Secondary Science Vision

Teach For America

Atlanta Institute 2014

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A STORY OF NOW: SCIENCE IN AMERICA

Our world is changing at an increasingly rapid pace. While the human population is growing, and we
place additional pressures on our natural resources, we are seeing widening disparities in terms of our
access to key resources such as clean water, air, and soil, nutritious and adequate food supplies, as well
as proximity to environmental hazards. We now have deep knowledge of concepts that were unknown
to us just a few decades ago, and as we learn more, our thirst for knowledge and understanding of the
natural world and of our sense of place within this world challenges us to further explore the boundaries
of what we currently know. As our curiosities and scientific knowledge base grows, so does our capacity
to design innovative solutions to address these challenges, both concrete and abstract.

As such, it is a time of great challenge and potential consequence, but also a time of great opportunity.
However, the reality is that the current state of science education is not adequately preparing the
majority of our children to meaningfully address these challenges. While there are small pockets of
excellence in STEM programs around the country, these opportunities are not equitably distributed.

 Over a third of eighth-graders scored below basic on the 2011 NAEP Science assessment.
 In 2012, 54% of high school graduates did not meet the college readiness benchmark levels in
mathematics, and 69% of graduates failed to meet the readiness benchmark levels in science.

We are seeing extremely low performance on college readiness measures in science across all student
populations on average, but we are seeing even lower measures of readiness in large groups of students
who, due to their neighborhood, ethnicity, native language, or exceptionalities, have been denied
opportunities in excel in science in the past. There are unequal opportunities for students to participate
in science outside of school, which is a key lever towards developing not only scientific knowledge and
skills, but also a love of science, confidence in one’s abilities and identity as a scientist, and future
aspirations in the world of science and engineering, which is where the majority of new jobs are
emerging.

There are multiple arguments to be made around why the current state of science education needs to
change, and educators, scientists and engineers, policymakers, and funders are coming together to
usher in a new vision for science education in our country. This vision is grounded in the belief that all
students deserve the right to develop a deep understanding of science as a way of knowing, become
confident consumers and producers of scientific knowledge in the context of daily life, as well as develop
agency to drive improvements in the local and global community through the application of science and
technology.

In order to achieve this vision, we must ensure that students are doing science in the classroom, not just
learning about it; that students are developing their understanding of the core scientific ideas, not just
memorizing disconnected facts; and that students understand the concepts that cut across all disciplines
so well that they can apply them to understanding and tackling future questions and challenges. It is not
enough that only a few individuals achieve this: In order to successfully navigate our world today and
innovate for the future, we will need to rely on the brilliance that emerges when a diversity of voices
and perspectives come together around a shared challenge, and that can only happen if we increase the
opportunities for all children to pursue a science education in alignment with this vision.

Our Ultimate Goal: To make science accessible and relatable to our students so that they can see
themselves in STEM careers and have the baseline knowledge, skills, and mindsets to be critical
consumers and viable producers of new information.

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 SECONDARY SCIENCE CORE COMPONENTS OF INSTRUCTION

Real & Meaningful Discourse

(Tools for planning science discourse:  http://tools4teachingscience.org)
Inquiry & Problem Solving: (see Appendix A for inquiry lesson planning guidance) Students: Teachers:

