Why Choose a Kit Option?

Simple, Because it Works!

Hands-on science instruction works. A 2001 RAND Corporation study surveying previous research concluded, "These findings support the promotion of hands-on science..." And kits are the best way to deliver that instruction.1

Full Option Science System (FOSS) kits form the basis of the NYCDOE Science Initiative because they are demonstrably effective: research has found that students taught using FOSS perform better on science tests than students taught using conventional textbooks. 2 And recent studies found that FOSS students also test better in reading and writing proficiency.3

With the FOSS Kit Options, you can be confident that the Units you teach have the integrity that comes from having been developed with NSF funding and tested in classrooms across the country, including New York City schools. Choosing the All- Kits Option provides a coherent program across Units and grade levels. Additionally, you receive ongoing support from a company known for 30 years of excellence in hands-on science service and support.

A Quarter Century of Active Learning

"FOSS was created to provide a competitive, viable alternative to textbook-driven science programs at the elementary level. And from its beginning, FOSS, unlike textbook programs, has been grounded in knowledge gained from academic researched coupled with practical, tested classroom experience."

Dr. Lawrence F. Lowery
Principal Investigator, FOSS

The effectiveness of FOSS stems from its core proposition: students learn science best by doing science. For more than 25 years this philosophy has guided the development of successful active-learning science curricula by the FOSS developers at the Lawrence Hall of Science at the University of California at Berkeley. Teachers and students do science together when they embark on FOSS learning and these engaging experiences lead to a deep, enduring understanding of the natural world.

Correlated to human cognitive development research, FOSS activities match how students think at different times in their lives: younger students describe, sort, and organize observations about objects and organisms; older students construct more advanced concepts by classifying, testing, experimenting, and determining cause and effect relationships among objects, organisms, and systems.

A Comprehensive Approach

The NYCDOE Science Initiative focuses on hands-on learning. FOSS starts with hands-on learning and includes much more. It also incorporates student books (integrating language arts into science instruction), comprehensive embedded assessments, home-school connections, science notebooks, and, perhaps most importantly, thorough professional development that enables every teacher to help every student succeed.

Easier than You Imagine

FOSS activities stem from how children learn, but the program was structured with teachers in mind. As a result, each FOSS module includes a teacher’s guide that provides all the information teachers need to be successful. The accompanying Teacher Preparation videos show how to set up for each activity. Most of all, FOSS teachers find that their students’ enthusiasm and success with the program makes them eager science learners.

Dedicated to Teacher Support

FOSS and Delta Education are committed to providing New York City science educators with unrivaled teacher support and staff development. A network of experienced consultants stands ready to help you meet your staff development needs.

Committed to New York City

In the past four years, FOSS has been acquired and implemented in all ten Regions and all 32 Community School Districts of New York City. Within the last year, Delta Education has conducted FOSS training for over 100 teachers on the USS Intrepid Air & Space Museum and for all NYC third grade science cluster teachers over five days in Chelsea. And our commitment extends beyond FOSS support. Our company supports the NYC Department of Environmental Protections’ annual Water Conservation Art & Poetry Program as well as the NYC School Construction Authority’s efforts to outfit science labs with high-quality, up-to-date science materials.

  1. Ruby, Allen, Hands-on Science and Student Achievement,
    Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2001.
  2. Valadez, Jerry D. and Freve, Yvonne, A Preliminary Summary
    of Findings from a Study of the Effects of Hands-On/Inquiry-
    Based Instruction on SAT9 Reading Scores    , Fresno, CA: Second
    Annual Conference on Sustainability of Systemic Reform, 2002.
  3. Amaral, Olga Maia; Garrison, Leslie; and Klentschy, Michael,
    Helping English Learners Increase Achievement Through
    Inquiry-Based Science Instructio    n, Bilingual Research Journal,
    26: 2 Summer 2002.