Teaching Science in Elementary and Middle School

A Project-Based Learning Approach

Joseph S. Krajcik, Charlene M. Czerniak

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2018
• ISBN:
  9781351792745
• Edition: 5
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

Teaching Science in Elementary and Middle School integrates principles of learning and motivation with practical teaching ideas for implementing them. Paralleling what scientists do, project-based learning (PBL) represents the essence of inquiry and the nature of science, and engages children and teachers in investigating meaningful, real-world questions about the world around them. This text provides concrete strategies on teaching using a project-based approach and on meeting the principles in A Framework for K–12 Science Education and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Features include strategies for planning long-term, interdisciplinary, student-centered units; scenarios to help readers situate new experiences; and a wealth of supplementary material on the Companion Website.

Features in the Fifth Edition:

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• Integrates research-based findings from the National Research Council's Taking Science to School, A Framework for K–12 Science Education, and NGSS to engage learners and help them make sense of phenomena in using disciplinary core ideas, science and engineering practices, and crosscutting concepts

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• Gives attention to cultural diversity throughout the chapters, with an added focus on working with English Language Learners

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• Describes how to develop and use assessments that require students to make use of their knowledge to solve problems or explain phenomena

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• Illustrates how to use PBL to make connections to Common Core Standards for Mathematics and English Language Arts
• Provides examples of project-based lessons and projects to illustrate how teachers can support children in engaging in scientific and engineering practices, such as asking questions, designing investigations, constructing models and developing evidence-based explanation

one
Teaching Science to Children

• INTRODUCTION
• AN OVERVIEW OF PROJECT-BASED LEARNING
• THE NATURE OF SCIENCE AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO PROJECT-BASED LEARNING
• GOALS OF SCIENCE EDUCATION
• REASONS WHY YOUNG LEARNERS SHOULD STUDY SCIENCE

Chapter Learning Performances

Describe the primary features of project-based learning (PBL).

Compare and contrast teaching science through project-based learning with reading about science, direct instruction, and process science.

Explain how project-based learning reflects the nature of science.

Summarize the primary features of PBL and the Framework for K–12 science education and the Next Generation Science Standards.

Explain the value of using project-based learning to meet standards to support all students in learning science.

Justify why young learners should learn science.

Introduction

When you think about the prospect of teaching science to children, many questions probably come to your mind: What characterizes science in elementary and middle grades? How should science be taught to young learners? How can I motivate children to become interested in science? How can I help them learn about science in their everyday world?

We introduce you to project-based learning. Project-based learning (PBL) is an approach to teaching science that focuses on children investigating questions and problems that they find meaningful and engaging, and that spark wonderment and curiosity about the world. By investigating questions and problems, children engage in making sense of phenomena, reoccurring natural events, or finding solutions to problems by using disciplinary core ideas (DCIs), scientific and engineering practices, and crosscutting concepts. Next, we explore what is meant by the nature of science and how it relates to PBL. We then examine why young children need to learn science, and we review the goals of science education as described in A Framework for K–12 Science Education (NRC, 2012). Finally, we discuss in greater detail how PBL matches today’s science education goals.

First, however, to challenge your thinking about science and science teaching, we start this chapter by encouraging you to reflect on your own experiences as a student of science. This reflection will help you examine your personal views of science teaching and learning. Take time now to complete Learning Activity 1.1.

Learning Activity 1.1

What Were Your Elementary and Middle School Science Experiences?

Materials Needed:

• Something to write with or a computer

1. A Think back to your elementary and middle school days. Do you recall your teachers teaching science? What do you remember about learning science in early elementary grades? Middle grades? What kinds of topics did your teachers cover? How did they teach science? Did you take field trips to planetariums, zoos, or science museums? Did you conduct “experiments”? Were you required to complete a science fair project? Take notes about what you remember. Start a portfolio, which you will use throughout this book.
2. B What science learning experiences are most vivid in your mind? Do you remember stories such as the one about Newton “discovering” gravity when an apple fell on his head? Write a short paragraph about your most vivid memories of science learning experiences.

As you reflected on your own experiences, you may have found that you did not have many memories of learning science, or that you had good memories of science class. Maybe you did hands-on activities. Perhaps your teacher showed excitement about teaching science. By studying science, you may have learned about important questions related to your world. Perhaps your memories about out-of-school science learning, such as that second-grade field trip to the zoo, were the strongest and most positive. Unfortunately, many of us did not experience learning science in a dynamic and active manner that included asking questions, collaborating with others to find solutions, and designing investigations (NRC, 2007; Michaels, Shouse, & Schweingruber, 2008). Let’s examine several models of science teaching. As you read these scenarios, contrast them with your memories of elementary and middle school science.

