SUPPORTING THE DEVELOPMENT OF SCIENTIFIC EXPLANATIONS AND ARGUMENTS IN THE CLASSROOM WITH TEACHERS OFFICE OF SCIENCE TEACHING ACTIVITIES FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY TODD BEVIS/ELLEN GRANGER

Discuss the similarities and differences between science lessons that are hands-on and those that engage students in scientific explanation.

What are some outcomes of this?  Enables teachers to engage their students more deeply in learning about natural world (science) through the practices of science  Constructing scientific explanations also helps with skills important outside the classroom (critical thinking)  Disciplinary writing and speaking (ELA combo workshops recommended!)  New world of science proficiencies that combine disciplinary content knowledge with scientific practices and crosscutting concepts: developing explanations and argumentation is great for this  These strategies and scaffolds will help support ALL students including ELLs and those with special needs develop science proficiency

EXPLORATION:  Chemistry investigation for grade 5-8 students.  Part of a larger chemistry unit.  Students have already investigated how different substances have different properties and are about to start investigating chemical reactions.

Context: Students have already investigated how different substances have different properties and are about to start investigating chemical reactions. You are now investigating what happens to properties when substances are combined. Your task: Write a scientific explanation that states whether or not you think new substances were formed in completing the investigation.

CHEMISTRY 2: HOW CAN I MAKE NEW STUFF FROM OLD STUFF?  The unit builds understanding of core science ideas including the particle nature of matter, energy, and substances and their properties.  In order to contextualize chemistry concepts in real-world experiences, the unit focuses on making new substances, specifically making soap from two unlikely substances: fat and sodium hydroxide.  Students complete a number of investigations of soap and fat as they further their understanding of substances and properties  Then move to explaining what happens when substances interact (i.e., chemical reactions).  In that process, they also explore the core idea of the conservation of mass and the crosscutting concept of systems.  Each cycle of investigation begins with macroscopic phenomena and includes the use of molecular models to help explain the phenomena. Investigating & Questioning Our World Through Science & Technology (IQWST) Unit

What are the similarities and differences in what the different groups wrote for their explanations? Based on this, what do you think might be some characteristics of strong scientific explanations?

THE CER FRAMEWORK FOR SCIENTIFIC EXPLANATIONS HAS FOUR COMPONENTS: (The Research Question) The Claim The Evidence Reasoning (Justification ) Rebuttal

ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF CER Claim: The statement or conclusion that answers the original question or problem Evidence: The scientific data that support the claim (observations or measurements about the natural world) Reasoning: A justification that connects the evidence to the claim showing why the data count as evidence by using appropriate and sufficient scientific principles (typically should include the science concepts/principles or big ideas) Rebuttal: Alternative explanations and counter evidence and reasoning for why the alternative is not the appropriate explanation for the question or problem Adapted from: McNeill & Krajcik, 2012, Supporting Grade 5-8 Students in Constructing Explanations in Science

CLAIMS-EVIDENCE-REASONING FRAMEWORK

COMPLEXITY OF THE FRAMEWORK IN CLASSROOMS K-2 Elementary Students: Claim Evidence 3-5 Elementary Students: Claim Evidence Reasoning Middle School Students: Claim Evidence Reasoning Rebuttal

In your work with teachers on explanations, what misconceptions have you found are problematic that must be solved before teachers can move forward with supporting scientific explanation development in their classrooms?

Analyze each student’s writing from the chemistry investigation in terms of claim, evidence, and reasoning. Rank the student work from 1 (strongest) to 4 (weakest). Note the challenges that you notice the students have.

IN OUR WORK WITH TEACHERS, WE NEXT:  Explore differences in explanation and argumentation and how CER fits in with these two  Explore teaching strategies to help students learn to develop scientitic explanations  Engage teachers in activities in designing and using rubrics for assessing scientific explanations  Use the rubrics to assess student work  Develop their ideas on the kind of classroom culture that prioritized the development of scientific explanations  We then progress to engaging in formal argumentation activities through argumentation workshops

What successful strategies have you had in working with teachers to learn about developing scientific explanations in their classrooms? What challenges have you had?

IT ALL TIES BACK TO THE OVERARCHING IDEA OF Student-centered instruction It’s all about who is doing the sense- making in the classroom!

CONTACT INFORMATION: Todd Bevis, Ellen Granger

High School Biology Content Gains (n=150) From: Southerland, et al., 2013)

Explanation CER Argumentation CER combines the goals of both explanation and argumentation Students explain a phenomenon and use evidence and reasoning to defend or support their explanation

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN EXPLANATION AND ARGUMENTATION Explanations make sense of how or why a phenomenon occurred (the products of science that link scientific theory with specific phenomena or observations) Explain why the biodiversity decreased Explain what has happened to the pitch of bird songs in cities Arguments defend or support knowledge claims through evidence, reasoning, and/or rebuttal (the process that scientists and engineers use to make their case) Argue for your explanation of why the biodiversity decreased Argue for your experimental design to study the biodiversity

CER WORKSHOPS THEN PROGRESS TO: Identifying common difficulties students have in developing explanations Teaching strategies (scaffolds) to help students learn to use the CER framework Assessing scientific explanations: rubric design and analysis of student work using a rubric Creating a classroom culture for constructing explanations and engaging in argument from evidence Engaging in formal argumentation activities: ARGUMENTATION WORKSHOPS

IN THIS TIME OF TRANSITION TO RESEARCH- BASED BEST PRACTICES IN SCIENCE TEACHING Become a savvy consumer of new materials and scaffolds for scientific explanations and argumentation Become aware of how CER is used in other disciplines (ELA, math, history) and how CER in science is distinct from them Just as students have little to no experience in constructing scientific explanations, teachers have difficulties with this as well. Strong PD and communities of practice need to be developed.

