2012 Science Standards of Learning InstitutesManassas, Richmond, Abingdon, Roanoke

Summer 2012

Welcome and Goals for the DayTo improve science instruction by providing district-level trainers with professional development resources focused on facilitating students' scientific content understanding through science processes and practices.

Participants will:• Understand the changes in the Science SOL;• Engage in a discussion about rigorous science instruction;• Use science processes/practices as a way knowing and doing

science;• Gain a better understanding of discourse in science instruction;

and• Discuss formative and summative assessment practices.

Why is it important to have a rigorous and relevant science education program?

Take 30 seconds to write down three reasons why it is important to teach science well.

Talk to the person next to you and agree on one you would want to share.

Four reasons to teach science well

1. Science is an enterprise that can be harnessed to improve the quality of life on a global scale.

2. Science may provide a foundation for the development of language, logic, and problem-solving skills in the classroom.

3. A democracy demands that its citizens make personal, community-based, and national decisions that involve scientific information.

4. For some students, science will become a lifelong vocation and avocation.

Ready, Set, SCIENCE, National Research Council, p.3

Workforce NeedsThe seminal National Academy of Sciences study, Rising Above the Gathering Storm (2006), argues that, absent a serious and rapid response, the U.S. will lose quality jobs to other nations, lowering our standard of living, reducing tax revenues, and weakening the domestic market for goods and services.

A New Trend Line in Student Achievement

6

“Virginia's public schools are beginning a new trend line with the implementation of more challenging standards and assessments. The goal is to build on the progress already made under the Standards of Learning program and ensure that all graduates possess the knowledge and skills needed for success in college and the workplace.”

- Dr. Patricia I. Wright Superintendent of Public Instruction

Rigor in the Science SOL

International Center for Leadership in Education

Virginia Science Standards of LearningGoalsThe purposes of scientific investigation and discovery are to satisfy humankind’s quest for knowledge and understanding and to preserve and enhance the quality of the human experience. Therefore, as a result of science instruction, students will be able to achieve the following objectives:1. Develop and use an experimental design in scientific inquiry.2. Use the language of science to communicate understanding.3. Investigate phenomena using technology.4. Apply scientific concepts, skills, and processes to everyday experiences.5. Experience the richness and excitement of scientific discovery of

the natural world through the collaborative quest for knowledge and understanding.

Virginia Science Standards of Learning

Virginia Science Standards of LearningGoals6. Make informed decisions regarding contemporary issues, taking into account the following:

• public policy and legislation;• economic costs/benefits;• validation from scientific data and the use of scientific

reasoning and logic;• respect for living things;• personal responsibility; and• history of scientific discovery.

Virginia Science Standards of Learning

Virginia Science Standards of LearningGoals7. Develop scientific dispositions and habits of mind including:

• curiosity;• demand for verification;• respect for logic and rational thinking;• consideration of premises and consequences;• respect for historical contributions;• attention to accuracy and precision; and• patience and persistence.

8. Develop an understanding of the interrelationship of science with technology, engineering and mathematics.9. Explore science-related careers and interests.

Virginia Science Standards of Learning

Investigate & UnderstandMany of the standards in the Science Standards of Learning begin with the phrase “Students will investigate and understand.” This phrase was chosen to communicate the range of rigorous science skills and knowledge levels embedded in each standard. Limiting a standard to one observable behavior, such as “describe” or “explain,” would have narrowed the interpretation of what was intended to be a rich, highly rigorous, and inclusive content standard.

Investigate & Understand“Investigate” refers to scientific methodology and implies systematic use of the following inquiry skills:

• observing;• classifying and sequencing;• communicating;• measuring;• predicting;• hypothesizing;• inferring;• defining, controlling, and manipulating variables in

experimentation;• designing, constructing, and interpreting models; and• interpreting, analyzing, and evaluating data.

Investigate & Understand“Understand” refers to various levels of knowledge application. In the Science Standards of Learning, these knowledge levels include the ability to:

• recall or recognize important information, key definitions, terminology, and facts;

• explain the information in one’s own words, comprehend how the information is related to other key facts, and suggest additional interpretations of its meaning or importance;

• apply the facts and principles to new problems or situations, recognizing what information is required for a particular situation, using the information to explain new phenomena, and determining when there are exceptions;

Investigate & Understand“Understand” refers to various levels of knowledge application. In the Science Standards of Learning, these knowledge levels include the ability to:

• analyze the underlying details of important facts and principles, recognizing the key relations and patterns that are not always readily visible;

• arrange and combine important facts, principles, and other information to produce a new idea, plan, procedure, or product; and

• make judgments about information in terms of its accuracy, precision, consistency, or effectiveness.

