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Doing Good Science:Making it happen in your

classroom

Dr. Rick Vanosdall

Science Teacher, Co-Author, & Researcher

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Questions / Dialogue

What are the “burning questions” you bring with you to this program? Why are you here today? What do you expect to get out of this hour with our presenter?

We will un-mute all the phone lines at this time for a couple of minutes so that you can easily respond.

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How did you learn about Doing Good Science?

Poll Question:

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How long have you been teaching?

1st year

6-10 years

2-5 years

11-20 years

Over 20 years

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Focus Question: Assessment

How do you assess student learning?

Working with students…

Working with other teachers…

Working with administrators…

Working with parents…

Working with others…

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Metacognition as an Assessment Outcome

Where are you trying to go?

Where are you now?

How can you get there?

From: Atkin, J.M., P. Black, and J. Coffey, eds. 2001. Classroom assessment and the national science education standards. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

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Big Ideas / Concept Based Instruction and Learning

“Enduring Learning”

What are the 3-5 major concepts that unify the entire learning process for the school year?

How do these 3-5 concepts align to the standards assessed by your school district and state?

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Congruency: Alignment of Pedagogy and Standards

The assessments that are used to indirectly/directly evaluate me are aligned with inquiry-based science?

The assessments that are used to indirectly/directly evaluate me are aligned with didactic, fact based recall science instruction?

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Question Stems

What other information do you need?

What do you see? What else do you see?

What do you want to find out?

What data do you need to answer the question?

How can you collect the data?

…and more questions on p. 95-96.

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Experts•Experts see patterns and meanings not apparent to novices.

•Experts have in-depth knowledge of their fields, structured so that it is most useful.

•Experts' knowledge is not just a set of facts -- it is structured to be accessible, transferable, and applicable to a variety of situations.

•Experts can easily retrieve their knowledge and learn new information in their fields with little effort.

(The list above was adapted from "How People Learn," published by the National Research Council in 1999.)

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How people best learn?

reading watching a demo

simulationdoing the real thing

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Beyond Question Stems

Wait for answers, and ask follow-up questions to prompt students to articulate what they have learned, or know at that point in time.

Empower students to ask questions and seek answers using evidence from their experience.

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Focus Question: Practical Steps

How do you make inquiry work in “real” classrooms?Working with students…

Working with other teachers…

Working with administrators…

Working with parents…

Working with others…

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Invitation to Inquiry GridTeacher Demo

ActivityTeacher-initiated Inquiry

Student-initiated Inquiry

Posing the question Tchr Tchr Tchr Stdnt

Planning the Procedure

Tchr Tchr Stdnt Stdnt

Formulating the results Tchr Stdnt Stdnt Stdnt

Source: D. Llewellyn. 2002. Inquire within: Implementing inquiry-based science standards. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

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Changing Emphasis to Promote Inquiry

Less Emphasis On… More Emphasis On…

Activities that demonstrate and verify science content

Activities that investigate and analyze science questions

Investigations confined to one class period

Investigations over extended periods of time

Process skills out of context

Process skills in context

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Changing Emphasis to Promote Inquiry

Less Emphasis On… More Emphasis On…

Emphasis on individual process skills such as observation or inference

Multiple process skills—manipulation, cognitive, procedural

Getting an answer Using evidence and strategies for developing or revising an explanation

Science as exploration and experiment

Science as argument and explanation

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Changing Emphasis to Promote Inquiry

Less Emphasis On… More Emphasis On…

Providing answers to questions about science content

Communicating science explanations

Individuals and groups of students analyzing and synthesizing data without defending a conclusion

Groups of students often analyzing and synthesizing data after defending conclusions

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Changing Emphasis to Promote Inquiry

Less Emphasis On… More Emphasis On…

Doing few investigations in order to leave time to cover large amounts of content

Doing more investigations in order to develop understanding, ability, values of inquiry and knowledge of science content

Concluding inquiries with the result of the experiment

Applying the results of experiments to scientific arguments and explanations

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Changing Emphasis to Promote Inquiry

Less Emphasis On… More Emphasis On…

Management of materials and equipment

Management of ideas and information

Private communication of student ideas and conclusions to teacher

Public communication of student ideas and work to classmates

Source: National Research Council. 1996. National science education standards. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

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Guidelines to facilitate student discourse:

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Guidelines to facilitate student discourse:“What does it mean?”

“What happened?”

Poll Students & Follow Up Explanations

Ask students to affirm or suggest revision by adding clarity

Focus Questions on “Big Ideas” …then ask for evidence.

Poll Students & Follow Up Explanations

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1) Think & Write

2) Pair

3) Share

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NSTA Web Seminar

Evaluation

http://institute.nsta.org/survey/dgsSurvey1.asp

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Upcoming NSTA Web Seminars:

• Force and Motion: Stop Faking It!

November 17, 2005

• Watershed Dynamics

December 8, 2005

• Picture-Perfect Science

December 14, 2005

6:30 PM Eastern Time