What does the research say about…
Reflection and Metacognition
 Reflection, often considered a component of metacognition, is an essential
element to effective student learning.
 “A metacognitive approach to instruction can help students learn to take
control of the own learning by defining learning goals and monitoring their
progress in achieving them.” (NRC (National Resource Council), 2005)
 Studies have shown that teaching metacognitive strategies in context has
been shown to improve comprehension in content and is more likely to
lead to conceptual change over time. (Hartman & Glasgow, 2002; Mintzes
& Leonard, 2006)
 Students will do better, in general, academically if they possess strong
self-regulatory skills, including engaging in metacognition. (Zimmerman,
2001)
 Self-monitoring of student learning can lower students anxieties in the
classroom and de-mystifies science. If students see the thinking process
involved in learning science, they are less likely to think of science as an
inherent ability. (Mintzes & Leonard, 2006)
Hartman, H. J., & Glasgow, N. A. (2002). Tips for the Science Teacher.
Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, Inc.
Mintzes, J. J., & Leonard, W. H. (Eds.). (2006). Handbook of College Science
Teaching. Arlington, VA: National Science Teachers Association (NSTA)
Press.
NRC (National Resource Council). (2005). How Students Learn, Science in the
Classroom. Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press.
Zimmerman, B. J. (2001). Theories of Self-Regulated Learners and Academic
Achievement. An overview and analysis. In B. J. Zimmeran & D. H.
Schunk (Eds.), Self-regulated learning and academic achievement:
Theoretical Perspectives (2nd ed., pp. 1-38). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Promoting Writing Practices in the Sciences
 It is important for our students to step away from the notion of “science as
a noun” (a list of facts, static base of knowledge) to “science as a verb” (a
process that changes and grows). Written communication helps students
to make that connection. (Saul, 2004)
 Scientific language, oral and written, may be new to our students and it is
something that needs to be explicitly taught (by modeling what scientific
writing and talking look like). (ibid.)
 Writing is a meaning-making process. Our students learn when they need
to construct ideas and formalize their thoughts. By writing science, they
formulate their own ideas, it forces them to rethink ideas and expand on
them as they write. (ibid.)
 Good science is not possible without strong language skills. Skill with
language and skill with science cannot be separated. The more capable
students are at language, the more they will be able to draw meaning from
and into their science content. (Thier & Daviss, 2002)
What does the research say about…
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A small amount of time spent up front on helping students become
proficient with literacy skills will benefit teaching by bringing up the level of
discourse and content expectations within the classroom. (ibid.)
Students are sensitive to the types of writing assignments given, those
that are more meaningful and relevant are more likely to lead to deep
content understanding and greater student satisfaction. (Wallace, Hand, &
Prain, 2004)
Saul, E. W. (Ed.). (2004). Crossing Borders in Literacy and Science Instruction:
Perspectives on Theory and Practice. Arlington, VA: International Reading
Association & National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) Press.
Thier, M., & Daviss, B. (2002). The New Science Literacy: Using Language Skills
to help Students Learn Science. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Wallace, C. S., Hand, B., & Prain, V. (2004). Writing and Learning in the Science
Classroom (Vol. 23). Dordrecht, Boston, London: Kluwer Academic
Publishers.
Oral Discourse in the Sciences (Promoting Student-Student Scientific Talk)
 “Talking science does not simply mean talking about science, it means
doing science through a medium of language.”(Lemke, 1990)
 The typical way that communication occurs in the classroom (teacherstudent-teacher questioning dialogue) produces the lowest quality of
student participation and comprehension. Students need time and explicit
modeling to best begin to understand the scientific way of talking. (ibid.)
 Talking enhances student sharing, clarification, and forming of ideas;
writing is important for transforming those ideas into a coherent and
structural format. The combination of the two enhances content retention
over time. (Rivard & Straw, 2000)
 An interactive science classroom, in which students have opportunities to
work with peers has been shown to be more beneficial for those with
higher science anxiety. (Mintzes & Leonard, 2006)
Lemke, J. L. (1990). Talking Science. Westport, CT: Ablex Publishing.
Rivard, L. P., & Straw, S. B. (2000). The effect of talk and writing on learning
science: An exploratory study. Science Education, 84(5), 566-593.
Mintzes, J. J., & Leonard, W. H. (Eds.). (2006). Handbook of College Science
Teaching. Arlington, VA: National Science Teachers Association (NSTA)
Press.
Supporting our Students to be Successful at Communication in the
Sciences
 Providing clear and explicit performance expectations, makes it clear for a
student exactly what is expected and can reduce anxiety over an
assignment. (Thier & Daviss, 2002).
 Timely & relevant feedback are critical in helping a student understand
where to improve and what they are doing well (only negative feedback
will deter motivation to revise or write again). If there are no opportunities
What does the research say about…
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for revision from feedback, then there is little motivation to pay attention to
the feedback. (Hartman & Glasgow, 2002)
Support needs to be scaffolded (more support at the beginning, and then
pulling away the support structures as students become more skilled at
the desired tasks). For example:
o Written discourse or written support can include:
 Writing heuristics (e.g., a questioning strategy that helps
them with what questions to ask as they proceed through an
activity). (Wallace, et al., 2004).
 Grading rubrics, along with an ideal and non-ideal model text
for students to get a better understanding of your grading
expectations and to reduce anxiety. (Their & Daviss, 2002)
o Oral Discourse support can include:
 Interactive lectures & Think-Pair-Share strategies (e.g.,
McConnell et al., 2006)
 Small collaborative group activities can induce greater
amounts of scientific talking (e.g., Kortz, Smay, & Murray,
2008)
 Jigsaw Activities will allow students to learn from one
another and help them to see the larger conceptual picture.
(Mintzes & Leonard, 2006)
 Model how students should be talking to one another. Start
with a colloquial approach, then integrate the scientific
language into colloquial speech, and finally talk fully
scientifically. Explicitly point out to students how the
language structure changed, ask them to replicate it with a
new concept. (Lemke, 1990)
Hartman, H. J., & Glasgow, N. A. (2002). Tips for the Science Teacher.
Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, Inc.
Kortz, K. M., Smay, J. J., & Murray, D. P. (2008). Increasing Learning in
Introductory Geoscience Courses Using Lecture Tutorials. Journal of
Geoscience Education, 56, 280-290.
Lemke, J. L. (1990). Talking Science. Westport, CT: Ablex Publishing.
McConnell, D. A., Steer, D. N., Owens, K. D., Knott, J. R., Van Horn, S.,
Borowski, W., et al. (2006). Using Conceptests to Assess and Improve
Student Conceptual Understanding in Introductory Geoscience Courses.
Journal of Geoscience Education, 54(1), 61-68.
Mintzes, J. J., & Leonard, W. H. (Eds.). (2006). Handbook of College Science
Teaching. Arlington, VA: National Science Teachers Association (NSTA)
Press.
Thier, M., & Daviss, B. (2002). The New Science Literacy: Using Language Skills
to help Students Learn Science. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Wallace, C. S., Hand, B., & Prain, V. (2004). Writing and Learning in the Science
Classroom (Vol. 23). Dordrecht, Boston, London: Kluwer Academic
Publishers.