Students’ conversations and work Teachers understand that what students say and
Students: Teachers:
both function as a mode of learning write have great value in providing a unique
and a product--allowing students to window into how they think about their world
Students spend class time exploring Teachers plan lessons around a central key question,
clarify and explore ideas and the science around them and therefore
solutions or answering key problems scientific problem, or puzzling phenomena.
collaboratively and also produce provide ample opportunities for verbal and
or questions posed at start of class.
conclusions/final products. written explanations.
Students actively work together, Teachers plan for student-student interactions in the
Student thinking is made visible Teachers do not constrict students to
collaborating to problem solve and classroom surrounding solving lesson problem or
through multiple modes of discourse demonstrate mastery by one method but rather
derive key points of lesson. answers key questions to develop key points prior to
(writing, drawing, constructing, allows students to demonstrate understanding
direct instruction or answers being provided.  
experimenting, debating, graphing). in multiple ways.
Students create solutions, prototype Teachers view themselves as the facilitators in the
and test solution/answers, evaluate classroom not the providers of information, therefore, Learning Builds on Existing Student Experiences, Knowledge & Ideas:
product to identify room for they allow for students creation, trail and error as part
improvement, and then revise. of the learning process. In order to do this, teachers
must explicitly teach students how (the skills) to make Students: Teachers:
sense of information and data, draw conclusions and
then evaluate those conclusions. Students utilize their own Teachers value students’ hypotheses and
knowledge and experiences to assumptions about the world around them and
Students can explain process and Teachers are utilizing multiple methods of inquiry and enhance their understanding of believe it is their job is to pull out this pre-existing
benefits of scientific method, pushing students to derive and develop rationale for new information to create a information and develop it, not just push in new
investigative learning or engineering engaging in this process as a means to discovering or coherent storyline about how the information. Teachers push students to make
design. innovating solutions to problems. world works. connections between new content and their existing
knowledge.

Evaluation & Justification: Students challenge discrepancies Teachers believe that their science classroom is the
or differences from their place to build the critical voice of their students. They
experiences and ideas and revise seek many opportunities to help students challenge
Students: Teachers:
their beliefs in light of new existing ideas/theories and use evidence and data as
information and experiences. their weapons to dismantle them.
Students wrestle with Teachers plan and execute lessons that force students to
evidence, verbalizing gather evidence to prove or disprove theories or concepts and
agreement and construct experiences (discussions, whole-group analysis) to Crosscutting Concepts: (see Appendix B for a breakdown of these concepts)
disagreements. actively make sense of all evidence.

Students cite articles, Teachers teach students how to seek out multiple sources of Students: Teachers:
experiments, and facts clearly information and research including articles, past experiments,
to support or disprove etc. Teachers hold students accountable for constantly citing Students connect daily science Teachers push students to connect the dots and make
statements, theories, etc. and supporting their thoughts and statements. lessons and learning to broader sense of daily takeaways in broader overarching nature
science concepts and skills. of science and crosscutting concepts.

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 Appendices

Appendix A: Ways to construct Inquiry & Problem Solving Lesson Plans

1. 5E Lesson Plan (template provided by CMA)

Steps: Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, Evaluate
More Information about 5E: http://gk12.missouri.edu/showmenature/lessons/5-E%20Overview-GK-12.pdf
Example Lesson: https://teachingscience.wikispaces.com/Developing+a+5+E%27s+Lesson+Plan

2. Investigation Cycle
Construct Big Idea-students demonstrate understanding of the Big Idea through explaining the phenomenon
Create an Initial Model-students make their thinking visible through talking, writing and drawing out ideas
Experiment/Collect Evidence-- students gather information and develop knowledge and skills through engaging in
learning activities, Make Meaning- students engage in argumentation based on evidence to revise their initial models
(repeat)--Construct another big idea, the nature of science is that this process is iterative.
For more tools and ideas:  http://tools4teachingscience.org
3. Engineering Design: Define, Develop, Optimize
Engineering design at the high school level engages students in complex problems that include issues of social and
global significance. Such problems need to be broken down into simpler problems to be tackled one at a time.
Students are also expected to quantify criteria and constraints so that it will be possible to use quantitative methods
to compare the potential of different solutions. While creativity in solving problems is valued, emphasis is on
identifying the best solution to a problem, which often involves researching how others have solved it before.
Students are expected to use mathematics and/or computer simulations to test solutions under different conditions,
prioritize criteria, consider trade-offs, and assess social and environmental impacts.
For more information, example lessons and templates: http://www.teachengineering.org

