January 2009 RMC Research Corp. 1

Effective Science Instruction: What Does Research Tell Us?

Dave WeaverRMC Research Corporation

RMC Research Corp. 2January 2009

Research Results Converge: Reading

Reading—50 years of research Effective reading instruction requires a

balanced blend of: Phonemic awareness Decoding Vocabulary development Reading fluency, including oral reading skills Reading comprehension strategies

Any single approach is inadequate

RMC Research Corp. 3January 2009

Research Results Converge: Mathematics

National Math Panel Report Effective mathematics instruction requires

a balanced blend of: Computational fluency Conceptual understanding Problem solving

Any single approach is inadequate

January 2009 RMC Research Corp. 4

What About Science?

RMC Research Corp. 5January 2009

Science Is Different FromLanguage Arts and Math

Language Arts (& Reading) and MathAre skills created by people Involves learning established conventions

ScienceUnderstanding how the world worksHow to create new knowledgeLife in the world creates a working

understanding

RMC Research Corp. 6January 2009

Importance of The Learning Theory in Science

Working knowledge is entrenched and difficult to overcome

Sometimes called “Private Universe” Key concepts must be internalized

Sometimes called “Big Ideas” or “Enduring Understandings”

Requires greater attention to the learning theory embodied in the instructional materials

RMC Research Corp. 7January 2009

Most Current Publication

Banilower, E., Cohen, K., Pasley, J., & Weiss, I. (2008). Effective science instruction: What does research tell us? Portsmouth, NH: RMC Research Corporation, Center on Instruction.

Posted in documents section of the OEL website

January 2009 RMC Research Corp. 8

Key Points from:Effective Science Instruction: What Does Research Tell Us?

RMC Research Corp. 9January 2009

Reform vs. Traditional

Traditional instructionTeacher delivered information and

independent student work Reformed instruction

Small groups of students participating in hands-on activities

RMC Research Corp. 10January 2009

Debating Which Is Best Misses The Point!

“Current learning theory focuses on students’ conceptual change, and does not imply that one pedagogy is necessarily better than another.”

RMC Research Corp. 11January 2009

Elements of Effective Science Instruction

Eliciting Prior Understanding Intellectual Engagement Use of Evidence Sense-Making Motivation

RMC Research Corp. 12January 2009

Eliciting Students’Prior Understanding

Students come with ideas and beliefs that can either facilitate or impede learning Their Private Universe

Instruction is most effective when it: Elicits students’ initial ideas, Provides them with opportunities to confront those ideas in

light of new evidence, Helps them formulate new ideas based on the evidence,

and Encourages students to reflect upon how their ideas have

evolved.

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Intellectual Engagement Students must do the intellectual work and the

thinking Must involve meaningful experience that

engage students intellectually with important science content

Activities must be explicitly linked to learning goals

Students must understand the purpose of the instruction

Must engage with ideas, not just the materials

RMC Research Corp. 14January 2009

Use of Evidence

Lessons must provide multiple opportunities for students to:Make claims and conjecturesBack up their claims with evidenceUse evidence to critique claims made by

other students Science discourse

RMC Research Corp. 15January 2009

Sense-Making

Lesson must provide opportunities for students to make sense of the ideas with which they have been engaged in order to draw appropriate conclusions

Closure Reflection Meta-cognition Application to new situations

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Motivation Types of Motivation

Extrinsic Motivation (Accountability) Deadlines, competition, tests, grades May actually be detrimental

Intrinsic Motivation Stems from intellectual curiosity, personal

interest or experiences, desire to resolve discrepant events or cognitive dissonance

Appropriate blend is needed

RMC Research Corp. 17January 2009

Research On Effective Science Instruction is Also Converging

Considerable evidence from research shows that instruction is most effective when it elicits students’ initial ideas, provides them with opportunities to confront those ideas, helps them formulate new ideas based on evidence, and encourages students to reflect upon how their ideas have evolved.

(Horizon Research, 2008)

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Untrenching Their Private Universe

Without these opportunities, students “may fail to grasp the new concepts and information that are taught, or they may learn them for purposes of a test but revert to their preconceptions outside the classroom”

(National Research Council, 2003, p. 14)

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Motivation is the Driving Force

Effective Science Instruction

Elicit Prior Understanding

Identify InitialIdeas

Sense-MakingReflect Upon How

Ideas Have Evolved

Use of EvidenceFormulate New Ideas Based on Evidence

Intellectual Engagement

Experience to Confront Initial Ideas

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The new OEL observation rubric was designed to address this vision of effective science instruction.

RMC Research Corp. 21January 2009

Reference

Banilower, E., Cohen, K., Pasley, J., & Weiss, I. (2008). Effective science instruction: What does research tell us? Portsmouth, NH: RMC Research Corporation, Center on Instruction.

National Research Council. (2003). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school. J. D. Bransford, A. L. Brown, & R. R. Cocking (Eds.). Washington, DC: National Academy Press.