A New Vision for American Science
Education
Modifying Teaching Practices
Active Engagement – Practicing Science
• “The framework is designed to help realize a vision for education in the
sciences and engineering in which students, over multiple years of
school, actively engage in scientific and engineering practices and
apply crosscutting concepts to deepen their understanding of the core
ideas in these fields.” (pg 10)
• “…learning about science and engineering involves integration of the
knowledge of scientific explanations (i.e., content knowledge) and the
practices needed to engage in scientific inquiry and engineering design.
Thus the framework seeks to illustrate how knowledge and practice must
be intertwined in designing learning experiences in K–12 science
education.” (pg 11)
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The NGSS Focus on Deeper Understanding
and Application of Content
• “One rationale for organizing content around core ideas comes
from studies comparing experts and novices in any field. Experts
understand the core principles and theoretical constructs of their
field, and they use them to make sense of new information or
tackle novel problems. Novices, in contrast, tend to hold
disconnected and even contradictory bits of knowledge as isolated
facts and struggle to find a way to organize and integrate them.
The assumption, then, is that helping students learn the core ideas
through engaging in scientific and engineering practices will
enable them to become less like novices and more like experts.”
(pg 25)
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A Vision for Science Education
“The framework is designed to help realize a vision for education in
the sciences and engineering in which students, over multiple years of
school, actively engage in scientific and engineering practices and
apply crosscutting concepts to deepen their understanding of the
core ideas in these fields. The learning experiences provided for
students should engage them with fundamental questions about the
world and with how scientists have investigated and found answers
to those questions. Throughout grades K-12, students should have
the opportunity to carry out scientific investigations and engineering
design projects related to the disciplinary core ideas.” (pgs 8-9)
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Scientific and Engineering Practices
• One of the Three Dimensions of the Framework
1. Asking questions (for science) and defining problems (for
engineering)
2. Developing and using models
3. Planning and carrying out investigations
4. Analyzing and interpreting data
5. Using mathematics and computational thinking
6. Constructing explanations (for science) and designing solutions
(for engineering)
7. Engaging in argument from evidence
8. Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information
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Incorporating Practices for Students
• You can look for existing inquiry-based activities
• http://www.indiana.edu/~oso/lessons/index.htm
• http://www.indiana.edu/~ensiweb/evol.fs.html
• http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/db/search/detail.aspx?contenttype
=3&museumid=-1&supplierid=-1&pamphletcategoryid=-1&mediaid=1&statusid=-1&categoryid=60&gradeid=-1&KEYWORD=
• You can modify your existing lessons to become inquiry-based
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What is Inquiry-Learning?
Inquiry is knowledge gained through investigation
Characteristics of an inquiry lesson:
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Encourage students to ask questions.
Do not provide students with too many answers or too much information.
Avoid evaluation of student ideas.
Allow students time to test out ideas.
Encourage student interaction.
Provide students with resources and freedom
Inquiry lessons may be introduced by:
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Demonstrations
Discrepant events
Hands-on activities
Invitations to inquiry
Adapted from:
Martin, D.J. (1997). Elementary science methods: A constructivist approach. Albany, NY: Delmar Publishers
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Types of Inquiry Lessons
Rational Approach: Generalizations are made through questioning and reinforcement
Teacher poses a question or problem.
Teacher manipulates materials.
Students, through questioning are led to a potential answer.
Experimental Approach: Students test the validity of a statement
Teacher poses a problem.
Students suggest variables and ways to test for the effect of each variable.
Teacher and students plan one or more experiments. (Controls and operational definition are agreed upon.)
Students conduct the experiment(s), collect and record data, and form conclusions.
Discovery Approach: Student-centered direct exploration of science concepts.
Learning Cycle: Generalizations are made through exploration
Teacher provides materials for student exploration.
Students manipulate materials in guided exploration.
The teacher facilitates closure by gaining group consensus.
Guided Discovery/Inquiry: Students are guided in exploration
Teacher poses a question for students to explore and provides the materials.
Students freely explore how to approach the problem.
Students test hypotheses and come to tentative conclusions.
Teacher facilitates closure by gaining group consensus.
Pure Discovery: Students are given total freedom in exploration
Teacher provides materials for student exploration.
Teacher provides guidelines only in terms of safety and equipment care.
Students explore at their own rate.
Adapted from:
Martin, D.J. (1997). Elementary science methods: A constructivist approach. Albany, NY: Delmar Publishers.
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QUESTIONING
• The basis for most inquiry-based learning is either inspiring a
question in a student’s mind or providing them with a question to
answer or a problem to solve
• Just because it is inquiry-based does not mean it is unstructured –
teacher becomes facilitator of thinking direction
• Teacher needs to manage
• Misconceptions that arise during inquiry learning and re-direct thinking
• Paths of thinking that lead to misconceptions that may seem logical
• Time-on-task
• Students can lose focus if the inquiry is too broad or lacks initial direction
• Teacher may need to provide direction on skills necessary to answer
questions – i.e. lab skills or generalized procedures
• Group dynamics – be aware of student-pairings that are not productive
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Starting to Modify
• Identify the intended learning outcomes based on core concepts
in science standards
• Develop a question which will lead to the intended learning
outcomes
• Find/produce an activity that bridges the question and the
learning outcome
• You need to know how they will find the answer.
• Even though they are “discovering” the information, you should be pretty
confident about the path of inquiry and the misconceptions so you can
facilitate direction to correct answer
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Example: Identify a Learning Outcome
• Students will understand concentrations of solutions and the
solvent/solute components of a solution
• Supports the following standards and was not part of earlier
years’ standards
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HS.PS-CR Chemical Reactions: a. Analyze and interpret data to support claims that energy of
molecular collisions and the concentration of the reacting particles affect the rate at which a
reaction occurs.
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HS.LS-MEOE Matter and Energy in Organisms and Ecosystems: a. Construct a model to support
explanations of the process of photosynthesis by which light energy is converted to stored
chemical energy. [Clarification Statement: Models may include diagrams and chemical
equations. The focus should be on the flow of matter and energy through plants.]
[Assessment Boundary: Limited to the inputs and outputs of photosynthesis and
chemosynthesis, not the specific biochemical steps involved.] gas exchange, i.e. carbon
dioxide diffusing into plant leaves, dependent on concentration gradients inside/outside
leaves
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Example: Posing the Question or Design
Problem
• How can I have students “discover” concentration through inquiry
and activity?
• Need to have them making decisions which can be tested or verified
• Need them to be invested in a design solution – collaboration,
brainstorming, time to try several ideas
• Need to provide support that facilitates trying multiple ideas
• the first idea does not have to be the correct one
• there are or may be multiple paths to get to the correct understanding
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Find or Produce the Activity
• Consider time element
• Inquiry activities can take more time
• Different groups/students discover information at different rates – have
extension activity/work ready
• Consider your roll
• You will need to move between groups to provide support – keep eyes
and ears open
• Consider supplies and equipment
• Students will try multiple ideas – need extra supplies
• Students may come up with novel ideas requiring equipment you haven’t
prepared
• Consider giving them a list of equipment available
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Activity
• Creation of a Solution Gradient
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Plan for Formative or Summative Assessment
• How will you know if your lesson provides a path for students to
meet the lesson objective?
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All quotes with page numbers from
A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting
Concepts, and Core Ideas, Committee on Conceptual Framework
for the New K-12 Science Education Standards; National
Research Council
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