Who is Ivor Robson, and why is he associated with anchoring phenomena? If you are a longtime golf aficionado, you know that Ivor Robson had a special role at the British Open. Robson spent 41 years introducing each player on the first tee, and he never missed a tee time…ever. In addition, he served as the anchor for every player, who couldn’t begin playing until Robson called out his or her name and native country.

I think Ivor Robson’s role in golf relates to anchoring phenomena in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) because before our students can start their science journey, their teachers need to anchor it to something strong, such as an anchoring question or phenomenon, to serve as a foundation. Anchoring phenomena give students and teachers the stability to start a science lesson and the flexibility to formulate questions through the science processes.

How do anchoring phenomena enhance the shift from content-driven to process-driven classrooms?

I first began to understand the purpose of anchoring phenomena a few years ago when I attended a professional development session with fellow NSTA curator Brian Aycock. I don’t recall the question he posed, but I do remember it had something to do with water, and he showed us an image of a home that was buried in snow. By using that image as the anchoring event, Aycock demonstrated how it could generate many more questions from us. He explained that future questions can come from student discussions, facilitated by the teacher. 

Anchoring phenomena can be a game changer for science teachers. Our goal always has been to help students understand the process of science. In the past, we’ve tried to accomplish that by using vocabulary lists, encyclopedic texts, and culminating lab activities. Did we succeed? I think the best answer is partially. We helped students comprehend terms and cool science stuff, but we didn’t give them an experience that was rich enough for them to actually process science.

Anchoring phenomena based in the three dimensions of the NGSS has taken science education from traditional content-based instruction to process-based discovery. Students are no longer expected to simply memorize vocabulary lists and take a multiple-choice test to show science understanding. Today, students are using anchoring phenomena to “figure out” science. Starting with the initial phenomenon question, students are advancing on their own path to science understanding.

What do anchoring phenomena look like in the classroom?

I work at Francis Granger Middle School in Indian Prairie District 204 in northeast Illinois. This past year, we adopted the IQWST resource developed by Activate Learning. I have four science units in my current rotation, and each is based on an anchoring phenomenon.

One of my units, How will it move?, is based on the anchoring event of a magnetic cannon. In this cannon, a ball bearing is rolled slowly into two magnets. The energy from the first ball bearing is amplified by the magnets, which then propel the last ball bearing away from the apparatus at a higher rate of speed. The students worked and discovered together, then built magnetic cannons and simply explored the phenomenon. My only guiding question was, “How do you think this is occurring?”

This question guided them in their discovery. We asked more questions; small groups collaborated; and we became co-owners of the process of exploring that phenomenon. 

For the next eight weeks, we used our questions, and the sub-questions from our resource, to gradually discover how things move. The anchoring phenomenon kept us rooted in our Performance Expectation (PE) and Disciplinary Core Idea (DCI). The anchoring phenomena also gave us the flexibility to naturally connect Crosscutting Concepts (CCC) and examine with Science and Engineering Practices (SEP). The anchoring phenomena allowed the three dimensions of the Framework to come alive in our classroom.

Anchoring phenomena were visible in my classroom in obvious ways. The discussions were deep and rich. The collaboration was group-based and meaningful for all learners. The science process modeling developed over time and became more and more detailed. Most importantly, students had fun as they used anchoring phenomena to explore and discover science. Learning is meant to be fun.

Why are anchoring phenomena important to the NGSS classroom?

 Anchoring phenomena hold students and teachers to a PE, yet offer the flexibility to develop knowledge through questioning. They also foster an intentional use of the three dimensions of NGSS and spark activity and learning in the classroom. Anchoring phenomena provide relevance that makes students eager to learn what is next in the science process. How have you seen anchoring phenomena change your classroom? How have anchoring phenomena changed how you teach science?

Brian Klaft

Brian Klaft has taught middle school science for 26 years. He teaches at Francis Granger Middle School in Indian Prairie School District (IPSD) 204 in Aurora, IL. Previously he taught in Chicago Public Schools and South Berwyn District 100. Over the past four years Brian has served on IPSD’s science curriculum team, working with other district science staff to align the NGSS standards to district curriculum. He also serves as an NGSS@NSTA Curator and oversees the middle level waves and electromagnetic radiation topic area. Read Brian’s blog and follow him on twitter at @BKd204Sci.