Scenario 1: Reading About Science

Maybe your class was like this: Mrs. Patterson¹ said, “Okay, boys and girls, let’s turn to page 37 in the science book. Don’t forget to write down the bold print science words for your spelling list for the quiz on Friday. Al, would you please read the first paragraph?”

Al sat in the middle of the classroom. You all had figured out the order of reading and who would read next, and you sighed a little relief as you counted the paragraphs and found that yours was beyond the last page of assigned text. At the end of each paragraph, Mrs. Patterson wrote new words on the board. If it were after Wednesday, they would be on next week’s spelling list. After looking at the colored pictures in the book and daydreaming a little, you heard Mrs. Patterson say, “Now turn to page 41 and answer the first four questions. Make sure to use complete sentences and check your spelling.”

Sound familiar? We call this read about science. Reading is an important part of science teaching and learning. However, teachers often focus primarily on vocabulary words and facts in the textbook and in trade books rather than using the reading materials as support for helping students understand phenomena. Although reading about science is one important strategy for learning and an essential aspect of science teaching, teachers need to avoid using reading as a substitute for experiencing and doing science. Experiencing, discussing, and reading about science phenomena and ideas work together to help students build understanding.

Scenario 2: Direct Instruction

Perhaps your class was like this: Mr. Velasquez stood in front of your class by the hot plate he kept near his desk. Normally, he had his coffee on the plate, but today there was a soda can on it. Mr. Velasquez said, “I rinsed out this soda can and added about 2 centimeters of water to it. You can see the steam coming out of the top of the can, and some of you can hear the water boiling on the inside. I’m going to take the can off the hot plate with these hot pads and quickly turn it over into this icy pan of water. I want you to watch what happens and try to figure out what is going on.” You thought it might explode; after all, it was boiling inside and very hot. As you watched, Mr. Velasquez set the can in the icy water. Almost instantly the sides of the can crumpled inward as though a giant force had crushed it. “Well, what do you think?” he asked. As usual, Bobby Wilson’s hand shot up. “Yes,” said Mr. Velasquez. He didn’t wait for anybody else to think. You had some ideas, but they had not quite formed in your mind. Bobby Wilson blurted out, “It’s the suction; when the can cools down, and something on the inside is sucking the can in!” “Well,” said Mr. Velasquez, “it does have to do with the can cooling, but you see, as the can cools, the steam turns back to water and that takes up less space. Actually, it is the air on the outside of the can that is pressing in. It is the air pressure that does it.” To this day, you remember this dramatic demonstration.

We call this kind of teaching direct instruction. It occurs when a teacher provides the direct answers, sometimes after a demonstration. Demonstrations can be powerful teaching tools because they allow students to experience phenomena. However, in this scenario the teacher told the students what they had seen. Students were expected to understand the concept told to them simply because they had witnessed the demonstration.

Scenario 3: Process Science Teaching

Maybe your class was like this: Mr. Haddad said, “Today we’re going to find out how high a ball bounces when it is dropped and if the kind of ball makes a difference. This is part of the science process of prediction, and you will be graphing your results. Each pair of you has a ball with a letter on it, a meter stick, and a sheet of graph paper. First, drop the ball from a height of 100 centimeters onto the floor and record the height of the bounce. After you have done this four times, drop it from a different height four times and record your results. Then answer the questions on the board.”

You looked up at the board and the questions were as follows:

1. 1 Did the ball bounce back to the same height for each height it was dropped?
2. 2 Graph the height of the bounce on the Y-axis and the height from which it was dropped on the X-axis. What is the pattern?
3. 3 What would the graph look like if you dropped the ball onto a carpeted floor?

You and your partner didn’t quite understand Mr. Haddad’s questions, but you had a meter stick and a rubber ball so there would be a lot of things you could try. Anyway, if it got too bad, Mr. Haddad would come around and show you what to do. Oh well, science was fun and you did some interesting activities.

