AT LAST!!!February 6, 2014

WRITING AND ARGUMENTATION IN

SECONDARY SCIENCE: DAY 1

WELCOME!

“LITERACY IS THE LITMUS PAPER OF THOUGHT…THE

VERY CENTER OF SCHOOLING.” ~TED

SIZER

In the context of teaching science, what does this

quote mean to you?

WHAT DOES ARGUMENT MEAN IN OUR EVERYDAY LANGUAGE?

ARGUMENT CLINIC

In science, an argument is used…

“to promote as much understanding of a

situation as possible and to persuade

colleagues of the validity of a specific idea….

[it] is ideally about sharing, processing, and

learning about ideas” (NRC 2008, p 89)

ARGUMENT IN SCIENCE

Title, Author Definition of Scientific

Argument What does argument look

like in the classroom? (General Structure)

Specific classroom example Best quote from the article Recommendation: Read this

article! It’s awesome because… (or opposite)

EXPLORING ARGUMENT IN THE CLASSROOM

A NEW MODEL FOR THE PRACTICE OF SCIENCE

ORCHESTRA STUDENTS ARE MUSICIANS;

STUDENTS ON THE BASKETBALL TEAM ARE

ATHLETES;

WHAT OPPORTUNITIES DO OUR SCIENCE

STUDENTS HAVE TO BE SCIENTISTS?

Write Around

WHY IS ARGUMENT IMPORTANT IN THE

SCIENCE CLASSROOM?

BREAK

NEXT GENERATION SCIENCE STANDARDS

NEXT GENERATION SCIENCE STANDARDS (NGSS)

ARCHITECTURE OF THE NGSS: PERFORMANCE EXPECTATIONS

Performance Expectations:•These describe what a student should be able to do at the end of a unit

•They are not meant to be lesson sequences or required activities

ARCHITECTURE OF THE NGSS

Science and Engineering Practices

Crosscutting Concepts

Disciplinary Core Ideas

ARCHITECTURE OF THE NGSS: CONNECTIONS

Connections to:

•Other content/grade-bands within the NGSS

•Common Core State Standards for ELA/Literacy and Mathematics

NGSS RESOURCES

http://www.nextgenscience.org/next-generation-science-standards

OUR SHIFT IN THINKING…From thinking that one

scientific method fits all To thinking about how to engage our students in the pract ices of sc ient ists

1. Asking questions and defining problems

2. Developing and using models

3. Planning and carrying out investigations

4. Analyzing and interpreting data

5. Using mathematics and computational thinking

6. Constructing explanations and designing solutions

7. Engaging in argument from evidence

8. Obtaining, evaluating and communicating information

OUR SHIFT IN THINKING…

From thinking that “hands-on” science is ESSENTIAL

To thinking that engaging students EVERY DAY in scientific practices and thinking is POWERFUL

A NEW MODEL FOR THE PRACTICE OF SCIENCE

Next Generation Science Standards

Science & Engineering Practices

1. Asking questions and defining problems

2. Developing and using models

3. Planning and carrying out investigations

4. Analyzing and interpreting data

5. Using mathematics and computational thinking

6. Constructing explanations and designing solutions

7. Engaging in argument from evidence

8. Obtaining, evaluating and communicating information

SHIFTING OUR PRACTICE…From…

How am I going to teach this?

To…How are students going to learn about this?

Which Science and Engineering Practices (SEP) best support writing and argumentation?

WRITING AND ARGUMENTATIONNext Generation Science

Standards Science & Engineering

Practices

1. Asking questions and defining problems

2. Developing and using models

3. Planning and carrying out investigations

4. Analyzing and interpreting data

5. Using mathematics and computational thinking

6. Constructing explanations and designing solutions

7. Engaging in argument from evidence

8. Obtaining, evaluating and communicating information

According to the SEP, what are the hallmarks of a high quality argument at your grade level?

WRITING AND ARGUMENTATION

Claim – Evidence – Reasoning (CER)CLAIM: What do you know?EVIDENCE: How do you know that?REASONING: Why does your evidence support your claim?

GETTING STARTED

CLAIM – EVIDENCE – REASONING (CER)

What grade level?

Rewrite the student response so it reflects a higher grade band.

How might the task be changed to produce a higher level of student work?

SO HOW DO WE PUT IT ALL TOGETHER SO

THAT IT’S MEANINGFUL FOR OUR STUDENTS?

When procedures are uniform for all students, where data are similar, and where claims match expected outcomes, then the reportage of results and conclusions often seems meaningless to students and lacks opportunities for deeper student learning

about the topic or for developing scientific reasoning skills. (If everyone gets the same

answer why ask the question? How meaningful is this type of experience? Is this just another school exercise done to

them?)~Hand, Norton-Meier, Staker, and Bintz

 

When procedures are uniform for all students, where data are similar, and where claims match expected outcomes, then the reportage of results and conclusions often seems meaningless to students and lacks opportunities for deeper student learning

about the topic or for developing scientific reasoning skills. (If everyone gets the same answer why ask the question?

