Student Resources

Research Matters: Encouraging Girls in Science Courses and Careers by Jane Butler Kahle

(Reprinted with permission of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching)

In the United States women comprise approximately 50% of the work force, yet only 9% are employed as scientists and engineers. Factors contributing to this situation have been analyzed in research studies. Explanations have ranged from differences in spatial ability related to a sex-linked gene to differences in early childhood toys and games. One study reported a dramatic decline in positive attitudes toward science as girls mature. The authors attribute this decline to startling inequities in the number of science activities experienced by males and females in elementary and secondary classrooms. In addition, the analysis of the results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress science study indicate that girls continue to score below the national mean on all science achievement items and to express negative attitudes toward science. Although societal, educational, and personal factors are involved; differences within the science classroom may be a contributing factor to low interest of women in science and scientific careers.

However some girls like science and continue to study science. In order to determine what motivates these girls to pursue science courses and careers, a group of researchers conducted nationwide surveys to identify teachers who have motivated high school girls to continue in science. In addition to assessing instructional techniques, classroom climate, and teacher-student interactions, a selected sample of students (former and current) responded to questionnaires, which assessed attitudes, intellectual and socio-cultural variables.

Two types of research, observational and survey were used to gather data for this project. The case studies, which were the observational parts of this project, provided information about the student-teacher and student-student interactions. Case studies are limited in the extent to which they may produce generalizations applicable to other situations. Therefore, they were supplemented with survey data, describing the abilities, activities, and aspirations of the involved students and teachers. These research efforts led to the following conclusions:

Teachers who successfully encourage girls in science:

• Maintain well-equipped, organized, and perceptually stimulating classrooms.
• Are supported in their teaching activities by the parents of their students and are respected by current and former students.
• Use non-sexist language and examples and include information on women scientists.
• Use laboratories, discussions, and weekly quizzes as their primary modes of instruction and supplement those activities with field trips and guest speakers.
• Stress creativity and basic skills and provide career information.
• Factors, which discourage girls in science:
• High school counselors who do not encourage further courses in science and mathematics.
• Lack of information about science-related career opportunities and their prerequisites.
• Sex-stereotyped views of science and scientists, which are projected by texts, media, and many adults.
• Lack of development of spatial ability skills (which could be fostered in shop and mechanical drawing classes).
• Fewer experiences with science activities and equipment, which are stereotyped as masculine (mechanics, electricity, astronomy).

The teachers, both male and female, who were successful in motivating girls to continue to study science, practiced "directed intervention." That is, girls were asked to assist with demonstrations; were required to perform, not merely record, in the laboratories; and were encouraged to participate in science-related field trips. In addition, teachers stressed the utility of math and science for future careers.

Both male and female students in the schools identified as "positive toward girls in science" were questioned about their attitudes toward science and science careers. When compared with a national sample, the students in these schools had a much more positive outlook. This difference was especially pronounced among girls. When asked how frequently they like to attend science class, 67% of the girls responded "often," compared with 32% of the girls in the national sample. And when asked if they would like to pursue a science-related job, 65% of the girls said "yes," compared with 32% of the girls in the national sample.

This research suggests that teaching styles and other school-related factors are important in encouraging girls as well as boys to continue in science courses and careers. The path to a scientific career begins in high school and requires skilled and sensitive teachers.

Research Matters: Our Apartheid: The Imperative of Multiculturalism in Science education by Randy Moore

Used with permission of the National Science Teachers Association

"Despite decades-long proclamations about the importance of "Science for All," our educational system has produced a scientific apartheid. Although African-Americans and Hispanics comprise almost 25% of the U.S. population, they earn only 13% of the U.S. science and engineering bachelor degrees, and only 7% of the doctorates (Rey, 2001). Only 1/3 of the minority students who begin in the sciences graduate with a degree in science or engineering (Rey, 2001).

Similarly, black and Hispanic scientists and engineers are less likely than white faculty to be full professors, and they earn lower salaries than white scientists and engineers. Of the more than 1,800 living scientists elected to the National Academies of Sciences, only two are African-American.

The most common strategy in recent years for increasing minority representation in science has been recruiting more minorities into science classes. This approach is based on the popular assumption that we best serve students from underrepresented groups by helping them "fit in" and adapt to existing curricula and teaching methods. However, these compensatory programs have often failed because they have placed the responsibility of reform on those already marginalized by science.

Marginalized students are not the problem; the system that marginalizes them is. As a result, most minorities continue to feel implicitly inferior and unwelcome in the neighborhood of science. Because science education has not accommodated the different learning styles and cultural backgrounds of most of these students, many longstanding obstacles remain.

We should all be concerned about the lack of diversity in science. In addition to the moral and ethical problems associated with the exclusion of minorities, there is a pragmatic reward for involving them: Diversified viewpoints enhance science. For example, before 1993, when President Bill Clinton signed legislation requiring the National Institutes of Health to include women and minorities in all of their clinical health studies, there was no federal policy to adequately enforce the representation of these two groups in public health research. As a result, scientists and science teachers often lacked data for a variety of important phenomena that affect women and minorities. Similarly, important new theories and ideas have been discovered when traditionally excluded groups have been given opportunities to excel in science.

We must rededicate ourselves to making our courses, curricula, and classrooms more accessible and friendly to minority students, students with disabilities, and students from poor socioeconomic backgrounds. This demands hard work.

But there is good news. We already know what to do. We must:

• Consider the terms upon which students are included in (and excluded from) science
• Help students see themselves reflected in the curriculum
• Value courses that function as �pumps " to help students succeed instead of sieves that "weed out" students
• Understand our students� demographic diversity and the social construction of group differences
• Emphasize process and discovery over "facts"
• Stress knowledge as something that is constructed by students rather than a commodity imparted by teachers
• Recognize the unequal academic opportunities that characterize different socioeconomic backgrounds
• Discuss the biases of science and
• Acknowledge how factually neutral tests and knowledge can in practice reinforce the power and influence of dominant groups.

If "Science for All" is to be achieved, science educators must respond to educational inequalities. Similarly, if we are to enhance science education, we must remove the structural, institutional, and pedagogical barriers that impede or block the success of minorities. It�s up to each of us to help students feel invested in and capable of succeeding in science. "Science for All" begins with access for all.

Reference

Rey, C.M. 2001. Making room for diversity makes sense. Science 293: 1611-1612

Science Teacher Talk

What can teachers do to help assure that all students, regardless of cultural background, ethnicity, gender, or socioeconomic position have the same opportunity to learn science?

Alexia Bultman

Try to make sure students of different backgrounds are included in discussion and group work. What works really well for me is to find something positive about a student and focus on that. Sometimes I will use their positive action as an example while talking, and it's amazing to see their faces light up.

Brian Davis

Teachers should provide students with opportunities to share their individual position related to their cultural, socioeconomic and gender perspective. I feel acquiring a thorough understanding of the students based on the above mentioned criteria allows the teacher to fine tune the science related topics being taught to better meet the needs of the individual students. This increases the relevancy of science, which I feel, increases the level and quality of science learning for all students.

Angela Gula

Teachers should vary instructional methods so that the content is easily related to the lives of the students in the classroom. One of the easiest ways to vary the content is by providing a multitude of learning experiences. Provide the content in written form, visually, through auditory means, and with hands-on experience. A one-size-fits-all example does not cut it. Make it part of your practice to have students provide examples of the content in their daily lives.

April McFarland

Teachers should maintain compassion and patience for all students during the school year. Teachers can also treat all students as equals, no matter the situation. Positive reinforcement can help students engage more in the curriculum and justify a means to succeed.

Michael O'Brien

Get to know your students the best you can. At the beginning of each semester I have the students complete a questionnaire asking them to describe themselves. Specifically I ask about their background, what their career aspirations are, their learning styles and what they want to achieve in the class. I also take the time during group activities to monitor the students' interactions.

With this information I get an idea of some of the potential differences that might exist. During the semester I watch for any potential problems that require changes in the composition of the lab groups, or have conversations with the individual students about anything that might be interfering with their or other's learning.

Elizabeth Petrie

All students need to be given a fair shot in the classroom regardless of the background from which they come. To insure that all of my students have the same opportunity for learning science, I make it a point to treat all students fairly and equally in the classroom. I do my best to give all of them the same amount of attention, to ask all of them questions, to informally monitor all of their progress on a daily basis, and to greet each one of them upon arrival in the classroom.

Henley Sawicki

I feel that every teacher has the responsibility to make his/her classroom a place where students feel equal. I think the teacher is where the equality must start; however, there are a variety of ways that students can feel they are being represented. One example I can share from my class involves an activity my students did every unit. I had my students write article summaries for Nobel Prize winners that corresponded with each unit. I made sure to include people of different gender, nationality, and religious background. If we had a student in class from that general area, they had the opportunity to share what they knew about the culture. I teach in a very diverse Magnet Program and have students who come from a multitude of backgrounds. I have found that this is a great way to incorporate a portion of their diversity.

Research Matters: Science Literacy: Lessons from the First Generation by Marlene M. Hurley, University at Albany, State University of New York

(Reprinted with permission of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching)

Introduction

As a secondary science teacher or as an elementary teacher implementing science, we are barraged with concepts intended to reform education and to improve the level of student learning. Yet, we often don't have access to the research, which supports the concepts or adequate information to assess the legitimacy of the research claims. We do know that science literacy has been proclaimed the major concern in science education for a number of years and by a great many sources. This paper will attempt to provide a brief overview of the concept of science literacy through its conceptual lineage and current research endeavors. To read the complete article by Dr. Hurley, please go to our Companion Website.

First Generation Literacy

All of the currently hotly discussed literacy's (e.g., science, mathematics, computer) in education stem from the original term for the basic abilities to read, write, listen, and speak. Both the term, literacy, and the skills inherent in its meaning have changed throughout history and have varied through the context in which they were used. The terms, basic or functional literacy, were used by Venezky, who attempted to illuminate the complexities of definition through the existence of both various types and levels of literacy. Functional literacy is also the term used by the Literacy Volunteers of America (LVA), a group dedicated to eradicating illiteracy in the U. S. LVA defines functional literacy as the ability of an individual to use reading, speaking, writing and computational skills in everyday life situations. Eradicating adult illiteracy is a large job, if one considers the statistics used by LVA (The National Adult Literacy Survey conducted by the U. S. Department of Education in 1993): 21 to 23 percent of the adult population (40 to 44 million people) in the U.S. are at the functionally illiterate level; another 25 to 28% of the adult population are considered to be barely functioning.

Both Venezky and the LVA were concerned with adult literacy, not the literacy of children or students. This is because literacy is considered in terms of abilities needed to function independently in society; e.g., voting, applying for jobs, reading a map, signing one's name. The ability to make informed societal and personal decisions is an implication of functional literacy. Literacy for societal reasons requires an assessment that occurs during the years after schooling has ended, when the adult attempts to take his/her place in society. In light of the fact that volunteer efforts by groups to thwart functional illiteracy are reaching fewer than 10% of the population in need (from a survey by the Office of Technology Assessment in 1993)--coupled with the fact that the population is growing--the actual number of people needing literacy education continues to increase.

Whether these adults have forgotten what they learned in school or whether they never actually received the instruction necessary to sustain them through life, the results are identical-we have not been meeting the needs of individuals or society in our current system/ methods of education.

Second Generation Literacy

It is reasonable to assume that the "functionally illiterate" population is also not literate in science; in fact, it is estimated that 90% of the population is not science literate. Science literacy, also known as scientific literacy has been used as a term since the 1950s and is often credited to Paul Hurd He declared a crisis in education due to a "great discontinuity in scientific and social development" and a science curriculum "spread so thin over so many topics that students acquire only dribbles and dabbles of assorted information". Domain literacy's, such as science, could be considered as second generation literacy's...the offspring of adult functional literacy.

Hurd's early definition of scientific literacy had emphasized "science and society," as opposed to many definitions of the day that emphasized the so-called "scientific method." Others saw scientific literacy only as the ability to be able to read and understand the science of popular media. The science and society theme continued to gain momentum until it became a part of the science-technology-society (STS) movement of the 1970s and 1980s. STS proponents advocated science education that was humanistic, value-laden, and relevant to personal, societal, and environmental concerns. The STS movement eventually evolved into advocacy of science education through a societal framework.

Throughout the recent period of science education, no definitions for science literacy have been agreed upon; thus, no generally accepted basis for establishing policy, research, curriculum, and teaching exist. Graff (1987, pp. 3-4) stated three tasks required for the study and interpretation of literacy: 1) A consistent definition that serves over time and across space; 2) A set of techniques for communications and for decoding and reproducing written or printed materials; 3) the use of precise, historically specific materials and cultural contexts. The second task implies that literacy is a skill acquired over time and (conversely) forgotten over time. The third task in part reiterates the first; i.e., time and geographic location make the definition contextual, even though a "consistent" definition would imply generality rather than specificity.

For example, meeting a national goal becomes dependent upon a single, consistent definition. The National Science Education Standards (NRC, 1996) now serve as national goals for science teaching in the United States. The Standards support the concept of science literacy and have defined it as the "knowledge and understanding of scientific concepts and processes required for personal decision making, participation in civic and cultural affairs, and economic productivity". Definition of specific abilities can be found in the content standards. While considered a general definition, the NRC definition also became a limiting definition because it did not consider the needs of the whole person. It was dependent upon specific abilities, which were not conceived from a science literacy perspective. "Despite the attention given to science literacy in the United States national standards for science education, the documents leave unanswered many of the questions for which teachers and curriculum developers must have answers".

On the other hand, a definition designed for the global issue of science literacy--adapted from an earlier definition by Champagne and Lovitts--defined scientific literacy as "a desired level of depth and breadth of scientific understanding appropriate to the interests and needs of the person being taught, set within the context of the developmental, educational, economic, and political needs and interests of a country at a given point in time." This definition generalized the science content, recognized the contextual factors, and provided for the needs of the entire person; thus, developing a definition that serves across time and space. However, like the Standards, it leaves teachers with questions: What is the desired level? What is the appropriate understanding? While a general definition must withstand the test of time, teachers need to have more specific knowledge for their practical concerns.

There is research underway that will help teachers implement effective science literacy instruction and assessment into the classrooms. One example is Project Life at Louisiana Tech University, where teachers are trained to teach reform-based science with highly positive results. Project Life's model of professional development for teachers (p. 86) reads like a checklist for good science literacy instruction. Another example is the Project on Mathematical and Science Literacy at the National Center on English Learning and Achievement (NCELA) at the University at Albany, State University of New York. NCELA approaches definition for science literacy from an English education perspective through the design of assessment tasks that are aligned with national standards and that specify science literate responses to the tasks. NCELA's working definition for science literacy is based upon a general, functional literacy definition of reading, writing, listening, and speaking, plus reasoning. Research groups such as NCELA will be instrumental in paving the way for administrators to plan policy and for science teachers and curriculum specialists to design, implement, and assess science literacy in the schools using authentic, real-world tasks.

Implications

Science literacy has been shown to be related to functional literacy, a major problem in society. The reasons for adult functional illiteracy are stated to be: school dropout; physical or emotional disability; ineffective teachers; lack of reading readiness; parents who couldn't read; didn't know the English language, etc. While LVA realizes that these problems begin in the home, it is difficult to look at this list of reasons for illiteracy and deny that schools are innocent of any blame. Conversely, at the level of domain literacy, it is also difficult to blame the lack of science literacy on the home; although, it is certainly a factor. Functional illiteracy or scientific illiteracy, first generation or second, as science educators, we must seek out the knowledge that research is trying to create for us and prepare future generations of students (and ultimately adults) for life in their time and space.

---

R. L. Venezky, "Definitions of literacy," In R. L. Venezky, Toward Defining Literacy, ed. D. A. Wagner, & B. S. Ciliberti (Newark, DE: International Reading Association, 1990).

Literacy Volunteers of America (Undated). History of literacy volunteers of America.

W. C. Kyle, Jr., "Scientific literacy: Where do we go from here?", Science Education, 32(10) (1995): 1007-1009.

P. D. Hurd, P. D. (1958). "Science literacy: Its meaning for American schools. Educational Leadership, 16, no.1 (1958): 13-16, 52.

G. E. DeBoer, G. E., A History Of Ideas In Science Education: Implications For Practice (New York: Teachers College Press, 1991).

H. J. Graff, H. J.,The legacies of literacy: Continuities and contradictions in western culture and society (Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1987).

National Research Council, National science education standards (Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1996).

Ibid., p. 22.

A. B. Champagne, & V.L. Kouba, Science literacy: A cognitive perspective. Paper presented at the International Conference on Science Education, Korea, May, 1997).

A. B. Champagne, & B. E. Lovitts, "Scientific literacy: A concept in search of definition," in This Year in School Science. Scientific Literacy, ed. A. B. Champagne, B. E. Lovitts, & B. J. Callinger (Washington, DC: American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1989: 1 � 14).

D. L. Radford, D. L., "Transferring Theory into Practice: A Model for Professional Development for Science Education Reform," Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 35, no. 1 (1998): 73-88.

Ibid.

Literacy Volunteers of America, History of Literacy Volunteers in America.

Chapter 3 - Science Teacher Talk

How do you manage your classroom? What advice do you have for a beginning teacher concerning classroom management?

Ginny Almeder

I am most comfortable in a relaxed but structured classroom. I try to give the students as much freedom and responsibility as they can manage. Seating is open. I am fairly flexible and try to remain open to student input. Short class discussions are held to deal with classroom procedures. I typically follow a set of rules consistent with school policy.

If behavioral problems occur, I deal with these immediately and directly in class. If the behavior persists, I speak with the individual after the class and describe the situation as a mutual problem that both of us need to solve. I ask for suggestions and offer suggestions, and we arrange a strategy to deal with the situation. If the problem persists, I will use a seating change, parent conference, or rarely, an after-school detention for further dialogue.

Alexia Bultman

Within my own classroom, I try to be very respectful to the students, always saying "please" and "thank you". From my own experience (especially with freshmen) I found that the minute I lose my cool with them, they feel as if they can do the same with me. Students often say, "She wasn't respectful to me so why should I be to her?" Teachers need to model the behavior they expect from their students. By modeling respectful behavior to the students, it demonstrates to them what you expect of them and the same for other rules. If I have a no eating or drinking rule in my classroom, I myself don't eat or drink in the classroom. Young people have a hard time following rules that adults don't themselves follow, and so any time I can model the behavior I expect of students, the better results I get for following the rules I've set forth. Be consistent! It doesn't matter what rules you come up with just be consistent.

Angela Gula

Classroom management starts by making your expectations clear and concise from the first day. The first several weeks of school, remind your students of your expectations on a daily basis, and let them know when they are falling short of your expectations. For the first week, give students a chance to get a feel for the rules without providing a consequence; just remind them that they are not doing what they need to and in the future a consequence would be given.

