1. 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

2. 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)

3. 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).

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

5. 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

6. 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)

7. Common Practices & Tools
Can track how they change over time

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

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

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

12. 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

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