iPhone App for Data Collection and Critical Thinking about

Ecology and Biodiversity

Nancy Butler SongerProfessor of Science Education and Learning

TechnologiesThe University of Michigan

10 April 2012

Working with Next Generation Science Standards

1. Focus on fewer big ideas building over timeJapanese eighth-grade textbooks cover eight topics, compared to an average of more than 65 for U.S. eighth-grade textbooks.” (Linn, Lewis, Tsuchida, Songer, 2000)

2. Emphasize science practicese.g., explanations, predictions, data collection, modeling

3. Systematic guidance in developing content + science practices

What We Do

• Build tools + curricular units emphasizing guided development of explanations around focal content

• 4, 5, 6th grade biology/ecology (8 weeks)• 8th grade, high school Climate Change (8-14 weeks)

Fusing Content + Practices• Content Ecology 13: Because many animals rely on

each other, a change in the number of one species can affect different members of the web.

• Science Practice Explanations: Students build a complete scientific explanation consisting of a claim, two pieces of Evidence and Reasoning with content hints

• Learning goal: Students construct scientific explanations to address the question, how have recent changes in the Detroit River affected yellow perch populations?

Systematic Guidance of Strategic Thinking

• 26% of fourth 26% of fourth graders have graders have difficulty difficulty generating two generating two pieces of pieces of evidence for evidence for an an explanation, explanation, even with even with guidanceguidance

• (Songer and (Songer and Gotwals, 2012)Gotwals, 2012)

Passing Percentages by State, District, and Treatment SchoolsOn State Science Test, Eighth Grade (MEAP)

0.67(.001)

0.33(.004)

0.40(.01)

0.65(.001)

0.3(.004)

0.43(.01)

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

Michigan Detroit Publicschools

Focus Schools inDetroit

20022003

(Numbers in parentheses indicate standard error)

Results: Achievement by Completion as Measured by Three Tests (N= 1885)

BioKIDS app for animal data collectionBioKIDS app for animal data collection

Record data on phones, ipods, PDAs

Icon-based entry