learning about professional learning for ngss gljlwdo ... · science and engineering practices, one...
TRANSCRIPT
ProjectGoalsTheDigitalTeachingBoxesprogramformiddleandhighschoollifescienceteacherswasdesignedtobringcontentrelatedtohealthandbiomedicalresearchtostudentsinsupportofimplementingtheNextGenerationScienceStandards(NGSS).ThisprogrambroughttogethertheexpertiseoftheExploratorium,researchscientists,andlifescienceteacherstoworkinsmallcollaborativegroups,mentoringoneanotherastheyassembledresourcesanddevelopedcurriculummaterials.Workshopsintheprogramcoveredabroadrangeoflifesciencecontent,fromcellbiologytogenomicstohumanevolution.DigitalTeachingBoxesweremodeledafterthephysicalteachingboxesthatteachershavebeencreatingforover20yearsattheExploratoriumTeacherInstitute.Teachingboxeshaveeverythingateacherneedstoteachacurricularunitorseriesoflessons,andserveasaplanningtoolforprofessionaldevelopment.Overthecourseofthisproject,weaimedtoanswerthefollowingquestions:• Whatprofessionaldevelopmentexperiencesarenecessaryforteachersneedtoimplementthe
NextGenerationScienceStandardsintheirclassrooms?• HowcaninformalscienceinstitutionsandtheresearchcommunitybesthelpwithNGSS
implementation?
MainFindings
Wefound,basedonsurveysandinterviewswithteacherparticipants:
• Teachersmustexperiencefirst-handthesamephenomena-basedlearningopportunitiesthattheirstudents.Then,teachersneedtobegiventimeandspacetomakesenseofthatlearningexperienceandre-engineeritfortheirownstudents.Informalscienceeducationinstitutionscanprovidetheseexperiencesandcollaborativespace.
• Whilestand-aloneclassroomresourcessuchashands-onactivities,videos,andreadingsare
valuable,toshiftpedagogytowardsNGSSrequiresteacherstofocusoncoherenceandsequencingofactivities:whyandhoweachactivitysupportsstudentsaskingandansweringquestionstoexplainandunderstandanaturalphenomenon.Teachersrequirespecialsupportsforlessonplanningfromthisperspective.
• Researchscientistscanprovideavaluableresourcetoteachersinmodelingreal-lifeuseoftheScienceandEngineeringPractices,oneofthethreedimensionsofNGSS.
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LearningAboutProfessionalLearningforNGSSHillearyOsheroff,JulieYu,&KristinaYu
ThisprojectwassupportedbytheOfficeOfTheDirector,NationalInstitutesofHealthunderAwardNumberR250D016525.ThecontentissolelytheresponsibilityoftheauthorsanddoesnotnecessarilyrepresenttheofficialviewsoftheNationalInstitutesofHealth.
PlanningforStudentQuestions:aSequencingToolforTeachers
Wehavechangedthe‘why’wedoit.–TeacherLeaderParticipantTosupportteachersindesigningclassroomexperiencesinwhichstudentstrulyhavetheopportunityto“figuresomethingout,”wedevelopedasimpleplanningtooltohelpteacherscreateinstructionalsequencesthatcenterstudents’observationsandquestions.SingleactivitiesinwhichstudentsusetheScienceandEngineeringPracticestoconstructknowledgeaboutcontentaretherawmaterialforanNGSS-alignedlesson.Thissequencingtoolcanbeusedtoplanasinglelessonoranentiresemesterofinstructionandpromptsteacherstolookatclassroomactivitiesthroughthelensofthestudent.Activitiesaresequencedbasedonthequestionsraisedorunansweredbypreviousactivities,sothatanticipatedstudentobservationsandquestionsdeterminehowlearningunfolds.
TeacherInstitutestaffcreatedsamplesequencestoserveasmodels,focusedonbiologicalexamples,suchastheOsmosissequenceabove.
ThesequencingtoolwastestedandrefinedinastatewideprofessionaldevelopmentworkshopwithteacherleaderswhoworkinschoolsanddistrictsacrossCalifornia,allofwhomsupportotherteachersinNGSSimplementation.OneTLsaid,“Ilovedthistool…Ithinkitwillreallyhelpteachersfeelliketheycantaketheirideasandapplythemtothestandards.Itmodelshowthesameactivitiescanteachsuchvaryingideas.”Byshiftingfromstand-aloneresourcestotoolsthatsupportteacherstorevisetheirowncurricula,thisprofessionallearningapproachmirrorsthevisiondescribedbyNGSS—helpingteacherstodesigntheirownsolutionstoindividualquestionsaroundthelessonstheyteach.
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WhatSupportsDoTeachersNeedtoPlanforNGSS?
