STEM-Lit
Content Training Day
Fall 2014
Why Finland's Schools Are
Top-Notch
Finnish students consistently score near the top in the Program for
International Student Assessment, or PISA, for reading, mathematics and
science. The 2012 PISA results tell us that in these three subjects combined
Finland ranks third after Korea and Japan.
 Finnish children don't start school until they are 7 years old.
 They have less homework than their peers in other countries.
 A child's socioeconomic background is less of an impediment
to academic performance.
 National curriculum that insists that schools focus on the whole child.
 Every class must be followed by a 15-minute recess break so children
can spend time outside on their own activities.
 Play constitutes a significant part of individual growth and learning in
Finnish schools.
 Primary schools keep the homework load to a minimum so students
have time for their own hobbies and friends when school is over.
http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/06/opinion/sahlberg-finland-education/index.html
Imagination
 A major challenge faced, was to link
the Forth and Clyde Canal, which lay
35m (115ft) below the level of the
Union Canal. Historically, the two
canals had been joined at Falkirk by a
flight of 11 locks that stepped down
across a distance of 1.5km, but
these were dismantled in 1933,
breaking the link.
The
Challenge
– Scotland
Tony Kettle ~
Inspiration
Think of a spine and you think of elegant, organic structures like fish
bones. So I began to develop the aqueduct as an organic form. I wanted it
to seem to float through hoops. And I wanted the wheel to be a
celebration of moving between this aqueduct and the basin below. This
was done by giving it direction. The hooked leading edges on the arms are
all about rotation. It was as much a sculptural idea as a piece of
engineering. I was asked to convert it into a mechanical object in
collaboration with [the engineer]. By making the gondolas narrower and
longer and using two instead of four as in the exemplar design, I could
make the aqueduct much narrower and more elegant. It also meant I
could surround the end of each gondola with a large cog and have a
simple gear system for keeping the gondolas level. Although simple, the
cogs were a difficult concept to understand and my daughter made a
little Lego model of it to try it out.
Falkirk
Wheel
The Falkirk Wheel is the only rotating boat lift in the world and an amazing piece of engineering.
This works on the Archimedes principle of displacement. That is, when the boat enters, the amount of water leaving the caisson weighs
exactly the same as the boat. This keeps the wheel balanced and so, despite its enormous mass, it rotates through 180° in five and a
half minutes while using very little power.
Uses 1.5
kilowatthours of
energy =
heating up
8 kettles.
Hidden at each end, behind the arm nearest
the aqueduct, are two 8m diameter cogs to
which one end of each gondola is attached.
A third, exactly equivalent sized cog is in the
center, attached to the main fixed upright.
Two smaller cogs are fitted in the spaces
between, with each cog having teeth that fit
into the adjacent cog and push against each
other, turning around the one fixed central
one. The two gondolas, being attached to
the outer cogs, will therefore turn at
precisely the same speed, but in the
opposite direction to the Wheel.
Given the precise balancing of the gondolas
and this simple but clever system of cogs, a
very small amount of energy is actually then
required to turn the Wheel
Imagination
Goals
What does infusing some “Modeling” and “Formative Assessment” look in
my classroom?
 Apply the practice of Developing and Using Models/Modeling with Math
to instructional design.
 Connect the practices called Constructing Explanations & Designing
Solutions, Engaging in Argument from Evidence to Developing and Using
Models/Modeling with Math to NGSS and CCSS.
 Develop the capacity to engage all learners in classroom discourse and
the public representation of their ideas.
 Identify appropriate use of formative assessment.
 Is it Developing and Using the Practice of
Modeling?
 Model-Based Inquiry to Support a Claim
Revising a Model based on Evidence
LUNCH on your own at Noon
AGENDA
Constructing Explanations & Arguing from
Evidence
LIT time - to identify immediate & long term
goals
TPEP reflection
Is It Developing and Using Models?
The milk
chocolate
melts in
your
mouth,
not in
your
hands?
Human Scatterplot:
Position yourself
along the human
scatterplot
according to your
agreement
(yes/no/sort of)
and your level of
confidence in your
answer (high/low).
The milk chocolate melts in your
mouth, not in your hands.
Group Based on Initial Thinking
•
•
•
•
•
•
Yes- High Confidence
Yes – Low Confidence
Sort of - High
Sort of – Low
No – High
No – Low
Gather at a table together.
• State your claim as a response to the question.
• Draw a labeled diagram that describes what you
think happens to an M&M in your mouth and in
your hand that supports your claim.
Initial
Thinking
- Model
• Use your best scientific explanation based on your
current understanding.
• What is happening before, during, and after the
candy goes from your mouth to your hand?
• Be prepared to share your ideas in 20 minutes.
 During the break – send out a scout to each group’s
initial claim
Break &
Gallery
Walk
 On your note sheet write an affirmation and a
question for each
 We will reconvene at 10:15
Identify
Competing
Ideas
• How does your
explanation differ
from others’ in the
room? Or is it
similar?
• What ideas might
you want/need to
consider in your
model?
What experiment can you do to distinguish from
your group and another groups claim?
Purpose: to gather evidence to revise / support
your model
Designing an Criteria:
1. Must produce some type of quantifiable data to
Investigation support or refute any claims.
/ Simulation 2. Remember to document your process and cite any
additional resources you use.
3.
Use technology as appropriate. 
 Be ready to move on at 11:15
More Evidence
Summarize the Important Facts,
Ideas or Concepts (1 per row)
What claim can you make based on
this idea, fact or concept?
What specific evidence from your
investigation or your text supports
this claim?
• What new information can you include in your
model?
or
• Is there anything you want to change in your
model?
