I’m incorporating several strategies this year to help my life science students understand written information. I provide study guides with questions to answer, graphic organizers, and quizzes on the information, but they still don’t seem to comprehend what they read. Do you have any other suggestions?
—Mary, Abilene, Texas
For many of our students, reading science text (a traditional textbook, a print article, or an online source) with its specialized vocabulary can seem like reading another language.
Unlike what students might see in their history classes, the topics in science resources are not usually written in a chronological sequence. Science text often starts with a main concept and then provides descriptions or supporting details. Unlike fiction in English class, science text often uses headings, subheadings, abstracts, summaries, sidebars, and graphics.—all of which contain text. Science text may be written from an expert point of view instead of the first person. Students may not realize that reading science text can be a slower process than reading a novel or story and going back to reread a section is appropriate.  Guiding them through the reading process is important, especially for younger students, to help them process and understand the text.
With all due respect, it seems like you’re doing a lot of the work for them by designing study guides, selecting graphic organizers, and grading quizzes. What if students had the reverse assignment: What questions would you ask if you were making a test on this information?
In my collaborations with a middle level reading specialist, we had students put questions in the margin (or attach on a sticky note) as they read the material. We guided the students through several types of reading and questioning:

• Reading the lines. Some learning goals require literal information—for example, being able to name three types of volcanoes, define the term magma, or list three examples of igneous rocks. This was the easiest for students

• Reading between the lines. Learning goals requiring summarizing, comparing, contrasting, describing, or explaining require more thought as students formulate questions. How are sandstone and limestone alike? How are they different? Describe how igneous rock is formed. This required more guidance from the teacher with examples and modeling.

• Reading beyond the lines. Applying what they are learning to new situations, making connections to what they already learned, or asking additional questions might be new experiences for your students and also requires examples and modeling.

Modeling with a “think aloud” makes the thinking process visible (and audible) to students. I observed a chemistry teacher do this. He displayed a page on an interactive white board. He read a paragraph aloud and then stopped. He described out loud how to attend to key words or phrases such as “there are three reasons…” He then put a note in the margin describing the main idea of the paragraph “What are three reasons for…” The students put the question in their margins and then used a highlighter to underline a few key phrases. The teacher showed and explained how he would highlight the text (e-readers or tablet applications have a built-in capability to add notes or underline). In his exit assessment, the students seemed to comprehend the material.
These strategies—along with the ones you’re already using—help students process information while reading. But what happens after students have read the text? A study from Purdue University in 2011 looked at the effectiveness of several study strategies. The author of the study notes that practicing retrieving (through self-tests, for example) compared to other strategies (such as rereading) would result in better learning.

• Research Finds Practicing Retrieval Is Best Tool for Learning
• Science Learning Easier When Students Put Down Textbooks and Actively Recall Information 

Self-testing through questioning could be an interesting action research project.
 
Photos:
www.flickr.com/photos/suttonhoo22/305806118/
www.flickr.com/photos/treevillage/5107999448/sizes/l/in/photostream/

I think of conferences as meetings with multiple science coaches, each of whom help me improve my teaching in some way—if I implement the updates or changes once I’m back at school. That may be a big if. Those updates happen best with administrative support and the support of other teachers who are also examining their own practice. For early childhood educators who work in very small programs without that support, conferences can be a much needed infusion of new ideas and companionship of like-minded educators. I remember my first NAEYC conference as a family home day care provider and the excitement of being with thousands of others who were colleagues!
Here are a few examples of conferences that can enrich your and your colleagues’ lives. Let others know about the local conferences in your community and state by commenting below.
In San Antonio, Texas
National Science Teachers Association
Don’t miss the Elementary Extravaganza, one of the early childhood sessions at the NSTA national conference, April 11-14, 2013.
The session scheduler lists many early childhood sessions—search for keywords “preschool” or “kindergarten” and take a look.
Upcoming NSTA conferences are listed here.
Council for Elementary Science International
This organization is a sponsor of the Elementary Extravaganza and offers many pre-conference and conference sessions. See the schedule here.
In northern Virginia
The early childhood group of NoVA Outside (I am a member and presenter) has a conference on Saturday, April 13 from 9-1. Ginny Sullivan, educator, landscape designer and co-author of Lens on Outdoor Learning will be the keynote speaker. Outdoor sessions, rain or shine, will include:
Learning to build a beautiful Keyhole Pollinator Garden
Using “loose parts” to enhance children’s play experience
Finding and observing local wildlife (roly-polies, crickets, birds…)
Virginia, statewide
VAST, the Virginia Association of Science Teachers, has annual conferences and mini conferences.
VAST Region 3 has their first ever mini-conference on April 27, Science in the Classroom: It’s Natural! 8:30-2pm, $15 including lunch!
More conferences…
Does your school, community, or organization offer training in science teaching in early childhood? Please comment to recommend conferences with some early childhood science sessions. I hope to meet you at one of them!

Innovation rarely occurs in a vacuum, and this installment of the “Science of Innovation” video series emphasizes that. Neither scientist involved in the research highlighted would have succeeded as quickly without the knowledge and input of the other. Use the video to point out to students how seeking out help when a stumbling block presented itself turned out to be beneficial to both people involved.

Students might think collaboration is the same as teamwork or groupwork, yet many in business and education alike differentiate among them. Groupwork involves an exchange of ideas, but there’s no common outcome. Teamwork is often focused on some collective end product and several people with different kinds of expertise contribute to its execution. Collaboration may also be focused on a collective end product, but involves discussion and joint decision-making through consensus. While students have likely been working in teams, use the connected lesson plans to push them toward more collaboration—exchanging ideas, coming to consensus, and engineering designs.

Collaboration was key among the parties involved in the “Science of Innovation” video series—NBC Learn, USPTO, NSF, and NSTA. The series is available cost-free on www.NBCLearn.com, www.science360.gov, and www.uspto.gov/education. Use the link below to download the lesson plans in a format you can edit to customize for your situation. Then, let us know how you like them!

–Judy Elgin Jensen

Image of Navy “plebes” scaling a monument to remove a dixie-cup cover from the top and replace it with a Midshipman combination cover courtesy of Slagheap.

Video

SOI: Fuel Cell Efficiency highlights Professors Reginald Farrow and Zafar Iqbal and their research efforts in cellular-level probes and biofuel cells to produce a fuel cell that is 100 times more efficient than existing fuel cells.

Lesson plans

Two versions of the lesson plans help students build background and develop questions they can explore regarding the efficiency of energy transformations. Both include strategies to support students in their own quest for answers and strategies for a more focused approach that helps all students participate in hands-on inquiry.

SOI: Fuel Cell Efficiency, A Science Perspective models how students might investigate how the amount of chemical energy in a food source affects the amount of work it can do.

SOI: Fuel Cell Efficiency, An Engineering Perspective describes how students might model a biofuel cell, using a food such as potato chips or cheese puffs as the fuel source, to heat water.

You can use the following form to e-mail us edited versions of the lesson plans: [contact-form 2 “ChemNow]

How many of us in the K-12 science environment use word puzzles to help students review concepts and learn vocabulary? I haven’t been convinced of the value of find-a-words or jumble puzzles are effective learning tools, but crossword puzzles and others that ask students to think of words to fit the clues could be useful. Teachers spend many hours creating puzzles, finding ones online, duplicating them, and using class time to for students to complete them. How do we know if puzzles are effective learning strategies.
The March/April issue of NSTA’s Journal of College Science Teaching has an interesting study related to puzzles in the classroom. (As an NSTA member you do have access to this journal. Although the articles focus on college science learning, it’s worth it for K-12 teachers to browse the titles every other month.)
The authors of Utility of Self-Made Crossword Puzzles as an Active Learning Method to Study Biochemistry in Undergraduate Education put a different spin on puzzles. Rather than asking students to complete teacher-made puzzles, students were asked to create them using key concepts from the course. The article has the instructions for the puzzle-makers and an example. A majority of the students felt that the puzzles enhanced their learning of biochemical concepts and their exam scores were slightly higher (although no level of significance was included).
I had some questions that would make interesting action research at the K-12 level. What would happen if other students were given their peers’ puzzles to solve—would this additional level of review be helpful? Would this give feedback to the designer as to the clarity of the clues? What could this look like as a team project? From the example given, it appears that the puzzles were created manually with students manipulating the words and submitting a version in which they filled in the answers. Would there be a difference if the students were to use an online puzzle generator in which most of the work was done by the program? Hmmm…
Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/create_joy/3225669031/sizes/s/in/photostream/