Establish a daily routine. I have my room set up so that everyday students do the same thing to get started. They write down their homework in their planner, get their portfolio from the bins at the side of my room, and complete the warm-up questions listed on the board. If students are not on task, a simple reminder is all it takes to get them back on track.

Carol Myronuk (Canada)

Initially, I gather and give out lab equipment, materials and supplies, to demonstrate an efficient distribution system. As soon as possible, students assume the facilitator role to design and take responsibility for organizing lab distribution, collection and cleaning of equipment, recycling and disposal of materials, and general inventory.  

Ben Boza (Botswana)

My classroom management is always based on striking a rapport with the students that makes them relaxed, attentive and thus receptive to instructions. I act as a mentor unto whom they can seek guidance and direction in their quest to succeed. I establish authority by earning the students' respect rather than through intimidation. I have found it much easier to maintain such authority when it is achieved in this way and it goes a long way into avoiding confrontational management.

For prospective teachers, it is important to understand that an effective class management involves being in control and full authority of the class. A teacher should strive to ensure that he/she is not undermined nor his authority challenged by any of his students. At the same time, students should experience an accommodative atmosphere that stimulates discussions and arguments that relate to subject matters being taught. Authority that stifles expression and debates by students is counterproductive. Participatory teaching is easily achieved by establishing discipline and responsibility from both students and the teacher. On occasions where indiscipline arises, a teacher should promptly and sternly take remedial actions including punishment in order to reign in on the wayward. Whenever this is done, it should be perceived as a correctional rather than a retributive measure.

Gerry Pelletier

I would say that I am always in charge. I try to create an atmosphere in which students can question, move about and converse with each other within a structured environment. Students understand that if they work well within this environment that there will be rewards throughout the year. The reward for eighth graders is a trip to Great America for Physics Day. The most important piece of advice I would give to teachers regarding classroom management is that they must be consistent. Students must understand the goals of the classroom and the consequences of not attaining these goals.

John Ricciardi

I sense a classroom of students as being a unified, but independent entity unto itself---an awesome ecosystem of thought and feeling---a kind of greater being of multi-body mind and spirit. If a classroom is perceived as such a creature, then its management can be like maintaining the healthful life of an organism. (Italics, mine)

Here are three helpful "care and feeding" hints for the classroom:

1. The classroom organism must be comfortable in its physical environment. Changing and using a variety of lighting levels, furniture positions, wall decorations, background music is important to maintaining a stimulating "mind space" for growth.
2. The classroom organism must not be harnessed and controlled. Learn instead to coax and nurture it with reflexive input and response. Distractions and disruptive "order imbalances" are normal and natural. Know that the creature by itself, will quickly find its equilibrium again.
3. The classroom organism must be treated humanly---with dignity and respect at all times. The integrity of all individuals must be equally honored within the wholeness of their own identity and unity.

Henley Sawicki

Immediately I establish myself as the one in charge. I run a very student centered classroom with chaos, choice, and noise; however, I am the one in charge of the chaos, choices, and noise. My students learn very quickly when enough is enough. I do not yell, scream, and beg for their time and attention. I simply expect it. I do not continue until I have their attention. At the beginning of the semester this may take longer, but after a few weeks, the students understand the fine lines that exist. I try to form an appropriate relationship with each of my students as quickly as possible. I have found that the personal accountability to me helps instill good behaviors as well.

Elizabeth Walker

Develop and acquire a set of varied warm-up activities. This is a great way to focus students immediately following the bell. If necessary, try to keep them to a 10 minute activity. If you look through the textbook, you may find a few good questions that would work well as warm-ups. Be prepared to start class immediately after the warm-up. Also, consider offering activities to end class.

Science Teacher Talk

Is science teaching an art, a science, or both? Explain.

Chad Barner

I believe teaching itself is an art form in that teaching is a truly creative process. It eclipses mere instruction or explanation and inspires and enlightens a new generation. This inspiration goes far in developing young people who do dream and achieve. Teaching then is not simply current techniques but the challenging of a generation to achieve more than simply test scores but the creation of a better country and world.

Bill Blythe

This seems like an easy question but I believe that it changes constantly. Good science teaching is based in the methods and best practices that have been developed over the years. Also, as I have progressed I believe that I have become a more artful teacher in that it is not always the best move to follow the script and you have to follow your instincts to where your students take you. You have to be well versed in the best practices but at the same time have the confidence in yourself to allow changes of direction and then use the art of teaching to bring you back to the science that you are teaching. The science is first and the art takes you to where you need to be; they must work together dependent on the circumstances.

Eric Hazelip

Science teaching is definitely both an art and a science. It's an art form that continually gets crafted and refined, and it is unique to each individual teacher. I honestly feel like I have a lot of artistic freedom as a teacher! Teaching is also a science in that there are best practices that we have to recognize and do our best to implement.

Scott Schomer

Science teaching is definitely an art because teaching takes content/information and makes it interesting and applicable. And since a classroom is filled with a variety of learners, teachers must use a variety of strategies. So the art unfolds as teachers meld their ability to reach a variety of students in a multitude of interesting and effective ways. For me, it's also a science. My teaching continually evolves as I collaborate with other science teachers, receive professional development regarding new teaching strategies and the most up-to-date science, and reflect upon my own teaching as a source of growth. I am also a researcher in that I change the way I teach and what I teach based on my assessment of previous teaching experiences with students and by what I observe in the classrooms of my colleagues.

Does your science teaching include any aspects of the historical and cultural development of science? Explain.

Chad Barner

Definitely yes! Since I teach earth science I teach a unit on plate tectonics. I deal with Alfred Wegener and the theory of continental drift that preceded plate tectonics. You cannot teach the nature of science or the development of theory without understanding the human element or the cultural process that is undertaken to produce theoretical frameworks. Uniformitarianism is another example of a theory produced in conjunction with a historical and cultural process. I usually have my students try to define science at the beginning of the year and most do not have the cultural understanding yet.

Brian Davis

My teaching does include the historical and cultural development of science however, the manner in which this is addressed is not so formalized. I usually begin the school year telling my students that science is about thinking, reasoning, investigating, and examining. Many of my students arrive to my class expecting to be taught science, not engaging in the scientific process. Historical and cultural development is touched upon as my students investigate the relevance of science today and then all that we have learned through science over the years.

Ginny Almeder

I accommodate students with different learning styles in my classroom by using different modalities, which include auditory, visual, and tactile components. Each teaching unit is a composite of lecture, written work, large and small group discussion, audiovisual, and laboratory activities. I generally use activities, which involve all of the students one way or another. One other thing that I would add is this. There is some flexibility built into participation. For example, following group work students may do an oral presentation or a written presentation using the blackboard. For homework, they may elect to write out their objectives or cross-reference the objectives with the notes. This is a more efficient approach for those students who learn better by listening than by writing. Some students also benefit from reversing the teacher-student relationship by working in after-school study groups where they act as tutors. Some student mentors come to realize very quickly that teaching is a form of learning.

Anita Bergman

I use a variety of materials and approaches in my classroom to help accommodate differences in learning style. I use visual aids when presenting orally, to help both the visual and auditory learners. I also help my students understand their learning styles by teaching them about the "true colors"--personality and learning styles characterized as blue, orange, gold and green learners. This study helps them in group-processing, since it promotes understanding and appreciation of differences in learning styles.

Alexia Bultman

At the beginning of each semester I give a learning styles inventory to determine each students' learning style. I then use that throughout the semester to place students in groups and to develop activities suited for each student/learning style.

Brian Davis

My method for accommodating students with different learning styles usually begins with establishing a rapport with the student; this aids in my acquisition of information about their individual strengths and weaknesses. Once I have determined who learns best visually, as opposed to the tactile or kinesthetic I make sure that these components are integrated into several parts of my unit lesson sequence. I teach 90 minute blocks, which is an eternity for 8th grade students to sit, so I make sure I combine lectures with visual, tactile, experiential learning opportunities.

Angela Gula

I've come to use a multitude of instructional methods in my classroom. At times content is introduced in a traditional fashion of notes and discussion, while other times, students are given an opportunity to explore online simulations or small group activities. I use a variety of graphic organizers and/or flipbooks to organize the content in a way that is meaningful to students.

Anna Morton

Accommodating students with different learning styles is a necessity. Students who are visual learners are provided with pictures, diagrams, charts, and graphs, and when possible students are asked to construct pictures, diagrams, charts, and graphs. Visual learners must be placed in front of the classroom, be given detailed notes or handouts, and like content or pictures on overhead transparencies. Visual learners must see the importance of a concept in order for it to have any relevancy. Auditory learners must hear the content. If a video can be found for a particular subject, I find it helpful for both visual and auditory learners. I also find that auditory learners prefer lectures and class discussions. A class discussion, linking the technology to the current content, followed by group work, adds clarity. Because class time is very limited, I find it necessary to pair auditory learners when they are conducting reading strategies, like note taking. These learners help each other to read through the content and identify important details. Some learners require movement and touch. For these learners, hands-on activities are indispensable. Sitting in class, without any movement, is taxing for these students. The laboratory experience provides these students with an opportunity to explore and manipulate the physical world. I have found that matching my students' learning style to my teaching style helps to eliminate boredom and inattentiveness.

Barry Plant (Australia)

I choose a range of learning activities that can challenge the more gifted, excite the average, and allow the less capable some success. Each unit of work would encompass a range of tasks, designed to offer students alternative pathways to learning.

John Ricciard

I try to plan and construct lesson activities that are constantly in a directional movement or "flow" from one particular learning style to another. Individual learning styles are not fixed, like still pools of water. Maximum brain-mind stimulus is more a style of learning that is symbolized by the water movement in a small country stream...the liquid patterns are observed to be in constant oscillating motion. In the classroom, there is, say 25 different "stream" patterns of thought emanating and synergizing. The only real common denominator is that there is a pendulation or "back and forth" learning flow of attention. Like the bubbling brook, the brain is constantly jumping here and there, picking and choosing between modalities of information, input, such as symbolic, visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and so forth. I try to juxtapose my lesson activities to this mental movement, moving through at least three, and sometimes up to six different instructional modalities within a 50-minute period.

Henley Sawicki

I try very hard to incorporate choice whenever possible in assignments. I give the students creative control over format, presentation, etc. I have found this really engages them in each assignment and allows them to express themselves. In addition, I try to address all learning styles within my classroom. I typically give an assessment at the beginning of the semester to find out what styles the learners are. If the students are struggling especially I can tailor the remediation that I do to their learning.

Chile: High School Science Standards

Source: http://www.mineduc.cl downloaded May 17, 2002

Time Table of the Chinese Curriculum

Chinese Secondary Science Curriculum

Curriculum Charts: Chile, China, Japan and Russia

Chile Science Standards, Grades 5 - 8

Source: MINEDUC 2000: Study programs for grades 5, 6, 7 and 8

Main Structure in the Japanese Junior High Science Curriculum

Japanese High School Science Subjects

Basic Science**
General Science I**
General Science II**
Physics I**
Physics II 
Chemistry I**
Chemistry II
Biology I**
Biology II 
Earth Science I**
Earth Science II

** Required two subjects, with at least one from Basic Science, general Science I, and general Science II

Russian Science Curriculum /the compulsory minimum/: Subjects and grades

Russian Specialized science classes: subjects and grades

Science Teacher Talk

How do you decide what content to teach and how much time to devote to each area?

Alexia Bultman

I base the content I teach on the Performance Standards set by the state. Students are tested over four major topics, and so at the beginning of every year I sit down with the semester calendar and plan how many days I have for each major topic.

Angela Gula

The school I work in places a large emphasis on collaborative planning. Decisions regarding the content and time to devote to each area are determined by our three member team, not an individual. We use the state curriculum as our guide in determining what to teach, and determine the length of instruction based on the weight of questions on the CRCT exam. For example, Energy and Its Transformations accounts for 40% of the 8th Grade Science CRCT, therefore we'll spend more time with that unit than any other.
Next year, our county will provide a curriculum map and pacing guide that will eliminate our need to make these decisions as they will be made by a group of teachers over the summer.

April McFarland

As a team, the science department meets and evaluates the sequence of our district- provided web-based curriculum and standards. The curriculum map is analyzed by all science teachers and tweaked as needed for proper flow of content. At this point, a tentative year plan is mapped out including exercises for each unit. The exercises in each unit are chosen according to goals related to "enduring understandings" desired for the learner. Assignments to reinforce these understanding are planned later, at a time closer to the presentation of the unit. The time devoted to each unit correlates with the time allotted according to district and also with the difficulty of the unit (for example, cells are much more intensive for 7th graders than ecology).

Elizabeth Petrie

At the end of an academic year, the chemistry teachers get together and discuss the pros/cons of the order in which we taught the content and the amount of time we spent on each topic. Typically, we sit down with the standards, talk about things that worked and didn't work during the year, and adjust our schedule accordingly. Student feedback is also important in deciding what to teach and how long to spend on each topic. If students struggled with or really liked a topic during the year, then I often times suggest spending more time with that topic the next year.

Henley Sawicki

As a department we have developed a pacing guide that initially establishes how much time I will allocate to each unit. It corresponds to the time line published by Cobb County School District. However, throughout the semester, my students tend to dictate more of my allotted time. If the students are struggling with a concept I will gladly spend another day on a topic, add in an additional lab, or try an activity that will reinforce my point. To the contrary if my students easily pick up a concept I can actually move faster and must again adjust my timeline. Overall, I try to incorporate evolution and classification while I am teaching the other "units" to avoid having the mad dash at the end of the semester to finish "covering" the material.

What are the strengths and weaknesses of the science curriculum you currently follow?

Angela Gula

Since this is the first year I've taught a particular subject (Physical Science) with the new performance-based state curriculum, I find it very difficult to know the depth to which I should teach some of the standards. Some topics within our new state curriculum seem to be so broad.

April McFarland

The science curriculum I currently follow is an awesome resource to have, especially as a beginning teacher. It provides a great deal of activities and detailed instructions of units. However, the order, to me, is confusing. I feel certain standards should be taught in different units, for example, dichotomous key is located in "Interdependence of Living Things" instead of classification.

Elizabeth Petrie

Although I believe the curriculum/standards that I currently follow cover a wide variety of interesting topics in chemistry, I also believe the standards leave a lot of things open to the interpretation of the teacher. This sometimes creates gaps amongst teachers in the same school and even more throughout the county in what is being taught to students that are supposedly all taking the same chemistry class.

Henley Sawicki

I see strengths in the science curriculum in the performance based tasks that we are currently using. I have found that the added "Habits of Mind" standards are overshadowing the content. These standards are very specific and detailed (and 4 of 6 pages of standards), yet the content standards are vague and broad. I appreciate the intent of the Habits of Mind portion of the standards, but I find it hard to understand what content needs to be introduced before the end of course test. I incorporate the technology standards within the content and feel that the standards would be more useful if they were written that way. I desire more directed focus on what content should be taught due to the high stakes End of Course Test.

Research Matters: Using Textbooks for Meaningful Learning in Science by Sarah L. Ulerick

(Used with permission of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching)

Introduction

Much of science teaching is guided by and based upon the contents of science textbooks. Gatherings of science educators frequently condemn this practice, as they recommend more and better hands-on science activities in the K-12 curriculum. If we look carefully at classroom practice and textbooks however, we might ask, "Is it the books themselves that are the problem or is it the manner in which students and teachers use them?" This article presents a rationale and strategies for teachers to facilitate meaningful learning from science textbooks.

Constructing Meaning

Over the past 20 to 30 years, views of how learners acquire knowledge have shifted from behaviorist theories of the 1950s and 60s to a "constructivist" view. The constructivist view of knowledge acquisition holds that learning is a process of connecting new knowledge to existing knowledge, involving active engagement of the learner's mind. What we learn from any experience, including the experience of reading, depends upon what we already know and how we choose to "connect" our knowledge with the sensory input we perceive. Said differently, we use what we already know to make sense of what we don't.

Reading researchers have acknowledged for some time that reading is a process of active construction of meaning; and, the ideas supporting constructivism are well-documented by research on comprehension of written text. A number of studies have shown how a reader's knowledge interacts with text to influence comprehension, recall, and usefulness of what is read. For example, in a study described in Bransford, readers were given the passage below to read and comprehend. Read the passage and see if you think it is easy to understand.

"The procedure is actually quite simple. First you arrange items into different groups. Of course one pile may be sufficient depending on how much there is to do. If you have to go somewhere else due to lack of facilities that is the next step; otherwise, you are pretty well set. It is important not to overdo things. That is, it is better to do too few things at once then too many. In the short run this may not seem important but complications can easily arise. A mistake can be expensive as well. At first, the whole procedure will seem complicated. Soon, however, it will become just another facet of life. It is difficult to foresee any end to the necessity for this task in the immediate future, but then, one can never tell. After the procedure is completed one arranges the materials into different groups again. Then they can be put into their appropriate places. Eventually they will be used once more and the whole cycle will then have to be repeated. However, that is a part of life."

Most readers find this description of a procedure difficult to understand when read without a title. When the title was provided, readers had no difficulty following the paragraph. The title was "Doing the Laundry!"

Why is this non-technical description of a familiar procedure so difficult to make sense of without its title? Most of us have prior knowledge to understand the paragraph, but are unable to use it without the "cue" or "context" which the title provides. If we are reasonably good readers, we probably tried to make sense of the sequence of sentences as we read along; we might have had one or two tentative hypotheses about the topic of the paragraph as we struggled to construct some coherent meaning for ourselves. If we are less persistent and resourceful readers, we might have given up halfway through the paragraph in frustration, concluding that it simply "made no sense."

Now read the following paragraph from a popular high school biology textbook:

"Water enters the mouth, where it passes over the gills on either side of the head. The water is then forced out through separate pairs of gill slits. The gills are respiratory organs of the fish. The shark has large, well-developed eyes on either side of the head above the mouth. Paired nostrils on the ventral side of the head lead to olfactory sacs. These olfactory sacs sense odors in the water. As already mentioned, shark skeletons are made up of cartilage rather than bone."
Unless you have recently taught a unit on "Class Chondrichthyes," you might not have recognized this passage as a description of the respiratory system of the shark. Even when presented in the context of the printed textbook page, this passage is difficult to visualize in any concrete manner. Now, imagine you are a science-indifferent or science-phobic tenth grader with poor-to-average reading skills. How will you make sense of this passage? Even if you want to try, will you have the skills to do so? And why should you struggle to understand the passage to begin with?

Difficulties in Learning from Science Textbooks

The effort a reader puts into comprehending or making sense from text depends on several factors. The reader's purpose in reading is foremost among these. We tend to put more effort into figuring out things we really want to know. Our purpose also prescribes the context for the connections we will make between the information we are reading and what we already know. For example, readers who are told to compare and contrast ideas in a passage tend to read more slowly and to recall ideas in a compare/contrast structure. In many science classes, the traditional approach to using a textbook is to have students read a chapter and answer questions typically found at the end of the chapter. The questions tend to be low in cognitive level, inviting a search-and-find learning strategy. Since answering these questions is their only purpose, students tend to engage at a very low cognitive level. Therefore, we should hardly be surprised that many students fail in the difficult task of making meaning from science prose.

The shallow purpose students are given for reading presents the first of several difficulties students have in learning from science textbooks. The low cognitive demands of such assignments discourage students from actively making meaningful connections to their existing knowledge and from actively monitoring their comprehension. When difficult passages are encountered, many students simply skip them, rather than undertake the effort to sort out a meaning for themselves.
Second, most science textbooks (particularly middle and secondary level books) are written in an impersonal, seemingly objective tone, which ignores the readers' needs. The style seldom offers invitations to the reader to access or "check-in-with" his or her prior knowledge about a topic. Textbook authors write as if the reader has as much prior knowledge as they do; and, they assume that readers are familiar with the style and structure of expository writing.

A third problem in learning from science textbooks is that many do a poor job of making connections clear between ideas within the text. One of the unfortunate casualties of applying readability formulas to science writing is that many of the linking connections, such as "because," or "therefore," are removed in the interest of creating shorter sentences. Long, technical words are used only once to keep the word-length count down, when using them repeatedly might allow students to understand the terms through their contexts of usage. The abundance of technical words in science textbooks adds to the problem of identifying key ideas and their interconnections.

Lastly, successful comprehension also depends on the relevant prior knowledge a reader has. This includes knowledge about the topic of the text and about the conventions of writing. Good readers appear to utilize their knowledge of text and purpose and to monitor comprehension in an almost automatic fashion; poor readers are unaware or uninformed of the knowledge they need and often are lacking in metacognitive skills as well.

Alternate Ways to Use and Learn from Science Textbooks

Given the difficulties outlined above, the reactionary stance has been "Don't use textbooks in science." This stance, however, seems to "throw the baby out with the bathwater." If we want our students to be scientifically literate, surely they should be able to learn about science issues through reading critically about them. Also, we should remember that the "standard" list of science process skills is only a partial list of what scientists actually do. Scientists read and learn from their reading. Like scientists, students can obtain useful knowledge from textbooks.

In order to get students to learn from their textbooks in more meaningful ways and to use their textbooks in more resourceful ways, we, as teachers, need to examine our beliefs about the role of the textbook in our teaching. Are we being overly dependent on the contents of the text in our science teaching? Or, do we see the textbook as only one of many resources we can provide our students? Are we emphasizing learning about the products of science; or, does our teaching emphasize the processes of science and how science knowledge is created?

How we view the role of the textbook strongly affects the way our students will perceive the textbook and the nature of science. In using textbooks, we should assist our students to become more active and constructive readers of science prose.

Meaningful purposes for reading

The most powerful strategy we, as teachers, can implement is to provide our students more meaningful purposes for reading; and more meaningful texts to read. If we reflect on the purposes scientists have for reading, we can discover other uses for textbooks to promote meaningful learning. Scientist read to (1) obtain background or explanatory information for a project; (2) obtain data that other scientists have already published and (3) to challenge their own ideas with new viewpoints. In essence, they read because they have questions, which can be answered by reading. The questions tend to be purposeful and research or project related.

The keys to providing meaningful purposes for reading is to have the students determine their own purpose for reading. Have students generate their own questions to answer using the textbook, or other resources. Meaningful questions can arise when students conduct hands-on experiences prior to reading relevant portions of their textbook. During the hands-on activity, students are told to record all questions that arise. The questions are categorized into those that need more experimentation to answer, and those that could be answered through reading. Students use their books to find answers to their own questions. In this way, the textbook becomes a resource, in the way that you, as a teacher, use your own books.

You can probably think of strategies in which one or more textbooks can be used as data resources. A useful practice is to have students use several texts to gather information. In doing so, they learn that authors present information differently; and, even established "facts" will vary from book to book. Learning can occur as students argue about and discuss variances they have found.

There are other opportunities for creating meaningful purposes in reading textbooks. For example, you can help students identify a conclusion that the textbook author has drawn. Students are then directed to look back in the text and assemble the evidence the author has presented for the conclusion. Students can evaluate the conclusion both in terms of the evidence presented and the outcomes of hands-on performed in class. Similar conclusions in other textbooks can be analyzed for evidence presented there. Here, students have an analytical purpose in reading. The strategies given here can also be used in reading scientific articles. By using a number of text resources in your class, you demonstrate to students that science information does not "live" in one textbook, but can be gained from many different books and viewpoints.

Understanding science prose

Strategies to assist readers to understand expository prose involve identifying key topics or ideas and the relationships among them. Traditional outlining of a chapter generally fails to identify the nature of the relationships among ideas. Graphic strategies, such as networking, relational mapping, schematizing and concept mapping, assist the reader to show in a "web" or interconnected visual form how key ideas are related to one another. These techniques are easy to learn with practice, and assist students in recognizing the connections among ideas in texts.

Students' personal "maps" of ideas can be related to text readings. Prior to reading, students can map their understanding of how concepts are related to a particular topic. As they read, they can add to their map or revise it, in light of the information presented. Or they can make a map of the reading and compare it to their own.

Strategies for metacognition

Metacognition refers to how we know or think about our thinking or comprehension processes. Good readers tend to know when they are having difficulty comprehending a text and they automatically put in extra time and effort to "untangle" the difficult prose. Readers who do not automatically monitor their comprehension can practice strategies to do so. Any process that involves checking one's understanding is a metacognitive strategy.

The graphic learning strategies described above are metacognitive strategies because they encourage students to assess their understanding. As students work to identify key ideas and relationships they are engaged in thinking about what they are reading. Another strategy is to read and summarize, paragraph-by-paragraph or section-by-section. Have pairs of students read together and discuss each section they read. The students would need to agree on their understanding of the section. Their consensus can be written out, to create a summary of the reading. Students in pairs can also write questions for each other about particular sections taking turns asking and answering the questions.

Still another metacognitive strategy is to give students a "checklist for comprehension" to accompany their reading assignments. The checklist might be as simple as a 5-point "comprehension" rating scale, which is checked for each paragraph read. Paragraphs, which are rated low in comprehensibility by an individual student, can be involved in further class discussion or in individual assistance.

All of these suggested strategies are intended to assist students to pay attention to their comprehension. Learning to monitor breakdowns in comprehension is a necessary step toward the goal of learning more effectively from a textbook.

Summary and Conclusions

Textbooks have a role to play in science learning, although that role is vastly different from the traditional role. This point is critical. The traditional student-reads-textbook interactions, if left unchanged, will probably not result in meaningful learning. However, if teachers mediate the interaction of students and texts with strategies for meaningful learning, the interaction can be productive. As teachers, we can provide meaningful purposes for reading, we can assist our students to understand the complexities of science prose, and we can provide strategies for metacognition. All of these interventions call upon students to engage in learning from texts at a much high cognition level than has been the case. We should not be surprised if students initially resist our "invitations to think." We should expect that they must think in order to learn meaningfully.

---

J. D. Bransford, Human Cognition (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 1979).

Ibid., pp. 134-35. Original study by J.D. Bransford and M. K. Jonson, "Contextual Prerequisites for Understanding: Some Investigations of Comprensi�n and Recall," Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 11 (1972): 717-26.

See R. E. Stake and J. Easley, Case Studies in Science Education, Vols. I and II (Urbana: Center for Instruction Research and Curr�culum Evaluation, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1978), and K. Tobin and J. Gallagher, "The Role of Target Students in the Science Classroom," Journal of Research in Science Teaching, no. 24 (1978): 61-78.

Education for Environmental Sustainability by David L. Haury

Source: Clearinghouse for Science, Mathematics, and Environmental Science, 2002, ERIC SE 061 972

Early in the final decade of the 20th century, the largest group of world leaders ever to assemble defined what may be education's greatest challenge and responsibility: to help citizens of the world prepare for a future of sustainable development. Sustainable development has been defined over the years in a variety of ways, but Jacobs has suggested that all definitions have a core meaning characterized by three elements: (a) consideration of environmental issues and objectives interdependently with economic issues and objectives; (b) a commitment to social equity and the fair distribution of environmental benefits and costs, both geographically and across human generations; and (c) an enlarged view of "development" that extends beyond simple measures of "growth" to include qualitative improvements in daily life.

The educational challenges for sustainable societies are great for several reasons: (a) the global sustainability challenge is unprecedented in both magnitude and complexity, (b) there is no history of societies willingly and deliberately taking steps to institutionalize restraints and change individual and collective behaviors to achieve greater sustainability, and (c) a constructive educational response must include a comprehensive, coordinated attempt to redefine the human role in nature and reexamine many assumptions, values, and actions we have long taken for granted. We must "prepare each student to lead a sustainable lifestyle" and "place ecosystems concepts at the intellectual center of all disciplines."

In the United States, the President has responded to the challenge by creating the President's Council on Sustainable Development. The Council, in turn, convened a National Forum on Partnerships Supporting Education about the Environment, and produced a report, Education for sustainability: An agenda for action (In outlining an array of strategic actions and initiatives promoting education for sustainability, the report focuses on six themes:

1. Lifelong learning within both formal and nonformal educational settings.
2. Interdisciplinary approaches that provide themes to integrate content and issues across disciplines and curricula.
3. Systems thinking as a context for developing skills in problem solving, conflict resolution, consensus building, information management, interpersonal expression, and critical and creative thinking.
4. Partnerships between educational institutions and the broader community.
5. Multicultural perspectives of sustainability and approaches to problem solving.
6. Empowerment of individuals and groups for responsible action as citizens and communities.

These themes reflect an acknowledgment that education about the environment and sustainability is interdisciplinary in nature, must allow for multiple perspectives, depends on collaboration across agencies and groups, and presumes a lifelong path of learning that extends through all levels of formal education into a variety of nonformal settings. The task, simply put, is to transform prevailing mindsets to recognize the long-term limits that nature imposes and the need to "nurture, rather than jeopardize, the ecological systems" that support our activities.

What is to be learned?

Just as there is a wide range of definitions for sustainable development, there is great diversity in the characterizations of education for sustainability. One starting place in considering the content of education for sustainability is to examine the relationship with environmental education. The North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) has developed a set of guidelines for environmental education, Excellence in Environmental Education Guidelines for Learning (K-12). The Guidelines provide a conceptual framework for environmental education, and they are organized around themes that are well aligned with the ideas shaping education for sustainability. Indeed, some have suggested that education for sustainability has become the new focus and justification for environmental education.

The organizing themes for the NAAEE guidelines are as follows:

• Questioning and analysis skills.
• Knowledge of environmental processes and systems.
• Skills for understanding and addressing environmental issues.
• Personal and civic responsibility.

These themes clearly complement the six themes of Education for Sustainability, and they reflect a connectedness among natural systems, human actions, and the need for individuals and groups to analyze issues, make decisions, and take actions that support sustainable ecosystems. It is also clear from these two sets of themes that teaching for sustainability cannot be relegated to a single course or subject area; the themes of education for sustainability must permeate all subject areas at all educational levels.

Neal has suggested a four-component framework for teaching about sustainable development: (a) people, (b) environment, (c) economics, and (d) technology. The component focusing on people would consider such matters as human populations, health care, literacy, equity, and urbanization. The environment component would foster awareness of issues related to water supplies, waste disposal, energy use and pollution, farming practices, and habitat preservation. Matters related to trade, expenditures on defense, wasteful consumption, poverty, and access to resources would be considered in the economics component, and the technology component would focus on control of emissions, fossil fuels, transportation, and industrial processes.

Rather than prescribe the content for sustainability education, Tilbury has suggested combining approaches that build on past practices but lead to an outcomes-oriented futures perspective. She characterizes traditional environmental education as being "about" the environment; students gain awareness, knowledge, and understanding of human-environment interactions, usually within the context of a science, social studies, or geography class. Another common approach is education "in" the environment where experiential learning fosters both awareness and concern for the environment. To these components, Tilbury would add education "for" the environment that would promote "a sense of responsibility and active pupil participation" in resolving environmental problems."

As Sitarz has suggested, education for sustainability is not a new course of study or new content, but rather "it involves an understanding of how each subject relates to environmental, economic, and social issues. Developing the content of this new educational dimension will require "educators at all levels [to] reach beyond school walls to involve parents, industry, communities, and government in the educational process".

One way to begin the process is to create environmentally safe and healthy school buildings and grounds where daily routines and facilities reflect attention to environmentally sound practices. The Blueprint for a Green School is a comprehensive guidebook that provides background information, activities, and resources for creating environmentally sound learning environments.

Challenge to Communities

Though sustainable development is a national and international issue, it becomes locally defined through actions and decisions within cities, neighborhoods, and communities. It is clear from the nature and magnitude of the challenge that providing education for sustainability will require communities to view schools as components within the educational system, not the sole agents responsible for education. Education for sustainability will not succeed unless communities build patterns of living where the local economy, policies, services, resource consumption, and land-use regulations meet the needs of residents while preserving the environment's ability to support the desired standards of living into the future. Roseland has developed a practical handbook for communities ready to take the challenge, and the Izaak Walton League of America has produced several community-oriented workshop guides on sustainability, including, Monitoring Community Sustainability. This and other curriculum materials associated with the League's Sustainability Education Project are described online [see http://www.iwla.org/]. One possible community education strategy would be to involve school students in the collection and reporting of data related to environmental indicators. Community Sustainability, a mini-curriculum produced by the Izaak Walton League for grades 9-12, includes guidelines for conducting a community sustainability-monitoring project.

Another curriculum guide produced by Zero Population Growth for middle-school students includes activities that lead to development of a "Quality of Life Index." Developing an Index with ten community indicators is one of the culminating activities after students have examined general principles relating to population dynamics, use of natural resources, and global issues.

The supplementary curriculum materials described here represent modest moves towards engaging students in local actions that promote community sustainability. The long-term goals of education for sustainability will be realized, however, only when communities build on these efforts and involve schools in comprehensive plans to create sustainable communities. More resources supporting such efforts are available through the following World Wide Web sites:

Second Nature: Education for Sustainability
http://www.2nature.org

President's Council on Sustainable Development
http://clinton2.nara.gov/PCSD/

----

M. Jacobs, The Green Economy: Environment, Sustainable Development, and the Politics of the Future (Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 1993).

David W. Orr, Ecological Literacy: Education and the Transition to a Postmodern World (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1992).

John Disinger, "Education," in From Rio to the Capitols: State Strategies for Sustainable Development, ed. Rebecca Stutsman (Louisville: Commonwealth of Kentucky, 1993.

President's Council on Sustainable Development, Education for Sustainability: An Agenda for Action (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1996).

G. A. Smith, Education and the Environment: Learning to Live with Limits (Albany: SUNY Press, 1992)

North American Association for Environmental Education, Excellence in Environmental Education Guidelines for Learning (K-12) (Washington, D.C.: Author, 1998).

D. Tisbury, "Environmental Education for Sustainability: Defining the New Focus of Environmental Education for the 1990's," Environmental Education Research 1, no.2 (1995): 195-212.

K. G. Munson, "Barriers to Ecology and Sustainability Education in the U.S. Public Schools," Contemporary Education, 18, no. 3 (1997): 174-76.

P. Neal, "Teaching Sustainable Development," Environmental Education, 50 (Autumn 1995): 8-9.

Tilbury, "Environmental Education for Sustainability."

Ibid, p. 207.

Starz, Agenda 21, p. 202.

Ibid. p. 200.

J. Chase, Blueprint for a Green School (New York: Scholastic, 1995).

Mark Roseland, Toward Sustainable Communities: Resources for Citizens and Their Governments (Stony Creek, Conn.: New Society Publishers, 1998).

B. J. Hren and D. M. Hren, Community Sustainability (Gaithersburg, MD: Izaak Walton League, 1996).

P. Wasserman, ed., People and the Planet: Lessons for a Sustainable Future. (Washington, D.C.: Zero Population Growth, 1996.

Science Teacher Talk

"How do you deal with issues related to science, technology, and society in your teaching?"

Ginny Almeder

An important goal of education is to develop the students' ability to deal with societal issues. Many of these issues result from theoretical research and scientific technology, and are controversial by their very nature. STS issues such as creation science, AIDS, in vitro fertilization, genetic testing, and environmental hazards should not be ignored. Students need opportunities to develop critical thinking skills and well-informed opinions.

In our biology classes, we deal with such topics as creation science and evolution, the ethical and legal implications of genetic counseling, animals in research, the use of steroids, and environmental issues such as the greenhouse effect and ozone depletion. The students are encouraged to discuss their political and ethical positions regarding the various topics. With this approach, we are able to have non-threatening discussions, which promote both an increased understanding of the issues and a greater acceptance of other viewpoints.

For example, a discussion of creation science and evolution provides a fertile setting for distinguishing between a scientific theory and a religious belief. If students are able to understand the difference, they are more likely to appreciate that science and religion are not mutually exclusive. In addition, such a discussion can be used to develop arguments and counterarguments for various issues and thus improve critical thinking skills as well as an appreciation for the differences of opinion that characterize our pluralistic society.

Brian Davis

Socially important science issues are usually addressed in full classroom group discussions and debates. I often pose scientific scenarios to students that involve moral or ethical dilemmas. The students are responsible for dissecting the issue, presenting the pros and cons, and providing a justifiable stance in support or opposition of the issue. I help my students to understand that they will be faced with these types of decisions in the future and some science related topics will challenge their moral values but could serve the greater good. These conversations could be charged at times but the discussion serves as an opportunity to hear the perspective of their peers.

Gerry Pelletier

It is not my style to hide from STS issues, so these issues are part of my curriculum. This year we dealt with the problem of nuclear energy. In order to make the students more aware of this issue we read Hiroshima by John Hershey and discussed the ramifications of the release of radioactive particles within the Earth's atmosphere. We analyze the effects of that event with nuclear accidents such as Three Mile Island and Chernobyl. I handled the issue of evolution in the same manner. We read the play Inherit the Wind and discussed the controversy which is still brewing today between creationists and evolutionists. I find that by reading and sharing in the same literary experience students find it easier to discuss and understand various STS issues.

John Ricciardi

My curriculum content is full of controversy and speculation. The entire knowledge base of "quantum" and "astro" phenomena is built on human subjectivity. To object, dispute and oppose, is also to be thinking scientifically. There are many "pictures," perceptions and schools of thought concerning "what is." Science's controversy is science's excitement, strength and vitality.

