Sat Jan 13, 2018 8:59 AM
MORE: Scaffolding Model-making & ReflectingWhether one uses the well established 5 E learning and teaching model (Engage, Explore, Explain, Extend, Evaluate), MORE, or some other inquiry structure to frame lessons, best practices (like accessing prior knowledge, uncovering misconceptions, checking for understanding, etc.) should be strategically included. The Model-Observe-Reflect-Explain (MORE) thinking frame does just that for students needing practice in modeling and reflecting. If your students need to practice the skills of conceptualizing through making models and reflecting, MORE is a good learning framework to incorporate. The authors include a grading rubric that compares students’ initial and refined models.
Sat Jan 13, 2018 8:18 AM
Practicing Scaffolding to Do Science
Discover how instructors at an Academy designed an environmental course for undergraduates that introduced the nature of science and the scientific method as a way to consider and solve real world problems through observation, hypothesizing, data collection and analysis. The students gained an understanding of how scientists do science by becoming scientists, too. The article shows how the instructors used scaffolding of lessons (both in-class and out-of-class assignments) to prepare students for their projects. One of the hooks for engaging students was the use of Myth Busters program segments. Whether you are teaching elementary, middle, or high school students, this article has great ideas for how to scaffold learning, involve students in phenomena of every day life, help them to distinguish between good and bad science, and practice those processes that research scientists, engineers, ornithologists, environmentalists, etc., engage in each day.
Mon Oct 16, 2017 1:49 AM
Children's Reality & Reality of Nature: The Same?
Have you encountered a preschool where children are outdoors daily, year-around, experiencing firsthand the many phenomena in nature? The Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe, Illinois, where a preschool is in its second year of operation, is such a place. Here, like the Arnold Arboretum in Boston, the children are outdoors all of the time observing, digging, gathering, exploring, etc. This article was of particular interest to me as it provides an informal science learning environment template for educators and parents of preschoolers unable to attend a preschool like the one described in the article or like the one in Illinois. It shows how to organize outdoor experiences in order to challenge children’s misconceptions about the needs of plants. The authors mention some common misconceptions of preschoolers - such as trees and grass are not plants or sunlight is only helpful because it keeps a plant warm (p.57). Besides creating activities and science experiences to lay the foundation for learning about phenomena in kindergarten, the article shares ways preschoolers can make meaningful observations, collect data, and confront their own misconceptions about what they are experiencing outside. A sunlight data sheet is included.
7 Resources
Looking for ideas to give your students opportunities to collect real data that will help researchers and perhaps awaken a desire to help our planet survive and thrive? Here is a collection of resources from the Learning Center.
Citizen Scientists
Type: Journal Article
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Citizen Science: Testing the Water: World Watering Challenge
Type: Journal Article
Grade:
17 Resources
Several Learning Center articles provide strategies for helping students learn and understand vocabulary terms important to science concepts/content. Here is a collection highlighting several ideas.
Picture-Perfect-and-Common-Core.pdf
Type: User uploaded resource
Teaching Science to English-as-Second-Language Learners
Type: Journal Article
Grade:
5 Resources
Discover ways to integrate SEPs into elementary science lessons with the articles and other resources in this collection.
Engineering Encounters: Building a Spaghetti Structure
Type: Journal Article
Grade:
Engineering Encounters: An Engineering Design Process for Early Childhood
Type: Journal Article
Grade: