62
Making Sense of Sense‐Making Strategies to use in your classroom Betty Stennett and Brooke Bourdélat‐Parks NSTA San Antonio, TX April 11, 2013
Making Sense of Sense‐MakingStrategies to use in your classroom
Betty Stennett and Brooke Bourdélat‐ParksNSTA San Antonio, TXApril 11, 2013
BSCS Mission
The mission of BSCS is to transform science teaching and learning through research
and development that strengthens learning environments and inspires a global
community of scientifically literate citizens.
BSCS
• Biological Sciences Curriculum Study • Nonprofit organization 501(c)(3)• Established in 1958• Work portfolio includes curriculum development, professional development, educational research and evaluation projects.
• Supported by public and private agencies
Getting to Know Each Other
Introduce yourself:• Where do you teach?• What grades do you teach?• What interested you about this session?
Overview of the Session
• Learn strategies in the context of a science and society theme
• See examples of the strategies in other science disciplines
• Practice matching strategies to activities in the classroom
• Plan how to use strategies in your classroom
Garbage In, Garbage Out
How much garbage do you think you throw away in a day? Provide a guess in pounds.
Waste Generation Rates
Note that there are two different scales!
Waste Generation Rates
• In your notebook, write the phrase: “What I see:” near the right side of your sketch.
• Record what you see and draw an arrow pointing to what you are describing.– Think about changes,
trends, and differences. – Draw arrows to what you
are describing.– No “because” statements!
Waste Generation Rates
• Write the phrase: “What it means” underneath the first phrase.
• Record what it means and draw arrows pointing to what you are explaining.– You should have one WIM statement for each WIS statement
A Caption for Waste Generation Rates
• Think of the caption as an executive summary.
• Begin with a topic sentence describing the graphic
• Join WIS with WIM to form a short paragraph
Teaching the Identify and Interpret (I2) Strategy• Model, model, model• Work through one or part of one together• Don’t require the caption initially• Examples and non examples of appropriate responses.
• Work toward the goal of just requiring a caption– Students make the I2 comments a habit of mind.
Other ways to use I2
• Graphs• Data tables• Complex figures in text books• Before and after sketches to see changes
Identify and Interpret (I2)
Identify and Interpret (I2)
Identify and Interpret (I2)
How will this strategy help students make sense of what they are learning?
Focus Question
If people have been throwing away things for so long, why is there concern in some places now? What are some problems that exist today that did not exist in the past?
Constructing a Landfill
What controls do we need for our investigation?
Protocol
1. Use a spoon to dig a hole. Make sure it is the size and depth we agreed on.
2. Pour the powdered drink mix into the hole.
3. Cover the drink mix with soil. This will be the landfill site.
4. Place the block under one end.
Protocol, continued
• Decide on a team member to– spray– observe– time
• When the timer says “go,” the sprayer should add water at the rate we agreed on. The observer should be his or her work.
• Continue adding water and observing for the amount of time we agreed on.
Analogy MapsFeature of the
model…
…is (are) like…
feature of the real world.
They are alike because they
both…
Sand or clay
Landfill
Spraying water
Results of Investigation
• What were the results of your investigation?
• What lesson do you think people who build landfills could take from your investigation?
Models
• Models are integral to teaching science.
• Do models always help students understand the real world?
Teaching the Strategy
• Model, model, model• Start by doing one together• Use a partially completed table
– All of 1st row is complete– Random cells are complete– Complete cells so that students notice key features
• Examples and non examples of appropriate responses.
Analogy Map
Analogy Map
Analogy Map
How will this strategy help students make sense of what they are learning?
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Create an organizing table in your notebook.
Recycling Reducing Reusing
Notes
Examples
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
• Read Garbage Alternatives. • As you read, complete your table. • Add at least 2 additional examples (not from the reading) to your table. Use a different‐colored pen or pencil.
Let’s Consider this question…
When you have science reading material for your class, what do you do to ensure that students complete the reading?
