1

Process Skillsof

Science and Mathematics

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Goals o Construct an understanding of the process skills of

science and mathematics and the central role these skills play in the learning of concepts.

o Identify the developmental levels of the process skills and redesign science and mathematics activities to promote students’ continuing development of these skills.

o Understand how inquiry-based teaching strategies can help students develop abilities to do inquiry, and subject matter knowledge

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Interweaving Process and Content

Process Content

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Take Home Messages1. Students use process skills to build a

conceptual understanding of science and mathematics content.

2. Students of all ages use all of the process skills. Each skill can be practiced at simple and increasingly complex levels.

3. Process skills are not used separately but as intertwined, coherent sets of skills.

4. Teachers can redesign activities to help students develop stronger process skills.

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Exploring Process Skills

The Process Skills Circus

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Part 1: Identifying Process SkillsScience Observing Raising Questions Planning and

Investigating Making Predictions Formulating

Explanations Analyzing Data Communicating

Mathematics Problem Solving Reasoning and Proof Communication Connections Representations

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Process Circus Task Instructions

1. Find the set of instructions written on a card.2. Follow the instructions.3. Record the main process skill you used to carry out the directions in the underlined

sentences of each task on the chart.4. Move on to another station.

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Process Skills Identification

Process Skill Candle Velcro Hinged Mirrors Can of Ice Wet Paper Toy

Surfaces

SCIENCE 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Observing

Raising Questions

Planning Investigations

Making Predictions

Formulating Explanations

Analyzing Data

Communicating

Process Skill Painting Cubes Area of an Octagon

MATH 1. 2.

Problem Solving

Reasoning and Proof

Communication

Connections

Representation

Process Skills Identification

10MSC Science Academy

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Wall Chart Small Group Discussion

What Process Skills did we use?

Discuss what you identified as the main process skill at each station, noting areas of agreement and disagreement.

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Wall Chart Getting ready for Large Group Discussion

Look over your charts and then mark the appropriate box on the Wall Chart.

Each team will use a different color marker.

Let’s discuss similarities and differences.

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Wall Chart Discussion

ProcessSkill Candle Velcro Hinged

MirrorsCan of Ice

Wet Paper

ToySurfaces

SCIENCE 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Observing

Raising Questions

Planning &Investigating

Making Predictions

Formulating Explanations

Analyzing Data

Communicating

Process Skill Painting Cubes

Area of an Octagon

MATH 1. 2.

Problem Solving

Reasoning and Proof

Communication

Connections

Representation

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Candle

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What process skill would you use to carry out the directions in the underlined sentences?

• Draw what you think the candle will look like when it’s lit. • Put labels on your drawing.• Now light the candle.• Draw it again. What’s different from your first drawing?• Are there any details in this drawing that

weren’t labeled in the first drawing?

1. Candle

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Velcro

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2. Velcro

What process skill would you use to carry out the directions in the underlined sentence?

Put two pieces of Velcro together. Try to part them. Try putting the pieces reversed, then

crossways. Make a series of drawings to show your

ideas and findings about how Velcro works.

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Hinged Mirrors

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3. Hinged Mirror What process skills would you use to answer the

underlined questions?

Place the penny between the upright hinged mirrors so that reflections of the coin can be seen. Adjust the angle to 120 degrees and count the reflections. Repeat for angles of 30 degrees and 90 degrees.

A: Can you identify a pattern in the relationship between images and angles? If so, what is it?

B: Based on the patterns you observed, how many images would you expect to get at 60 degrees?

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Can of Ice

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4. Can of Ice What process skill would you use to carry out

the directions in the underlined sentence?

Fill the can approximately halfway with ice cubes.

Look at the outside of the can. Write down as many possible explanations as

you can of what you see. Before you leave, empty the ice into the original

container and wipe off the can.

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Wet Paper

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5. Wet Paper What process skill would you use to

answer the underlined question?

Take a strip of paper and hold it vertically with one end in the water.

Watch what happens for about a minute. Given your observations, what more do

you want to know?

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Toy on Different Surfaces

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6. Toy on Different Surfaces What process skill would you use to carry out

the directions in the underlined sentences?

Suppose you were doing an investigation to find out whether the kind of surface on which a windup toy is put makes a difference in how far the toy moves.

