P ACING AND C ONTENT F IRST G RADING P ERIOD G RADE 8 Presented by Dr. Ava D. Rosales Instructional Supervisor Miami-Dade County public Schools Division of Mathematics, Science and Advanced Academic Programs

W ELCOME Make a Name Tent and include: NAME SCHOOL One thing exciting that happened in your classroom last year

A GENDA Day 1  Goals of the Inservice  Making Sense of Science Instruction:  Why is the Nature of Science the foundation of science courses?  Effective Instructional Strategies to teach the Nature of Science.  Lab #1  Effective Implementation of the 2010 Pacing Guides Emphasizing Hands-On Instruction  Modeling a Lesson Day 1 and 2  Content Knowledge in Science  Rotation Labs  Resources and Web Sites

G OALS FOR THE S ESSION ◦ Effective Implementation of the 2010 Pacing Guides with an emphasis in hands-on learning ◦ Explore aspects of the nature of science (NOS) as it is embedded in content lab and exploration activities ◦ Enhanced questioning strategy skills ◦ Explore learning activities designed to promote understanding of content and nature of science using an “explicit- reflective” approach.

N ORMS  Participate Actively  Ask questions  Learn by doing  Set your own learning into action Bathroom and Electronic Devices

M AKING S ENSE OF S CIENCE : T HE F OUNDATION OF S CIENCE T EACHING THE N ATURE OF S CIENCE (NOS) Activity: Why is the Nature of Science the foundation of all science courses? What aspects of the NOS must be revisited and reinforced?

T EACHING THE N ATURE OF S CIENCE As with content knowledge, the concepts underlying the nature of science need to be made explicit to our students if we want them to develop a clear working knowledge of what science is and how it is done.

G ETTING W ARMED U P … We are going to watch a short clip from a nature video. Take a minute before the video begins and think about how you would distinguish an observation from an inference. As the video proceeds, write down everything that you observe.

W HAT DID YOU OBSERVE ? Observations:

A RE ALL OF OUR “ OBSERVATIONS ” ACTUALLY OBSERVATIONS ? How can we differentiate between observations and inferences?

H OW ARE OBSERVATIONS AND INFERENCES DIFFERENT FROM EACH OTHER ? Observations describe what is readily discernable by the senses. They tend not to create controversy among different observers because the evidence of their senses agree. Example: There is a book on the table. Inferences attempt an explanation of some phenomenon or describe something not readily discernable by the senses. Example: Sam left his book on the table.

A RE OBSERVATIONS MORE IMPORTANT IN SCIENCE THAN INFERENCES ? NO! Observations and inferences are both fundamental elements of science. All scientific knowledge is based on observation and inference. Humans are naturally inclined to create explanations for the observations that we make, so students often need help thinking about differences between what can be perceived (observations) and their interpretations (inferences).

N OW THAT WE HAVE DISTINGUISHED BETWEEN THE TWO, LET ’ S TRY IT AGAIN. We have three pictures taken of a rock surface with a set of impressions on it. As you are shown each picture, write down what you observe in that picture and then come up with as many inferences as possible based on those observations.

Picture 1

P ICTURE 2

How have our inferences changed with the addition of this new information?

P ICTURE 3

Which inferences are we left with?

O BSERVATIONS AND I NFERENCES The emphasis on distinguishing between observations and inferences is not meant to keep students from making inferences. Inferences are also critical to the process of science. The point is to help students recognize that inferences based on scientific observations and other forms of data are influenced by background experiences, prior knowledge, creativity, etc. This is why scientists find it helpful to discuss their inferences with others, particularly those with different backgrounds.

I NSTRUCTIONAL S TRATEGIES  Explicit-reflective approach ◦ In the day’s activities, participants were encouraged to explicitly reflect on how they were thinking about ideas relative to NOS  In the past, it was common to assume that students would learn NOS by doing science ◦ Students learn about observations by making observations ◦ Students learn about scientific theory in the course of studying specific theories  Research in science education disputes this idea ◦ Students tend NOT to learn about the nature of making observations, laws, theories and other aspects of science by just engaging in science. ◦ Students need to be encouraged to explicitly reflect on NOS ideas. 20

E FFECTIVE I MPLEMENTATION OF THE 2010 P ACING G UIDES WITH AN E MPHASIS IN H ANDS -O N I NSTRUCTION Year at a Glance Unwrapping the Benchmarks Examining the New Pacing Guides What Does it Mean to Effectively Implement the Pacing Guide?

