Helping Future Elementary Teachers to Learn Science the Way We Expect them to Teach Science

1. Helping Future Elementary Teachers to Learn Science the Way We Expect them to Teach Science • Western Washington University • Susan DeBari (Geology) • Scott Linneman (Geology) • Deb Donovan (Biology) • Alejandro Acevedo-Gutierrez (Biology) • Andrew Boudreaux (Physics) • Emily Borda (Chemistry) • Ed Geary (Science Education Director) • Dan Hanley (Institutional Research) • Whatcom Community College • Bernie Dougan (Geology) • John Rousseau (Biology) • Sara Julin (Physics) • Skagit Valley College • Ben Fackler-Adams (Geology) • Brad Smith (Geology) • Val Mullen (Biology) • Paul Frazy (Chemistry) • Everett Community College • Alecia Spooner (Geology) • Pamela Pape Lindstrom (Biology) • Rene Kratz (Physics) • NW Indian College • Terri Plake (Geology)

2. The pre-service emphasis: • Future elementary teachers (~190/yraccepted into the program) enter the university with weak science backgrounds • Large lecture classes (the pre-existing option) do not provide a coherent learning experience that meets their needs (i.e. how we want science taught in schools) • Science methods and practicum courses therefore had been spending significant time focusing on elementary science content rather than content-specific pedagogy

3. Where did we start? Highly influenced by research on learning: How People LearnBransford et al. (2000) Key Findings • Engaging Preconceptions • Developing a conceptual framework • Metacognition

4. Where did we start? Highly influenced by Physics and Everyday Thinking curriculumhttp://cpucips.sdsu.edu/web/pet/ Emphasizes • Preconceptions • Doing and thinking • Metacognition

5. Individual thinking and writing, small group discussion, whole group discussion • Energy diagrams • Whiteboarding • Instructor’s role: questioning PET features (that we adopted): Classes are small (max 27)

6. The Curricula: Geology & Everyday Thinking CHEMISTRY AND THE INFORMED CITIZEN SCED 202 SCED 203 SCED 204 SCED 201 • All have modules (chapters) with multiple activities, each of which consists of a learning cycle • No lectures: curriculum is frontloaded

7. Key Finding #1: Addressing prior conceptions Each activity within a chapter begins with “Initial Ideas” • “On your own, write down what you think….” • “Discuss your answers in your group. Prepare a whiteboard that illustrates your ideas and be prepared to share it with the class” ON YOUR OWN SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION GROUP PRESENTS TO CLASS

8. Key Finding #1: Addressing prior conceptions WHAT DOES THIS LOOK LIKE? 2. Represent range of ideas on whiteboard 1. Share initial ideas in a small group

9. Key Finding #1: Addressing prior conceptions 3. Share with the class 4. Generates class discussion

10. Key Finding #1: Addressing prior conceptions • Direct comparison of 3 different “initial ideas” • No discussion of “right” or “wrong” at this stage. Example

11. Key finding #2: Conceptual frame-work & sense-making UTILIZE MANIPULATIVES, DATA, AND EXPERIMENTS

12. Key finding #2: Conceptual frame-work & sense-making • Sense-making: Continuous writing, discussing, whiteboarding • Framework: Knowledge builds from previous chapters

13. Key finding #2: Conceptual frame-work & sense-making SENSE-MAKING IS NOT THE INSTRUCTOR’S ROLE

14. Key finding #3: Metacognition Student thought process is tracked in writing from initial ideas through analysis questions to summarizing questions. Chapter reflection Initial ideas Activities within the chapter: analysis/interpretation questions Summarizing questions

15. Key finding #3: Metacognition Student thought process is tracked in writing from initial ideas through analysis questions to summarizing questions. Chapter reflection Initial ideas “What visible features on Earth’s surface provide evidence for energy transfers within Earth? Where do these features occur? Are they distributed randomly over Earth’s surface or do they occur in discernable patterns?” Activities within the chapter: analysis/interpretation questions Summarizing questions

16. Key finding #3: Metacognition Student thought process is tracked in writing from initial ideas through analysis questions to summarizing questions. Chapter reflection Initial ideas Activities within the chapter: analysis/interpretation questions Summarizing questions “As you just did for the Atlantic Ocean, follow all the plate boundaries and look for patterns in your specialty data”

17. Key finding #3: Metacognition Student thought process is tracked in writing from initial ideas through analysis questions to summarizing questions. Chapter reflection Initial ideas Activities within the chapter: analysis/interpretation questions Summarizing questions “Create a new plate boundary scheme based on the data from all four scientific specialty data sets”

18. Key finding #3: Metacognition Student thought process is tracked in writing from initial ideas through analysis questions to summarizing questions. Chapter reflection Initial ideas Activities within the chapter: analysis/interpretation questions Summarizing questions “Compare the direction of plate movement arrows to the plate motion arrows you and your classmates drew in Activity 1. Discuss and try to explain any discrepancies”

19. Key finding #3: Metacognition Student thought process is tracked in writing from initial ideas through analysis questions to summarizing questions. Chapter reflection Initial ideas Activities within the chapter: analysis/interpretation questions Summarizing questions “Re-examine your plate on the 3-D bathymetric/topographic map of Earth in the Initial Ideas. What evidence can you now see that these boundaries exist?

20. Key finding #3: Metacognition Student thought process is tracked in writing from initial ideas through analysis questions to summarizing questions. Chapter reflection Initial ideas “How do you see your efforts in this cycle as relating to the way that scientists do their work?“ Activities within the chapter: analysis/interpretation questions Summarizing questions

21. What constitutes a “chapter”? • Overall purpose • Activity (several per chapter) • Purpose • Focusing question • Initial ideas: individual, group, class • Single or multiple experiments • Embedded discussions • Summarizing questions & final discussion • Chapter summarizing questions

22. ALL WWU elementary ed majors: • One quarter of constructivist physics (PET; =SCED 201) REQUIRED • Year-long constructivist science sequence (PET, GET, LSET, CIF; =SCED 201-204) RECOMMENDED • Science methods course (SCED 480) and science practicum course (SCED 490) that focus on use of exemplary curricular materials. REQUIRED

23. Gains in Science Education Students’ Content Knowledge (Fall 2005 to Spring 2008)

24. Content Test Scores for Science Education vs. Traditional Lecture/Lab Science

25. ** Significantly higher pretest scores for 20X students ^^ Significantly greater gains scores for non-20X students

26. ** Significantly higher component score for 20X students

27. How these courses connect WWU and the feeder community colleges (Everett, Skagit, Whatcom, Northwest Indian)

28. For further information: PET: http://cpucips.sdsu.edu/web/pet/ GET: Susan DeBari (susan.debari@wwu.edu) LSET: Deb Donovan (deborah.donovan@wwu.edu) http://www.smate.wwu.edu/smate/LSETpublic/resources.html CIF: Emily Borda (emily.borda@wwu.edu)