In my classes, popular STS issues, such as creationism vs. evolution, high tech mechanical/biological creationism vs. environmental preservation are presented. However, within the context of the entire curriculum, their significance becomes de-accentuated. It seems that the issues are realized for what they are---only small pieces to the whole of nature's puzzle---only a "fuzziness" of parts to a grander, unseen clearness of "what is."

Dale Rosene

There are a number of guidelines that I follow when dealing with STS issues. These include the following: (1) Be open---allow all students to voice their opinions and views. Encourage them to examine the basis for these views. (2) Try to provide balance when appropriate. (3) Invite experts into the classroom to provide their point of view. (4) Use writing exercises, because these cause the students to more carefully examine their beliefs. (5) Role playing activities provide an excellent forum for STS issues. (6) Don't try to infuse your views on the class---unless appropriate. (7) Involve community groups when integrating new curricula such as sex education.

Scott Schomer

Global warming, energy usage, urbanization, and population growth are areas we typically explore. In most cases, either I provide or students provide information for and against the issue. Then students are grouped to pool scientifically justified data (versus editorial-type information). My goal with these topics is to facilitate discussions which generate more questions. We do not necessarily seek answers to support one view on any of the issues, but rather try to follow the trail of questions that are generated to gain deeper understandings of the issues. The goal is for students to make decisions based on evidence versus opinion.

I try to relate science to the local community and utilize community resources to promote learning. For Oceanography, I have a field trip to the Georgia Aquarium. For Meteorology, I have a guest speaker come in from the Weather Channel and we have a field trip to the National Weather Service Center. For Physics, I take the class to the auto tech shop on campus and have the auto tech students and instructors lead my students around and demonstrate the physics involved with automobiles. In general, we take regional issues such as traffic, pollution, climate, urbanization and examine the interplay of science and human enterprises.

STS Themes and How to Teach Them

You will find information on each of the following STS themes, with suggestions for designing activities to help students understand these STS issues.

Population Growth
Energy
Effects of Technological Development
Hazardous Substances
Water Resources
Utilization of Natural Resources
Environment

Population Growth

The size of the human population affects virtually every environmental condition facing our planet. As our population grows, demands for resources increase, leading to pollution and waste. More energy is used, escalating the problems of global warming, acid rain, oil spills and nuclear waste. More land is required for agriculture, contributing to deforestation and soil erosion. More homes, factories and roads must be built, occupying habitat lost by other species that share the planet, often leading to their extinction. Simply put, the more people inhabiting our finite planet, the greater the stress on its resources.

Why is Population Growth an Environmental and STS Issue?

It took from the beginning of time to about the year 1810 for the human population to reach 1 billion people. Just more than 100 years passed before the next billion were added, and the population doubled again to 4 billion people by 1974. By 1987, Earth was home to 5 billion human beings, and this number is growing. We started the 21st Century with 6 billion people.

A society is not sustainable when it consumes renewable resources faster than they can be replenished. In other words, an overpopulated society clears forests and uses water supplies faster than they are renewed, or pollutes faster than the environment can adjust to sustain life. By these measures, the U.S. and most other nations of the world are overpopulated.

Contrary to some people's impression, the population explosion has not stopped. In 1990 another 95 million people were added to the Earth, more than in any previous year. At this rate, the world's population would easily surpass 10 billion and could exceed 14 billion people late in the 21st Century. No realizable amount of improvement in agriculture, pollution control, energy efficiency or other areas would be able to keep up with this pace of growth. Some would say today's 6 billion humans is already more than our planet can handle.

The major consumers of the Earth's resources are the developed countries, such as the United States. While these countries contain less than 20 percent of the world's people, they consume 80 percent of its resources. Although the United States is home to just five percent of the human population, we use one quarter of the total energy. The current population of the United States is about 300 million people. At the current rate of growth we are expected to add 60 million more people in the next 50 years -- 110 times as many people as now live in Boston.

Vast areas of land in the United States have been cleared to support our population. Over 3 billion tons of topsoil is lost annually as a result of intensive farming and over-grazing. Large stretches of forest have been cut to provide wood and paper, leaving only five percent of our ancient (un-cut) forests standing. In water poor areas, high rates of growth are leading to water diversion and depleted groundwater reserves. As urban areas expand, air and water pollution are amplified.

STS Actions

• Visit the Population Connection Website (formerly Zero Population Growth), and find one resource on population education that you could share with your peers. (http://www.populationconnection.org/)
• Show students the human population growth graph, which describes the growth pattern of the human population over the past 2000 years http://www.starch.dk/isi/energy/population.htm). Then ask them to identify the impact of the human population growth pattern on:
• Earth's atmosphere
• Availability of mineral resources
• Water resources
• Trees
• Temperature of Earth

Use the results of this exercise to identify student misconceptions.

• Get students involved in writing elected officials to support legislation to fund family planning, develop better contraceptives, and promote equality for women, and break the cycle of poverty.
• Have students do research on the size of families in the United States and other "developed countries," and compare with family sizes in "underdeveloped countries." Create a values dilemma sheet based on this idea: We should encourage small families by example and by educating others about the need to make environmentally responsible reproductive choices.
• Have students find out what efforts are being made in their own community to limit the impact of growth on the environment.
• Have students make graphs showing how the population has changed in the last twenty years in their school, their community, and state.

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This section on population growth modified from Ron Anastasia and Susan Weber. "Population Growth Fact Sheet," EarthNet. (A Forum on the Connect Business Telecommunications System).

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Energy

Recycling Issue

Recycling saves energy, natural resources and landfill space. In 1990, Americans threw away over 1 million tons of aluminum cans and foil, more than 11 million tons of glass bottles and jars, over 4 and a half million tons of office paper, and nearly 10 million tons of newspaper. Almost all of this material could be recycled, cutting down on the environmental damage caused by mining, logging, and manufacturing raw materials, while decreasing the amount of garbage being dumped. The average American generates 3.5 pounds of garbage every day for a national total of over 150 million tons per year. Over 70 percent of this waste could be recycled using existing technologies.

Energy Usage

Global warming, acid rain, and oil spills are problems directly related to our extravagant use of energy. Three percent of our nation's energy is used to produce packaging materials, such as bottles and cans. By recycling aluminum it is possible to save 95 percent of the energy that it would take to manufacture new products from raw materials. In other words, recycling an aluminum can saves as much energy as if the can were half full of gasoline. Americans throw away about 35 billion aluminum cans every year -- enough to rebuild our entire commercial air fleet four times over. If all these cans were recycled, we would save an amount of energy equal to 150 Exxon Valdez oil spills every year. In 1988, Americans set an all time high by recycling 42.5 billion cans -- 54.6 percent of the total. This alone saved enough energy to supply power for the city of Boston for one full year.

For every ton of paper that is manufactured from recycled pulp, 17 trees are saved and 3 cubic yards of landfill space avoid fill. With paper making up over 40 percent of our municipal waste stream, recycling could extend the lives of our existing dumps considerably. For recycling to work, however, it is important that there is a market for the new product. The U.S. uses about 40 percent of the world's newsprint supply; yet only 14 percent of this paper is made from recycled fiber. Recycled paper uses 64 percent less energy to manufacture than virgin paper and produces only one-quarter the air pollution.

At present, more newspapers are recycled than recycled newsprint bought, causing a glut in the market for recycled newsprint. Barriers to increased recycling include federal subsidies to the timber industry that make the price of virgin paper artificially low. A tax credit for those manufacturers who use recycled materials could offset this perverse incentive for using virgin materials. A worldwide paper shortage is creating opportunities for community economic development through small-scale paper manufacturing plants located near the source of supply for waste paper. For every million Americans who recycle, some 1,500 manufacturing jobs are created.

STS Actions

• Ask students to:
  

  1. Make a list of the advantages of recycling paper, aluminum, steel, and plastics.
  2. How recycling saves energy.
  3. What would happen if nothing was recycled?
  

  Use the results to identify misconceptions, and as a starters for a recycling module.
• Tell the students that the U.S. produces about a third of the world's newsprint supply (about 13 million tons per year---yet only 14% is made from recycled fiber. According to some estimates for every ton of recycled newsprint that is used instead of virgin paper:

• 17 trees are saved
• 3 cubic yards of paper avoid being land filled
• About 25 percent less energy is used
• 74 percent less air pollution is produced
• 58 percent less water is used.

Have the student do some "if-then" thinking. What would happen to the forest population of trees if the amount of recycled paper produced doubled from its present value? How would this effect landfill space? What impact would it have on energy usage?

Have students investigate the environmental impact of the production of their local newspaper. They should call the newspaper, and ask the following questions:

1. How many tons of newsprint does your paper use per year? (A) ____Tons per year.
2. What percentage of the paper is recycled fiber? (B) _____Percent recycled fiber.
   Now they can make the following calculations to determine how many trees-worth of newsprint are used, effect on landfills, and energy usage.
   (1). To find out how many tons of recycled newsprint your paper company uses, multiply (A) by (B) and divide by 100.
   (A) ____ X (B) ____ /100 = (C) ____ tons of recycled newsprint.
   (2). To calculate how many tons of newsprint are made from virgin paper, subtract (C) from (A).
   (A) _____ - (C) ____ = (D) ____ tons of virgin newsprint.
   (3). To find out how many trees-worth of newsprint the newspaper company uses in one year, multiply (D) by 17 trees.
   (D) ____ X 17 = (E) ____trees.
   (4) To figure out how much waste paper could avoid landfill if the newspaper used all recycled fiber, multiply (D) by 3 cubic yards.
   (D) ___ X 3 = (F) _____

Hazardous Substances

Pesticides Issue

Pesticides, which include insecticides, herbicides and fungicides, are a group of poisons used for killing or repelling unwanted organisms. Each year, more than 4 billion pounds of pesticides are used worldwide. Although law requires that all new pesticides undergo a series of testing before being marketed, a 1984 study by the National Academy of Sciences found that 90 percent of all pesticides have never been tested for long-term health effects. Less than one percent of the U.S. food supply is tested for pesticides.

According to the EPA, pesticides are substances used to prevent, destroy, repel or mitigate any pest ranging from insects, animals and weeds to microorganisms such as fungi, molds, bacteria and viruses. EPA licenses or registers pesticides for use in strict accordance with label directions, based on review of scientific studies on the pesticide to determine that it will not pose unreasonable risks to human health or the environment. EPA is reviewing older pesticides to ensure that they meet current safety standards and is taking action to reduce risks where needed. For pesticides used on food, EPA sets limits on how much of a pesticide residue may remain in or on foods. EPA also sets standards to protect workers who may be exposed to pesticides on the job. EPA works to promote a safer means of pest control through research, public education, and public-private partnerships.

Many pesticides can be indiscriminate in what they kill and often harm non-targeted animals that may be beneficial to crops. In areas of heavy pesticide use, poisoning of birds, mammals and fish are common. Some of the more persistent pesticides may remain dangerous for up to 20 years, slowly leaching into underground water supplies. In the United States, pesticides have been found in groundwater supplies in 26 states. Nearly half of all Americans rely on groundwater for home use.

Every year up to two million people suffer from pesticide poisoning worldwide, resulting in about 40,000 deaths. In the United States 50,000 cases of pesticide poisoning are recorded annually. Pesticide exposure can cause cancer, birth defects and damage to a number of body organs. Children often receive greater pesticide exposure because of their greater consumption of food and air, pound per pound, than adults. One study found that in households where pesticides are used, children are much more likely to suffer from leukemia.

Over the years, many insect species have become resistant to insecticides, necessitating higher doses and increased applications of more dangerous pesticides. Over the last 40 years, pesticide use has increased 10-fold, yet crop loss has almost doubled from 7 to 13 percent.

U.S. law currently allows any pesticide to be exported as long as the importing country is notified of its regulatory status. As a result, many pesticides that are banned or restricted in the United States because of their danger to health and the environment are exported to developing countries. In many cases pesticides are applied to farm workers who are unable to read instructions or warnings on product labels (which are frequently written in English). These laborers are often inadequately protected and are exposed to heavy doses of dangerous pesticides. Ironically, 70 percent of the pesticides exported to developing countries are used in the production of food imported by the United States. Recently six percent of all agricultural imports to the U.S. carried unacceptably high levels of pesticides.

STS Actions

• Have students make lists of the advantages and disadvantages of using pesticides. You might want to tell the students that a pesticide is a general word for poisons that control or kill insects, fungi, weeds, and rodents. Use the lists as way to identify student misconceptions.
• Have the students investigate pheromones, which are natural sex attractants, as a safe, biological alternative to chemical pesticides.
• Have students find out what effect the following actions have on chemical pesticides:
  
  • Wash fruits and produce.
  • Buy domestically grown produce in season.
  • Buy organically grown produce.
  • Grow your own food.
  • Tend the lawn without chemicals.
• Have students find out about organic gardening.
  For further information on pesticides consult:
• The EPA Office of Pesticide Programs: http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/
• Beyond Pesticides�National Coalition Against the Misuse of Pesticides. http://www.beyondpesticides.org/

Water Resources

Water Conservation Issue

Conserving water saves energy and money and preserves fresh water habitat. Much energy goes into transporting water to your residence, and then more is used to heat water for bathroom and kitchen uses. By conserving water it is possible to prevent some of the pollution caused by excessive energy use, such as global warming and acid rain.

Many of the problems relating to water use can be attributed to development in areas where there is an insufficient water supply. For example, although the Southwest has only six percent of the country's fresh water, 31 percent of our water is used to meet the demands of heavy farming and urbanization in this area. As a result, increasing amounts of water are diverted from the Colorado River, and now much less water reaches the sea, but this water is laden with pesticides and fertilizers.

Water diversion often leads to the destruction of wildlife. When rivers shrink, fish can no longer follow their normal paths of migration to spawn and may fail to reproduce. Diverting water also has a heavy impact on our diminishing wetlands, destroying the habitat that supports myriad organisms. In California, huge amounts of water are being diverted from Mono Lake's tributaries to be used in Los Angeles County. Mono Lake's water is naturally very salty, but as increased amounts of fresh water are diverted, the salt content has risen. Soon levels may be too high for brine shrimp to survive. If this happens, the food supply for the millions of birds that use Mono Lake as a stopover in their migration routes will be destroyed.

Much of the water we consume comes from underground reserves. If this water is used faster than it is replenished, it can cause land to sink, a process called subsidence. In Florida a few years ago, houses and cars were swallowed by sinkholes. Once subsidence occurs, the underground aquifers where water was stored cannot be reformed. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, 35 states are pumping groundwater faster than it is being replenished.

STS Actions

• Show students a glass of water. Ask them to draw a diagram showing where the water originated in their community, what happened to it along the way until it was drawn from the tap. Use the students' ideas to identify misconceptions about water.
• Have students find out what is the source of drinking water in their community. Have them contact the water department to find out their drinking water is purified. Students should prepare maps to show the sources of water in their community, and charts to describe how water is purified.
• Take the students to a waste treatment or water purifying plant. Students can investigate the physical, biological and chemical processes used to purify the water.
• Have students investigate how water is used (and conserved?) in their school. Have them inspect faucets, toilets, and water usage in the kitchen. Have them draw up a list of recommendations for the school to carry out a water conservation program. Challenge them to develop an implementation plan.

• Rocky Mountain Institute: http://www.rmi.org/. The Institute fosters the efficient and restorative use of resources to create a more secure, prosperous, and life-sustaining world. In addition to research on water resources, you will find information on energy, buildings and land, communities, climate, transportation, and other issues such as forestry, biotechnology and global security.
• EPA Water Homepage: http://www.epa.gov/OW/index.html. At this site you'll find resources on groundwater, water science, wastewater management, wetlands, oceans and watersheds, as well links to pages containing classroom activities.

Utilization of Natural Resources

Tropical Rainforests Issue

Tropical rainforests are broad-leafed evergreen woodlands that receive at least 100 inches of rain annually. Rainforests once covered about 5 billion acres in the tropics. As a result of human interference, only half of the original rainforests exist today. Nevertheless, they are home to at least 5 to 10 million species of plants and animals approximately one half of Earth's life forms. Remaining rainforests are disappearing at a rate of 100 acres per minute, an area the size of Kansas every year.

Many natural resources and much of our food come from tropical rainforests. Rainforests serve as a genetic pool for many fruits and vegetables, and new varieties continue to be discovered. Only 1 percent of the tropical rainforest plants that have been identified have been scientifically analyzed, yet they are the source of more than a quarter of the medical compounds sold on the market today.

Nearly the entire acreage of tropical rainforests lies within the borders of developing countries. Often the governments of these countries are encouraged to exploit the resources of their forests to pay off foreign loans. External financial pressures have forced them to sacrifice long-term sustainability to service short-term national debt. Population growth and inequitable distribution of land have further contributed to the problem.

Each year millions of acres of tropical rainforests are burned to make way for agriculture, much of it for export. The nutrients of the rainforest are stored in its multi-layered canopy. When forests are burned, these nutrients mix with the barren topsoil, where they are quickly eroded by rain. When the land is depleted of nutrients, the farmer moves on and clears more rainforest.

In Central America the primary motive for clearing rainforest is to make way for cattle ranching. Most of the beef, however, is produced for export to developed countries to be used by fast food restaurants. Over 120 million pounds of beef are imported by the United States from Central America annually.

According to the World Bank and the United Nations Development Programme, at least 12.5 million acres of tropical rainforest are logged every year. Much of this lumber is exported for use in furniture and other hardwood products. Teak, mahogany, rosewood, purpleheart and ramin are some of the more common tropical hardwoods exported by developed countries. The United States imports about 15 percent of the world's hardwood products.

Many acres of rainforest are flooded each year as a result of large hydroelectric projects built to provide energy for large metropolitan areas and for multinational industrial projects. As a result of these hydroelectric projects, thousands of indigenous peoples who have relied upon the sustenance of the rainforests for thousands of years have been relocated, and their cultures destroyed.

Clearing tropical rainforests means destruction of habitat for the millions of species of plants and animals that live in these regions. Furthermore, forests act as a natural store for carbon dioxide the major "greenhouse" gas responsible for global warming. As rainforests are destroyed, carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere, leading to higher global temperatures. Scientists predict that as global temperatures rise we will face an increase in crop failure, oceans will rise and flood coastal areas, and many species of plants and animals will become extinct.

Two-thirds of the world's fresh water, excluding that which is locked in the polar ice caps, is cycled within tropical rainforest systems. Rainforests absorb this large amount of water, releasing it slowly and evenly through the process of evapotranspiration. But as rainforests are cleared, soils become exposed to heavy rain, leading to flooding and erosion. It is often impossible to re-establish a rainforest once it has been cleared.