4. Scientific Method
Ask a Question
Do Background Research
Construct a Hypothesis
Test Your Hypothesis by Doing an Experiment
Analyze Your Data and Draw a Conclusion
Communicate Your Results
Appendix B: Crosscutting Concepts from Next Generation Science Standards

1. Patterns. Observed patterns of forms and events guide organization and classification, and they prompt questions
about relationships and the factors that influence them.
In grades 9-12, students observe patterns in systems at different scales and cite patterns as empirical evidence for causality in
supporting their explanations of phenomena. They recognize classifications or explanations used at one scale may not be useful or
need revision using a different scale; thus requiring improved investigations and experiments. They use mathematical
representations to identify and analyze patterns of performance in order to reengineer and improve a designed system.
2. Cause and effect: Mechanism and explanation. Events have causes, sometimes simple, sometimes multifaceted. A
major activity of science is investigating and explaining causal relationships and the mechanisms by which they are
mediated. Such mechanisms can then be tested across given contexts and used to predict and explain events in new
contexts.
In grades 9-12, students understand that empirical evidence is required to differentiate between cause and correlation and to
make claims about specific causes and effects. They suggest cause and effect relationships to explain and predict behaviors in
complex natural and designed systems. They also propose causal relationships by examining what is known about smaller scale
mechanisms within the system. They recognize changes in systems may have various causes that may not have equal effects.
3. Scale, proportion, and quantity. In considering phenomena, it is critical to recognize what is relevant at different
measures of size, time, and energy and to recognize how changes in scale, proportion, or quantity affect a system’s
structure or performance.
In grades 9-12, students understand that empirical evidence is required to differentiate between cause and correlation and to
make claims about specific causes and effects. They suggest cause and effect relationships to explain and predict behaviors in
complex natural and designed systems. They also propose causal relationships by examining what is known about smaller scale
mechanisms within the system. They recognize changes in systems may have various causes that may not have equal effects.
4. Systems and system models. Defining the system under study—specifying its boundaries and making explicit a
model of that system—provides tools for understanding and testing ideas that are applicable throughout science and
engineering.
In grades 9-12, students can investigate or analyze a system by defining its boundaries and initial conditions, as well as its inputs
and outputs. They can use models (e.g., physical, mathematical, computer models) to simulate the flow of energy, matter, and
interactions within and between systems at different scales. They can also use models and simulations to predict the behavior of a
system, and recognize that these predictions have limited precision and reliability due to the assumptions and approximations
inherent in the models. They can also design systems to do specific tasks.
5. Energy and matter: Flows, cycles, and conservation. Tracking fluxes of energy and matter into, out of, and within
systems helps one understand the systems’ possibilities and limitations.
In grades 9-12, students learn that the total amount of energy and matter in closed systems is conserved. They can describe
changes of energy and matter in a system in terms of energy and matter flows into, out of, and within that system. They also learn
that energy cannot be created or destroyed. It only moves between one place and another place, between objects and/or fields,
or between systems. Energy drives the cycling of matter within and between systems. In nuclear processes, atoms are not
conserved, but the total number of protons plus neutrons is conserved.
6. Structure and function. The way in which an object or living thing is shaped and its substructure determine many of
its properties and functions.
In grades 9-12, students investigate systems by examining the properties of different materials, the structures of different
components, and their interconnections to reveal the system’s function and/or solve a problem. They infer the functions and
properties of natural and designed objects and systems from their overall structure, the way their components are shaped and
used, and the molecular substructures of their various materials.
7. Stability and change. For natural and built systems alike, conditions of stability and determinants of rates of change
or evolution of a system are critical elements of study.
In grades 9-12, students understand much of science deals with constructing explanations of how things change and how they
remain stable. They quantify and model changes in systems over very short or very long periods of time. They see some changes
are irreversible, and negative feedback can stabilize a system, while positive feedback can destabilize it. They recognize systems
can be designed for greater or lesser stability.