When I return tests, the students look at their grades, complain the test was unfair, and don’t pay much attention when we go over it. How can I deal with this? I teach ninth grade earth science.
—Ava, Lexington, Kentucky
Unit assessments can provide an opportunity for students to demonstrate what they’ve learned by asking them to synthesize concepts or apply them to new situations. But students may believe (perhaps based on previous experiences) that tests consist of trick questions, the questions are unrelated to the class activities, or the main purpose of a test is to provide points for a grade.
It might be helpful for you to look over and fine-tune a test before you give it to the students. Do the test items correlate to the learning goals? Do the items use different terminology than what was used in class? Are the test directions clear? Are students familiar with your expectations and rubrics for essay questions? But even with a well-designed assessment, students may feel it’s unrelated to what they do in class.
Sometimes students see a class as a series of unrelated events and don’t make connections from one activity to the next. At the beginning of each unit, share with them the focus on the unit and its learning goals (or whatever terminology you use: “big ideas,” essential questions, themes, or learning objectives). Many teachers post these goals in the classroom or have the students add them to their science notebooks. Refer to them often throughout the unit, showing how new concepts and activities relate to the goals and can contribute to the students’ understanding.
Help the students assess their own understanding prior to the test with frequent formative assessments. A checklist of the learning goals can help students chart their progress. Give students opportunities to synthesize and apply what they’re learning during the unit so when they see this type of question on the test they won’t panic.
After a test, when I asked my students about their “unfair” complaint, they often couldn’t put their fingers on specific questions. I tried several strategies to provide opportunities during the test for them to express any confusion, frustrations, or questions:

• Tell-me-about-it. This idea came from one of my professors in grad school whose first language was not English. He told us that if we weren’t sure of the way he worded a problem, we should explain our interpretation and why we answered as we did. This would help him improve, too. I used this option especially with essay questions. Assuming the interpretation was a valid one, the student was given credit for the question. (And I revised the question for the next time).

• Circle-three. On the objective portion of a test (such as multiple choice or fill in the blank questions), students could circle three items that confused them (the number was arbitrary on my part). They had to answer the questions and explain why they circled the items. The answer could not be blank, off-topic, or nonsense. The first time we tried this, I gave the students some ideas of how to start a response: “I did not understand …” “I am confused about …” “I was unsure of what you meant by…” If the answer was incorrect, it did not count in the final score. If it was correct, there was no “bonus.” As I was scoring the test, I kept track of which items had a lot of circles. For example, on one test there were quite a few circles around an item that used the word media (as in agar). I assumed students understood the word in this context, but their responses indicated otherwise, and some were unaware media is the plural of medium. So we reviewed the word, added it to the word wall, and the next time I did the unit I was sure to address it. This strategy was also helpful when we reviewed the test. Rather than going over every item, I focused on frequently circled items.

The first few times I used these, some students resisted—I was asking them to take some responsibility. But gradually, most of them learned I was serious about making assessments an integral part of the learning experience.
 
Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/judybaxter/3310525306/
 

In the most recent issue of the Leaders Letter, one of the features includes a discussion about the new NOVA Series which is appearing on PBS. The Secret Life of Scientists and Engineers which is developed and produced by PBS as part of the NOVA Series has a wonderful website that provides short informative and inspiring videos of scientists and engineers and how they became involved in their fields.
 