ScientistsSupportingNGSSImplementation
ThecourseoftheDigitalTeachingBoxprojectalignedwiththeadoptionandlaunchofNGSSinCalifornia.Inthefirstyearsofimplementation,teachers,schools,districts,professionallearningprovidersliketheExploratorium,andotherstakeholdersbegantointerpretthestandardsintoclassroompractice.OurinitialhypothesiswasthatafocusontheScienceandEngineeringPractices(SEPs)wouldbeahigh-leveragepracticeforteachers,andthattheinspirationofthepracticesofworkingscientistsmighthelpteacherstocreatenewNGSS-alignedresourcesfortheirclassrooms.WecarriedoutthisapproachoverthefirstseveralyearsofDigitalTeachingBoxworkshops,integratingresearchscientistsintolifescienceworkshops.Scientists’researchinspiredExploratorium-ledclassroomactivities,andteachersusedworkshoptimetoassembledigitalresourcecollectionsforuseintheirownclassrooms.Teachersannotatedthesecollectionswithnotesonimplementationforotherteachers’use,withtheintentionofcreatingsharableandadaptablestand-aloneresources.
AnexampleofthisapproachistheHomeostasisandTraitsofLifeDigitalTeachingBox,createdbyateacherinthe3rdyearoftheproject.Thisteacherdescribedherprocessinassemblingthisteachingbox:“Backthen,itwasalotofwhatmadesensetomeinmymindbuttherewerenoattachedphenomena,andIdidn’treallythinkabout,‘whataretheSEPsthatstudentsaregoingtobeusingforeachoftheseactivities?’and‘amIgivingstudentsabreadthofSEPsandcross-cuttingconcepts?’Noneofthatwasinmyplanningprocessatall.”WelearnedfromteacherexperienceslikethesethatplanningforNGSSimplementationrequiredmorethaninspiration,modeledexperiencesandareviewofthestandards.Furthermore,whenotherteachersreviewedandassessedpreviously-createdDigitalTeachingBoxesfortheirownclassroomuse,theyappreciatedthecontentandteachingnotes,buttheresourcesweresospecificallydesignedforaparticularcourse,teachersdidnotfeelthattheywereeasilyapplicabletotheirsettings.
DigitalTeachingBoxes2.0TheteacherintheaboveexamplesubsequentlycreatedasecondGeneticsDigitalTeachingBoxduringayearasaTeacher-in-ResidenceattheExploratorium.Thisteachingboxhadasimilarformattoherfirst,buthadsignificantdifferences:• Itwasexplicitlydesignedaroundexplainingaphenomenon(inthiscase,thesimilarities
anddifferencesbetweensiblingsofthesameparents).• Thesequenceofactivitieswasguidedbytheprinciplethateachactivityintheteaching
boxledtostudentsfiguringoutthisphenomenon.Foreachactivity,sheasked“whathavethestudentsfiguredoutfromthisactivityandwhatquestionsaretheystillgoingtohave,andthenwhatactivitiesshouldcomenexttoaddressthosequestions?”
• Thisteachingboxwasamoretime-intensiveprocessthanherfirst,andwashighlycollaborative,withinputsfromTeacherInstituteeducators,scientists,andteachers.
Forthisteacher,herexperiencepinpointedthechallengeofNGSS.ThevisionofNGSSrelieslessonstand-alone,NGSS-alignedclassroomresources,andmoreonhowaresourceisusedtochallengestudentstousetheSEPstoaskandanswerquestions.Inresponsetothesefindings,wemovedtowardscreatingbroadlyapplicabletoolstosupportteachersinansweringthequestion:
Howareclassroomresourcessequencedandframedsothataskingandansweringquestionsguidesthelearningprocess?
Overthecourseofthisproject,wehavedevelopedseveraldesignprinciplestomaximizetheimpactofincorporatingresearchscientistsasguestspresentersinanNGSSlearningenvironment.Thesedesignprinciplesleveragetheuniquewaysthatresearchersarepositionedtocontributetophenomena-based,inquiry-richlearningoutlinedintheNGSS.• FamiliarizescientistswiththebasicsofNGSSpriortoclassroom
visits,andleveragetheiruniquestrengthsbyfocusingontheScienceandEngineeringPracticesusedintheirresearch.
• IdentifycontentconnectionstoDisciplinaryCoreIdeas,andmaketheseconnectionsexplicittostudentswithhands-onactivitiespriortoexposuretocurrentresearch
• Groundresearchinphenomena-basedexperiences,suchasfirst-handobservationsofmodelsystemsororganisms.Encouragescientiststobringphysicalartifactsandexperienceswhenpossible,andtoaskaudiencestomaketheirownobservationsofphenomena.Designexperiencessothatparticipantscanengagedirectlywithdata.
DigitalTeachingBoxes1.0:WhatclassroomresourcesareneededforNGSSimplementation?