STS Actions

• Provide students with a map of the world and ask them to identify the location of at least one tropical rainforest. Tell them that about 50 acres of rain forest are destroyed each minute (almost 27 million acres per year, equal in size to the state of Pennsylvania). What impact could this deforestation have on?
  

  1. Earth's temperature
  2. Animal and plant extinction
  3. Amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere
  4. Quality of life for people in the tropics.
  

• Engage students in a debate regarding this statement made by Randy Hayes, Executive Director, Rainforest Action Network: "We believe that tropical rainforests are one of the most important global ecological issues of our time. These forests are a vital part of the life support systems of the planet. To ensure their survival is to ensure our own survival. If we don't act now they could be gone by the year 2050. We may be the last generation that will have a chance to save the rainforests."

For further information consult:

• The Rainforest Action Network: http://www.ran.org/. Rainforest Action Network works to protect the Earth's rainforests and support the rights of their inhabitants through education, grassroots organizing, and non-violent direct action.
• The Gander Academy Rainforest Page: http://www.stemnet.nf.ca/CITE/rforest.htm. This school-based site contains a full spectrum of resources on rainforests including lesson plans and activities.
• Global Rivers Environmental Education Network. http://www.earthforce.org/section/programs/green. The Global Rivers Environmental Education Network (GREEN) provides youth the educational opportunities to understand, improve and sustain the water resources in their communities.

Environment

The burning of coal, oil and natural gas, according to some scientists, is changing the earth into a planetary hothouse, changing climates worldwide. Coupled with the destruction of huge areas of tropical rainforests, the amount of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases, the Earth is experiencing a change in its average temperature. This phenomenon is better known as global warming, and represents one of the major environmental issues of the century.

Global Warming Issue

Over the past century, the human species has turned the Earth into one huge unplanned experiment. By releasing unprecedented amounts of greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane, chlorofluorocarbons, nitrous oxide and gases that create tropospheric ozone) into the atmosphere, we have in effect, turned up the global thermostat. Greenhouse gases act in a fashion similar to the windshield of a car parked in the sun, allowing light-energy to pass through, but then trapping the re-emitted heat. The greenhouse effect occurs naturally and without it the Earth would be ice-covered and uninhabitable. However, over the past century, human practices have led to an increased buildup of greenhouse gases.

Scientists already have detected a 1 degree F temperature rise, which may be due to the greenhouse effect. They predict a further increase of between 4 and 9 degrees F by the middle of the next century if greenhouse gas emissions grow at expected rates. The 6 warmest years of the century have been in the last ten years, with 2000 and 2001 being the hottest on record. As world population and fossil fuel use grow, greater quantities of greenhouse gases will be released into the atmosphere. Although the U.S. has only 5 percent of the world's population, we are responsible for 25 percent of the carbon dioxide that is released from burning fossil fuels.

Carbon dioxide (which accounts for approximately half of the global warming trend), nitrous oxide and tropospheric ozone are by-products of burning fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas) and wood. It is important to note that burning natural gas releases 70 percent as much carbon dioxide per unit of energy as oil, and half that of coal. Forests and oceans are natural stores for carbon dioxide, but are unable to absorb the quantities currently being emitted. Deforestation releases large quantities of carbon dioxide as well as methane, carbon monoxide, ozone and nitrous oxide. Swamps, cattle, rice paddies, landfills, termites, swamps and fossil fuels also produce methane, which accounts for 18 percent of the greenhouse effects. Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), used in refrigerators and air conditioners, as foam blowers, as circuit board cleaners and as aerosol propellants, account for 17 percent of the greenhouse effect.

Scientists predict that as global temperatures rise, life on Earth will face a series of potentially disastrous threats. Precipitation will decline in some areas, leading to crop failure and expanding deserts. Elsewhere, rainfall will increase, causing flooding and erosion. Changes in habitat could lead to mass extinctions of plants and animals that are unable to migrate to more compatible climates. And sea levels will rise, flooding coastal areas and causing salt-water intrusion into coastal aquifers.

STS Actions

• Ask students to make a diagram showing how they think the following contribute to create the "greenhouse effect": sun, Earth's surface, burning of fossil fuels, atmosphere, and carbon dioxide. Use the results to identify student misconceptions.
• Ask students to predict how the following human activities would influence the "greenhouse effect:"
  

  1. Using transportation systems such as high gas mileage cars, public transportation, and bicycles.
  2. Constructing buildings with super insulated material, smaller windows and automated controls for thermostats and lighting.
  3. Using fluorescent lights.
  4. Buying efficient appliances.
  5. Advocating renewable energy such as wind power, small-scale hydro, geothermal and solar.

• Climate researchers have predicted natural disasters would increase as a result of global warming. In the early eighties they predicted the following phenomena:
  

  1. Drought in mid-continent areas
  2. More frequent and severe forest fires.
  3. Flooding in India and Bangladesh.
  4. Extended heat waves over large areas.
  5. Super hurricanes

For further information consult:

• EPA Climate Change Site: http://www.epa.gov/globalwarming/. This EPA site presents information on the very broad issue of climate change and global warming in a way that is accessible and meaningful to all parts of society - communities, individuals, business, public officials and governments.
• Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change: http://www.ipcc.ch/. The World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations Environment Programmed to assess research relevant to human-induced climate change established this site. At this site you can retrieve significant reports on climate change.

Research Matters: Constructivism as a Referent for Science Teaching by Anthony Lorsbach and Kenneth Tobin

Used with permission from National Association for Research in Science Teaching

Introduction

Why is it, in educational settings, we rarely talk about how students learn? Why aren't teachers using how students learn as a guide to their teaching practices? These questions seem almost too absurd to ask; but think, when was the last time you spoke to colleagues about how students learn? Do you observe learning in your classroom? What does it look like? These are a few of the questions that we have begun to ask our teaching colleagues and ourselves. One way to make sense of how students learn is through constructivism. Constructivism is a word used frequently by science educators lately. It is used increasingly as a theoretical rationale for research and teaching. Many current reform efforts also are associated with the notion of constructivism. But what exactly is constructivism and how can it be useful to the practicing teacher?

Constructivism is an epistemology, a theory of knowledge used to explain how we know what we know. We believe that a constructivist epistemology is useful to teachers if used as a referent; that is, as a way to make sense of what they see, think, and do. Our research indicates that teachers' beliefs about how people learn (their personal epistemology), whether verbalized or not, often helps them make sense of, and guide, their practice.

The epistemology that is dominant in most educational settings today is similar to objectivism. That is to say, most researchers view knowledge as existing outside the bodies of cognizing beings, as beings separate from knowing and knowers. Knowledge is "out there," residing in books, independent of a thinking being. Science is then conceptualized as a search for truths, a means of discovering theories, laws, and principles associated with reality. Objectivity is a major component of the search for truths, which underlie reality; learners are encouraged to view objects, events, and phenomenon with an objective mind, which is assumed to be separate from cognitive processes such as imagination, intuition, feelings, values, and beliefs. As a result, teachers implement a curriculum to ensure that students cover relevant science content and have opportunities to learn truths, which usually are documented in bulging textbooks. The constructivist epistemology asserts that the only tools available to a knower are the senses. It is only through seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, and tasting that an individual interacts with the environment. With these messages from the senses the individual builds a picture of the world.

Therefore, constructivism asserts that knowledge resides in individuals; that knowledge cannot be transferred intact from the head of a teacher to the heads of students. The student tries to make sense of what is taught by trying to fit it with his/her experience.

Consequently, words are not containers whose meanings are in the words itself; they are based on the constructions of individuals. We can communicate because individual's meanings of words only have to be compatible with the meanings given by others. Using constructivism as a referent, teachers often use problem solving as a learning strategy; where learning is defined as adaptations made to fit the world they experience. That is, to learn, a person's existing conceptions of the world must be unreliable, inviable. When one's conceptions of the world are inviable one tries to make sense out of the situation based on what is already known (i.e. Prior knowledge is used to make sense of data perceived by the senses). Other persons are part of our experiential world, thus, others are important for meaning making.

"Others" are so important for constructivists that cooperative learning is a primary teaching strategy. A cooperative learning strategy allows individuals to test the fit of their experiential world with a community of others. Others help to constrain our thinking. The interactions with others cause perturbations, and by resolving the perturbations individuals make adaptations to fit their new experiential world.

Experience involves an interaction of an individual with events, objects, or phenomenon in the universe; an interaction of the senses with things, a personal construction, which fits, some of the external reality but does not provide a match. The senses are not conduits to the external world through which truths are conducted into the body. Objectivity is not possible for thinking beings. Accordingly, knowledge is a construction of how the world works, one that is viable in the sense that it allows an individual to pursue particular goals.

Thus, from a constructivist perspective, science is not the search for truth. It is a process that assists us to make sense of our world. Using a constructivist perspective, teaching science becomes more like the science that scientists do as an active, social process of making sense of experiences, as opposed to what we now call "school science." Indeed, actively engaging students in science (we have all heard the call for "hands-on, minds-on science") is the goal of most science education reform. It is an admirable goal, and using constructivism as a referent can possibly assist in reaching that goal.
Driver has used a constructivist epistemology as a referent in her research on children's conceptions of science. Children's prior knowledge of phenomena from a scientific point of view differs from the interpretation children construct; children construct meanings that fit their experience and expectations. This can lead children to oftentimes construct meanings different from what was intended by a teacher. Teachers that make sense of teaching from an objectivist perspective fail to recognize that students solve this cognitive conflict by separating school science from their own life experiences. In other words, students distinguish between scientific explanations and their "real world" explanations (the often cited example-that forces are needed to keep a ball in motion versus Newton's explanation is one such example). Children's conceptions are their constructions of reality, ones that are viable in the sense that they allow a child to make sense of his/her environment. By using a constructivist epistemology as a referent teachers can become more sensitive to children's prior knowledge and the processes by which they make sense of phenomena.

The teaching practices of two teachers at City Middle School may best illustrate how making sense of teaching and learning from constructivist-and objectivist-oriented perspective can influence practice. To Bob, science was a body of knowledge to be learned. His job was to "give out" what he (and the textbook) knew about science to his students. Thus the learning environment Bob tried to maintain in his classroom facilitated this transfer of knowledge; the desks were neatly in rows facing Bob and the blackboard. Lectures and assignments from the text were given to students. Bob tried to keep students quiet and working during the class period to ensure that all students could "absorb" the science knowledge efficiently. Another consequence of Bob's notion of teaching and learning was his belief that he had so much cover that he had no time for laboratory activities.

Let's look at an example that typifies Bob's teaching style. Bob's sixth grade students were to complete a worksheet that "covered" the concept of friction. After the students completed the worksheet, Bob went over the answers so the students could have the correct answers for the test later in the week. From a constructivist perspective, what opportunities did Bob's students have to relate the concept of friction to their own experiences? Were these opportunities in Bob's lesson plan to negotiate meanings and build a consensus of understanding? Bob spent one class period covering the concept of friction; is that sufficient time for students to learn a concept with understanding?

On the other hand, John made sense of teaching and learning from a constructivist perspective. John's classes were student-centered and activity-based. Typically in his high school classes, John introduced students to different science topics with short lectures, textbook readings, and confirmatory laboratories. After the introduction John would ask students what interested them about the topic and encouraged them to pursue and test these ideas. Students usually divided themselves into groups and then, conducted a library research, formulated questions/problems, and procedures to test the questions/problems. In other words, the students were acting as scientists in the classroom. Like Bob, John taught a sixth grade class previously, and also taught students about friction. Included in John's lessons were activities to "get the students involved." Students rubbed their hands together with and without a lubricant so that they could see the purpose of motor oil in engines. The students conducted experiments with bricks to learn about different types of friction, and even watched The Flintstones in class to point out friction and what would really happen (i.e. Fed would burn his feet stopping the car, etc.) John spent two weeks teaching his unit on friction. Were John's students given opportunities to make sense of the concept of friction? Were they able to use personal experiences? Whose students do you think had a deeper understanding of friction?

Our research also indicates that as teachers made transitions from objectivist to constructivist oriented thoughts and behaviors their classroom practices changed radically. It seemed as if many traditional practices no longer made sense to teachers. Specifically, teachers recognized that learning and making sense of what happens rests ultimately with the individual learners. Learners need time to experience, reflect on their experiences in relation to what they already know, and resolve any problems that arise. Accordingly, learners need time to clarify, elaborate, describe, compare, negotiate, and reach consensus on what specific experiences mean to them. This learning process must occur within the bodies of individuals, however, the inner voices of persons can be supplemented by discussion with others.

Therefore, an important part of a constructivist-oriented curriculum should be the negotiation of meaning. Students need to be given opportunities to make sense of what is learned by negotiating meaning; comparing what is known to new experiences, and resolving discrepancies between what is known to new experiences, and resolving discrepancies between what is known and what seems to be implied by new experience. The resolution of discrepancies enables an individual to reach equilibrium in the sense that there should be no remaining curiosity regarding an experience in relation to what is known. Negotiation also can occur between individuals in a classroom. The process involves discussion and attentive listening, making sense of the points of views of theories of peers. When a person understands how a peer is making sense of a point of view, it is then possible to discuss similarities and differences between the theories of peers within a group. Justifying one position over another and selecting those theories that are viable can lead to consensuses that are understood by those within a peer group.

The process of learning should not stop at what has been learned in the negotiation of a class consensus. This process can involve accessing other learning resources such as books, videotapes, and practicing scientists. Students can adapt the consensus negotiated within a class as they make sense of the theories negotiated in other communities. By engaging in such a process students can realize that what is regarded as a viable theory depends on what is known at the time and the context in which the theory is to be applied. Also they can begin to understand how to select the best theoretical formulation for use in a particular set of circumstances.

For many years the conventional wisdom of teachers has been similar to Bob's teaching style: to control student behavior so that the class is quiet so students can be taught. Indeed research programs have been premised on this assumption. Accordingly, the research literature provides lists of teacher behavior and strategies that have been demonstrated to control students. If this assumption is abandoned there is little research to guide teachers in the selection of practices that are conducive to students constructing knowledge. Instead of managing to keep students quiet and attentive to the teacher, a classroom might be managed to enable students to talk with one another and utilize collaborative learning strategies. Instead of keeping students seated in rows throughout a lesson, a management system might be developed which permits students to move about the classroom and visit the library, or a fieldwork station. Management is still a priority, but it is subsumed below learning and the implementation of a curriculum that meets the needs of students.

Establishing and maintaining a learning environment that is conducive to learning is a priority for science teachers. However, this is not easy to do. To begin with, traditional teaching practices are sometimes difficult to discard. Teachers might commence a lesson with good intentions only to find that they forget to follow their game plan. We have learned from our research that sustained change can take a long time to establish. John, a third year teacher, is committed to get all of his students to accept his style of teaching. Many of his students have an image of teaching of which John's style does not fit. Therefore, students might also have difficulty adapting to an environment in which they are given the responsibility for making sense of science. They too have experienced traditional practices in which they are force fed a diet of factual information to be rote learned. Many students expect to be controlled and filled up with knowledge. They believe teachers to be the experts whose role is to transfer the knowledge to students, much like one fills a bottle with liquid. If teachers do not fulfill their traditional roles students might be confused and have difficulty engaging as intended by the teacher. Just as teachers have to learn how to teach from a constructivist point of view, so too must students learn how to learn. Educating students to be effective learners is an important priority in establishing environments conducive to effective learning of science.

Reflect on your science teaching. Have you provided students with new knowledge to be memorized and repeated on a test without providing an opportunity for them to make sense of it? Or, have you provided students with an opportunity to use their prior knowledge and senses in making connections to the new concepts you introduced? If, like so many traditional science classrooms, the practices in your classroom are based on objectivism, you might like to commence the challenge of implementing change that accord with constructivism. If you would like to change your teaching practices (to whatever degree), then perhaps by reflecting on your practice from a constructivist point of view you can begin to construct a new vision of your classroom.

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Anthony Lorsback, and Tobin, Kenneth, "Constructivism as a Referent for Science Teaching," Research Matters...to the Science Teacher. National Association for Research in Science Teaching. Used with permission.

R. Driver, R., "Changing conceptions," in Adolescent development and school science. ed., P. Adey (London: Falmer Press, 1989).

A. W. Lorsbach, K. Tobin, C. Briscoe, & S.U. LaMaster, "An interpretation of assessment methods in middle school science," International Journal of Science Education.

Science Teacher Talk

"How do you accommodate students' varying learning styles in your classroom?"

Ginny Almeder

I accommodate students with different learning styles in my classroom by using different modalities, which include auditory, visual, and tactile components. Each teaching unit is a composite of lecture, written work, large and small group discussion, audiovisual, and laboratory activities. I generally use activities, which involve all of the students one way or another. One other thing that I would add is this. There is some flexibility built into participation. For example, following group work students may do an oral presentation or a written presentation using the blackboard. For homework, they may elect to write out their objectives or cross-reference the objectives with the notes. This is a more efficient approach for those students who learn better by listening than by writing. Some students also benefit from reversing the teacher-student relationship by working in after-school study groups where they act as tutors. Some student mentors come to realize very quickly that teaching is a form of learning.

Anita Bergman

I use a variety of materials and approaches in my classroom to help accommodate differences in learning style. I use visual aids when presenting orally, to help both the visual and auditory learners. I also help my students understand their learning styles by teaching them about the "true colors"--personality and learning styles characterized as blue, orange, gold and green learners. This study helps them in group-processing, since it promotes understanding and appreciation of differences in learning styles.

Alexia Bultman

At the beginning of each semester I give a learning styles inventory to determine each students' learning style. I then use that throughout the semester to place students in groups and to develop activities suited for each student/learning style.

Brian Davis

My method for accommodating students with different learning styles usually begins with establishing a rapport with the student; this aids in my acquisition of information about their individual strengths and weaknesses. Once I have determined who learns best visually, as opposed to the tactile or kinesthetic I make sure that these components are integrated into several parts of my unit lesson sequence. I teach 90 minute blocks, which is an eternity for 8th grade students to sit, so I make sure I combine lectures with visual, tactile, experiential learning opportunities.

Angela Gula

I've come to use a multitude of instructional methods in my classroom. At times content is introduced in a traditional fashion of notes and discussion, while other times, students are given an opportunity to explore online simulations or small group activities. I use a variety of graphic organizers and/or flipbooks to organize the content in a way that is meaningful to students.