Before doing the investigation, determine the following:

■ What will be changed? ■ What will be kept the same? ■ What will be measured?

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Area of An Octagon

Find the area of the regular octagon below if each side equals to 3 meters. Describe your method.

What process skill would you use to answer the underlined section.

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Painting CubesWhat process skill would you use to answer

the underlined section.

• How many unit cubes are in this package?• Suppose that the 6 sides of this package were

completely covered with red paint. • How many of the cubes would have 0 faces

painted? How many of the cubes would have 4 faces painted?

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Mini Pause Point

Why is it important for teachers to have a deep understanding of process skills?

What is the most effective way for students to practice process skills?

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Why is it important for teachers to have a deep understanding of process skills?

Teachers need to have an understanding of process skills so that they can identify where students are in their development of each skill in order to focus on helping them strengthen particular skills within inquiry-based learning activities.

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What is the most effective way for students to practice process skills?

Process Skills are not practiced discretely in the classroom:

Someone who is observing, for example, may be making predicting and thinking of possible explanations based on the observations, virtually simultaneously.

Pulling the skills apart and distinguishing them from one another can prove tricky. In actual practice, what we call process skills are not individual skills but combinations, or blends, of several skills.

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Part II

How Students Use Process Skills

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Observing Process Skills in ActionObserving

When observing, learners are:

identifying differences and similarities between objects or materials

using tools or instruments as necessary to extending the range of the senses

distinguishing from many observations those which are relevant to the problem at hand

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Observing Process Skills in ActionQuestioning

When questioning, learners are:

• readily asking a variety of questions about phenomena

• recognizing differences between questions that can and cannot be answered by investigation

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Observing Process Skills in ActionFormulating Explanations

When formulating explanations, learners are:• attempting to give explanations which are consistent with evidence or with ideas from prior experiences

• showing that they are aware that there may be more than one explanation that fits the evidence

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Observing Process Skills in Action Making Predictions

When making predictions, learners are:

• making use of evidence from experience or a possible explanation in forecasting the outcome of a specific future event

• using patterns in information or observations in forecasting outcomes of specific events that go beyond the data (extrapolations)

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Observing Process Skills in ActionPlanning Investigations

When planning investigations, learners are:• for a fair test, identifying the variable that has to be changed, the things that should be kept the same, and what to look for or measure to obtain a result in an investigation

• comparing what they actually did with what they planned

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Observing Process Skills in ActionAnalyzing Data

When analyzing data, learners are:

• discussing what they find in relation to their initial questions

• identifying patterns or trends in their observations or measurements and noticing related changes

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Observing Process Skills in ActionCommunicatingWhen communicating, learners are:

• using drawings, writing, models, and paintings to present their ideas, and using tables, graphs, and charts to record and organize results

• choosing forms for recording or presenting results that are appropriate for the type of information collected and presented, and appropriate for the audience

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Part 3: Helping Develop Process Skills

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Why do water drops appear on the outside of a can filled with ice?

Read: “Student Learning:

Condensation”

Identify the Process Skill on your card that was used by the students and cite (quote) evidence directly from the reading.

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As students develop and…understand more science concepts and processes,

their explanations should become more sophisticated…

frequently reflecting a rich scientific knowledge base, evidence of logic, high levels of analysis, and greater tolerance of criticism and uncertainty.

National Research Council. National Science Education Standards. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1996

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Levels of Process Skills

Now we are going to increase the depth of understanding of the Process Skills.

Modify your activity by changing the instructions. You may add sentences, a new material, and/or you may redesign the activity completely.

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Modifying Activities

You may: Add instructions to this activity. Change the prompts that already exist. Redesign the activity.

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Group Reports

Tell how you changed the activity

Which process skills did you use this time….that you did not use before.

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Take Home Message 1

Students use process skills to build a conceptual understanding of science and mathematics content.

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Take Home Message 2

Students of all ages use all of the process skills. Each skill can be practiced at simple and increasingly complex levels.

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Take Home Message 3

Process skills are not used separately but as intertwined, coherent sets of skills.

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Take Home Message 4

Teachers can redesign activities to help students develop stronger process skills.

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This material is based on work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. EHR-0314914. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the granting agency.