Visit NSTA’s NGSS@NSTA Hub for hundreds of vetted classroom resources, professional learning opportunities, publications, ebooks and more; connect with your teacher colleagues on the NGSS listservs (members can sign up here); and join us for discussions around NGSS at an upcoming conference.

The mission of NSTA is to promote excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all.

Future NSTA Conferences

STEM Forum & Expo

• Kissimmee/Orlando: July 12–14, 2017

2017 Fall Conferences

• Baltimore: Oct. 5–7, 2017
• Milwaukee: Nov. 9–11, 2017
• New Orleans: Nov. 30–Dec. 2, 2017

National Conference

• Atlanta: March 15–18, 2018

Follow NSTA

When I began aligning my instruction to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), I got lost in the details. But when I realized that phenomena could be used to anchor linked disciplinary core ideas, I started to visualize the course as a whole and was able to build storylines around the phenomena. I now begin each unit by asking students to observe or experience a phenomenon, generate questions, then design investigations to answer their questions.

How do you choose good phenomena?

First, you need to understand what is meant by phenomena. Phenomena

• are observable events,
• can occur anywhere in the universe,
• can be explained using our knowledge of science, and
• can be predicted using our knowledge of science.

Because the anchoring phenomena will be both the foundation of and common thread throughout the unit, they must be something students can’t find an answer to quickly and easily with little experimentation or exploration. The phenomena must also relate to all the disciplinary core ideas (DCIs), crosscutting concepts (CCCs), and science and engineering practices (SEPs) students will encounter during the unit. They can be directly observable, like dry ice subliming or a pencil looking bent when it is resting halfway in a glass of water, or they can be portrayed in video clips, such as a slow-motion video of single replacement reaction viewed under magnification or a person doing parkour.

When planning a unit, I begin by reviewing the relevant DCIs and ask myself questions about the concepts involved. I teach physics and chemistry in high school, so this example shows my selection process for Newton’s second law, covered in HS-PS-2-1.

• What topics or investigations cause the most confusion for students?
• What are the really important aspects of Newton’s second law that will provide what students need to gain an enduring understanding?
• What is abstract or invisible and would make this concept difficult for students to visualize?
• Why does this matter to my students?
• Can I link this topic to a challenge for students?

These questions led me to one concept in physics, objects falling to Earth. This concept can be experienced in different ways, but one video clip from YouTube exemplified the phenomena for me. It shows an ostrich feather and a bowling ball being dropped together in the world’s largest vacuum chamber. Student questions about this video included these:

Why did both objects hit the ground at the same time?

Why do objects fall?

Was the acceleration of the objects constant as they fell?

How fast were the objects going when they hit the ground?

I prefer to post student questions in the classroom throughout the unit so we can refer to them and ensure the investigations the students are designing and conducting are moving us toward a better understanding of our anchoring phenomena.

Plenty of tools are available for students as they investigate these questions, including video analysis software, motion detectors, cell phone cameras with slow-motion filming, and even traditional ticker- tape times. Once the students have been introduced to the tools, they can decide how to use them to investigate the class questions.

The following links can help you learn more about using phenomena, including examples of phenomena that can be used throughout our courses. Good luck! If you need help finding good phenomena, don’t forget to visit the NSTA Learning Center or ask a question on one of NSTA’s member-only e-mail lists.

• https://www.ngssphenomena.com/
• http://nextgenstorylines.org

Alison Hapka

Alison Hapka teaches high school physics and chemistry and works hard each day to inspire young learners to love science and the pursuit of knowledge. She received a Bachelor’s degree in physics from Loyola University and a Master’s degree in geophysics from Boston College. She also took certification classes from West Chester University. Before entering teaching, Hapka worked in research and development for a hazardous waste remediation company. She has taught physics, chemistry, Earth science, and computer science at the high school level.

The mission of NSTA is to promote excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all.

Future NSTA Conferences

STEM Forum & Expo

• Kissimmee/Orlando: July 12–14, 2017

2017 Fall Conferences

• Baltimore: Oct. 5–7, 2017
• Milwaukee: Nov. 9–11, 2017
• New Orleans: Nov. 30–Dec. 2, 2017

National Conference

• Atlanta: March 15–18, 2018

Follow NSTA

I am the type of educator who gets very excited about new strategies, new and innovative technology, and new activities for students. However, I was more nervous about than excited about to choosing phenomena for my science units. I felt tremendous pressure to pick the “right” ones, ones that were engaging and exciting, while matching the standards precisely. Like all teachers would do, I started asking my peers how they were managing this work and began experimenting with phenomena myself. I’ll share a bit about my journey in embedding phenomena in the elementary grades.

