Category Archives: Science

Book Cover for Biology Everywhere

Reaching Outside the Classroom: Connecting Science to Daily Life and Other Disciplines

Guest Author, Science

by Melanie E. Peffer, PhD

Dr. Melanie Peffer has a BS and PhD in molecular biology from the University of Pittsburgh and completed a postdoctoral appointment in learning sciences from Georgia State University. She combines her expertise in molecular biology and the learning sciences to study how people learn, understand, and engage with biology content.

When am I EVER going to need to know this?

We’ve all heard students say that before. It’s even more pertinent now in the digital age when so many of the concepts we teach in classrooms are a simple Google search away.

It’s not a matter of if a student needs to know something – but when and how they’ll need the information they learn in our classrooms.

When the time comes in which a student needs to engage with a scientific issue in the course of their daily lives, how can we ensure that students leave the classroom feeling empowered to engage?

Book Cover for Biology Everywhere

Biology Everywhere bridges the gap between the classroom and practical biology knowledge needed in the real world. Copies are available at www.biologyeverywhere.com

I wrote Biology Everywhere: How the science of life matters to everyday life with this question in mind. The bedrock of my book, and the associated online course, seeks to empower individuals to engage with science issues by presenting them through the lens of our daily experiences and in connection with other disciplines. This is especially important to consider in light of the COVID19 pandemic – which is forcing society to engage with science issues on a daily basis.

Teaching science in connection with our daily experiences.

Science content can feel abstract to students. That fuels the idea that science is inaccessible, and drives students away from engaging in the classroom. They feel like they can’t do it, or aren’t smart enough and so they shut down. They disengage with scientific issues, not just in the classroom but in society as well, and may even choose to align what they consider to be good science with their political party affiliation.

When we think about the applicability of science to our daily experiences, the content becomes relatable and therefore more accessible. This approach is also more student driven, too.  One easy lesson that can be done in person or remotely is to task students with finding something interesting or mysterious to them and ask a question about it. Then, build a science lesson around the child’s question. Allowing students to ask their own questions is also a powerful way to deepen student learning and engagement.

child mixes contents in bowl

Cooking and baking is rife with opportunities to talk about practical applications of chemistry.

Kitchen chemistry is very accessible. I cook with my son – and he gets very excited to see the bubbles that appear when we add baking powder to the mix when making pancakes. It becomes a very easy science lesson to talk about the bubbles that form make the pancake fluffy. You can adapt this for an older student by talking about the exact chemical reaction that is occurring. If you aren’t sure, this is an opportunity to look it up and learn together.

In the context of biology, I look towards big issues in today’s society to highlight and discuss with students. When I cover ecology, I demonstrate how ecological principles apply to our daily lives – such as issues around conservation. For example, what makes reusable eco-friendly or not and some of the trade-offs around reusable products. You can watch this video on plastic versus reusable bags that is based on my book here.

Teaching Science in Connection with Other Disciplines

If you think about a traditional school, there are science teachers in a science classroom … the music teacher in the band room … the history teacher in the history classroom. And the history teacher is going to teach … well, history!

In the real world though, the lines between disciplines are much more blurry. Helping teachers connect lessons in their disciplines to science content is a major thrust of Chris Woods’ work with dailySTEM and his podcast series, STEM Everyday.

How about in the context of biology? What if I said art was foundational to biology?

We hear about the STEAM movement – adding an A for arts to STEM. But what does that really mean?

When thinking about how science really works in the real world, it’s fundamentally a creative process. Coming up with new questions to ask, methods for studying the world, and making sense of the data we get – it all requires creativity and thinking outside the box.

The fine arts have had a measurable impact on biological science as well. Take for example Santiago Ramon y Cajal’s drawings of neurons. His ability to accurately draw neurons with his artist’s eye towards form and function led to one of the most important discoveries in the history of neuroscience: that the neuron is the functional unit of the brain, a discovery that continues to inform modern neuroscience.

Or John Audobon’s paintings of birds. Some of the birds he painted, like the Carolina parakeet, have gone extinct – so his paintings are important parts of natural history.

