Reading and Writing Like Scientists: Toward Developing Scientific Literacy in Project-Based Science Elizabeth Birr Moje LeeAnn M. Sutherland Joseph Krajcik Phyllis Blumenfeld Deborah Peek-Brown Ronald W. Marx National Council of Teachers of English Annual Meeting November 19, 2004

Acknowledgement This report is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation, under Grant No.REC Amd 001. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

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Purposes of the Project To engage middle-school students in developing scientific explanations of phenomena they investigated in project- based curriculum units To engage students in the processes and practices involved in data analysis and representation To engage middle school students in reading across multiple text types and genres To study the effects on students’ –conceptual knowledge of science, –scientific literacy skills and practices, and –general reading skills and practices.

Theoretical and Empirical Perspectives Socioconstructivist and sociocultural theories Discourse theories Content-area/disciplinary literacy theories Project-based learning (Project-Based Science)

Curriculum Design Project-based units around driving questions: –What affects the quality of air in my community? (air quality/chemistry) –How can good friends make me sick? (communicable disease/biology) –What is the water like in our river? (water quality/chemistry/ecology) –How can I make new stuff from old stuff (chemistry)

Overall Scientific Literacy Curriculum Design Explicit focus on [some] conventions of scientific communication, emphasis on written communication of explanations Emphasis on data representation and analysis Emphasis on scaffolded multiple text genres

Curriculum Design: Explanations How to write a good scientific explanation: –Make a claim about the problem. –Provide evidence for the claim. –Provide reasoning that links the evidence to the claim. –Use precise and accurate scientific language. –Write clearly so that anyone interested in science can understand the explanation.

Curriculum/Research Design: Explanations Level 1Level 2Level 3 Makes a claim about the problem. Does not make a claim OR makes an inaccurate claim. Makes a claim that reveals partial understanding. The claim may include both accurate and inaccurate details, or it may omit important details. Makes an accurate claim. Provides evidence for the claim. Does not provide evidence OR provides inaccurate evidence for the claim. Provides some accurate evidence for the claim, but it is not sufficient evidence OR may include both accurate and inaccurate evidence for the claim. Provides accurate evidence and sufficient evidence for the claim. Provides reasoning about scientific principles or “what we know in science” that links the evidence to the claim. Does not provide reasoning OR provides inaccurate reasoning. Provides partial reasoning that links the evidence to the claim, but the reasoning is not sufficient OR may include both appropriate reasoning and reasoning that does not link the evidence to the claim. Provides explicit reasoning that links the evidence to the claim. The scientific principle or “what we know in science” is described and used appropriately.

Conclusions & Implications of the Explanation Work Explicit attention to the conventions of scientific communication is related to the improvement in students’ content knowledge and scientific literacy abilities –..Quant Findings Explanations 2004.ppt..Quant Findings Explanations 2004.ppt..Quant Findings Explanations 2004.ppt –..\Pre Post Student Explanations.ppt..\Pre Post Student Explanations.ppt..\Pre Post Student Explanations.ppt Explicit attention to conventions MAY lead to reifying conventions –..\Student Explanations Across Discourse Communities.ppt..\Student Explanations Across Discourse Communities.ppt..\Student Explanations Across Discourse Communities.ppt Explicit attention to conventions requires concomitant attention to the nature and appropriateness of conventions in different discourse communities

Curriculum Design: Data Representation and Analysis Collecting data systematically and rigorously Representing what one is observes in data collection Translating first-level representations into other forms of data representation Interpreting and synthesizing data from different representations Using data in making written explanations (see explanation writing)

Curriculum Design: Scaffolded Multiple Text Genres Scaffolded integration of multiple text genres and forms of representation around single concepts – –Constructed expository text..\IRA\EXP TEXT from reader.pdf..\IRA\EXP TEXT from reader.pdf – (i.e., case studies) –Constructed narrative text (i.e., case studies)..\..\Textual Tools Study\Rust Case Nov 04.doc..\..\Textual Tools Study\Rust Case Nov 04.doc – –Real-world texts..\NSF\Rust article with call outs NSF 2004.doc..\NSF\Rust article with call outs NSF 2004.doc –Visual images –Hands-on (firsthand, see Palincsar & Magnusson, 2001) experiences

Where are we going next? Development of and research on learning activities designed to engage students in conversations about conventions of explanations in different communities Development of and research on reading activities designed to support students’ engagement with and production of science texts Design of pre/post formal and informal reading diagnostics designed to assess changes in students’ ability to read science text