Anna Morton

Accommodating students with different learning styles is a necessity. Students who are visual learners are provided with pictures, diagrams, charts, and graphs, and when possible students are asked to construct pictures, diagrams, charts, and graphs. Visual learners must be placed in front of the classroom, be given detailed notes or handouts, and like content or pictures on overhead transparencies. Visual learners must see the importance of a concept in order for it to have any relevancy. Auditory learners must hear the content. If a video can be found for a particular subject, I find it helpful for both visual and auditory learners. I also find that auditory learners prefer lectures and class discussions. A class discussion, linking the technology to the current content, followed by group work, adds clarity. Because class time is very limited, I find it necessary to pair auditory learners when they are conducting reading strategies, like note taking. These learners help each other to read through the content and identify important details. Some learners require movement and touch. For these learners, hands-on activities are indispensable. Sitting in class, without any movement, is taxing for these students. The laboratory experience provides these students with an opportunity to explore and manipulate the physical world. I have found that matching my students' learning style to my teaching style helps to eliminate boredom and inattentiveness.

Barry Plant (Australia)

I choose a range of learning activities that can challenge the more gifted, excite the average, and allow the less capable some success. Each unit of work would encompass a range of tasks, designed to offer students alternative pathways to learning.

John Ricciard

I try to plan and construct lesson activities that are constantly in a directional movement or "flow" from one particular learning style to another. Individual learning styles are not fixed, like still pools of water. Maximum brain-mind stimulus is more a style of learning that is symbolized by the water movement in a small country stream...the liquid patterns are observed to be in constant oscillating motion. In the classroom, there are, say 25 different "stream" patterns of thought emanating and synergizing. The only real common denominator is that there is a pendulation or "back and forth" learning flow of attention. Like the bubbling brook, the brain is constantly jumping here and there, picking and choosing between modalities of information, input, such as symbolic, visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and so forth. I try to juxtapose my lesson activities to this mental movement, moving through at least three, and sometimes up to six different instructional modalities within a 50-minute period.

Henley Sawicki

I try very hard to incorporate choice whenever possible in assignments. I give the students creative control over format, presentation, etc. I have found this really engages them in each assignment and allows them to express themselves. In addition, I try to address all learning styles within my classroom. I typically give an assessment at the beginning of the semester to find out what styles the learners are. If the students are struggling especially I can tailor the remediation that I do to their learning

Cooperative Learning Models

Student Teams-Achievement Divisions (STAD)

STAD was originated by Robert Slavin and his colleagues at Johns Hopkins University. The STAD model underscores many of the attributes of direct instruction, and it is a very easy model to implement in the science classroom. As in the entire cooperative learning models to follow, STAD operates on the principle that students work together to learn and are responsible for their teammate's learning as well as their own.

There are four phases to the STAD model: teach (class presentation), team study, test and team recognition. We will illustrate how STAD works by using an example for life science---food making (photosynthesis).

Phase I: Teach (Class Presentation)

The class presentation is a teacher-directed presentation of the material---concepts, skills, and processes---that the students are to learn. Carefully written and planned objectives should be stated and used to determine the nature of the class presentation, and the team study to follow. Examples from a unit on Food making would be:

• Students will identify the steps in the food-making process
• Student will compare the light and dark phases of photosynthesis

Key concepts should be identified as well. In this case the following concepts would be presented: ATP, chlorophyll, dark phase, energy, glucose, light phase, photosynthesis.

The presentation can be a lecture, lecture/demonstration, or audiovisual presentation. You also could follow the lesson plans in your science textbook, including the laboratory activities in this phase of STAD. Several lessons would be devoted to class presentations.

Phase II: Team Study

In STAD teams are composed of four students who represent a balance in terms of academic ability, gender, and ethnicity. The team is the most important feature of STAD, and it is important for the teacher to take the lead in identifying the members of each team. Slavin recommends rank ordering your students in terms of performance. Each team would be composed of high and low ranking student and two near the average. The goal is to attempt to achieve parity among the teams in the class. Teams should also be formed with sex and ethnicity in mind. Each team should be more or less an average composite of the class.

Team study consists of one or two periods in which each team masters material that you provide. Team members work together with prepared worksheets and make sure that each member of the team can answer all questions on the worksheet. Students should move their desks so that they face each other in each small team. Give each team two worksheets and two answer sheets (not one for each student). For example in the case of the Food Making unit, the teacher would provide the diagram) summarizing photosynthesis, and construct a worksheet consisting of about thirty questions related to Food Making on a worksheet (Table 6.8).

In the STAD model the following team rules are explained and posted on the bulletin board:

1. Students have the responsibility to make sure that their teammates have learned the material.
2. No one is finished studying until all teammates have mastered the subject.
3. Ask all teammates for help before asking the teacher.
4. Teammates may talk to each other softly.

It is important to encourage team members to work together. They work in pairs within the teams (sharing one worksheet), and then the pairs can share their work. A principle that is integral, not only to STAD, but to all cooperative learning models is that students must talk with each other in team learning sessions. It is during these small group sessions that students will teach each other, and learn from each other. One of the ways to encourage deeper understanding is for students to explain to each other their answers to the questions. One way to facilitate this process is for the teacher to circulate from group to group asking questions, and encouraging students to explain their answers.

Sample Worksheet Questions (STAD)

Phase III: Test

After the team study is completed, the teacher administers a test to measure the knowledge that students have gained. Students take the individual tests and are not permitted to help each other.

Science Experiences

John Dewey once said, "education must be conceived as a continuing reconstruction of experience; that the process and the goal of education are one and the same thing." Science Experiences is a cooperative learning method that brings together the elements of discovery and inquiry methods. Students are involved in scientific investigation, critical thinking, problem solving and group participation.

The activity process for Science Experiences includes an orientation phase, an action phase, and a reporting phase. In the Science Experiences method, the teacher orients the students to the activity, most of which require multiple abilities to accomplish. The activities are designed not to rely on reading, but to emphasize reasoning, hypothesizing, predicting, inductive thinking, imaging, manipulating concrete materials, and using a variety of media sources. To show how Science Experiences can be implemented, the activity "Intergalactic/Oceanographic Mission" is described.

Phase I: Orientation

The teacher sets the stage for the small group activity by asking the students why humans have dreamed of traveling to the stars or sailing across vast oceans. Students can generate a lot of reasons either as a whole class, or as members of a small team. In the latter case, the lists are pooled. A general discussion follows based on these questions: What might it be like to go on a journey into space, or across the oceans? What would be some of the preparations necessary to take such a trip?

In this activity, students generate a list of survival needs necessary for long-term travel and create a blueprint for a spacecraft or an ark. They will also make value judgments and consider some ecological implications for long-term travel.

To heighten interest in the activity, the teacher should read each of the following scenarios with dramatic flair!

For the Space Trekkers

Scientists as NASA have discovered a new planet that seems almost identical to Earth, but the new planet needs to be studied carefully before scientists know if it is safe to land. Your mission is to orbit the planet for one year in a sealed spacecraft and then return to Earth. Draw the various rooms in the spacecraft and label the things in each room. Be sure to include everything the crew will need to stay alive and well for a whole year.

For the Ocean Anglers

The Cousteau Society and a local television station owner have hired you to explore a series of islands that have never been studied by scientists. Your mission is to study these islands for one year in an oceanographic vessel that you cannot leave. The ship will take you to the island area and return you to your homeport in a year. Draw the various rooms in the ship and label the things in each room. Be sure to include everything the crew will need to stay alive and well for the whole year.

Divide the class into teams of four and assign each either as a Space Trekker or an Ocean Angler.

Action

Give each team one instruction sheet that contains the following information and problems.

1. Draw and label the things that are most important to stay alive and complete the mission. Work together as a team to design either a spacecraft or an ocean arc. Decide within your group who will be the design engineer, spokesperson for the group, equipment and materials manager, and group facilitator.
2. Obtain a large roll (about 10 feet) of paper for your blueprint, crayons, rules and pens.
3. Construct the spacecraft or ocean arc.
4. When your blue print is completed, make a list of the things that your team has brought on the voyage. Then rank the supplies into three categories:
a. Things that are essential for life and with which you would die.
b. Things that would be hard or uncomfortable to live without.
c. Things that would be nice to have but are not necessary.
5. Discuss the following questions and problems:
a. Will any of your supplies run out? Which ones?
b. How could you make supplies last for 10, 50, 100, or 1,000 years?
c. How would you get rid of waste materials?
Have the students post their blueprints on the walls of the classroom, and be prepared for reporting.

Phase III: Reporting

Reporting is a whole class activity, although it focuses on the work of the cooperative teams. In this case you should ask each spokesperson to explain their blueprint, and the rationale for the items and rooms in their ship. Reporting to the whole class should encourage dialog between the teams. This can be done by conducting a small group discussion among the spokespersons (with the rest of the class observing). Encourage critical thinking by asking students to explain and defend their team's work or results.

To encourage students to work harder, STAD uses an "individual improvement score." Each student is assessed a base score---based on his or her previous performance on similar quizzes and tests. Improvement points, which are reported for each team on a team recognition chart on the bulletin board, are determined based on the percentage of improvement from the previous base score. Generally speaking, if the student get more than 10 points below the base score, the improvement score is 0, 10 points below to 1 point below results in 10 improvement points, base score to 10 points above gives a score of 20, and more than 10 points above is worth 30 improvement points. (A perfect score, regardless of base score earns 30 improvement points.

Phase IV: Team Recognition

Team averages are reported in the weekly recognition chart. Teachers can use special words to describe the teams' performance such as science stars, science geniuses, or Einstein's.

Recognition of the work of each team can occur by means of a newsletter, handout, or bulletin board that reports the ranking of each team within the class. Report outstanding individual performances, too. Sensitivity is required here. It is important to realize that praising students academically from low status groups is an integral part of the effectiveness of cooperative learning. Elizabeth Cohen has found that it is important to be aware of students who you suspect have consistently low expectations for competence. When such a student performs well (not just on the quiz), give immediate, specific and public recognition for this competence.

Other Models of Science Teaching

So far we have presented three types of models based on behavioral, cognitive and social-humanistic learning theory. Several additional science teaching models are described that extend the previous models.

Synectics

Synectics is a process in which metaphors are used to make the strange familiar and the familiar strange. Synectics can be used to help students understand concepts and solve problems. Synectics was developed by William J.J. Gordon for use in business and industry, but it has also been used an innovative model in education.

According to Gordon, "the basic tools of learning are analogies that serve as connectors between the new and the familiar. They enable students to connect facts and feelings of their experience with the facts that they are just learning." Gordon goes on to say, "good teaching traditionally makes ingenious use of analogies and metaphors to help students visualize content. For example, the subject of electricity typically is introduced through the analogue of the flow of water in pipes." Synectics can be used in the concept introduction phase of the conceptual change teaching model.

The synectics procedure for developing students' connection-making skills goes beyond merely presenting helpful comparisons and actually evokes metaphors and analogies from the students themselves. Students learn how to learn by developing the skills to produce their own connective metaphors.

Gordon and his colleagues, know as SES Associates, have developed texts and reference materials, and provide training to help teachers implement synectics into the classroom. Here is an example of a synectics activity that you could do with students. In this example students learn to examine simple analogies and discuss how they relate to teach other.

• Give students analogies and then ask them to explain how the content (the heart) and the analogue (water pump) are alike. Here are some examples:
• The heart and water pump
• Orbits of electrons and orbits of planets
• The nucleus of an atom and a billiard ball
• Location of electrons in an atom and droplets of water in a cloud
• Small blood vessels and river tributaries
• The human brain and a computer
• The human eye and a camera

After students feel skillful linking the strange with the familiar, challenge them to create analogies for concepts they are studying.

Person-Centered Learning Model

The person-centered model of teaching focuses on the facilitation of learning, and is based on the work of Carl Rogers and other humanistic educators and psychologists. The model is based on giving students freedom to not only choose the methods of learning, but to engage in the discussion of the content as well. In practical terms, the person-centered model can be implemented within limits. Rogers believed, as do other psychologists, that making choices is an integral aspect of being a human being, and at the heart of learning. Secondly, Rogers advocated trusting the individual to make choices, and that it was the only way to help people understand the consequences of their choices.

There are several aspects of the person-centered model that appeal to the science teacher, namely, the role of the teacher in the learning process, and the creation of a learning environment conducive to inquiry learning.

The Teacher as A Facilitator.

In order to implement a person-centered approach, the teacher must take on the role of a facilitator of student learning rather than a dispenser of knowledge or information. Three elements seem to characterize the teacher who assumes the role of learning facilitator: namely realness, acceptance, and empathy. In the person-centered model, the teacher to show realness must be genuine and willing to express feelings of all sorts---from anger and sadness to joy and exhilaration. In the person-centered model, the teacher acts as counselor, guide and coach, and in order to be effective must be real with his or her students.
Rogers also advocated and stressed the importance of accepting the other person---indeed prizing the person and acknowledging that they are trustworthy and can be held responsible for their behavior.

Finally, to Rogers at least, the most important element in this triad was empathy. Empathy is a form of understanding without judgment or evaluation. Empathy in the science classroom is especially important in developing positive attitudes, and helping students who have been turned off to science to begin to move toward it.
Naturally there are more than these three elements to being a learning facilitator. Technical aspects such as setting up a classroom environment conducive to learning, providing learning materials, and structuring lessons that encourage person-centered learning are involved as well.

The Person-Centered Environment and Inquiry.

In the person-centered classroom, students are encouraged to ask questions, choose content, decide upon methods and resources, explore concepts and theories, and find out things on their own and in small teams. Clearly these are elements that foster inquiry. Teachers who truly implement inquiry will find themselves fostering the attitude advocated by person-centered educators. Here is a checklist of elements that signal the existence of a person-centered environment:
In the person-centered classroom, students are encouraged to ask questions, choose content, decide upon methods and resources, explore concepts and theories, and find out things on their own and in small teams. Clearly these are elements that foster inquiry. Teachers who truly implement inquiry will find themselves fostering the attitude advocated by person-centered educators. Here is a checklist of elements that signal the existence of a person-centered environment:

• A climate of trust is established in the classroom, in which curiosity and the natural desire to learn can be nourished and enhanced.
• A participatory mode of decision-making is applied to all aspects of learning, and students, teachers, and administrators each have a part in it.
• Students are encouraged to prize themselves, to build their confidence and self-esteem.
• Excitement in intellectual and emotional discovery, which leads students to become life-long learners, is fostered.

Integrative Learning Model

Imagine for a moment a physics classroom. After the students have come in and seem ready to begin class, the teacher says that they are going to begin a new unit on mechanics. He begins the lesson by getting students (and himself) to stand in a circle and begin passing a tennis ball around. At first the teacher tells the students to pass the ball at a constant speed or velocity. Then he says, "Accelerate the ball!" After a few moments, "Now, decelerate it!" The teacher now turns the activity into a game, students may take turns calling out "constant velocity," "accelerate," and "decelerate." As simple and as unusual as this activity is, this teacher has a reputation in the school for doing such activities in his physics class.

In another school, an earth science teacher is playing classical music while she reads a story to the class about how the giant continent of Pangea broke up, and drifted apart, creating new ocean basins, pushing rocks together to form huge mountain chains, and causing earthquakes and volcanoes. After the story is read, students get into small groups to collaborate and create a metaphor of the story, e.g. a drawing, a clay model, or a diagram.

The head of the biology department is seen taking her students outside (once again). This time, the teacher explains that the students are going on a "still hunt." Once outside, the students are assigned to sit in an area of the school grounds (this school has a wooded area to which the teacher takes the class quite often). For five minutes the students sit in their assigned area watching for the presence of organisms----ants, spiders, earthworms, birds, mammals---anything that they can see. They are asked to observe and to record their observations in a Naturalists Notebook. The students are assembled at the edge of wood and report their findings from the still hunt. Then the teacher gives the students modeling clay, string, paper, yarn, buttons, cloth, and toothpicks, etc. and says, "Design an animal that will fit into this environment but will be difficult to be seen by other animals." When the creatures are completed students place them in "their habitat." The teacher then has the whole class walk through the area looking for the creatures to find out how well they were designed to survive unnoticed in their environment.
Each of these teachers is implementing a model of learning which some refer to as integrative learning. It is a model of learning which suggests that all students can learn with a limitless capacity, and that students can learn by interacting with their "environment freely, responding to any and all aspects of it without erecting barriers between them."

The learning cycle used in the integrative learning model consists of three phases: input, synthesis, and output. Equal emphasis is placed on all three of these phases. The origin of integrative learning can be traced to Georgi Lozanov, of the University of Sophia (Bulgaria). Lozanov had discovered a method of learning which involved the use of music to help relax the learner, the creation of an atmosphere in which the mind is not limited, presentation of new material to be learned with what is called an "active concert," followed by a period of relaxation, and ending with a series of games and activities to apply the new material that was learned.

The Lozonov method made its way to the United States and can be found in such work as superlearning, accelerated learning, whole brain learning and so forth. Peter Kline, developer of integrative learning has stressed the importance of student synthesis and output in learning. In the integrative classroom, the teacher encourages students to use their personal styles of learning (see McCarthy, Chapter 5), and thus provides auditory, kinesthetic, visual, print-oriented and interactive learning activities. Music, movement, color, mini-fieldtrip, painting, the use of clay, pair and small group discussion are an integral part of the integrated learning model.

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Jack Hassard, Science Experiences: Cooperative Learning and the Teaching of Science. (Menlo Park, CA: Addison-Wesley, 1990).

Jack Hassard, Science Experiences: Cooperative Learning and the Teaching of Science, pp. 144-145, used with permission of Addison-Wesley.

W.J.J. Gordon and Tony Poze, "SES Synectics and Gifted Education Today," Gifted Child Quarterly, Vol. 24, No. 4 (Fall, 1980), pp. 147-151.

For training and resource materials on synectics, write: SES Associates, 121 Brattle Street, Cambridge, Mass. 02138.

Carl R. Rogers, Freedom to Learn. (Columbus, OH: Charles E. Merrill Publishing Company, 1983).

Paul S. George, Theory Z School: Beyond Effectiveness (Columbus, OH: National Middle School Association, 1983).

Peter Kline, The Everyday Genius. (Arlington, VA: Great Ocean Publishers, 1988), p. 65.

Research Matters: Breaking into INQUIRY: Scaffolding Supports Beginning Efforts To Implement Inquiry In The Classroom by Charles Eick, Lee Meadows, and Rebecca Balkcom

(Used with permission of the National Science Teachers Association).

For science teachers, implementing inquiry for the first time can seem intimidating. Inquiry-based curriculum requires teachers to design experiences that engage students in scientific phenomena through direct observation, data gathering, and analysis of evidence. Replacing familiar routines and conventional methods with inquiry may seem outside of a teacher's budget, unpredictable, less structured, and more difficult to manage. Appropriately scaffolded inquiry, however, can provide a smooth transition. Teachers who are considering inquiry as an instructional technique for the first time should incrementally apply variations of inquiry, depending on the needs and level of their students. The scaffolding described in Table 8.5 (p. 000) allows teachers to adjust from highly structured environments and teacher-directed inquiry to less structured environments with student-directed inquiry.

