Teaching, Learning, & Transfer of Experimental Procedures in Elementary School Science David Klahr Department of Psychology Pittsburgh Science of Learning Center (PSLC) Program in Interdisciplinary Education Research (PIER) Carnegie Mellon University Society for Research on Educational Effectiveness First Annual Conference Dec , 2006

Topic: Assessing different methods for teaching experimental procedures to middle school children More specifically: Teaching “CVS” In the lab In both “easy” & “challenging” classrooms To students of widely varying abilities

CVS: Control of Variables Strategy A simple procedure for designing unconfounded experiments: - Vary one thing at a time (VOTAT). The conceptual basis for making valid inferences from data: - isolation of causal path. What is (CVS)? NOT This:

Why study CVS? Theoretical issues Surface vs deep mapping during transfer of procedures and concepts at different transfer “distances”. Practical importance Topic: Core topic in early science instruction Assessment:State standards High stakes assessments NCLB to start testing science Best Instructional approach for teaching CVS? Heated controversy in profession Legislative battles (e.g., CA and “hands on” science)

Goal: Compare different types of instruction for teaching CVS. Participants: 60 2nd - 4th graders Assessment: –Measure learning & transfer at different “distances” from initial instruction. Materials: 3 different physcial domains –Springs –Ramps –Sinking objects. Chen & Klahr (1999), Child Dev. Between subjects design

Materials: 8 springs: 2 lengths x 2 widths x 2 wire sizes & 2 pair of weights Select two springs Select two weights Hang springs on rack hooks Hang weights on springs. Compare amount of stretching. Springs domain Which attributes determine how far a spring will stretch? Execution:

Question: does the length of a spring make a difference in how far it stretches? A B Length: shortlong Width: widewide Wire: thinthin Weight: lightlight An unconfounded test:

Exploratory: Explicit = Exploratory plus: Two types of instruction (between subjects) – Training: Explicit, good and bad examples – Training: Reasons why, focus on deep structure – Probe questions: Can you tell for sure? Why? –Hands on: work with physical materials – Goal provided: “find out if x makes a difference”

Different transfer “distances” Far transfer (between domain): –CVS tests in different domain from training. –Time: few days after training –Location, context, etc., same as training Near transfer (within domain): –CVS “tests” in same domain as training, but on a different dimension. –Time: minutes after training –Location, context, etc.: same as training Remote transfer (more later)

Exploration Near Transfer Far Transfer 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% Study Phases Day 1 Day 2 (Pre-test) Training Manipulation

Far Transfer (Day 2) Near Transfer Explicit immediately better than Exploration and remains so (4 experiments per child in each phase) Training Manipulation 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% Exploration (pre-test) Exploratory Explicit % of unconfounded experiments

100 ExplicitExploratory (at least 3 out of 4 unconfounded experiments) CVS mastery by individual children % of children becoming Masters

1.Initial transfer measures are very close to training objectives. 2.Need a more “distant” ( “authentic”?) assessment of children’s understanding. 3. Will training effects remain with such extended assessments? Procedure Create a more “authentic” assessment: Ask children to judge science fair posters. Score their comments and suggestions. Extensions

1.Participants: 112 3rd & 4th graders 2.Train on CVS via Explicit or Exploration method. 3.Assess effectiveness of CVS skill. 4.Present poster evaluation task. 5.Look at how CVS skill, training condition, affect poster evaluation performance. CVS Training and Science Fair Assessments (Klahr & Nigam, 2004)

Training Manipulation 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% Exploration Near transfer Far transfer Day 1 1 week Study Design Poster Evaluation

Scoring Rubric for Children’s Poster Critiques 1. Adequacy of research design 2. Theoretical explanation 3. Controlling for confounds in: 4. Measurement: Subjects/Materials, Treatment, Experimenter bias, etc. Reliability/Variability, Error, Data Representation 6. Completeness of conclusion: 5. Statistical Inferences: Sample size/population, effect size Supported by data, Relate to hypothesis Grand Poster Score = (Pingpong Poster) + (Memory Poster)  all valid, non-redundant, critiques about a poster Poster Score = 

Possible subtle effects of type of instruction Do the few kids who master CVS in the Exploratory condition do better on poster evaluation than the many who master CVS in the Explicit Instruction condition?

Possible subtle effects of type of instruction More specifically: – What is the relation between Poster Scores and Path to CVS mastery? Method: –Secondary analysis based on “learning paths” Do the few kids who master CVS in the Exploratory condition do better on poster evaluation than the many who master CVS in the Explicit Instruction condition?

