Positive Impact on Student Learning in Science-Rich

Science “Look Fors” Positive Impact on Student Learning in Science-Rich K-5 Classrooms

Teacher’s Name Building Observer’s Name Date Classroom Environment Posting of science basics (i.e. key vocabulary, safety rules, scientific process posters, etc.) Examples of student work Resources for struggling students (science magazines to supplement textbooks, trade books, science handbooks that provide simple definitions, etc.) Flexible seating to promote various size group activities, partnering and independent work Examples of scientific artifacts that encourage curiosity and a respect for the natural world Classroom Instruction: Understanding Evidence: What specific evidence did you see or concepts versus covering material. experience? Multiple instructional methods, appropriate to individual student needs, but especially building on prior knowledge Variety of writing and talking activities, especially justification of thinking Technology integration, including use of the Internet Connections between lessons and other content areas (especially mathematics) Real world science applications, sometimes over extended periods of time More formative than summative assessment (so that assessment informs instruction), including self-assessment Student Engagement and Performance What specific evidence did you see or experience? Student-directed investigations and questioning following the scientific process Effective work in whole group, small groups, and independently, knowing the procedures for each Justification of answers, particularly in the use of data to verify results Openness to modifying explanations based on new information and healthy skepticism Independent and age appropriate use of scientific tools Science Unit Being Instructed Grade: Unit: GLEs: 6/07: Sumner School District, K-5 Examples of Effective Instruction in Science include1 o Builds on students’ prior knowledge. o Provides active learning opportunities. o Provides opportunities for scientific discussion and debate. o Includes reading and writing about science in a variety of contexts. o Integrates all aspects of science (rather than a single discipline)—with an emphasis on inquiry, technology, and social perspectives. o Allows students to work in collaborative groups—as do real scientists. o Moves from teacher directed to student initiated investigations. o Adjusts and adapts curriculum or instruction according to student need. (see below)

Examples of Classroom Interventions and Accommodations in Science2 o Pair students to summarize key information (with opportunities for both to contribute). o Provide resources at a lower reading level when covering difficult content. o Highlight or underline the most important information in text or handouts. o Introduce new vocabulary to students before they read. This is important for all students. o Provide students with a checklist to follow when they are completing complex tasks. o Show as many physical objects as possible as part of explanations or directions: meter stick, test tube, etc. Show students, don’t just tell them.

In inquiry-based classrooms, students: o Learn how to ask scientifically oriented questions. o Attempt to answer their questions through a variety of hands-on investigations. o Analyze and interpret data. o Make inferences and predictions. o Build models. o Synthesize ideas and findings. o Apply their learning to new situations and problems.

Inquiry requires a QUESTION to investigate and an answer with EVIDENCE to support it. Inquiry can include the following:1 o Trial and error o Documentation (making and recording observations) o Prediction testing (making and testing predictions) o Product testing (identifying and using criteria) o Experimenting (identifying and controlling variables) o Reflecting (contemplating ideas) o Generating models (creating constructs) o Inventing (selecting and combining ideas/objects)

1 Zemelman, Steven, Harvey Daniels and Arthur Hyde. Best Practice, Third Edition: Today’s Standards for Teaching & Learning in America’s Schools. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2005. 2 McCarney, Stephen B. and Kathy Cummins Wunderlich. Pre-Referral Intervention Manual, Third Edition. Columbia, MO: Hawthorne Educational Services, Inc., 2006.

6/07: Sumner School District, K-5