Scaffolding inquiry experiences

Teachers should vary the amount of guidance in their inquiry-based teaching, from 'guided" to 'open," depending on student skills and needs. These four different levels of variation can be used by applying the framework in Table 1�the five essential features of classroom inquiry and their variations of 'openness". Teachers can successfully start using structured, teacher-directed inquiry (right-hand column of Table 1) and work up to variations of inquiry that are more open and student-directed (left-hand column). In this way, both teachers and students become accustomed to doing inquiry in an incremental approach, from guided to open degrees of inquiry, building up their confidence and skills through a chosen variation of openness.

Table 1: Essential features of classroom inquiry and their variations.*

More ----- Amount of Learner Self-Direction ---------- Less
Less ------ Amount of Direction from Teacher -------- More

*National Research Council, Inquiry and the National Science Education Standards. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press, 2000, p. 29.

Teacher-directed variants of inquiry are ideal for teachers breaking into inquiry because they can easily be incorporated into existing curriculums and preferred teaching approaches. The level 1 approach breaks into inquiry through use of the first two essential features of inquiry, engaging in scientific questions and giving priority to evidence in responding to questions.

At this level, students should focus on a main sci�entific question to answer based on supplied data. The goal of this approach is for students to under�stand the importance of evidence, and use the dataset to infer or possibly explain scientific principles that are currently being studied in class. This approach, and all the ones we describe, begins with a question designed to elicit student thinking about the science they are about to experience. Teachers new to inquiry can easily incorporate a data-based worksheet into their teaching routine to help students think like scientists as they analyze real data that is tied to their science content. The Internet is a ready source of authentic data that is often generated for scientific use. Data can come from scientific instrumentation directly connected to the Internet (real-time data) or scientists who post it for oth�ers to access and use.

For example, teachers could have their students look at real-time data for stream flow in their area and ask students if the flow is due to the lack of rain or just seasonal fluctuations (Table 2, 'Water cycle"). Earth science students might plot worldwide earthquake pat�terns from real-time seismic readings obtained from the Internet (Table 2, 'Plate tectonics"). Although students are not collecting the data themselves, they are actually experiencing the scientific evidence re�quired by the second essential feature of inquiry. In a follow-up discussion, the teacher should probe student learning from the data exercise and explicitly connect student responses and descriptions of data to the prin�ciple or concept of study. This approach stands in vivid contrast to traditional textbooks, in which the evidence for the scientific ex�planations discussed typically does not appear. Teachers will find that the use of engaging questions and actual evidence will begin moving students from the theoreti�cal world of traditional textbook science to the concrete world of real data about authentic questions.

Table 2. Using authentic data.

Inquiry level 2

Using demonstrations to aid inquiry can be a next step for teachers who are breaking into inquiry. With a few resources and a little practice, teachers can model an inquiry demonstration in front of students. In a level 2 approach, teachers should choose a demonstration that models a scientific phenomenon or targeted principle in action Table 3). Teachers should not initially explain the demonstration to students but instead introduce it through a focusing question. This question should guide students' observation during the demonstration. This approach to demonstration allows students to follow a cycle of predict-observe-explain or P-O-E.

Table 8.3. Predict-observe-explain demonstrations.

Students may be asked to predict the outcome of the demonstration�demonstrations of discrepant events, where the outcome is unexpected and surprising, can be particularly good. In some demonstrations, actual data may need to be recorded by students. Teachers provide structure for what students record and how they manipulate or depict their data. Then, students must consider their findings to formulate their own tentative explanations. Students present these expla�nations to the class while the teacher acts as a guide, making sure student explanations are logical in light of observable empirical evidence.

After students have had the opportunity to share their explanations, the teacher explicitly makes the connection between the observable phenomenon and the underlying scientific principles. In this last step, however, the teacher must be careful to build on students' thinking, rather than unveiling the true meaning of the demonstration and thereby placing no value on students' work. This approach breaks into inquiry by incorporat�ing another of the five essential features of inquiry, formulating explanations. In addition to engaging in scientifically oriented questions by examining scientific evidence, students learn to develop explanations for the evidence they are considering. For students, this step is critical to develop strong thinking skills and understand how scientific ideas are moored by scientific evidence. For teachers, mastering the teaching skills necessary to guide student success with this facet of inquiry helps further the transition from a teacher-centered classroom to one where stu�dents share in intellectual leadership.

With experience in conducting inquiry demonstrations, teachers can next 'couple" teacher-led demonstrations with student-led extensions (Table 8.4). Coupled inquiry breaks teachers more deeply into inquiry as students begin to master the fourth essential feature of inquiry, evaluating explanations and connecting them to scientific knowledge.

TABLE 4: Coupled inquiry.*

Introduction to gas laws.

Demonstration

Place a jar or beaker over a lit candle in a pan of water for students to observe the candle go out, bubbles created, and the water level in the jar rise (See Ward et al. 1996).

Hypotheses or explanations formed

Students may hypothesize erroneously about the percent of oxygen in the air (21%) being used up in combustion leaving a vacuum that is filled with water. Some may hypothesize correctly that the pressure in the jar initially increases due to heating from the candle, forcing air to bubble out of the jar. When the candle goes out and temperature decreases, the reduced pressure inside the jar allows the higher air pressure outside to force water from the pan into the jar.

Further reading

Students turn to their textbook on the designated pages to search for related 'literature" that could tie to this phenomenon. Students read passages about gas laws and combustion and revise their initial ideas.

Hypothesis testing

Students suggest testing 'oxygen hypothesis" or 'pressure hypothesis" by using multiple candles, varying jar shape or size, varying water level in pan, among others.

Experimentation

Student groups are assigned a hypothesis to test using chosen or prescribed materials available. Students record their data with the pre-approved approach or the teacher-given approach. Each team presents and explains their findings in terms of accepting or refuting their initial hypothesis. The teacher uses results of student experiments to make explicit connections to aspects of the gas laws.

This approach begins with a teacher demonstration and the P-O-E strategy (described in level 2), but after�ward, teachers ask students to peruse the 'scientific lit�erature" (often their textbook) on how science explains the phenomenon or applied principles in the demonstra�tion. Turning to related literature is what scientists do to inform their ideas and prepare for further research. After reading the literature, students then revise their ideas in writing based on their reading and share those revisions with the class. The teacher poses how students might test their revised explanations (i.e., for�mulate a hypothesis) through further exploration with the demonstration materials.

Next, teams of students are commissioned to test their hypotheses after first planning out the needed materials, data to be gathered, and method of analyzing that data. Teachers who want a more structured approach can as�sign hypotheses, materials, and procedures for students to follow. At this time, teachers may want to discuss how scientists work to refute their hypotheses because data simply affirming a hypothesis do not 'prove" it cor�rect.

After testing their hypotheses, student groups report their findings and whether the data support or refute the working hypotheses. Teachers may choose to have groups present their findings more formally in front of the class using an overlay, white board, poster, or PowerPoint presentation. After the presentation, the teacher connects what students have been learning from their inquiries to current knowledge and understanding of the principles or concepts at work.

As with developing explanations, coupled inquiry and evaluation of explanations involve complex, high-level thinking skills. Students have to examine mul�tiple explanations for the evidence at hand to determine which one has the best explanatory power. Students often find that more experimentation is required before they can finalize a satisfactory explanation. At this level, teachers will be pleased to see that students are taking on the nature of true inquiry-based science.
Almost any demonstration of a scientific phenom�enon or principle can be extended into student-led inquiry, allowing students to more deeply understand the concept under study. More resources are required for this type of inquiry than with demonstration alone, but this approach moves the science teacher into student-centered inquiry.

Forms of inquiry in which students generate the questions of interest, develop the methods for exploring them, and generate data for analysis can be very challenging for teachers and students who are new to inquiry. This final form of inquiry breaks into the fifth essential feature of inquiry in which students communicate and justify their explanations.

One historical approach to this form of inquiry that is feasible for beginners is the science fair�or similar research�project, which follows an experi�mental design. With guidance from the teacher, stu�dents choose their own research topic, review and read the relevant literature, design the experimental research, analyze the data, and present their results. For a science fair-type project, students have to de�velop an attractive, cogent display of their process and findings. Students who have become experienced in inquiry throughout the year will be better prepared to produce high-quality projects than those who sim�ply are assigned a project during the final weeks of the year, with no prior experience in inquiry.

Teachers must allocate time for students to pre�pare, conduct, and complete these projects. Because most student project work generally is done outside of class time, teachers must provide the structure needed through handouts on format guidelines, partial work deadlines, and rubrics used to evaluate their final work.
Teachers should devote in-class time to guiding stu�dent preparation for the earlier portions of the project, such as searching for related literature. Teachers can plan product deadlines around direct teachings on im�portant skills needed in the project, such as choosing a topic and designing a hypothesis.

Setting up the experiment in school helps the success of the final experimental product, even if much of the work is done outside of school. This approach to the project allows the teacher to teach under structured, whole-class contexts while still having students com�plete meaningful inquiry that is completely student-directed. Developing the final presentation of the proj�ect helps students to see the importance scientists place on formalizing inquiry so that others can review it critically for quality and value.

Even if teachers choose not to set up the competitive aspect of science fairs, having students complete experi�mental inquiries of their choosing and communicate their findings is a big motivation and can be inquiry at its best!

Becoming an inquiry-based science teacher

Science teachers know the importance of inquiry-based teaching, but it takes time and practice before teachers feel comfortable and successful doing it. By beginning with teacher-led variants of inquiry, science teachers can start to use inquiry within familiar and conventional methods of teaching. For science teachers who are also concerned about planning and management issues, starting to implement inquiry within existing classroom routines and arrangements is essential if inquiry is to occur at all. This is especially true for science teachers new to inquiry. With time and practice, teachers can scaffold their own learning by moving toward student-led variants of inquiry one step at a time.

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National Research Council (NRC). Inquiry and the National Science Education Standards. (Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press, 2000).

A.M. Bodzin and W.M. Cates, 'Inquiry Dot Com," The Science Teacher, 2002, 69(12): 48-52.

E.L. Chiapetta, and T. R. Koballa, Science Instruction in the Middle and Secondary Schools (Upper Saddle River, N.J: Merrill Prentice Hall, 2002).

J. V. Ebenezer, and S.M. Haggerty, Becoming a Secondary School Science Teacher (Columbus, OH: Merrill, 1999.

L. Martin-Hansen, 'Defining Inquiry," The Science Teacher, 2002, 69(2): 34-37.

V.J. Mannoia, What is Science? An Introduction to the Structure and methodology of Science (Lanham, MD: University of America Press, 1980.s

M.D. Ambruso, 'Challenging Students with Experiments," The Science Teacher, 2003, 70(1): 41-43.

M. Timmons, 'Inquiring Minds," The Science Teacher, 2003, 70(7): 31-36.

"What are some of the best ways that you have found to get adolescents thinking in your science classes?"

Angela Gula

The best way to get adolescents thinking in science class is to model the thinking process for them and have them work to make connections between the concepts taught in the class. Having them working in small groups is also another great way to get them thinking within their comfort zone. A small group setting provides a "safe" environment for students to voice their thoughts and discuss them with peers.

Anna Morton

I find technology, especially the Internet, to be an exceptional educational tool. I use Internet to establish a classroom climate of research. My students often engage in projects that require them to research a particular topic, such as endangered species or genetics. Students have access to vast libraries from prominent research institutions. Some of these sites are interactive and allow students to test what they have learned. Some of my students find dissecting a horrible experience; therefore, using the Internet dampens that horror and students experience dissection through visual imaging. The Virtual Frog Dissection has proven to be a rewarding experience for my students. The Internet also increases the desire to learn or motivation with my students. Because the multimedia nature of the Internet engages my students, which results in their becoming more interested in the topic, this leads to students asking more questions and engaging in intense class discussions.

Technology is not limited to the use of the Internet. My students often construct brochures and power point presentations to demonstrate their understanding of the content. They also write letters using word processing to express themselves to their families and friends about what they are learning. The use of laboratory equipment, (microscopes and oscilloscopes), affords students the opportunity to begin to develop some of the behaviors of scientists. Students begin to think as scientists, in their pursuit of knowledge and understanding through the use of technology.

Barry Plant (Australia)

I use what we call ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) extensively in the science classroom. A student in my class will research ideas and information using electronic based resources such as the Internet, plan experiments using simulation programs, record experimental results using data loggers, analyze data using a spreadsheet program or a graphical calculator, and report using word processing or electronic presentations. 
I have found the use of simulation programs as an excellent way of allowing students to explore ideas and experiment without some of the dangers or ethical concerns associated with more typical laboratory activities. Students can test out an electronic circuit using a computer based simulation program before connecting one using real materials. 

Ready access to the Internet through a cluster of computers attached to the rear of my classroom has provided my students with extra dimensions to the learning process.  We can visit locations, explore information collections, research social concerns, communicate with others, the list goes on. 

Henley Sawicki

I have found that as I use things that students are familiar with, they think more critically about science. For example, I have students make MySpace webpages to associate different organelles with each other. They create text messages for transcription and translation. Essentially, I try to use any method of reaching the kids in their world and bringing science into it.

Scott Schomer

The best way I have found to get students thinking is to engage them in discussions or activities in which the "answer" to the situation is delayed to a later time, or there are multiple solutions or where the information is immediately applicable to their lives. Sometimes I delay giving the answer and just give students clues and get them to use what we've learned or what they may already know to try and get them to take the initiative toward solving problems. Another way to get them thinking is to have demonstrations in which the unexpected occurs or demonstrations involving concepts the students have very little prior contact with.

Michael O'Brien

Relate science content to students' lives. By making the connection to the world outside the classroom students begin to think of science as relevant to the world they live in. If science becomes relevant to the students they will bring their world into the science classroom and begin to make the connections themselves.

Rachel Zgonc

I find discussion to be most effective with my students. Discussion can take many different forms and I use it very differently in my middle school classes versus my high school classes. In the middle school, I find that the discussion needs to be much more structured. I act as the leader of the discussion and the students discuss, comment, or ask questions about concepts and ideas I put out there for them. In the high school, the discussion essentially starts off in this same manner, but it becomes less of a focus once the discussion gets under way. In the middle school it is usually (although it depends on the individual class) imperative that the students raise their hands. In the high school, I find the discussion method to be effective is the students can speak freely and I am simply there to monitor and direct the discussion.

Is the discovery or inquiry model of teaching important in your approach to teaching? Why?

Ben Boza (Botswana)

I find the inquiry model of teaching important indeed in my teachings and as an effective method of participatory learning whereby the learners perceive themselves as being responsible for the knowledge they unearth. When utilizing this model, it gives the students the opportunity to discover things by themselves. By unraveling the mystery shrouding a certain new concept to them by themselves, it generates the �Eureka' experience, which actually makes a big impact on the student. As such, it makes the learner identify with the new knowledge gained and can easily grasp the logic behind it and how it is applicable.

Michael O'Brien

The inquiry model of learning is very important to my approach. I feel that students that explore and find for themselves the ideas and concepts about science are more engaged learners. Specifically it puts the learning where it belongs which is with the student not the teacher. With inquiry based learning the students are not only engaged in the present but are learning about how to learn for the future.

Ginny Almeder

Since science is both a body of knowledge and a process, I value the inquiry learning approach. Knowledge of facts is necessary to develop scientific literacy but having opportunities to apply the knowledge in new contexts in order to develop problem-solving skills is essential. For the teacher, there is a delicate balance between presentation of factual information and the discovery process. However, with careful planning, both approaches can be successfully integrated. For example, after reading introductory material from the text or lab manual, students can be asked to describe the problem of a planned lab activity, devise hypotheses, and make predictions. During the post-lab session, students can discuss alternative hypotheses and experimental design as well as various interpretations of the data and suggestions for further experiments. Projects provide another vehicle for developing problem-solving skills. Individual students can present their proposals or projects and benefit from a class discussion of variables and controls.

John Ricciardi

The essence of sciencing is discovery; the primary discovery of knowing oneself in relation to one's surrounding. For me, the inquiry-learning model is the most important if our focus is first to know oneself---through the process of knowing the envelope of nature around us. As a teacher of astronomy and quantum physics, I must help focus my students' attention to aspects of physical reality that normally are not perceived by our primary senses. The size and distance extremes of an electron and a galaxy super cluster are awesome. We can only know these objects by "blindly touching them in the dark" with our instruments. One prime task in these sciences is to visualize, extrapolate, imagine, and wonder about these things we can't naturally see. This kind of thinking is a real, vital part of science; it unfolds and reveals nature by discovering our own "inner tools" and identity...our own potentiality.

Gerry Pelletier

This learning model is the essence of my science teaching approach. In order for a student to truly understand scientific ideas and concepts they must experience them for themselves and question what they observe, hear and manipulate. Every one of my students is required to participate in a science fair exhibit at school. I feel that this is the most important project in their middle school science education. They are required to use all of the skills that have been developed in our science program. They must develop their own topic, form their own hypothesis, develop an experiment that tests their hypothesis, collect and analyze data and draw a logical conclusion. This to me is learning. Students questioning, inquiring, observing, solving a

Science Teacher Talk

Describe your typical process for designing instruction.

Alexia Bultman

I go through the state standards and determine what I am required to cover. Next I list out the basic information that the students need to know and what things I feel are necessary for them to know. Then I will determine what labs and/or activities fit into the curriculum and are appropriate for the grade level. Finally, for each unit, I map out and create the objectives, notes, activities, labs, quizzes, and tests

Angela Gula

Instruction design is done through a collaborative process. I will meet with my subject-alike teachers every other week to plan and discuss instruction. We begin by looking at the standards and use them to determine what content should be taught. From there we select activities that we feel support the standards. We will also use these activities as a base and then supplement based on the needs of our individual students.

Michael O'Brien

The starting point for instructional objectives is often defined by the curriculum. This may be AP, IB or the school's own curriculum. Keeping the curriculum in mind I then develop the main large ideas I want the students to develop their learning around. These "big" ideas are expressed in conceptual terms and are the main parts of the skeleton in which I build the details of the specific instructional objectives. Just as the bones in a skeleton, these big ideas are connected. It is important for me as a teacher to keep these big ideas and how they are connected in front of the students at all times as we go through the specific detailed instructional objectives. For example, in learning physics, I believe it is important to link the big ideas of Energy, Force and Motion. By linking them throughout the learning of Physics students hopefully will begin to think like physicists in a conceptual framework instead of getting bogged down in memorizing the formulas and vocabulary. Also it is important to link these specific instructional objectives to the world outside the classroom. By making this link the students hopefully understand that the big ideas and the specifics apply in a practical way in their lives.