Call to Adventure

The first time I heard about phenomena was at an NSTA conference a few years ago when a presenter displayed an energy stick, which I now know is a toy used to explore the science of electricity and circuits. The presenter only briefly explained what the object was, and I was puzzled about what she meant.

In small groups, we experimented with different ways to activate the toy’s lights and buzzers, asking many questions and constructing explanations. I quickly learned that phenomena were events that caused students to ask questions and explore underlying explanations and concepts of the unit. It was an engaging and memorable experience to do a lesson that was “flipped” in this way, and I wanted more. The following lessons provide opportunities for students to construct scientific understanding and meaning of phenomena.

The Starting Line

This year, I collaborated with a first-grade teacher who was working on a light unit. I wanted to start small in my phenomena dabbling, so I picked a lesson that used a light box to explore the concept that light is needed to see objects. I gathered all the first graders together and asked one student to turn off all the lights.

I asked the students if they could still see now that the lights were off. They noticed that windows, digital clocks, and hallways let in light. Some students noted how different things looked with the lights off; one student even said the colors were different. I used this discussion to engage them in thinking about how they are able to see the world around them, without giving any feedback or verifying if their answers were correct.

We did the light box activity, and students compared what they saw in the dark box with what they observed when looking in the box with a flashlight. After constructing diagrams in our journals, we returned to the original phenomenon about the ability to see with the lights off. Students revised their thinking and shared about other types of light that were still in the room that allowed them to see. Their experiences and discourse led the learning, not the teacher instructing on the content.

The Challenges

Finding a phenomenon for a lesson was a much easier starting place, but next I had to determine how to find one to anchor an entire unit. I had some concerns: What if the class loses interest or the phenomenon does not cover all the standards I would like to include? I set out to find answers, this time with a fifth-grade unit on plants that was out of date and not aligned to the NGSS.

The Revelation

Though this work can be messy and uncertain, I recommend that teachers just embrace it. I realized no “perfect” phenomenon exists for every single unit. Our world, our work, and our classrooms are constantly changing, and so must we.

I have found, though, that perusing books, videos, or photographs can spark ideas for new phenomena. In fact, while writing this article, I scrolled through old photos and was inspired by the rainbow reflection on my son’s shoes, the hummingbird sitting on the feeder, the red striations of the rocks of Iceland, and so much more. Why not invite students and families into this process of noticing phenomena?

The Return and Reflection

I learned a tremendous amount this year, and have revised my own thinking multiple times. I am still figuring all this out, but I am determined to continue my journey of using phenomena-based instruction to provide excellent, rigorous, and equitable experience to all students.

My Learning This Year

Resources:

Getting Familiar with Phenomena – Planning for Engagement Primer

Video of Phenomena – Teaching Channel

Examples of Phenomena – Many videos and photos

Checklist for Phenomena by STEM Teaching Tools

Liza Rickey

Liza Rickey is a science and STEM curriculum specialist in the Issaquah School District in Issaquah, Washington, who has taught elementary students for the past 15 years. She holds a bachelor’s degree in zoology and a master’s degree in education from the University of Washington and is an alumna of the Mickelson ExxonMobil Teachers Academy  and the Teachers College Writing Institute. She recently finished her administration certification and is excited to be a part of Teaching Channel’s Next Gen Science Squad. Connect with her on Twitter at @lizarickey.

This article was featured in the June issue of Next Gen Navigator, a monthly e-newsletter from NSTA delivering information, insights, resources, and professional learning opportunities for science educators by science educators on the Next Generation Science Standards and three-dimensional instruction. Click here to access other articles from the June issue on Anchoring Phenomena: What Are They and Why Do They Matter? Click here to sign up to receive the Navigator every month.

Visit NSTA’s NGSS@NSTA Hub for hundreds of vetted classroom resources, professional learning opportunities, publications, ebooks and more; connect with your teacher colleagues on the NGSS listservs (members can sign up here); and join us for discussions around NGSS at an upcoming conference.

The mission of NSTA is to promote excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all.

National Conference

• Atlanta: March 15–18, 2018

Follow NSTA