When instruction is academically rigorous, students actively explore, research and solve complex problems to develop a deep understanding of core academic concepts.

Increasing rigor does not mean more and longer homework assignments, rather, it means time and opportunity for students to develop and apply habits of mind as they navigate sophisticated and reflective learning experiences. Students weigh evidence, consider varying viewpoints, see connections, identify patterns, evaluate outcomes, speculate on possibilities and assess value.

What Does Rigorous Science Instruction Look Like?

Video and Look Fors

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2009 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) Science Results for 15-Year-Old Students

29%of students scored at or

above level 4—the level at

which students can complete higher order

tasks.

Highlights from PISA 2009, p. 26

PISA Item

Trend in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2007

At grade 4 & 8, the United States had no measurable differences

between average science scores from 1995 to 2007.

Highlights from TIMSS 2007, p. 33

Sample TIMMS Item

Grade Four Grade Eight

2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Science Results Grade 4

34% of students

perform at or above Proficient

National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2009 Science Assessment, p. 8

4th Grade NAEP Item

2009 NAEP Science Results Grade 8

30% of students

perform at or above Proficient

National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2009 Science Assessment, p. 25

8th Grade NAEP Item

2009 NAEP Science Results Grade 12

21% of students perform at or

above Proficient

National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2009 Science Assessment, p. 46

12th Grade NAEP Item

NAEP Science Results 1969-1999

NAEP 1999 TRENDS IN ACADEMIC PROGRESS • EXECUTIVE SUMMARY xi

Virginia Science SOL Test Data

Assessments – Then and Now

Third Grade – 2003

Third Grade – 2012 (TEI)

Fifth Grade – 2003

Fifth Grade – 2010

Assessments – Then and Now

Earth Science – 2003Earth Science – 2010Assessments – Then and Now

Summary of Changes Use consistent terminology and content in the vertical

alignment of the standards

Update standards to include references to additional energy sources

Move examples and details to the Curriculum Framework

Added the“nature of science” to the majority of the .1 stems

Use of current applications to reinforce science concepts added to .1 SOL

http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/frameworks/science_framewks/2010/science_sol_crosswalk_03_10.pdf

Revisions to Science SOL: K-12Introduction to the Standards

• Added the introduction to all grade level Science SOL on Web site

• Added the preface

• Additional goal added related to understanding the interrelationship of science with technology, engineering, and mathematics (#8)

• Application section added to encourage connections across content and subject areas as well as connections to technology, engineering, and mathematicshttp://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/frameworks/science_framewks/2010/science_sol_crosswalk_03_10.pdf

Revisions to Science SOL: ElementaryElementary Overall Revisions

• Revised the order of the .1 standard to offer consistency from kindergarten through the Physics standards

• Added a strong emphasis on the use of data

• Added models in grades three through five

• Used consistent scientific vocabulary throughout the standards

• Added the introduction to the solar system in grade four

http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/frameworks/science_framewks/2010/science_sol_crosswalk_03_10.pdf

Revisions to Science SOL: MiddleMiddle School Overall Revisions

• Revised to include simulations and models in the .1 standards throughout middle school

• Addition of current applications of science to reinforce science concepts included in each .1 standard

• Consistent use of the term thermal energy

• Updated to include current science understandings such as Pluto and domains

http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/frameworks/science_framewks/2010/science_sol_crosswalk_03_10.pdf

Revisions to Science SOL: High SchoolHigh School Overall Revisions

• Revised to include simulations and models in the .1 standards throughout high school

• Moved details of science content to the Curriculum Framework

• Updated to include current science understandings such as Pluto and domains

• Added applications of science such as organic and biochemistry (CH.6) and nanotechnology (PH.12)

• Added the design process to PH.1http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/frameworks/science_framewks/2010/science_sol_crosswalk_03_10.pdf

Charge for the DayParticipants will:• Engage in a discussion about rigorous science

instruction;• Use of science processes/practices as a way

knowing and doing science;• Gain a better understanding of discourse in

science instruction; and• Discuss formative and summative assessment

practices.