Science Education

The following sections are, to me, the most important concepts I learned during this fall quarter of SCED 480. They are the sections I feel like I made the most growth and learned the most about throughout the quarter. Use the "NEXT" button on the left hand side of the screen to scroll through the sections, or use the following links to navigate the website:

Why Science?

Assessment

Scientific Process

Learning Progression

One idea that stuck out to me from our readings we completed early in the quarter was from Barry Lopez , and that idea was to notice children noticing, to commend students for being curious about what they see. Science encompasses the entire world around us, and that is a great way to convey why science?

A valuable strategy I took away from class was to make time for noticings with students. As a class we got to talk about animals, plants, weather, people, and more. Often we would make predictions about the phenomena and discuss different ideas as a class. This activity helped us see how science can be applied everywhere we go.

In an elementary school, I think it would be very beneficial to talk about noticings, whether it be in a science setting or not. Noticings could be an integral component of starting the class in the morning. Simply taking the time to help students see the meaning of science and how it is a part of their daily lives will help give science meaning.

Our Noticings:

Can it rain when it's foggy?

(Image source)

How old can hummingbirds grow to be?

(Image source)

How does dew form?

One important piece of content I learned in SCED 480 was how to assess students. There are many ways to do this; as the FOSS Kits suggest, sometimes the teacher can simply walk around during an investigation and listen to student conversations about their ideas. However, I really appreciate a concrete view of student learning and progress, and that is where initial ideas come in.

To start off, I instantly thought of the video we watched about Harvard and high school students trying to explain the seasons and the phases of the moon:

This is a perfect example of why initial ideas are great assessment tools:

First, the students are able to reveal any misconceptions they may have towards the content they will be learning. These misconceptions can be used by the teacher to focus student learning during lessons and investigations.

Second, once their initial ideas are revisited, students can compare their current ideas to their initial ideas, putting together the pieces of the phenomenon. The revisiting also helps teachers assess student growth, and also if the student may need to work more on whatever topic is being assessed.

One of the great aspects of creating lessons was being able to think of ways to document students' initial ideas. My partner and I often did this by creating concept cartoons.

The images are quick and easy ways to decipher what students think depending on which character's opinion they choose to agree with. Then they are able to take the time to explain their thoughts further when they think about why they agree with the certain character.

When students take part in science, they become scientists. Students, however, need to learn how to be scientists. As our early readings mentioned, students learn how to be scientists by watching their teachers (Orr, Lopez, Smith, Cowan, & Culp). Thus, teachers need to demonstrate proper scientific processes.

The emphasis of the scientific process can be seen through the NGSS Standards, which is a great resource for teachers ready to teach science to their students. The following list are the expected standards for students:

Asking Questions and Defining Problems

Developing and Using Models

Planning and Carrying Out Investigations

Analyzing and Interpreting Data

Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking

Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions

Engaging in Argument from Evidence

Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information

With these standards in mind it's important for teachers to model them during class. For example, teachers should demonstrate proper ways to critique each other, proper ways to create a table, and asking scientific questions about phenomena. A teacher can also point out when students do something a scientist would do - this will reinforce both the individual and the class as a whole.

One of my greatest realizations through the course of SCED 480 was discovering the difference between a learning target and a learning success.

Schools often are using the term "learning target" to demonstrate an action students will simply do; just because students do this action doesn't mean they actually learned the content that is of most value. In science, however, a learning target is simply the content being taught, the what that is of importance to the lesson.

Learning target:

Sound carries information from the source to the receiver.

Next is where the term "learning success" comes in. In science, the success is the action students will take in order to prove that they understand the learning target.

Learning success: 

I can identify different attributes of sounds.

One of the core learning targets of SCED 480 is to learn how to make a quality lesson plan. I felt that the second lesson plan I created with my partner showed the most growth and was thoughtful in terms of what students needed to learn. (See lesson plan here.)

These are the following concepts I learned the most about from lesson planning:

Big Ideas: The concepts that will overarchingly describe the entire unit being taught. (From the Wiggins article: An idea is “big” if it helps us make sense of lots of confusing experiences and seemingly isolated facts.)

Content Learning Targets: This is what the students will be learning. 

Science Practice Learning Targets: This is how the students are going to "be" scientists; the NGSS standards focus on these targets.

Assessment Plan: How will the students show that they've learned?

Initial Ideas: Concept cartoons and stories are a great way to elicit these initial ideas, also known as what the students know before they explore an investigation. (From the Banilower article: “In many cases, students have ideas that get in the way of learning new ones." Thus, exploring students' initial ideas will help the teacher to know what they need to learn.)

Engaging with Phenomena: Students get to explore their ideas and create new ideas by completing experiments. (From the Banilower article: "A hands-on lesson may provide students with opportunities to confront their preconceptions about scientific phenomena.")

Using Evidence to Draw Conclusions and Make Claims: Students refer to the information they collected during the investigation to demonstrate what they have learned about the phenomenon. (From the Banilower article: One of the five characteristics of effective instruction is to use evidence to critique claims.)

Making Sense of the Lesson: The teacher will prompt students with questions to make sure they met the goals of the lesson.