Let’s reconsider the question as…
When you have science reading material for your class, what do you do to ensure that students understand the reading?
Reading in an Inquiry Classroom
• Does reading belong in an inquiry classroom?• Why wouldn’t you have reading in class?
– What’s the #1 response?“My kids can’t read.”
– What are the common remedies?• Do not do reading• Read as a group• Read it for them• Explain the content for them
Learning Science
To learn science effectively, students need to interpret data and scientific explanations described in
– printed text,– charts,– tables,– graphs, and– diagrams.
A scientifically literate student moves fluidly among these forms of information, acquiring, interpreting, and applying knowledge. Few students arrive in classrooms with this level of literacy; instead, they must be taught literacy strategies explicitly (Thier, 2002).
A Literacy Strategy for Your Science Classroom
Important ideas students get from scientific readings:
– Scientific vocabulary– Science concepts– Supporting ideas– Scientific facts–Others?
Literacy Strategies
• How do we help students pick out important ideas?
• The strategies need to be designed to help students pick out the most important information.
• Use a pre‐reading, during reading, and post‐reading strategy.
Billmeyer, R. & Barton, M. L. (1998). Teaching reading in the content areas: If not me, then who? Aurora: CO Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning.
Activate Your Schemapoultrymen chickens
farmers
incubation answer
merchants
coccidiosis egg
chicks
sunshine
Banties geese
barnyard roost
dark
Billmeyer, R. & Barton, M. L. (1998). Teaching reading in the content areas: If not me, then who? Aurora: CO Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning.
Literacy Strategies
• 2‐column chart or other organizing table• Venn diagram• Read, summarize, main idea• Structured note taking• Personal glossary• KWL• Others?
Literacy Strategy
Literacy Strategy
Literacy Strategy
Literacy Strategy
How will literacy strategies (and the idea of pre‐, during‐, and post‐reading strategies) help students make sense of what they are learning?
Out in the Desert
• Read Hazardous Waste to learn more about the situation.
• Pick the option you think is best. • Write a paragraph (in complete sentences) to describe why you chose the option you did. Include costs and benefits of that option.
CCCRConsider‐Contribute‐Consult‐Revise
• Consider and think individually. Write down your best ideas.
• Contribute your ideas with a partner.• Consult your partner.• Revise your ideas.
– Make revisions in a different colored pen or pencil.– Carefully consider the advice from your peers
Teaching the Strategy
• Insist that students follow the “rules”.• Insist that students do each step separately at first.
• Model the strategy• Listen and comment• Use the different colors as a formative assessment strategy
CCCRConsider‐Contribute‐Consult‐Revise• Consider and think individually. Write down your best ideas.
• Contribute your ideas with a partner. • Consult your partner. • Revise your ideas.
– Make revisions in a different colored pen or pencil.– Carefully consider the advice from your peers
group
individual
individual
How will this strategy help students make sense of what they are learning?
And…
How will this strategy help the teacher know if the student is making sense of what they are learning?
Matching Strategies to Curriculum
• Use a variety of strategies.• Make sure the strategies help students learn important information.
• Choose and use strategies appropriately so they do not “get in the way.”
Practice Matching Strategies to Curriculum
1. Choose a module. 2. On your own, look through the flagged pages
and decide if a strategy would help students make sense of the material.
3. Choose the strategy you would add. 4. Discuss your ideas with people who had the
same module you did.
Design a Future Lesson1. Find a person who teaches a similar subject/grade.2. Pick a concept that both of you teach. 3. Discuss an activity where students have trouble
understanding the concept. 4. Choose a strategy that will help students make
sense of the activity and concept. 5. Include an exemplar response that you could use as
a key. 6. How will you teach students to use the strategy?
3‐2‐1 Reflection
In your notebook, list• 3 things that you learned today. • 2 things that you want to share with a colleague.
• 1 thing you will try this month with your students.
You can access the PowerPoint slides for this presentation at www.bscs.org/sessions.
Please visit our website at www.bscs.org.