One of the most famous names that appear in the series is Mayim Bialik who is on The Big Bang Theory.  In her video clip titled “Blossoming to Science” she discusses how she was a child actress who then found a passion for science and how she has managed to merge both her love of science and acting.
 
In addition to the video clips, there is a teacher resources area for blog posts; teaching tips and other web resources. The index of scientists and engineers can also be sorted by field or “hidden secret” to aid in selecting video clips for use in the classroom.
 
Even though we are on the edge of having the Next Generation of Science Standards it is important to consider that the National Science Education Standards had an actual standard that focused on the History and Nature of Science which included the pursuit of science by those men and women who have come before the current day.  The connection of personal stories about these scientists often helps students understand the trial and error process, individual sacrifices, and dedication to the content fields that each was involved in over time.
 
One of the ways I have incorporated the individual contributions of scientists into an elementary classroom is to have students read books about the scientists when they were children – to better understand how the scientists became interested in the topic they eventually studied.  The students need to create sentence strips that would be able to be sequenced (a tie into reading and Common Core for English Language Arts) by other students as part of a biography box.  I have also modeled this activity in teacher professional development workshops where teachers have also commented about how much they learned about the different scientists.  So how do you incorporate the history of science and scientists into your classroom at any level???
 

Teachers engage in creating biography boxes as part of a professional development workshop.

I’m already a fan of the Uncovering Student Ideas series, but authors Page Keeley and Cary Sneider piqued my interest with the 45 new formative assessment probes in this latest volume, Uncovering Student Ideas in Astronomy. Trying to get a sense of how and what students think about a particular science concept is tricky. As the authors’ say, “You cannot ‘fix’ your students’ misconceptions. However, by using these probes to formatively assess your students’ current thinking, you will be in a much better position to create a path that moves students from where they are to where they need to be scientifically.”
Organized into five sections, the book explores The Nature of Planet Earth; The Sun-Earth System, Modeling the Moon; Dynamic Solar System; and Stars, Galaxies, and the Universe. The probes presented in each section are designed to allow students to increase their perspective and improve their mental models of the Earth’s position among other bodies in space.
The probes, such as these examples, delve into astronomy concepts that will keep your science classroom discussions lively:

• Where did the Sun go?
• Sunrise to sunset
• How far away is the Sun?
• Does the Moon orbit the Earth?
• Earth or Moon shadow?
• Moon spin
• How do planets orbit the Sun?

Using the tools in this book, you can uncover the astronomy-related ideas your students bring to the classroom. Every student has his or her own unique approach to creating meaning in a learning situation. Whether or not a student’s ideas change depends on the willingness of the student to accept new ways of looking at his or her natural world.
Along with each probe, teacher notes are provided that define the purpose, provide related concepts and explanation, connect to the Benchmarks for Science Literacy and the National Science Education Standards, and suggest ideas for instruction and assessment.

It’s widely reported that the first “flex fuel” automobile able to run on either gasoline or ethanol was Henry Ford’s Model T. With hemp and other types of cellulosic biomass as the source instead of corn, Ford is quoted as saying that ethyl alcohol (ethanol) is “the fuel of the future” back in 1925. Well, the future is here and we’re still working to make it so. With biofuel innovations like the one highlighted in this installment of the “Science of Innovation” video series, perhaps the future is closer than we think.

The “Science of Innovation” video series from the collaborative team of NBC Learn, USPTO, NSF, and NSTA, can also fuel your STEM efforts. Use the series to fuel innovative thinking in your students as well. The U.S. Patent & Trademark Office defines an innovation as a new way of doing something or a new way of looking at something. An innovation is not necessarily an invention, but could be a precursor or prerequisite leading to or enabling one to emerge. The innovative mind is an open, active one, capable of synthesizing and testing the synthesis of many ideas and elements of knowledge. That mind can work through a series of nonlinear and often non-sequential steps to take an idea or solution that addresses a particular problem or need from concept to a product or service in the marketplace.

