioning, investigating, and solving problems. As educators are challenged to implement new science standards, the Carolina Certified Version of OpenSciEd is a unique offering that provides ease-of-use and enhanced support through complete kits with digital, print, and hands-on materials so teachers don’t have to spend time shopping for lab materials. The new version will be available to schools for purchase through Carolina for the 2022-23 school year.

With donors such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Charles and Lynn Schusterman Foundation, and Carnegie Corporation of New York backing their work, the nonprofit OpenSciEd is dedicated to developing high-quality instructional materials and professional learning that supports equitable science education. The OpenSciEd Instructional Model uses a storyline approach—a logical sequence of lessons that are motivated by students’ questions that arise from students’ interactions with phenomena.

All of the OpenSciEd units were reviewed by the NextGenScience science peer review panel at WestEd using the rigorous EQuIP rubric. All of the units have been identified as Quality Examples of Science Lessons and Units and most units have received the exclusive stamp of Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) excellence, the NGSS Design Badge. To put this in perspective, this is a difficult accomplishment since 93% of materials submitted for review don’t receive even a quality rating.

“It is a pleasure to partner with Carolina Biological Supply Company, a like-minded leader in science education products and a fellow NGSS Design Badge holder to offer a Certified Version of our OpenSciEd science curriculum for middle school,” said Jim Ryan, Executive Director of OpenSciEd. “I am impressed with how Carolina understood our vision, paired it with their expertise in designing investigations, and created a custom version with enhancements to the units. We are excited that science teachers and students have a new option to transform their science education experience.”

The Carolina Certified Version of OpenSciEd units are designed to address all of the middle school Performance Expectations and three-dimensional learning described by the Next Generation Science Standards. Students gain direct experience with phenomena and make sense of the real world. Exploration is driven by students’ questions and ideas based on their own background and experiences. Students use evidence to revise their thinking and figure out ideas.

“As an OpenSciEd partner, our Regional Science Coordinators at the Educational Service Districts (ESD) in Washington have been supporting teachers throughout the state with the new middle school science units,” said Luke Matlack, Regional Science Coordinator, ESD 105 in Yakima, Wash. “OpenSciEd is in the early implementation/pilot phases in the ESD 105 region, and the feedback thus far has been GREAT! I am excited to see the improvements that Carolina has made to support classroom implementation. I anticipate with the support of Carolina, more districts will gain interest in implementing OpenSciEd in our region!”

As a Certified Partner, Carolina is creating comprehensive and flexible purchase options to support the OpenSciEd units. Lab materials and equipment will be available as complete kits, refurbishment materials, and individual components. Printed teacher editions and student resources will be available. All instructional resources will also be available digitally, including videos and simulations, accessible in one place with assignable content to students and reporting for teachers and administrators. Carolina will also offer Certified Professional Learning for OpenSciEd programs.

“Carolina’s new certified OpenSciEd units integrate some of the best science curriculum reimagined for today’s classroom with hands-on kits and simplified, easy-to-use support materials in one complete package,” said Jim Parrish, President and CEO at Carolina Biological Supply Company. “As a Certified Partner we worked very closely with OpenSciEd to streamline the materials to make teachers’ lives easier and provide enhanced safety for students. We were cost-conscious in the selection of materials.”

Carolina redesigned OpenSciEd’s instructional materials to make them easier for teachers to follow with a consistent design and lesson flow. Simplified investigations reduce teacher prep and classroom instructional time, and fewer and less expensive materials make the kits cost-effective. Tested lessons and materials ensure the safety, quality, and accuracy of investigations, and ADA compliance.

Contacts

Julie Gates for Carolina Biological Supply Company
562-429-5972 or jgatespr@yahoo.com

Release Summary

School science supplier Carolina Biological partners with nonprofit science developer OpenSciEd to launch OpenSciEd science units for Grades 6-8.

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Contacts

Julie Gates for Carolina Biological Supply Company
562-429-5972 or jgatespr@yahoo.com