A Challenge: The Cultural Landscape Patterns in classrooms • Lack of student engagement • Content presented as facts, definitions, algorithms; pressing for explanations is rare • Few connections between activity and science ideas • Student ideas not used as resources, no challenging of ideas • Questioning and discourse the weakest aspect of classroom practice What students are capable of • Reasoning about and with abstractions (Magnussun & Palincsar, 2005) • Model-based reasoning (Lehrer & Schauble, 2005) • Defending, adapting, theories based on evidence (Hennessey et al., 2002) • Designing experiments that include sophisticated controls for external variables (Metz, 2004) Monitoring own progress towards deep understanding (Brown & Campione, 1996) Does the American system support what kids are capable of? Humility needed, lunch trays, there are no equity observations here which is a problem. System of schooling that systemically fails to support these skills. These problem areas are precisely what research indicates are condition that most support student learning. Many teachers create dynamic, challenging lessons, but the broad trends indicate-- a focus on activity rather than sense-making discourse pressing for explanations is rare questioning among weakest elements of instruction less than 1/3 of lessons take into account students’ prior knowledge Baldi et al, 2007; Banilower et al, 2006, Roth & Garnier 2007; Weiss et al, 2003; PISA studies Corcoran & Gerry, 2011; Kane & Staiger, 2012; Pasley, 2002; Roth et al., 2006; Weiss et al., 2003

An Opportunity: Next Generation Standards Asking questions Planning and carrying out investigations Analyzing and interpreting data Using math, info, computational thinking Constructing explanations Engaging in argument from evidence Obtaining, evaluating, communicating info Scientific Modeling NRC Framework poses 8 practices but these can be less overwhelming and more cohesive when viewed through Model Based Inquiry—which puts models and explanations in the center of the work students do. Model and explanations then provide a purpose for doing the other practices. This is how we have conceptualized Ambitious Teaching. The Ambitious Teaching Framework also incorporates equity principles in the framework: Engagement and rigor encouraged through challenging, complex problems Relating existing knowledge, experiences to new problems Making thinking visible Structured opportunities to talk, to reason, get feedback Opportunities to reorganize and revise ideas (engaging in metacognition)

Focus on high quality instruction & student learning Elements of classroom activity that have been shown to support student learning understand, use, and interpret scientific explanations of the natural world, generate and evaluate scientific evidence and explanations, understand the nature and development of scientific knowledge, and participate productively in scientific practices and discourse Taking Science To School (NRC, 2007, p. 334) AT THE CENTER OF THE NIC…something of value! Similarly, the recent consensus publication Taking Science To School (NRC, 2007) points out elements of classroom activity that have been shown to support student learning goals. Again, however, the purpose of this volume was not to serve as a reference for guiding teacher preparation by articulating details of practice. Nonetheless, it has done an exemplary job of summarizing the proficiencies for students and, we believe, for teachers who are responsible for guiding young science learners. Students and teachers should be able to: • understand, use, and interpret scientific explanations of the natural world, • generate and evaluate scientific evidence and explanations, • understand the nature and development of scientific knowledge, and • participate productively in scientific practices and discourse (p. 334).

Where to start? What are you doing already? Link with prior system reform efforts. NOTE: NOT the same as curriculum implementation

TOOLS Emerge from need to “stabilize” a practice Embed knowledge of kids, nature of intellectual work being asked Boost rigor Are recognizable and modifiable by other teachers Alters classroom practice itself

Focus on improving students’ success– Student Data Measurable outcomes Focus on improving students’ success– Student Data Disaggregated test data Formative assessments Student work Low-inference classroom observations/video (Talbert, 2010)

Common Practices & Tools Can track how they change over time

Student outcomes (fall  spring) Quantity of explanation Quality of explanation More text Fall Spring What How Why More sophisticated explanations

Scaffolded Discourse: More than just “talk moves” Another student outcome

FTF tools nearly always elevate the rigor of work kids are asked to do

Lindsay: High school physics Tools for supporting students in revising scientific models Now we’re going to try one FTF tool in two ways: changing own models and peer review

Lindsay’s kids start taking up epistemic forms of science talk; understand different forms of model critique