Different “paths” to mastery or non-mastery of CVS How do these children following these different paths perform on poster evaluations? Note: following based on combining results from two studies: original K&N plus a replication

Poster Assessment Score (standardized) Explicit Masters Exploratory non- Masters Exploratory Masters Experts Explicit non-Masters oCVS mastery is associated with high poster scores oNon-mastery with low poster scores oPath to mastery, or non-mastery is irrelevant n = 59n = 25n = 15n = 66n = 19 p <.001 n.s.

Decomposition (attention to detail) Nature of science Rhetorical stance Science as argument Question for cognitive research: Why does training on CVS (narrow) lead to better poster evaluations (broad)? Focused search for causal paths Stay tuned ….

Translate experiment “script” into teacher lesson plan. Procedure (in a nutshell): Teach in “normal” science classes (in high SES schools). (Toth, Klahr, & Chen, 2000) Question for applied research: Can CVS be taught in a normal classroom setting?

Participants in Classroom Study 77 4th graders from 4 classrooms in two different private schools 2 different science teachers Neither school had participated in “lab” studies

What to hold and what to fold? Pedagogy: –Goal – teach CVS –Type of teaching: Explicit instruction Assessment: –Same as laboratory –Plus, some new assessments in classroom Context: – Lesson plan, not “script” –Teacher, not researcher –Scheduling – Student/teacher ratio – Group work – Record keeping – Error and multiple trials KeepChange & adjust These are issues of “engineering design”.

Pretest Post Test Results of Classroom Implementation % unconfounded designs Individual students classified as “Experts” (8 of 9 correct) Posttest 91% Pretest 5%

What about more challenging classrooms? (“Lesson Planning Project”, w/Junlei Li, Stephanie Siler, Mandy Jabbour) One facet of the Lesson Planning Project: Two classrooms (5 th and 6 th graders) in urban school 90% eligible for free lunch. Teacher is researcher (Junlei Li)

2-Day Classroom Replication of CVS Training Domain: Ramps 2-Day CVS Transfer & Retraining Domain: Pendulum 2-Week Delay: Transfer to “real world”, “high- stakes” items Local National International Standardized Test Items 0% 20% 40% 60 % 80% 100% Teaching & Assessment of CVS with Urban 5 th and 6 th Graders (n = 42) (Klahr & Li, 2005 ) Dyads Student Design Mastery-based Formative Assessment (CTBS) (NAEP) (TIMSS) Dyads Focused Analogical Mapping % Correct Our CVS Tests

% correct for various groups on a TIMMS CVS item

He wants to test this idea: The heavier a cart is, the greater its speed at the bottom of a ramp. Which three trials should he compare? Typical TIMMS CVS item

Significance Brief, theoretically grounded, focused instruction:  Is highly effective for middle class students  In the sort run & over longer durations  On “far transfer” assessments Path independence:  “What” matters more than “how”. BIG differences in effectiveness with different student population. Thus, current approach requires:  Adaptation, Modification, & Individualization

Questions to pursue (Next steps) NCLB in “the small”: Goal: No child who can’t understand & execute CVS Method: Develop an “intelligent tutor” that can adapt to wide variability in children’s learning

TYPE FAST GAIN UP DOWN UP GRADUAL GAIN HIGH CONSTANT Explicit 31%10% 7%7% Socratic 0% 0%14%0% TYPE UP & DOWN STEADY DECLINE LOW CONSTANT Explicit 7% 0% 37% Socratic 18% 7% 60% Wide variety of individual learning patterns (From Chen & Klahr, 1999)

Design a Tutor for Experimental Design w/ Mari Strand Cary, Stephanie Siler, Junlei Li

Thanks to Zhe Chen, Eva Toth, Junlei Li, Mari Strand Cary, Stephanie Siler, Milena Nigam, Amy Masnick, Lara Triona Funding $ources: McDonnell Foundation, NICHD, NSF, IES Recent & Current collaborators

END

Extras

A page from the 15-item test booklet Good Test Bad Test Does the amount of water affect plant growth? Remote transfer items Temporal –Training - test interval: 7 months Domain –Physical - biological, et al Format –Physical materials vs. paper and pencil test booklet Why “remote”? Context - One on one with Experimenter vs whole class test taking

rd4th Untrained Trained Remote Transfer Results Good Test Bad Test Does the amount of water affect plant growth? Mean % correct on 15-item far transfer test

Ramps Domain Question: Does the surface of a Ramp make a difference in how far a ball rolls? Surface:smooth Run: short Steepness: high Ball: golf Surface: rough Run: long Steepness: low Ball: rubber A completely confounded test