Conversely, biology also tells us about our experience with the arts, too. Why do we feel chills when listening to music? Dopamine release. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter, or chemical that is released by neurons to communicate with one another. Dopamine regulates motivation and pleasure – including the pleasurable responses we have to music. Scientists found that if you inhibit dopamine release, people enjoy music less. If you do the opposite and increase dopamine release, music is even more enjoyable.

Making Science Accessible in Light of the COVID19 Pandemic

The COVID19 pandemic is forcing people to engage with the realities of how science works – and for some, it’s their first experience with the messy, iterative, constantly evolving nature of authentic science inquiry.

The pandemic brought the question “when am I EVER going to need to know this” into a new light. It can’t be avoided or subverted – as a society, we’re grappling with real scientific (and mathematical) issues.

Whether it’s mask wearing, applying the basic principles of life to define what a virus is – and why we can’t treat it with antibiotics, or understanding the process of developing and testing a COVID19 vaccine or treatments, it is necessary for us all to engage with these issues and make informed decisions.

Where to start? We can teach the student in front of us – but also recognize that the general public is struggling too. I suggest we start with building the confidence in science first – present it through the lens of our daily experiences and in connection with other disciplines. Then, when the time comes to engage with scientific issues, people feel empowered to engage and make an informed decision.

Presenters’ Choice Award Winning Project:Hero Elementary

Science, STEM, Student-driven Learning, Video Showcase

By Angie Kalthoff

When I saw that Joan Freese was the lead presenter for Hero Elementary, I knew I had to check it out! I have long followed her work at TPT Twin Cities with SciGirls, a separate project. The project I’ve been most interested in is SciGirls Code: A National Connected Learning Model to Integrate Computing in STEM Learning with Middle School Girls, supported by the National Science Foundation’s STEM + Computing Partnerships Program. You may have read my post from last year on the STEM For ALL Video Showcase Featuring SciGirls Code. I knew I wanted to review this Presenters’ Choice award winning project called Hero Elementary.

Overview of the program
The video gives an introduction to Hero Elementary. Go watch it if you haven’t. Hero Elementary is described as an equity driven educational media initiative focused on improving school readiness on science and literacy in grades K-2. The design of the program includes aspects on Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and equity strategies. Kids engage in activities to promote a growth mindset and Social Emotional Learning (SEL) in a blended approach. They have real world hands-on learning plus digital and multimedia learning. It has 25 science-themed educational media collections, called “playlists,” which are ”aligned to NGSS. Resources provided to educators include:

  • Animated stories
  • Digital and analog games
  • Non-fiction ebooks
  • Hands-on science activities
  • Digital Science Power Notebook

Hero Elementary has a target audience of kids in Latinx communities, English Language Learners, children with disabilities, and children from low-income households.The program “ignites children’s natural curiosity, broadens their understanding of how the world works, and empowers them to make a positive difference in their communities.” Their approach is child centered, equity focused, and asset based. As a constructivist inspired program, kids build their knowledge through active learning and reflection, which helps them make sense of their new learning experiences.

The goal of the program
Using formative research to aid in development, the project is working to transform learning and track progress with embedded learning analytics. Hero Elementary’s resources integrate science and literacy. The team identified similarities in the following English and science standards strands:

  • Science and Engineering Practices: Utilize the skills, thinking, and language of Scientific Inquiry and Engineering Design.
  • Literacy & English Language arts: Produce and receive communication in a variety of forms.

Through playful characters, kids learn about the “Superpowers of Science” by engaging in activities that encourage them to investigate, collect information, look for patterns, name the problem, make sense, explain, ask questions, compare, show what they know, and figure out a solution. Science educators will recognize these superpowers as the Science and Engineering practices, part of the NGSS. The program has a focus on literacy as well that appeals to many of the educators who have been involved in the development of this program. The program will debut for all this coming summer.

Educators involved with this program receive professional development training and free resources. Hero Elementary uses a train-the-trainer model with support from child-serving partners across the country, all of whom have a strong commitment to equity, interest in science education, and experience working with targeted student groups.