C ONNECTING I NSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES, C ONTENT, AND S TANDARDS Design of this session 1- Examine Standards & benchmarks 2- Narrow the focus to benchmarks of particular interest 3- Identify important content represented within these benchmarks 4- Develop learning goals related to that content 5- Select activities and instructional strategies consistent with the learning goals

Y EAR - AT - A -G LANCE

U NWRAPPING THE B ENCHMARKS W HAT ?...W HY ?...H OW ?... What Why How

E XPLORING THE P ACING G UIDES T OPICS I THRU IX Group Activity: What are the priority activities for each topic? What are the specific instructional strategies? How can “depth of knowledge” be achieved for each topic?

P ACING G UIDE T OPIC I C OMPREHENSIVE S CIENCE 3

O UR TASK Complete Unpacking Benchmarks Worksheet and lab activity for assigned topic What?…Why?…How? Report-out Benefits Constraints/limitations Modifications

TOPIC I: S CIENTIFIC M ETHOD AND T HEORY VS. L AW Standard 1: Standard 1: Scientific processes and habits of mind SC.H (AA) SC.H (AA) The student knows that scientific knowledge is subject to modification as new information challenges prevailing theories and as a new theory leads to looking at old observations in a new way. SC.H (CS) SC.H (CS) The student knows that the study of the events that led scientists to discoveries can provide information about the inquiry process and its effects. SC.H (AA) SC.H (AA) The student knows that accurate record keeping, openness, and replication are essential to maintaining an investigator’s credibility with other scientists and society. SC.H (AA) SC.H (AA) The student knows that a change in one or more variables may alter the outcome of an investigation. SC.H SC.H The student knows that when similar investigations give different results, the scientific challenge is to verify whether the differences are significant by further study -assessed as SC.H (AA)

W HAT ARE THE PRIORITY ACTIVITIES ? Topic 1: Scientific Method and Theory vs Law  Essential Labs: Reaction Time ◦ Addresses: SC.H (AA) old theories can be challenged with new information; SC.H (AA) record keeping and replication Rocket Car ◦ Addresses: SC.H (AA) change in variables alter outcome; SC.C net forces on an object  ExploreLearning Gizmo : Mystery Powder AnalysisMystery Powder Analysis

M ODELING A L ESSON Reaction Time

E XPLICIT I NSTRUCTION Scientific Laws and Theories What is a scientific law? What is a scientific theory? What is the relationship between scientific theories and scientific laws?

L AB W RITE - UP F ORMATS Writing in ScienceWriting in Science – tapping into student thoughts Modeling Framework – demonstrations, models Power Writing and the Art of Scientific Conclusions Parts of a Lab Report Engineering design

E XPLICIT I NSTRUCTION Nature of Science Scientific knowledge is subject to modification New information challenges prevailing theories Practice science skills - questioning, observing, predicting, investigating, explaining, researching. Writing in Science – tapping into student thoughts

D ISCUSSION Benefits Constraints/limitations Modifications

Q UESTIONING IN S CIENCE

U SING A R EADING S TRATEGY - J IGSAW Jigsaw: The Jigsaw helps students learn new material using a team approach. Students are responsible for becoming an "expert" on one part of a lesson and then teaching it to the other members of their team. Divide the sections into however many students are in each group. Have each student take one of the sections. They are to read it and know it well - become “experts.” "experts" of each individual section meet together to discuss their ideas on that particular section. After group discussions, each "expert" returns to his group and relates all the information about his particular topic. Source: Weber State University

Q UESTIONS TO S TIMULATE S TUDENT T HINKING To encourage students' reasoning about mathematics and science, and to involve them in higher-order thinking processes, teachers must be adept at posing clarifying and provocative questions. Florida Curriculum Framework, p. 146

