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Tufts University, in partnership with TERC,and Malden Public Schools has developed the Fulcrum Institute for Education in Science, a series of on-line graduate level courses for producing leaders in science education. This innovative initiative launches a series of on-line courses and face-to-face summer institutes for 130 K-8 teachers producing a pivotal group of leaders in science education qualified to implement science and classroom research, and to act as leaders of science in their schools.

The Institute engages participants in how learners' understanding of scientific phenomena evolves. Its extensive curricula includes observing and making sense of scientific phenomena, learning how scientists and students grasp the same phenomena, sharing and gaining insights with Institute participants, and learning how to plan and support inquiry-based learning experiences in classroom settings. The teachers' personal experiences, enriched by the reflections of practicing scientists, enables them to better comprehend the science and understand that students perceive phenomena from diverse perspectives.