Great teaching isn’t about sticking to a script. It’s about crafting meaningful learning experiences. STEM classrooms thrive when teachers have the freedom to make instructional choices that spark curiosity and deepen understanding. That’s why we created Gizmos: not as rigid programs, but as flexible tools that support your expertise. Educators use Gizmos to enrich their instruction by enhancing traditional curricula, supporting phenomena-based learning, or building custom units that meet the unique needs of their students.
From scripted to supported: Why flexibility matters
In many districts, teachers are asked to follow tightly scripted programs that leave little room for professional judgment or creativity. While structure can help ensure consistency, it often comes at the cost of student engagement and teacher ownership. When educators are reduced to reading from a script, they are limited in their ability to respond to their students' unique needs, interests, and questions.
But flexibility alone isn’t enough. Without high-quality materials and meaningful support, instructional freedom can lead to gaps in coverage or misalignment with standards. That’s why every product, including Gizmos Simulations, Gizmos Investigations, and STEM Cases, is designed to balance flexibility with fidelity.
- Gizmos Simulations let students explore concepts through inquiry and experimentation. Teachers use them to supplement lessons, introduce phenomena, or reinforce learning through hands-on digital experiences.
- Gizmos Investigations are ready-to-use lesson guides that pair with Gizmos to support deeper learning. They’re designed to help teachers facilitate rich classroom discussions and scaffold student thinking while still allowing room for customization.
- Gizmos STEM Cases are immersive, real-world problem-solving activities that put students in the role of scientists or engineers. These cases are aligned to standards and designed to build critical thinking, making them ideal for phenomena-based learning or project-based units.
The limitations of structured instruction
Scripted curriculum materials are often designed to ensure consistency, pacing, and coverage across classrooms. However, when teachers are required to read from a script while delivering lessons, they can unintentionally restrict their ability to respond to their students' dynamic needs.
Structured instruction can present several challenges:
- Limited autonomy and flexibility- Teachers lose the ability to adapt lessons based on student understanding, interests, or classroom context.
- Unrealistic pacing- Scripts often assume a one-size-fits-all timeline, which can leave some students behind or rush through deeper learning opportunities.
- Shifts decision-making away from teachers- Educators become implementers rather than designers of instruction, which can diminish professional engagement and ownership.
- Reduced student engagement- Lessons delivered from a script may lack the spontaneity and responsiveness that make learning exciting and relevant.
How do flexible teaching tools benefit teachers and students?
“Asking a teacher to follow a scripted curriculum is like asking an artist to paint by number.” This commonly used analogy highlights the belief that effective teaching is a creative and responsive practice, not a standardized, one-size-fits-all process. It may produce a predictable result, but it leaves little room for creativity, responsiveness, or innovation.
Great teaching isn’t about following a script. Learning experiences should be designed to resonate with students and spark meaningful learning. Flexible tools empower teachers to center instruction around students and adapt to their interests, questions, and learning styles. This fosters deeper engagement by allowing room for exploration, discussion, and discovery. Teachers can use their professional judgment to make real-time decisions that best support learning goals.
But not all flexible tools are created equal. That’s why we built Gizmos to be more than just open-ended resources. They’re grounded in research, aligned to standards, and designed to give teachers both the freedom to innovate and the structure to stay on track.
Gizmos as a flexible High-Quality Instructional Material
Gizmos are built to support the kind of rich, student-centered learning that leads to lasting understanding. As a High-Quality Instructional Material (HQIM), Gizmos are designed to help teachers implement three-dimensional learning that integrates disciplinary core ideas, science and engineering practices, and crosscutting concepts.
Whether used to introduce a new concept, explore a scientific phenomenon, or deepen understanding through inquiry, Gizmos support:
- Scientific sensemaking- Students actively engage with simulations to ask questions, test ideas, and draw conclusions, just like real scientists.
- Inquiry-based learning- Gizmos encourage exploration and experimentation, helping students build knowledge through hands-on digital experiences.
- Phenomena-based instruction- Teachers can use Gizmos to anchor lessons in real-world events and observable phenomena, making science more relevant and engaging.
- Project-based learning- With tools like STEM Cases, students take on authentic roles and solve complex problems, applying what they’ve learned in meaningful contexts.
How Gizmos support instructional goals without limiting creativity
While Gizmos are built to align with instructional goals and standards, they’re also designed to give teachers room to innovate. Their flexible nature allows educators to personalize learning experiences, adapt resources to fit their classroom needs, and maintain creative control over how content is delivered.
With Gizmos, teachers don’t have to choose between creativity and consistency. They get high-quality materials that support inquiry, exploration, and sensemaking while honoring their role as instructional leaders. Gizmos support:
Personalized learning- Teachers can choose simulations that match student interests, readiness levels, or learning styles—making science more accessible and engaging.
Customizable teacher resources- Lesson materials are editable, allowing educators to tailor questions, pacing, and scaffolding to fit their instructional approach.
Standards alignment- Gizmos are built to support NGSS and other state standards, helping teachers stay on track while still designing lessons that reflect their students’ needs.
Inspiring teachers to become instructional designers
When teachers are equipped with flexible, high-quality tools like Gizmos, they’re empowered to take on the role of instructional designers and craft learning experiences that are tailored to their students and aligned with their goals. This shift allows educators to move beyond simply delivering content and instead personalize instruction in ways that foster deeper engagement and understanding.
Gizmos make this possible by offering adaptable resources that can be customized to fit different classroom contexts and pacing needs. Teachers can modify lesson guides, choose simulations that resonate with their students, and integrate real-world applications that make science come alive. At the same time, Gizmos maintain strong alignment with standards like NGSS, ensuring that creativity doesn’t come at the expense of rigor.
As teachers use Gizmos to design and refine their instruction, they also build valuable leadership skills, developing expertise in curriculum planning, inquiry-based learning, and student-centered strategies. In this way, Gizmos not only support great teaching, but they also help educators grow as leaders in their schools and districts.
Supporting personalized learning and leadership skills
Gizmos give teachers and instructional designers the freedom to shape their courses and programs around the needs of their students without sacrificing alignment to best practices in virtual instruction. A balance between flexibility and structure results in high-quality learning experiences that are both engaging and effective. This adaptability makes Gizmos a powerful tool for bridging gaps in science instruction and supporting diverse learners.
One standout resource is Gizmos Investigations, which wraps fully guided lessons for grades 6–8 around one or more Gizmo simulations. These investigations scaffold sensemaking practices and guide students through real-world problem solving, offering ready-to-use, student-driven experiences that are both repeatable and rigorous. They’re designed to help STEM teachers deliver instruction that’s not only standards-aligned, but also deeply engaging.
By giving educators the tools to personalize instruction and lead with confidence, Gizmos support the development of both teaching expertise and instructional leadership. Teachers can design learning experiences that reflect their students’ needs and their own professional strengths.
Transform your classroom with flexible teaching tools
While structure can provide a helpful foundation, it shouldn’t come at the expense of teacher expertise or student connection. That’s why flexible tools like Gizmos are designed to support, not replace, the instructional decisions teachers make every day.
Teaching is both an art and a science. Gizmos are designed to support that artistry, which helps educators create, adapt, and innovate in response to their students’ needs. With flexible, research-backed tools and robust support, schools can give teachers the freedom to teach with confidence – no scripting required.
Want to learn more about how Gizmos can fit into your curriculum vision? Explore Gizmos with a free trial.