Peter English, Ph.D School of Biological Sciences Center for Inquiry in Math and Sciences integrated, evidence-based natural science for pre-service elementary teachers NSTA National Convention 2012 hands-on-science.cns.utexas edu

Children Love Science In elementary school, kids (boys and girls) like science NCES: –68% of 4th grade boys –66% of 4th grade girls Self-report they “ like ” science That ’ s fully 2/3 of 4th grade students It ’ s as many girls as boys Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)

… but somehow we beat it out of them In about 5th grade, we start to lose children in the sciences – approximate equality of boys and girls Source: US Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, NAEP Data Explorer, Washington DC Grade 4 Grade 8 Grade 12 Percentage of Students Passing Math Proficiency (%)

Landscape before this program Pre-service teachers took same classes as any other major, despite radically different goals

National Committee on Teaching and America ’ s Future (1996) Inadequate time – insufficient time for content courses Fragmentation – content, methods, and field service courses not aligned Uninspired teaching methods – how do teachers learn to engage children Superficial curriculum – too many certifications and degree requirements

Good at tests UT pre-service teachers arrive at university – top 10% of high school graduating class – have done well on standardized tests TAKS in Texas Apparently lack core knowledge and reasoning that we claim to value – wrong emphasis? – missing the the forest for the trees?

Which represents food for plants? 8th grade TAKS test question 90% of UT students correctly choose “ glucose ”

“ Stuff ” of a tree? Sun Water Soil Not AIR!

On the backs of giants... Building upon Goldberg and Nelson to integrate models of energy and matter in physics chemistry geology biology astronomy climate

Core methods All lessons use hands-on learning facts by experimentation and discovery models through evidence Unified methodology for each day ’ s learning each day has a beginning, middle, and end Consistent and very specific language across all disciplines compound vs. molecule vs. mineral vs. solution Early field experience - learn by teaching

Core goals Change the perception of science increase self-efficacy and decreased anxiety Increase content knowledge

What does a day look like? Initial ideas (10 minutes) – discussion of preconceptions Explorations to gather evidence (60-80 minutes) – typically data gathering with questions Summarizing questions with whiteboarding to pull it together (20 minutes)

One day ’ s activity from Biology chapter 3

One day ’ s activity from Bio chapter 3 Just finished looking at radiant energy as different from conduction/convection Entry into idea of tracking energy in living systems

Initial Ideas What part of the radiant energy spectrum is most important for plants ?

Initial Ideas Answers are typically: – IR, visible, and UV because these are the peak emissions from the sun – IR because we need heat to live – no idea, never really thought about it Recall “ sunlight energy ” from the TAKS

Explorations

Treatment (energy reaching disk) Number of leaf disks floating (n=10) Incandescent light (IR, visible, UV) 10 IR filter (visible and UV) 10 UV filter (only visible) 10 black cloth (none) 0

Observations from this exploration Leaf disks sink after syringe treatment Leaf disks float when exposed to visible light Leaf disks emit tiny bubbles immediately before floating and then continue

Summarizing question 1 Why did leaf disks sink after syringe treatment? because they became more dense when air is removed but why does removing particles cause leaf to be more dense discussion of mass and volume air replaced by water

Summarizing question 2 Why did leaf disks float? gas was produced gas displaced water causing change in density

Summarizing question 3 Is there evidence of a chemical or physical change? production of a gas is evidence of a chemical change change in density is evidence of a physical change

Summarizing question 4 Is there evidence that visible light is the energy source for this exploration? Yes, – floated when IR was removed – floated when UV was removed – did not float when visible light was removed

Integration of this lesson into overall curriculum Previous course covers chemical and physical changes separately, this is first observation of both at the same time filters remove something water and coffee filters cloud this issue Visible light is the energy causing some chemical change Is a leaf alive when it is removed from a tree?

The rest of the chapter

What is the gas we saw?