Elizabeth Petrie

Typically, the team of chemistry teachers at my school will get together to plan a unit. It helps if we have all of our brains together to design some of the activities. We tend to come up with more ideas this way, and several of them end up being new things. We always like to try a new lab or activity or way of delivering content, to try to do something differently that may help more students.

Henley Sawicki

I know that ideally instruction should be in a "backward design" fashion, but that has never formally worked well for me. Of course, I begin with the end in mind and know what concepts and topics are going to be assessed, but I do not formally design the final assessment at the beginning of the unit (unless I am using a project or performance based assessment). I map out the concepts that I want to introduce, decide on labs and activities that will most effectively illustrate the concepts, and create/ modify any additional activities that are planned. I always have several projects (like the Nobel Prize Articles) that are planned from the beginning of the semester that are incorporated into each unit. These activities are non-negotiable and are included no matter the circumstances.

What tips would you give beginning teachers in planning and preparing lessons?

Priscilla Cheek

Planning and preparation are not just helpful, they are mandatory.  This next piece of advice may sound like heresy to professional "educators" but do not spin your wheels writing fancy "behavioral objectives" or even worry about the hierarchy's seven levels etc., etc.  Do, however, decide what is worth spending an hour trying to get your students to know or do, then plan minute by minute how you will accomplish your goal.  Prepare all the materials or equipment you will need well in advance of the day needed.  Always plan more than you can finish.  This gives you options from which to choose depending on how your kids respond to other parts of your lesson.  Include frequent checks to see how you and your students are doing.  Long -range outlines are also essential, but do not mandate strict adherence.  Use your plans as a guide, but let your students understanding dictate how closely you stick to it.  Make sure that when you "cover" material that you don't just bury it!

Ben Boza (Botswana)

Effective teaching takes careful planning and preparation. As such, I cannot over-emphasize the importance of both. A teacher should always prepare a lesson guided by the syllabus. Time allocation should be done in such a manner that a lesson is introduced, discussed, and concluded all within the given period. Each lesson you carry out should have an objective and a goal to reach by the end of it. Therefore, the planning should focus around achieving it. A well-planned lesson should end by informing the students from whence the next lesson shall commence. In this way, it provides a flowing of the subject matter being taught. A lesson well planned is thorough, comprehensive and easily understood.

When planning to carry out practical experiments and illustrations, go over them before hand to ascertain that all works out well. It is important to be sure of intended results. In this way, as a teacher you portray mastery of the subject matter and this boosts the confidence of your students in you. Students perceive their teachers as perfectionists who should not get it wrong. There's nothing as unbalancing as to abandon an intended practical or illustration because it "backfires" on you as a teacher. By that I don't mean that occasional mishaps may not occur in the event of teaching, but it should not be so as a result of sketchy planning and preparation.

An important consideration to make during planning of the lesson should be the diverse capability of the students. It should be accommodative enough to absorb the capacity of the weaker students and slow learners such that they are not left out in the progressive teachings. On the same note, plan on how to have the fast learners occupied within the lesson to avoid them being distracted and/or becoming bored or edgy as you pull the weak ones along.

Rachel Zgonc

At the beginning of this year I would spend hours planning lessons. While this helped me feel more comfortable getting up in front of the class, I think at times it hindered my creativity. In class, I would often concentrate so much on following what I had planned for that lesson that I missed some great opportunities for getting off track and talking about topics that the students wanted to focus on. The lesson I learned from these experiences is flexibility. Just because your lesson plan says that the students should be at a certain point by the end of the period, this does not mean that the students have learned more or even as much as they might have if you had followed some of the unplanned avenues that presented themselves to you in class. After all, if the students are interested and involved, they will always learn more and remember it for longer.

Jerry Pelletier

The first tip I would give any new teacher is that they must have good classroom management. Students must understand why they are in the class and what the teacher expects of them. When planning a lesson teachers must always keep in mind who their audience is. The lessons must be geared to the level and understanding of their students. They should never assume that students have mastered a skill. For example, if students will be measuring distances with rulers a teacher should never assume that the students fully understand how a ruler should be used. These skills should always be integrated as part of the lesson. Reinforcement of key skills and concepts should always be made part of any lesson. It is also important to have closure in order to summarize the main ideas developed during the lesson.

Science Teacher Talk

How do you assess student learning from their experiences in science class?

Alexia Bultman

For me, most of the time, I am using observational assessment during active science learning. I observe how students are working or the questions that they are asking. I also ask questions while they are working to assess how they are progressing through the activity, lab, or lesson. Students also have some type of sheet with questions, directions, or prompts that are also used as an assessment tool.

Angela Gula

Quality assessment is critical in determining what students are learning, what instructional strategies are working, and how much further time needs to be spent addressing the particular content. Most of the assessments given in my classroom have come to be formative in nature. I provide quizzes, reading checks, and lab activities to determine what students are learning. Based on the results of the assessment, instruction is modified or extended.

Assessing active science learning comes primarily from discussion with students as they are working in groups. This interaction allows for the most accurate picture of student thought and understanding. It may seem to be an overwhelming task, but it really only takes about 3-4 minutes per group to determine if the students understand what they are doing and why they are doing it. If discussion is not possible, I'll assess student learning through the use of a guided instruction sheet where students will answer questions during the activity or immediately after.�

Elizabeth Petrie

In terms of assessment, I think it is very important that students know how they are doing in class. Not only are the traditional quizzes and tests assessments in my classroom, but the many varied activities that occur each day are used to assess a student�s understanding of the content. It is very important to me that I am able to provide some type of feedback to students on a daily basis, and the one thing I have learned is that this can not always be a test or a quiz. Many informal things that happen on a daily basis in the classroom let students know how they are doing.

I tend to assess student learning while they are �doing� science by moving throughout the room and asking questions of individuals or groups of students.� If I ask certain types of questions, and the student can answer appropriately, I know that he/she knows the concept.� I�ll also listen to students discuss with one another, and I know that if an individual can explain the concept or idea to another student, then chances are he/she understands the topic.�

Scott Schomer

I use the backward design approach. I�ve also heard it called SAM (Standards-Assessment-Methods). First I examine what I�m going to teach, the standards. Then I develop the labs, quizzes and tests of what I want the students to know and be able to do.� Then I get to the daily instruction by looking at what part of the big picture will be covered each day. I develop the cohesive unit plan by trying to have some sort of introduction of each concept (either through labs, discussion or lecture), then an opportunity to manipulate the information, then some type of assessment (usually formative) and finally a chance for remediation prior to the summative assessment at the end of the unit.

Michael O'Brien

With AP or IB curriculum, planning is usually centered around the external assessments, but not always. Even with the external assessments there are other assessment opportunities. Because students have varied learning styles, it is important to vary the type of assessments given. Using only paper and pencil tests limits the ways to assess students� learning. Other types of assessments include written lab reports, evaluation of lab techniques, and by researching and presenting projects. By giving individual and group assessments, teachers can give students the opportunity to express their understanding in ways that are consistent to their own learning style.

Be fun, engaging, rigorous and relevant. Varying learning experiences not only recognizes different learning styles it also makes the class more interesting. Just because the content is rigorous does not mean it can not be engaging. Having the students find a passion in a topic is the best motivation a teacher can provide. Learning science is a serious endeavor but establishing and maintaining the love of learning is more important.

Henley Sawicki

I strongly value assessments. I feel they are a tool to see how students are learning. Most teachers feel that assessments are used to see how well they teach, but that is a strong misconception. Teaching is about the teacher. Learning is all about the students. I use informal assessment with my students frequently. I try to develop a relationship with each of my students so that informal assessment is beneficial. I have conversations with my students about the work they are doing. When possible, I speak individually with them about the lab/activity/ or concept. I also require students to write lab reports that are not a regurgitation of a cookbook procedure, but in contrast are thoughtful pieces of work that reflect what they have learned. They must include background information on the concepts covered, extensions on information of relevance, and discussion of any conclusion that could be drawn from the experiment.

Elizabeth Walker

When structured properly, assessment should probe students' understanding of a concept.� It goes deeper than basic "yes", "no" or true / false responses, but I think that it is important to make students justify their choices every time.

Research Matters: When Are Science Projects Learning Opportunities?

By Marcia C. Linn and Helen C. Clark

Introduction

Science projects have played a central role in schools at least since the turn of the century, when they were championed by John Dewey (1901).i. How can we ensure projects are efficient, effective learning experiences that promote knowledge integration and lifelong science learning? For answers we draw on more than a decade of research by the Computer as Learning Partner project.ii

Why include science projects in the classroom? Science projects can engage students in authentic science experiences--essentially the work of experts. Projects can encourage sustained reasoning, connect classroom to personal problems, make science relevant to everyday life, and prepare students for lifelong learning. Projects give students a window into the complexities and uncertainties of science. Professional scientists engage in projects in a supportive community of mentors, peers, and skilled technicians. They benefit from shared methodologies, standards, and criteria for success. They follow sanctioned critiquing practices in reviewing each other's work and in participating in scientific meetings. How can we make these supports a part of classroom science? Our research in designing middle-school science projects in the Computer as Learning Partner project results in four recommendations.

Recommendation 1: Start with small, accessible projects

First, start small. Experts-in-training (such as graduate students) often replicate the work of others or apply established procedures before designing their own projects. In the Computer as Learning Partner eighth grade classroom, students start with projects that are slightly more complicated than the most demanding class assignment. These projects, nevertheless, require the sustained reasoning necessary to link and connect ideas, reflect on progress, and incorporate feedback.

We found three types of projects that succeed most of the time. In a critique project students evaluate an experiment or conclusion reached by another student or an account of a scientific result reported in the media. A design project engages students in building a solution such as designing a house for the desert. An explain project asks students to use science principles to account for an observation such as the "dog dish" project in Figure 9.21, where students explain why the water in the dog dish gets warmer than the water in the swimming pool. These three types of projects allow students to generate several different ideas about the scientific question, distinguish among their ideas using evidence from class or other experiences, and draw conclusions.

Projects succeed when students connect class experiences to their project questions (e.g., see Linn & Muilenburg, 1996). This requires the alignment of class scientific principles with both class projects and student prior knowledge. Instruction can then promote knowledge integration across all problems.

Recommendation 2: Develop class criteria for projects

Second, help students develop shared standards and criteria for the intellectual work of conducting a project. We designed "composite" projects based on several students' work and engaged the class in critiquing them: encouraging students to identify improvements and describe weak or contradictory links among ideas or between explanations and evidence. Often students' intuitive criteria reflected superficial, schoolish standards like neatness and grammar. As a group, students developed criteria such as "back up assertions with evidence from class experiments or personal observations," and "identify confusing observations and seek additional information." These group criteria were posted and used regularly in class and individual discussions.

Recommendation 3: Provide support and coaching

Third, provide support and coaching to encourage linking and connecting ideas and use of shared criteria. Experts carry out projects with extensive support and guidance from mentors, peers, and experts in other fields. They revise their plans based on this support. Students need to learn how to locate dependable coaches or experts, ways to make sense of the views of others, and strategies for incorporating useful views into revisions of their projects. To emulate this process in the science classroom, we used peer coaching, trained graduate student coaches, and teacher coaches.

We found that coaching helps students learn to monitor their progress and make improvements to their projects. When students revise their projects, they add connections using scientific ideas, personal experience, and conclusions they have drawn. Fairly specific coaching comments, such as "what happens to light when it hits water?" or "describe a class experiment that supports your view" were more effective than general encouragement to think about related information, such as "what other variables might be influencing how warm the water gets." Students tended to add links and resolve inconsistencies in response to specific coaching comments.

In the Computer as Learning Partner classroom we synthesized the best individual coaching comments into a cybercoaching system.� Once a project had been coached, we identified frequent student responses and selected the most useful coaching comments for the system. The "cybercoach" allow coaches to match frequent student responses with appropriate coaching statements, and to send a message to the student. Cybercoaching took 90% less time and was almost as effective as individual coaching.

We also designed prompts based on coaching experience. These prompts raise issues, ask students to analyze their own work, and encourage them to reflect on their progress. Using our Computer as Learning Partner software, students could access these hints or prompts for some projects. Examples of the kinds of prompts that have proven successful in our research include, "what do you need to know to carry out this project?" "what is still confusing about your results?," and "connect your conclusions to a class experiment."

Recommendation 4: Make project assessment part of learning

Fourth, make project assessment both efficient and a part of the learning process. To help students develop shared criteria for arguments and learn to critique the work of others, we structure oral project presentations. We require each student or group to prepare a project report, and to write a question in response to each project presentation. We randomly select groups to present their projects and individuals to ask questions so that each student participates at least once in the project discourse. In addition, we grade the written questions and written reports using a straightforward holistic system that rewards knowledge integration.

We also assess student learning from projects through written, in-class tests of knowledge integration. In these tests, students critique, design, or explain a novel event and give the main reasons for their choice (see example 1). We score responses using the same holistic criteria found below.

Example 1 of a CLP project

On a hot summer day Shawn's little sister notices that the water in the dogs' dish, which is sitting in the sun, feels fairly hot but the water in the swimming pool is still very cool.

If you were Shawn what would you say to your little sister to help her understand her observations?

Dog Dish versus Swimming pool: Holistic scoring for projects and classroom knowledge integration test items

Score Criteria

1. No science principle mentioned--descriptive only (bowl is smaller).
2. Mentions principle but inaccurate or incomplete (small things get hotter).
3. Accurately restates principle without elaboration or connections (if same heat is added than smaller object reaches higher temperature).
4. Clear and accurate understanding of single principle and adds elaboration and or context. (e.g., if same heat added to two objects then the smaller object has less space, so heat is denser like in the lab where we heated the small and large beaker... so it reaches a higher temperature).
5. Clear and accurate understanding of principle and also ties in one or more additional principles from the same or related topic area. (e.g., the light from the sun hits the water and changes to heat energy, which warms both the bowl and the pool, but since the pool has more water and surface area it doesn't reach as warm a temperature).

Example 2: Classroom knowledge integration test items

It is a hot summer day and Mac has invited some friends over. Mac takes two identical pitchers of lemonade out of the refrigerator and puts one on the counter in the 20 C air-conditioned kitchen and one on the picnic table outside on the covered porch where the temperature is 40 C.

1. Which lemonade will warm at a faster rate?(Check one)
   • _____ The lemonade on the kitchen counter
   • _____ The lemonade on the picnic table
   • _____ Both lemonades will warm at the same rate
2. Fill in the blank to make a principle that applies to these pitchers: (faster / slower / at the same rate difference)
3. Give the main reasons for your answer.

In general, projects give students a chance to be creative in science class. Most students become engaged and carry their projects to completion, providing authentic examples of their thinking for teachers. The satisfaction of finishing a project is sufficient reward for some. Since students vary in resources for completing projects, we place more course evaluation emphasis on knowledge integration tests, oral presentations, and written questions than on the completed project.

In conclusion, classroom projects can prepare students to carry out future personally relevant science projects. Projects succeed when they build on what students know, starting small. Furthermore, projects are most successful when students have developed shared criteria for scientific arguments that they can apply to their own and others' work. In addition, instruction that includes coaching to stimulate reflection and revision results in more sophisticated projects. Finally, instructors can best evaluate students using projects and multiple forms of assessment. Under these circumstances, projects can engage students in sustained scientific thinking, prepare them to seek and use feedback from peers or experts, and help them systematically analyze experiments and claims they encounter in their lives.

John Dewey, Psychology and social practice: Contributions to education. (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1901).

Linn, M. C., & Songer, N. B. (1991). Teaching thermodynamics to middle school students: What are appropriate cognitive demands? Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 28 (10), 885-918. Linn, M. C., Songer, N. B., & Eylon, B. S. (1996). Shifts and convergences in science learning and instruction. In R. Calfee & D. Berliner (Ed.), Handbook of educational psychology (pp. 438-490). Riverside, NJ: Macmillan. Clark, H. C. (1996 May). Design of Performance Based Assessments as Contributors to Student Knowledge Integration. [Unpublished dissertation]. University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA.

Science Teacher Talk

What strategy of instruction do you find to be the most effective with your students?

Tom Brown

My teaching strategies focus on the establishment and maintenance of a relaxed and encouraging learning environment. I try to establish early on that this classroom is going to be supportive, non-threatening, and engaging place to be. Regarding the subject matter, the students quickly see that I love science and that I am passionate in communicating what I consider as the core concepts needed to build their understanding. They also see how hard I work to set up the numerous demonstrations and labs that we do and so it seems inherently fair to them that they would work in a similar manner to facilitate their own growth. As part of this process, we do a great deal of small group work and discussion as I have found through experience that kids benefit greatly by discussing difficult concepts with each other. It is my hope that kids feel comfortable and confident enough in my class to openly share their ideas, questions, and confusions.

John Ricciardi.

Be honorable.� Be equitable.� Be open.� When I can adhere to it, this basic strategy works well for me. Honoring your students is respecting their diversity and wholeness...their individuality and integrity. Honor their being always...whatever particular mental phase they may be in. Be equitable with your students. Rules must be fair and equal for all. No favoritism, belittlement, or force. Free choice should be the bedrock upon which all activities are constructed. Be open...and real to your limitations and weaknesses. If you do, your students will be open too, and grow with you. Be open to trust by believing in them. Be open...and aware of learning that may be taking place in them that you don't fully perceive.

Henley Sawicki

The one misconception I really try to dispel is the idea that learning science isn�t fun. We have fun in my class! We laugh and learn all at the same time. I want students to respect science and understand that it is a difficult subject; however, I want them to feel supported in their learning and have fun. I make sure that we don�t just talk about science that we actually do science- it is more exciting that way.

Mary Wilde�

I have always had positive results with small group learning; however, I have really been able to enhance this teaching strategy by incorporating the cooperative learning format. There are many different cooperative-learning models, however, the one I find most successful is where each student within a group learns different material.� Then each student is required to teach the others in the group what has been learned.� The group is responsible for each other, for I often give individual tests and average them together to receive a group grade. I also like to organize small groups by assigning each member of a team a different task in order to achieve a single goal. For example, when we studied shoreline erosion, each group was responsible for building a paper-mache model, painting and labeling depositional and erosional shoreline features, reading an article entitled, "America is Washing Away," and writing an abstract or review on the article. Tasks were divided among the students and each had a responsibility to the group.� One group grade was given for the entire project.

I really feel that small group work helps develop responsibility and commitment.� Also, more can be accomplished and learned in small groups where a variety of skills and abilities are pulled together.� The learner becomes active, not passive, and greater achievement results can be obtained.