Using in practice
If you work in elementary education, you have probably experienced that the school day is full and planned out to the minute. I think the approach Hero School has taken – alignment to standards that schools are already implementing – is great.
Hero Elementary is broken into playlists. A playlist is a collection of content about a topic to inspire, empower, and deepen children’s science learning. Each playlist consists of the following resources: ebooks, hands on-activities, notebooks, videos, and digital games. While there are 25 playlists, educators can pick what works best in their classroom.

Through the research done on this project, the Hero Elementary team has found that kids are paying attention to the extent to which a character is relatable. CIRCL Educators feel that this topic deserves its own blog post. Watch for an upcoming post to read more about how kids are paying attention to character relatableness and why this matters for learning. In the meantime, check out how Hero Elementary can help bring fun science content and NGSS into your classroom.

The Benefits and Obstacles of Constructivism

Constructivism, Mathematics, Science, Written by: Sarah Hampton

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By Sarah Hampton

Sarah Hampton teaches middle school math and science at Sullins Academy in Southwest Virginia.  She has ten years of teaching experience in various disciplines and settings.

Over the last sixty years, thousands of articles have looked at whether or not constructivism works.  I wanted to understand the research, but it was overwhelming.  However, thanks to advances in technology and fancy statistics, researchers can analyze aggregate data on the subject.  After reading multiple articles and three meta-analyses (an analysis that aggregates data and allows you to look across many studies) specifically regarding science education and constructivism, two things became apparent.  First, it is extremely difficult to show an impact of instructional strategies on student learning outcomes!  Out of 1500 studies in one analysis, only six of the studies met the criteria that allow causal inferences to be made (Furtak, Seidel, Iverson, & Briggs, 2009, p. 27).  Second, despite that difficulty, the evidence favors constructivism.  The conclusions from all three meta-analyses demonstrated statistically significant positive effects of constructivist practices on student learning.  So, if we know constructivism is good for our students, then why do we not see more of it in action?  To hit a little closer to home, if I know these are good practices, then why am I not doing more of them?  I think there are some legitimate obstacles.  Here are my top three:

Obstacle 1:  The time it takes to find or create relevant, quality tasks
The number of daily teaching requirements and professional demands apart from planning are enough to fill our workday!  Planning inquiry instruction is extremely time-consuming because you have to sort through all of the activities that aren’t that great or don’t apply to your subject or grade level. Half the time I end up creating my own from scratch, which is also a time drain. In contrast, planning for direct instruction is a snap. Decide what you want to cover and write down the topic in your lesson plans.  Done.  As a result, to save time, we often revert to direct instruction (otherwise we cut into our family time to plan).

Proposed Solution A:  Find a resource that produces quality learner-centered, constructivist materials and start there.  For math, I use http://www.mathalicious.com/ and https://illuminations.nctm.org/.  Both allow you to filter by topic and grade level, which saves additional time.  For science, I like http://www.middleschoolchemistry.com/.  

Proposed Solution B:  Try to view the time spent on finding quality materials as a necessary startup cost.  If you like them, then you can recycle them year to year.  In addition, Berland, Baker, and Blikstein argued that constructivism can actually save time when fully implemented by enhancing “classroom dynamics that may streamline class preparation (e.g., peer teaching or peer feedback)” (Berland, Baker, & Blikstein, 2014).

Obstacle 2:  The instructional time it requires to implement meaningful tasks
I don’t know about you, but I start my year feeling behind!  There just doesn’t seem to be enough time for my students to deeply comprehend the required algebra or physical science concepts as dictated by state and national standards within the given time frame.  When we allow the pressure of the standards and test to dictate our instructional practices, we begin to look for the fastest possible way to disseminate information, and direct instruction is efficient—we just tell them what it is we want them to know.  However, efficient is only efficient if it is also genuinely effective.  

Proposed Solution:  Try to see beyond the standards and the test.  D.F. Halpern expressed concern about our preoccupation with these and said, “We only care about student performance in school because we believe that it predicts what students will remember and do when they are somewhere else at some other time.  Yet we often teach and test as though the underlying rationale for education were to improve student performance in school.  As a consequence, we rarely assess student learning in the context or at the time for which we are teaching” (Halpern & Hakel, 2003, p. 38).  