Dissolved oxygen

Same chamber for CO 2

Lugol ’ s solution to test for starch

Balanced equation? C 6 H 12 O 6 “ Energy arrows ”

Balanced equation! C 6 H 12 O 6

Photosynthesis

In the presence of visible light Carbon dioxide is a reactant Water must be reactant for the matter in the equation to balance Oxygen is a product Glucose is a product and location of energy storage

Now photosynthesis is the story of energy Radiant energy in the form of visible light is transformed into chemical potential energy stored in the covalent bonds of glucose

The Curriculum Energy and Matter Energy in Electrical Circuits Energy in Particles: Temperature and Sound Energy in Chemical Bonds Earth Climate Earth as a Habitat for Life in the Solar System Radiant Energy & Optics Making Connections Across the Natural Sciences See also G. Nelson, “ Physics and Everyday Thinking as a Model for Introductory Biology and Geology Courses, ” presented at PTEC-Northwest Regional Conference, Seattle, Washington: October 10, 2008 First semester Third semester Energy in the Earth: convection conduction Earth ’ s Plate Tectonics Geologic Time Energy in Life: Photosynthesis What it means to be alive Genetics, populations, and diversity

Whiteboarding on iPads

projected around the room

Our students present activities related to our curriculum. Teach content aligned with students ’ classes Early Field Experiences Collaboration with UTeach to bring in elementary classes We all learn best by teaching the material ourselves!

Summer Teacher Workshops 2012: Astronomy Physics Biology Chem/Geo In-Service Teacher Professional Development Inquiry is useful for In-Service teachers too!

Assessment Results from Hands-on-Science

How Do We Measure Content? Assessments from the MOSART (Misconceptions- Oriented Standards-based Assessment Resources for Teachers) Project – Elementary and middle school topics geared to assess teachers and their students Additionally, written justification for each multiple choice question

We Are Making Progress Our students show comparable gains in knowledge across all content areas!

Normalized gain Students already know some amount of information We can only teach them what they do not know Normalized Gain = Post – Pre 1 – Pre ______________

Student Gains in Knowledge Our students learn between 20-30% of the material that they didn ’ t already know.

Student Gains in Content Justification Students asked to justify their answers on pre- and post-tests Justification Score = Correct answer and correct justification Marked improvement in justifying the information answered correctly, but could not initially explain

Scores SubjectNPre-testPost-testGain MeanUncertMeanUncert Physical Sciences Chemistry/ Geology Biological Sciences Astronomy/ Climate

Explanations SubjectNPre-testPost-testGain MeanUncertMeanUncert Physical Sciences Chemistry/ Geology Biological Sciences Astronomy/ Climate

Compared to others SubjectNPre-testPost-testGain MeanUncertMeanUncert Physics Chem Bio * Astro

Student Attitudes Based on Surveys On a scale of 1 to 5, for each of the following items, indicate how much the situation makes you feel anxious or worried Pretest (1-5) Posttest (1-5) Diff. Looking through the pages in a science text Thinking about an upcoming science test one day before the test Reading and interpreting a scientific graph, chart, or illustration Taking an exam in a science course

Student Attitudes Based on Surveys Pretest (1-5) Posttest (1-5) Diff. Listening to a teacher explaining a scientific concept or phenomena Waiting to get a science test returned in which you expected to do well Walking on campus and thinking about a science course Being given a ‘ pop ’ quiz (where a score of 1 represents not at all anxious or worried and a score of 5 represents very much anxious or worried).

Key findings thus far Content gains in all courses – gains most dramatic in explanation of core concepts – larger gains than we find in standard lecture courses Decreased anxiety related to science – increased self-efficacy

What can we offer? Four-course integrated sequence for use at other higher-ed institutions – course manuals – answer keys and equipment/setup manuals – possibility of implementation assistance from UT instructors and authors Future integration with UT ’ s Quest Online Learning Tool – Professional Development focus

Center for Inquiry in Mathematics and Sciences Ruth Franks CIMS Director Biology Peter English Program Director Biology Mark Baumann Physics Dennis Dunn Geology Cynthia LaBrake Chemistry Randi Ludwig Astronomy Antonia Chimonidou Physics Established to support inquiry- based instruction in the College of Natural Sciences Alex Barr Physics

Thank you.