In May, 2004, the Georgia Department of Education introduced the Georgia Performance Standards (GPS) representing major revisions to the curriculum and expectations of teacher performance in the classroom.
For mathematics teachers, these new standards mean a rethinking of what mathematics is and how it should be taught. Under the GPS, the processes of learning how to think mathematically are valued along with learning the content. There is also more emphasis on open-ended tasks for developing understanding.
In science, the changes include the introduction of scientific habits of mind. These are the skills and understandings that underlie all of scientific inquiry. As with mathematics, there has also been a shift to more inquiry-oriented approaches in science.
The GPS In Action website provides resources for teachers who want to see the GPS In Action in Georgia middle school classrooms. Each of these case studies provided here shows a real teacher working with his or her real classroom. To help you understand the context and support the use of similar activities in your classroom, we have also provided lesson plan information and other resources.
The “Tips From the Trenches” are video clips from interviews with teachers who are experienced in standards-based teaching. They provide the teachers' own insights about teaching this way.
The development team would like to thank all of the participating teachers for allowing us in their classrooms to shoot these videos. We selected these teachers as there were good things happening in their classrooms that needed to be shared!
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