I am not a teacher because I want my students to pass a test.  I am a teacher because I want my students to excel in life.  Constructivist practices require students to think critically and creatively, innovatively problem solve, collaborate, and communicate—therefore preparing students for the test and beyond.  As Hmelo-Silver, Duncan, and Chinn (2007) argued, “This evidence suggests that these approaches can foster deep and meaningful learning as well as significant gains in student achievement on standardized tests” (p. 99).  I suspect the greatest benefits of constructivism are immeasurable and consequently undocumented and marginalized.  I would love to know the impact on long-term retention, higher order thinking, lifelong learning, and employer satisfaction.  

Obstacle 3:  The difficulty of meshing inquiry and explicit instruction
I want my students to do the work of the learning, so it doesn’t seem like inquiry if I’m leading the discussion. But sometimes whole group instruction makes the most sense for the instructional goal.

Proposed Solution:  Adjust your understanding: constructivism does not preclude explicit instruction.  You are probably engaged in more constructivism during whole group instruction than you think.  Simple strategies like accountable talk and purposeful questioning lead to minds-on learning even when students aren’t engaged in hands-on learning (Goldman, 2014).   Constructivism is often equated with minimally guided instruction, but they are not synonymous.  In fact, “most proponents of IL (inquiry learning, a type of constructivism) are in favor of structured guidance in an environment that affords choice, hands-on and minds-on experiences, and rich student collaborations” (Hmelo-Silver et al., 2007, p. 104, emphasis added).  

The goal of constructivism is for our students to actively construct meaning for new information rather than passively accepting our word for it.  Since we can create opportunities for our students to do this in multiple ways, we should focus on the culture of constructivism rather than the day to day teaching methods we use to maintain that culture.

In conclusion, constructivism isn’t easy, but it is necessary to help students learn.  It’s worth finding a way to overcome the obstacles.  If you are interested in reading more about why, then please see below for a complete list of the works I cited and consulted.  Don’t forget to leave your own comments – I would love to hear your obstacles and solutions, too!

Citations and Further Reading 

Alfieri, L., Brooks, P. J., Aldrich, N. & Tenenbaum H. R. (2011). Does discovery-based instruction enhance learning?  Journal of Educational Psychology, 103(1), 1-18.  
Available at: http://www.cideronline.org/podcasts/pdf/1.pdf

Berland, M., Baker, R. S., & Blikstein, P. (2014). Educational data mining and learning analytics:
Applications to constructionist research. Technology, Knowledge and Learning, 19(1-2),
205-220.
Available at: https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/41c0/0af6ce63b919530ea691d058e8725d33d901.pdf

Furtak, E. M., Seidel, T., Iverson, H., & Briggs, D. (2009).  Recent experimental studies of
inquiry-based teaching: a meta-analysis and review, European Association for
Research on Learning and Instruction, Amsterdam, Netherlands, August 25-29, 2009.
Available at: http://spot.colorado.edu/~furtake/Furtak_et_al_EARLI2009_Meta-Analysis.pdf

Goldman, P.  (2014, January 22). #2. What is Accountable Talk®?  Institute for Learning
Podcast.
Available at: http://ifl.pitt.edu/index.php/educator_resources/accountable_talk/podcasts/2

Halpern, D. F. & Hakel, M. D. (2003). Applying the science of learning to the university and
beyond: teaching for long-term retention and transfer.  Change, July/August 2003,
36-41. Available at: http://www.chabotcollege.edu/planning/outcome-assessment/index.php

Hmelo-Silver, C. E., Duncan, R. G. & Chinn, C. A. (2007).  Scaffolding and achievement in
problem-based and inquiry learning:  a response to Kirschner, Sweller, and Clark
(2006).  Educational Psychologist, 42(2), 99-107.
Available at:
http://www.sfu.ca/~jcnesbit/EDUC220/ThinkPaper/HmeloSilverDuncan2007.pdf

