Middle School CIADec 13, 2010

Announcements

STEM District Committee Programs, Curriculum Need help to know about

programs and events, newsletter articles

PD Opportunities

CRISP (Nov 13, Jan 29) Making Stuff Work

https://www.southernct.edu/crisp/index.php/Professional_Development

Possible new grant, focusing on physics?

Other Announcements

Equipment/Books?

TVAL/Work with principals

Science Fair: Sign Up and decide now!

SCIENCE.. Part of SIP? Tiering!

Teaching/Instruction some notes from observationsHow do the students know what to DO?

How do the students know what to LEARN?

Needs to be WRITTEN and CLEAR

Teaching/Instruction Student to Student TALK: guided and planned (see

previous PD) Higher Order Questioning: guided and planned Worksheet vs. totally open labs, there is a

middle ground Expectation: students TOUCH stuff at least 2-4 times

a week, lab experiment at least once a week. Writing by students.. doesn’t have to be

long, but should be frequent And number one : THINKING is the goal. (not

compliance work).

Assessment 8th grade CMT practice will be coming

7th grade Q1. Feedback on what happened?, what instructional changes are you making?

DATA TEAMS: how do your teams use science results? How do you bring them up? (Math/Physics connection for 8th? Measurement connection for 7th? )

What does item analysis of quarter one show us? Have you looked at quarter two questions to give

feedback

HOW do middle school students learn inquiry?

Inquiry and the National Science Education Standards (2000) http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=9596

Learning Cycle: Engage, Explore, Explain, Extend, Apply, Evaluate

Inquiry, keys to learning

Understanding science is more than knowing facts

Students build new knowledge and understanding on what they already know and believe (constructivism/misconceptions)

Students formulate new knowledge by modifying and refining their current concepts and by adding new concepts to what they already know

Inquiry Learning

Learning is mediated by the social environment in which learners react with others.

Effective learning requires that students take control of their own learning.

The ability to apply knowledge to novel situations, that is, transfer of learning, is affected by the degree to which students learn with understanding.

Research base Taking Science to School: Learning and Teaching

Science in Grades K-8 http://www.nap.edu/catalog/11625.html pgs130-140

Asking Questions Designing Experiments (variables) Engineering (desired effect) vs Scientific (which

factors made a difference) Observing and Recording Evaluating Evidence

Essential features Classroom Inquiry

1. Learner engages in scientifically oriented questions

2. Learner gives priority to evidence in responding to questions

3. Learner formulate explanations from evidence

4. Learner connects explanations to scientific knowledge

5. Learner communicates and justifies explanations

Freq asked ? About inquiry

Is it ever Ok to tell students answers? Y Should teacher say no to student inves? Y More impt inquiry or concepts? Both How can invst come before vocab? Observe Inquiry in every lesson? N How can we cover everything? Deep Structure vs Freedom in inquiry? Balance Inquiry vs classroom management? PLAN Materials? Teacher plan is lesson, not materials How improve? Collaborate!

In PLC groups: Review ideas from teaching inquiry Review q1 10-11 data share ideas Review q2 09-10 data