How meaningful is this type of experience? Is this just another school

exercise done to them?)~Hand, Norton-Meier, Staker, and Bintz

 

We need to change our thinking with

respect to experimentation!

EXPERIMENTATION

Conventional

Separate Unit on the Scientific Method

Then spend the rest of the year learning content through text resources or telling.

EXPERIMENTATION

Students read the text to learn vocabulary and background information about clouds.

?

Students then observe the cloud in a jar that confirms what they already “know.”

Conventional

EXPERIMENTATION

Shifts in Practice for NGSS

Students search for answers to their questions as they read the text.

?

Students ask questions about cloud formation and do some investigating on their own.

5E LEARNING CYCLE

5E Model is based from the SCIS Model of Instruction by researchers Atkins and Karplus in 1967.

5E Model was originally proposed by BSCS (Biological Science Curriculum Study) in the late1980’s.

EngageExploreExplainElaborateEvaluate

5E LEARNING CYCLE

http://www.bscs.org/bscs-5e-instructional-model

EngageExploreExplainElaborateEvaluate

HOW DOES ARGUMENT FIT INTO THE 5E LEARNING CYCLE?

http://www.bscs.org/bscs-5e-instructional-model

Draw a diagram that shows how both people can see the light.

ENGAGE

What ideas or questions do you have about how

light travels?

What can you find out about the way light travels?

EXPLORE

What if you have 2 light

sources?

How is this the same? Different?What image will you see?

EXPLORE

What can you find out now?

EXPLORE

How is this the same? Different?What will you see on the screen?

EXPLORE

Activity Observations

How do these

observations help

answer the focus

question?     

     

     

     

EXPLAIN

Imagine that you have a pair of Magic Science Glasses. When you look at light with your Magic Science Glasses, you see the particles that make up light.

Put on your Magic Glasses and “look” at the light particles that we’ve been experimenting with. Use what you see about how these particles are behaving and what they look like to explain all the patterns we noticed in our experiments. Use a whiteboard to create a representation that answers the focus question:

How does light travel?

How does light travel?

Light particles……travel in straight lines…travel in all directions…are invisibly small…travel at high speed

Activity Observations

How do these

observations help

answer the focus

question?     

     

     

     

EXPLAIN

DEVELOPING A SCIENTIFIC ARGUMENT

Engage

Explore

Explain

LUNCH

TASKS FOR ARGUMENTATION

Using the data provided, create a representation that will help you show which city Jeremy should visit and at what time of year (spring, fall, winter, or summer).

You may represent your data in any way you choose.

You may choose to represent all or only some of the data, as long as you can use your representation to justify your recommendations for Jeremy’s vacation (where to go and when to go there).

JEREMY’S VACATION

From Cartier, Smith, Stein, and Ross, 5 Practices for Orchestrating Productive Task-Based Discussions in Science, NSTA Press, 2013, page 3.

Task ACreate a bar graph that shows the average monthly high and low temperatures in each city. Identify where and when Jeremy should go on vacation.

Task BUsing the data provided, create a representation that will help you show which city Jeremy should visit and at what time of year (spring, fall, winter, or summer).

COMPARING 2 TASKS

From Cartier, Smith, Stein, and Ross, 5 Practices for Orchestrating Productive Task-Based Discussions in Science, NSTA Press, 2013, page 3.

High cognitive demand

Students engage in multiple ways that are productive

Students produce artifacts

TASKS THAT SUPPORT ARGUMENTATION

TaskScienc

e conce

pt

Student artifacts

Argumentati

on!

Experimentation Tasks

Data Representation, Analysis, and Interpretation Tasks

Explanation Tasks

TYPES OF TASKS

From Cartier, Smith, Stein, and Ross, 5 Practices for Orchestrating Productive Task-Based Discussions in Science, NSTA Press, 2013, page 3.

What do you notice?

What do you wonder?

FEATURES OF LOW AND HIGH COGNITIVE DEMAND TASKS

From Cartier, Smith, Stein, and Ross, 5 Practices for Orchestrating Productive Task-Based Discussions in Science, NSTA Press, 2013, page 3.

LOW OR HIGH COGNITIVE DEMAND?

From Cartier, Smith, Stein, and Ross, 5 Practices for Orchestrating Productive Task-Based Discussions in Science, NSTA Press, 2013, page 3.

How might you increase the cognitive demand of this task?

Develop a learning cycles or task that provides opportunities for argumentation.Use the Low/High Cognitive Demand Chart to guide your work

Bring examples of student work (written work, photos of whiteboards, etc…) to our next meeting on March 13!

BEFORE WE MEET AGAIN…