Kirschner, P. A., Sweller, J., & Clark, R. E. (2006). Why minimal guidance during instruction
does not work: an analysis of the failure of constructivist, discovery, problem-based,
experiential, and inquiry-based teaching.  Educational Psychologist, 41(2), 75-86.  
Available at: http://cogtech.usc.edu/publications/kirschner_Sweller_Clark.pdf

Lang, Albert. (2010).  Executives Say the 21st Century Requires More Skilled Workers.  
Available at:
http://www.p21.org/news-events/press-releases/923-executives-say-the-21st-century-req
uires-more-skilled-workers

Minner, D. D., Levy, A. J., & Century, J.  (2010).  Inquiry-based science instruction – what is it
and does it matter?  Results from a research synthesis years 1984 to 2002.  Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 47(4), 474-496.
Available at:
https://www.ntnu.no/wiki/download/attachments/8324914/JRST-Inquiry-based+science+instruction+-+what+is+it+and+does+it+matter-+Results+from+a+research+synthesis+years+1984+to+2002.pdf

Schroeder, C. M., Scott, T. P., Tolson, H., Huang, T., & Lee, Y. (2007).  A meta-analysis of
national research:  Effects of teaching strategies on student achievement in science
in the United States.  Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 44(10), 1436-1460.  
Available at: http://cudc.uqam.ca/publication/ref/12context.pdf

Shah, I. & Rahat, T. (2014). Effect of activity based teaching method in science.  International
Journal of Humanities and Management Sciences, 2(1), 39-41.  Retrieved from
http://www.isaet.org/images/extraimages/K314003.pdf

Stohr-Hunt, P. M. (1996). An analysis of frequency of hands-on experience and science
achievement.  Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 33(1), 101-109.
Available at: https://vista.gmu.edu/assets/docs/vista/JournalOfResearch.pdf

Windschitl, M. (1999).  The challenges of sustaining a constructivist classroom culture.  Phi
Delta Kappan, 80(10), 751-756.
Available at: http://www-tc.pbs.org/teacherline/courses/inst335/docs/inst335_windschitl.pdf?cc=tlredir

Active Learning Day, 2016

Constructivism, Mathematics, Science, STEM, Written by: Judi Fusco
By Judi Fusco 

Active Learning Day is Today, October 25!  What are you doing for it? What will active learning look like in your classroom? In active learning, students work on meaningful problems and activities to help them construct their learning. This includes inquiry activities, discussion and argumentation, making, solving problems, design, and questions.

Last month, we had the pleasure of helping organize the Active Learning in STEM Education Symposium, sponsored by NSF as part of the activities honoring the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching awardees. The keynote speaker, Bill Penuel, focused on “talk” — particularly “accountable talk” — as an important activity to support Active Learning. 

If you want to know more about accountable talk, take a look at the Talk Science Primer by TERC. There are many great tips for teachers of all subjects in there. For Math Classrooms, here’s a link discussing Creating Math Talk Communities. For general information about it see ASCD’s Procedures for Classroom Talk.  
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In the Active Learning in STEM Education Symposium, one of the presenters, Joe Krajcik, discussed Interactions, a curriculum aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) to make science an active endeavor in a classroom.  (Visit the Interactions project page and click on the curriculum tab to learn more.) Language and talk are essential in NGSS. You may want to check out the videos on the NSTA site where you can see what NGSS looks like in action. You can also see what NGSS looks like in a 4th grade Science Classroom; this video was shown in the Active Learning Day in STEM symposium by Okhee Lee as she discussed NGSS for all Students including English Learners.  

Other presentations at the symposium included Jennifer Knudsen on Bridging Professional Development and the idea of using Improv in a Math class, Eric Hamilton on collaborating with a cyber-ensemble of tools, Tamara Moore on using mathematical modeling to engage learners in meaningful problem solving skills, David Webb on AgentCubes as active learning, and Nichole Pinkard on Digital Youth Divas and making eCards to learn about circuitry.  (See links to the presentations of all the speakers on the site. ) 
Active Learning Day is officially today, but there’s no reason why you can’t do more in your classroom at any time.  Leave a comment and tell us about what active learning looks like in your classroom!