The “Science of Innovation” video series is available cost-free on www.NBCLearn.com, www.science360.gov, and www.uspto.gov/education. Use the link below to download the lesson plans in a format you can edit to customize for your situation. Then, let us know how you like them!

–Judy Elgin Jensen

Image of Dreaming Spires Model T Ford Rally, courtesy of Richard Peat.

Video

SOI: Biofuels highlights Dr. Steve Hutcheson and his innovative approach to producing biofuels from cellulosic biomass, using a bacterium discovered in the Chesapeake Bay.

Lesson plans

Two versions of the lesson plans help students build background and develop questions they can explore regarding the production of biofuels. Both include strategies to support students in their own quest for answers and strategies for a more focused approach that helps all students participate in hands-on inquiry.

SOI: Biofuels, A Science Perspective models how students might investigate a question about how differing substrates affect the production of a biofuel using a model organism—yeast.

SOI: Biometrics, An Engineering Perspective describes how students might model a growth chamber for large-scale production of a microbe.

You can use the following form to e-mail us edited versions of the lesson plans: [contact-form 2 “ChemNow]

Teaching that uses the Project Approach is one way for children to learn deeply about a topic or concept. Early Childhood Investigations Webinars hosted Dr. Sylvia C. Chard, Professor Emeritus of the University of Alberta, speaking and sharing photographs about this approach that involves an integrated curriculum. In Engaging Children’s Hearts and Minds: Teaching and Learning with the Project Approach, Dr. Chard shares children’s work documenting their observations and thinking, including photos and drawings. In addition to the webinar, a Project Approach Study Guide is available, and Dr. Chard invites us to “Enjoy the journey, and please get in touch with questions or comments along the way!” Fieldwork is central to a project. The fieldwork for this project included going to look at a horse and drawing it.
Learning about how a whole object is made of parts is part of learning about systems, one of the seven crosscutting scientific and engineering concepts in A Framework for k-12 education (NRC 2012). Parts of a whole are important in life science (sense organs, circulatory system, parts of a cell), physics (inclined plane and ball, mixing liquids and solids, matter is made of atoms), and earth science (soil is made of minerals and organic matter, rocks may be made of smaller pieces)
The Framework has an in-depth discussion about systems and how to model them. See if you think the excerpts that follow apply to the work of young children representing what they observe.
A good system model for use in developing scientific explanations or engineering designs must specify not only the parts, or subsystems, of the system but also how they interact with one another. Pg 93
In many early childhood programs children learn about their sense organs and those of other animals. Understanding the organs as parts of the whole organism is part of learning about systems. A progression leading to scientific understanding and use of modeling begins in early childhood.
Starting in the earliest grades, students should be asked to express their thinking with drawings or diagrams and with written or oral descriptions. They should describe objects or organisms in terms of their parts and the roles those parts play in the functioning of the object or organism, and they should note relationships between the parts. Students should also be asked to create plans— for example, to draw or write a set of instructions for building something—that another child can follow. Such experiences help them develop the concept of a model of a system and realize the importance of representing one’s ideas so that others can understand and use them. Pg 93
[National Research Council (NRC). 2012. A framework for K–12 science education: Practices, crosscutting concepts, and core ideas. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.]
When we use language that describes the parts as parts of a larger system, we give children the vocabulary to build understanding of the system–bud, leaf, stem, twig, branch, bark and trunk, all parts of a living organism, a tree. What parts of a system have your students been interested in? How do you connect their interests to a larger system?
I’m updating this post to add a bit about two books by artist and writer Shelley Rotner that can support discussions about systems and their parts.
Parts is a book with seven short poems and many photographs exploring familiar objects in a child’s world and their parts…tail, tongue, eye, fur, tag around the neck, nose, paw…yes, a dog!
Body Actions is an NSTA Recommends reviewed book, an “an energetic introduction to body systems.”