Discuss the similarities and differences between science lessons that are hands-on and those that engage students in scientific explanation.

Common Difficulties With using appropriate and sufficient evidence: Repeat that the experiment or the data table is their evidence Rely on their own opinion or personal experiences instead of appropriate data Have difficulty using enough or sufficient data May focus on one piece of data Struggle with using different types of data (qualitative/quantitative) Use vague evidence With providing reasoning: Omit describing why they chose or did not use certain data Have difficulty describing link between claim and evidence Struggle with including a general scientific principle

Common difficulties: With considering alternative explanations or rebuttals: Focus on one explanation Have difficulty seeing that there are potentially multiple different ways to explain a phenomenon Struggle with evaluating and articulating why an alternative explanation is not appropriate

USE SCIENCE NOTEBOOKS  Have students document their tests, observations/data, and thinking over time  During science talks in class encourage them to refer to their science notebooks, especially when proposing evidence to support a claim  Even the youngest students can develop meaningful notebooks that use drawings and simple phrases to document their observations  Older students can draw models that include written descriptions of what they currently think about the phenomenon under investigation and revise those models periodically as instruction in the unit progresses

What do You think are key benefits for students who engage in developing scientific explanations? Providing an understanding of science concepts Using evidence to support claims Using logical reasoning Considering and critiquing alternative explanations Engaging in and understanding the practices of science Developing crosscutting concepts Understanding the nature of science Developing academic writing skills

TEACHING STRATEGIES TO HELP STUDENTS BETTER UNDERSTAND AND LEARN TO USE THE CER FRAMEWORK Keep these questions in mind as you watch the video clip and jot down your ideas in response to them to discuss with the group:  What strategies is the teacher using to introduce the component (i.e., claim, evidence, and/or reasoning)?  What are the students’ ideas about the component?

ASSESSING SCIENTIFIC EXPLANATIONS: RUBRIC DESIGN 1.Start with a base rubric that has 4 components, Claims –Evidence- Reasoning-Rebuttal, with multiple levels for each component. The number of levels for each component depends on the specifics of the learning task 2.Write an “ideal” student response for your explanation task 3.Use the ideal response to create a rubric specific to your task (i.e., How many pieces of evidence are required? How many scientific principles/concepts should be included in the reasoning? Does the task include a rebuttal?)

Analyze this work from 7 th grade students from a large, urban district. For each student : 1.Give a separate score for their Claim (0, 1, 2), Evidence (0, 1, 2,3), Reasoning (0, 1, 2, 3, 4), and Rebuttal if present in the task (0, 1, 2, 3, 4) 2.What feedback would you give each students and why might it help them? 3.What strategies might you use to help each student construct a stronger explanation?

CREATE A CLASSROOM CULTURE FOR EXPLANATION-- THREE FEATURES:  Using the framework language (claim-evidence-reasoning) by both the teacher and the students has become a regular part of science class  The pattern of student and teacher talk must foster explanation  The types of questions asked by the teacher must foster explanation

REFLECTION: Reflect on the scientific explanation framework in which we have engaged today  What do you think are some of the benefits and challenges of implementing this in your classroom?  What should your next steps be?

What does “student-centered instruction” mean to you? It’s all about who is doing the sense- making!

SCIENCE PROFICIENCY People who are proficient in science:  Know important scientific explanations about the natural world and can use these explanations to solve problems;  Can create and evaluate scientific explanations and arguments;  Understand the nature of scientific knowledge and how this knowledge develops over time;  Can participate in scientific practices and the discourse of science. From: Duschl, Schweingruber, & Shouse (2007) Taking Science to School. National Academies Press, Washington D.C.

NEXT GENERATION STANDARDS FOR SCIENCE (NEW COMMON CORE SCIENCE STANDARDS) Scientific and Engineering Practices: 1.Asking questions (for science) and defining problems (for engineering) 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 (for science) and designing solutions (for engineering) 7.Engaging in argument from evidence 8.Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information

CROSSCUTTING CONCEPTS  Patterns  Cause and effect  Scale, proportion, and quantity  Systems and system models  Energy and matter  Structure and function  Stability and change

Explanationa and Argumentation: NGSS Identifies 8 Practices of Science Asking questions and defining problems Developing and using models Planning and carrying out investigations Analyzing and interpreting data Using mathematics and computational thinking Developing explanations and designing solutions Engaging in argument from evidence Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information

ROLE OF THE TEACHER IN EXPLANATION Make a two-column chart and record your ideas in it: Teacher behaviors that are consistent with explanation Teacher behaviors that are not consistent with explanation

Why are constructing explanations and engaging in argument from evidence important for your students?  Helps students learn about the natural world (science)  Engages students in the practices of science  Helps students with skills important outside the classroom  Helps students develop science proficiency by combining disciplinary content knowledge with scientific practices and crosscutting concepts