Helping students work together to make sense of mathematics or science: "What do others think about what Sam said?" "Do you agree? Disagree?" "Does anyone have the same answer but a different way to explain it?" "Would you ask the rest of the class that question?" "Do you understand what they are saying?" "Can you convince the rest of us that makes sense?" Q UESTIONS TO S TIMULATE S TUDENT T HINKING

Helping students to rely more on themselves to determine whether something is correct:  "Why do you think that?"  "Why is that true?"  "How did you reach that conclusion?"  "Does that make sense?“  "Can you make a model to show that?" Q UESTIONS TO S TIMULATE S TUDENT T HINKING

Helping students learn to reason:  "Does that always work?"  "Is that true of a counter example?"  "How would you support/demonstrate that?"  "What assumptions are you making?" Q UESTIONS TO S TIMULATE S TUDENT T HINKING

Helping students learn to conjecture, invent, and solve problems:  "What would happen if...?"  "Do you see a pattern?"  "What are some possibilities here?"  "Can you predict the next one? What about the last one?"  "How did you approach the problem?"  "What decision do you think he should make?"  "What is alike and what is different about your method of solution and hers?" Q UESTIONS TO S TIMULATE S TUDENT T HINKING

Helping students to make connections within the content, between content areas, and to the real world  "How does this relate to...?"  "What ideas that we have learned before were useful in solving the problem?"  "Have we ever solved a problem like this one before?"  "What uses of mathematics [science] did you find on the news/Internet/television last night?"  "Can you give me an example of... in the real world?" Q UESTIONS TO S TIMULATE S TUDENT T HINKING

REMEMBER Questions drive the inquiry process.

What’s the difference between a fish and a submarine? One has lettuce and tomato and one has tarter sauce! W HAT A RE T HEY T HINKING ?

M ODELING L ESSONS Activities and Real-world Applications

D AY 2

REMEMBER Questions drive the inquiry process.

E NHANCING C ONTENT K NOWLEDGE Lab Rotations: ◦ Spontaneous Generation (Topic II) ◦ Prairie Ecosystems(Topic II) Prairie Ecosystems ◦ Density of Rocks (Topic IV) ◦ Solving a Dissolving Problem (Topic IV) ◦ Precipitating Bubbles (Topic V) Discussion of Content with Depth of Understanding

L AB ROLES

T AKE THE L EAD Complete Unpacking Benchmarks Worksheet and lab activity for assigned topic Report-out Benefits Constraints/limitations Modifications

W HAT ARE THE PRIORITY ACTIVITIES ? Topic 2: Data Collection and Analysis Essential Lab  Spontaneous Generation Addresses: SC.H (AA) old theories can be challenged with new information ExploreLearning Gizmos: Prairie Ecosystems Prairie Ecosystems Addresses: SC.G (AA) interactions of organisms and flow of energy; SC.H (AA) accurate record keeping

W HAT ARE THE PRIORITY ACTIVITIES ? TOPIC 4: Properties of Matter Essential Lab  Density of Rocks ◦ Addresses: SC.A (AA) The student identifies various ways in which substances differ (e.g., mass, volume, shape, density,  Solving a Dissolving Problem ◦ Addresses: SC.A (AA) The student identifies various ways in which substances differ (e.g., reaction to temperature; ◦ SC.H (AA) change in variables alter outcome

W HAT ARE THE PRIORITY ACTIVITIES ? TOPIC 5: Atomic Structure Essential Lab Precipitating Bubbles Addresses: SC.A (CS) single atoms are not visible SC.H (AA) – accurate record keeping, openness, and replication

W HAT CAN I DO ? T EACHING THE C ONTENT How might you use your current curricular materials and the discussions we have had within this session to teach the following in your classroom? Nature of Science Nature of Matter What do you expect your students to find challenging about these ideas? What misconceptions might students hold about NOS that you will need to address?

S CIENCE W EB S ITE

R ESOURCES  Curriculum and Instruction   Instructional Technology (Examview Item Bank)   Florida Department of Education  Florida Standards and Course Descriptions  Florida PROMiSE  Gizmos

T HE S CIENCE C LASSROOM E SSENTIALS Contact information: Dr. Ava D. Rosales, Instructional Supervisor

R EFLECTIONS 3 Things I Observed 2 Things I Learned 1 Thing That I will do differently Question(s) I still have Please leave your reflections on the table