Adding
to Our
Model
 Does your model……
 - Accurately represent the scientific
principles?
 - Use mathematics & statistics
appropriately to show relationships?
 - Relate the data to the situation?
Use the Gotta Have it
Checklist
Claim – a statement or conclusion that answers the
original question/problem
Evidence – Scientific data that supports the claim
Reasoning – a justification that connects the
evidence to the claim using scientific principles
Formalizing
C-E-R
….Rebuttal – recognizes and describes alternative
explanations, and provides counter evidence and
reasoning for why the alternative explanation is
not appropriate
“Supporting Grade 5-8 Students in Construction
Explanations in Science,” McNeil, Krajcik 2009
Lunch!
Please be ready to start at 1:00!!
Cl-Ev-R
Make Your
Explanation
Claim
• Relevant
• Stands Alone
Evidence
• Appropriate
• Sufficient
Reasoning
• Stands Out
• Link Between Claim and
Evidence
Post your team’s CER and as you transition to your LIT
Team, gallery walk the explanations
Regroup &
Reflect
1.
Reflect on how today’s activities inform your
work as a strategy for instructional design.
2.
Use the Danielson framework to connect today’s
work to your professional goals (TPEP)
Reflecting
on
Developing
and Using
Models
 How did the initial model, investigation
and revised model phases help you to
connect to developing and using modeling
as a practice?
 How have your ideas changed?

Use the practices documents to identify
where/how/when you were engaging in
scientific and mathematical modeling
practices
 identify variables in the situation and selecting
those that represent essential features,
 formulate a model by creating and selecting
geometric, graphical, tabular, algebraic, or
statistical representations that describe
relationships between the variables,
Modeling as
a Practice in
Math
 analyze and perform operations on these
relationships to draw conclusions,
 interpret the results of the mathematics in terms of
the original situation,
 validate the conclusions by comparing them with
the situation, and then either improving the model
or, if it is acceptable,
 report on the conclusions and the reasoning behind
them
 Evaluate limitations of a model for a proposed object or tool.
 Develop or modify a model—based on evidence – to match
what happens if a variable or component of a system is
changed.
Developing
and Using
Models in
Science (MS)
 Use and/or develop a model of simple systems with
uncertain and less predictable factors.
 Develop and/or revise a model to show the relationships
among variables, including those that are not observable but
predict observable phenomena.
 Develop and/or use a model to predict and/or describe
phenomena.
 Develop a model to describe unobservable mechanisms.
 Develop and/or use a model to generate data to test ideas
about phenomena in natural or designed systems, including
those representing inputs and outputs, and those at
unobservable scales.
● Reflect on the use your work today in
terms of formative assessment:
Reflecting
on
Formative
Assessment
● The “Gotta-have” checklist
● Evidence from your investigations
and text
● Your model
● Your C-E-R
● The “Is it a model?” probe
● Revisit the probe. Any changes you’d
like to make?
Connecting to Engineering Design
Come up with question your
students might have…
What are some other
applications of these science
ideas?
(Just as that experience with
erector sets sparked creative
ideas…. What about
M&M’s)?
LIT
planning
time
 30-60-90 protocol are your LIT notes for today!!
Put a Bow on It…Wrap It Up
 Consensus on March meeting
 Complete evaluation form – link in Edmodo
 Post LIT notes
 Turn in
 30-60-90 protocol
 Clock hours form
Develop understanding of statistical variability.
Content
Connections
–
Mathematics
 CCSS.Math.Content.6.SP.A.1
Recognize a statistical question as one that
anticipates variability in the data related to the
question and accounts for it in the answers. For
example, "How old am I?" is not a statistical
question, but "How old are the students in my
school?" is a statistical question because one
anticipates variability in students' ages.
 CCSS.Math.Content.6.SP.A.2
Understand that a set of data collected to answer a
statistical question has a distribution which can be
described by its center, spread, and overall shape.
 CCSS.Math.Content.6.SP.A.3
Recognize that a measure of center for a numerical
data set summarizes all of its values with a single
number, while a measure of variation describes
how its values vary with a single number.
Summarize and describe distributions.
 CCSS.Math.Content.6.SP.B.4
Display numerical data in plots on a number line, including
dot plots, histograms, and box plots.
 CCSS.Math.Content.6.SP.B.5
Summarize numerical data sets in relation to their context,
such as by:
CCSSM
content
connections
 CCSS.Math.Content.6.SP.B.5.a
Reporting the number of observations.
 CCSS.Math.Content.6.SP.B.5.b
Describing the nature of the attribute under investigation,
including how it was measured and its units of measurement.
 CCSS.Math.Content.6.SP.B.5.c
Giving quantitative measures of center (median and/or
mean) and variability (interquartile range and/or mean
absolute deviation), as well as describing any overall pattern
and any striking deviations from the overall pattern with
reference to the context in which the data were gathered.
 CCSS.Math.Content.6.SP.B.5.d
Relating the choice of measures of center and variability to
the shape of the data distribution and the context in which
the data were gathered.
 Did anyone consider Surface area – volume?
 Measurement
Math ideas
 Variability in Temperature data?
 Ratio & proportion (in collecting data… or defining
melting)
Cross-cutting concepts
Conservation of Matter
Cause and Effect
Scale Proportion Quantity (if go with packaging ideas)
Science
content
Dissolving vs. Melting
Determining if Chemical reactions occurred
Chemical vs. Physical reactions
Releasing or absorbing thermal energy
Insulation
Diffusion
Mathematical
Modeling
“the process of choosing and using appropriate
mathematics and statistics to analyze empirical
situations, to understand them better, and to
improve decisions”