This kind of science teaching we label process science teaching. The primary purpose of the lesson is for students to use science process skills such as observing, predicting, and graphing. Process science lessons can be used to help students learn various skills associated with science teaching, such as using a ruler or recording data, but processes should not be presented as separate standalone lessons. Rather, processes need to be connected with important science ideas. For example, in the lesson described, the processes could have been connected to learning about forces and motion.

Scenario 4: Project-Based Learning

Maybe your class was like this: You and a couple of friends were looking at the pet rabbit in the cage in your classroom. Normally, the rabbit was eager to eat the carrots you gave him. “Maybe he’s sick,” you thought. You and your friends questioned why the rabbit wasn’t eating. With your teacher’s encouragement, you and classmates formed teams to investigate the sudden change. You had other pets in your classroom (including hamsters, gerbils, a snake, and fish), and your teacher encouraged you to investigate the question, “What do pets need to stay healthy?”

Each day, teams of students from your class visited one of the classroom pets and provided it with several different foods. You gave the rabbit foods such as carrots, celery, oats, alfalfa, and rabbit pellets purchased from the pet food store. Some teams used laptops or tablets to search and find information from the Internet about the needs of various pets. When you heard a member of another team had called the local pet store and the manager was interested in your class investigation and would come to talk about the needs of pets, you were pleased that members of the community would collaborate with your class on their investigation. You knew you had to come up with some great questions.

After several weeks of investigating what pets need to stay healthy, you and your classmates shared results in graphic form. A couple of teams included photographs of animals and models of healthy environments in their presentations. You found that different pets need different habitats, special food, a clean environment, and veterinary care to fight against diseases or infections. In fact, you were able to change a few things in the rabbit’s diet to entice him to eat. You still had a question about the needs of your pet iguana at home, but you knew that the classroom rabbit was happy and healthy.

This last scenario is an example of what we call project-based learning. The primary purpose of the project was for students to collaborate for a substantial length of time to investigate an important question that interested them. As they explored their questions, students learned important science ideas linked to standards, used technology, and developed products.

Science teaching has gone through several revolutions or evolutions in the past 30 years. So, amid all this change, why has PBL emerged as such an important way to teach science? In the next section, you will explore the features of this approach and learn why it is so important.

An Overview of Project-Based Learning

Project-based learning engages children and teachers in finding solutions to questions about the world around them. Investigating real-world questions that students find meaningful has long been touted as a viable learning method. As such, project-based learning promotes students’ sense of wonderment and engagement to figure out what is going on. The roots of the idea go back to John Dewey (1938), the father of progressive education. Dewey promoted teaching strategies that helped students actively engage in learning about topics relevant to their lives. Because PBL focuses on students and their interests, it is sensitive to the varied needs of diverse students with respect to culture, race, and gender (Haberman, 1995; Lee & Buxton, 2010; NRC, 2012). Haberman (1995), in describing exemplary or “star” teachers who are successful in teaching children in poverty from diverse cultural backgrounds, says that “star teachers” do not use direct instruction as their primary method, but rather use some variation of the project method. He stresses that teachers who are successful at working with students from diverse cultures find projects that interest and motivate children to learn. Moreover, they work with learners on how they will go about exploring various issues. Project-based learning can provide more inclusive environments because the questions and issues that are dealt with can arise from the cultures and backgrounds of the learners (Ladson-Billings, 2006; Tapia, Krajcik, & Reiser, 2017).

Connecting to A Framework for K–12 Science Education

“Equity in science education requires that all students are provided with equitable opportunities to learn science and become engaged in science and engineering practices; with access to quality space, equipment, and teachers to support and motivate that learning and engagement; and adequate time spent on science.”

(p. 28, NRC, 2012)

Project-based learning has several fundamental features. The fourth scenario reflects some of these features, which we will discuss thoroughly throughout the book. First, PBL is relevant to students’ lives. Students ask and find solutions to questions that they consider meaningful and important to them. As such, PBL supports students in wondering about phenomena and solutions to problems. Second, students plan and perform investigations to answer their questions. Third, students, teachers, and members of society collaborate on the question or problem to find solutions and make sense of the data. Fourth, students use learning technologies to investigate, develop artifacts or products, collaborate, and access information when appropriate. Fifth, students develop artifacts that represent their emerging understandings and responses to the driving question. The result is a series of artifacts or products that addresses the question or problem. As part of the investigations, students also analyze and interpret data and support their claims with evidence and reasoning. As such, PBL stands apart from these other forms of science teaching in that it situates the learning of science to students doing science to find solutions to questions that they find m...