STEM-Lit Content Training Day Fall 2014

Why Finland's Schools Are Top-Notch Finnish students consistently score near the top in the Program for International Student Assessment, or PISA, for reading, mathematics and science. The 2012 PISA results tell us that in these three subjects combined Finland ranks third after Korea and Japan.

 Finnish children don't start school until they are 7 years old.  They have less homework than their peers in other countries.  A child's socioeconomic background is less of an impediment to academic performance.  National curriculum that insists that schools focus on the whole child.  Every class must be followed by a 15-minute recess break so children can spend time outside on their own activities.  Play constitutes a significant part of individual growth and learning in Finnish schools.  Primary schools keep the homework load to a minimum so students have time for their own hobbies and friends when school is over.

Imagination

The Challenge – Scotland  A major challenge faced, was to link the Forth and Clyde Canal, which lay 35m (115ft) below the level of the Union Canal. Historically, the two canals had been joined at Falkirk by a flight of 11 locks that stepped down across a distance of 1.5km, but these were dismantled in 1933, breaking the link.Forth and Clyde Canal Union Canal

Tony Kettle ~ Inspiration Think of a spine and you think of elegant, organic structures like fish bones. So I began to develop the aqueduct as an organic form. I wanted it to seem to float through hoops. And I wanted the wheel to be a celebration of moving between this aqueduct and the basin below. This was done by giving it direction. The hooked leading edges on the arms are all about rotation. It was as much a sculptural idea as a piece of engineering. I was asked to convert it into a mechanical object in collaboration with [the engineer]. By making the gondolas narrower and longer and using two instead of four as in the exemplar design, I could make the aqueduct much narrower and more elegant. It also meant I could surround the end of each gondola with a large cog and have a simple gear system for keeping the gondolas level. Although simple, the cogs were a difficult concept to understand and my daughter made a little Lego model of it to try it out.

Falkirk Wheel

The Falkirk Wheel is the only rotating boat lift in the world and an amazing piece of engineering. This works on the Archimedes principle of displacement. That is, when the boat enters, the amount of water leaving the caisson weighs exactly the same as the boat. This keeps the wheel balanced and so, despite its enormous mass, it rotates through 180° in five and a half minutes while using very little power. Uses 1.5 kilowatt- hours of energy = heating up 8 kettles.

Hidden at each end, behind the arm nearest the aqueduct, are two 8m diameter cogs to which one end of each gondola is attached. A third, exactly equivalent sized cog is in the center, attached to the main fixed upright. Two smaller cogs are fitted in the spaces between, with each cog having teeth that fit into the adjacent cog and push against each other, turning around the one fixed central one. The two gondolas, being attached to the outer cogs, will therefore turn at precisely the same speed, but in the opposite direction to the Wheel. Given the precise balancing of the gondolas and this simple but clever system of cogs, a very small amount of energy is actually then required to turn the Wheel

Imagination

Goals What does infusing some “Modeling” and “Formative Assessment” look in my classroom?  Apply the practice of Developing and Using Models/Modeling with Math to instructional design.  Connect the practices called Constructing Explanations & Designing Solutions, Engaging in Argument from Evidence to Developing and Using Models/Modeling with Math to NGSS and CCSS.  Develop the capacity to engage all learners in classroom discourse and the public representation of their ideas.  Identify appropriate use of formative assessment.

AGENDA  Is it Developing and Using the Practice of Modeling?  Model-Based Inquiry to Support a Claim  Revising a Model based on Evidence  LUNCH on your own at Noon  Constructing Explanations & Arguing from Evidence  LIT time - to identify immediate & long term goals  TPEP reflection

Is It Developing and Using Models?

The milk chocolate melts in your mouth, not in your hands?

Human Scatterplot: The milk chocolate melts in your mouth, not in your hands. Position yourself along the human scatterplot according to your agreement (yes/no/sort of) and your level of confidence in your answer (high/low).

Group Based on Initial Thinking Yes- High Confidence Yes – Low Confidence Sort of - High Sort of – Low No – High No – Low Gather at a table together.

Initial Thinking - Model State your claim as a response to the question. Draw a labeled diagram that describes what you think happens to an M&M in your mouth and in your hand that supports your claim. Use your best scientific explanation based on your current understanding. What is happening before, during, and after the candy goes from your mouth to your hand? Be prepared to share your ideas in 20 minutes.

Break & Gallery Walk  During the break – send out a scout to each group’s initial claim  On your note sheet write an affirmation and a question for each  We will reconvene at 10:15

Identify Competing Ideas How does your explanation differ from others’ in the room? Or is it similar? What ideas might you want/need to consider in your model?

Designing an Investigation / Simulation What experiment can you do to distinguish from your group and another groups claim? Purpose: to gather evidence to revise / support your model Criteria: 1.Must produce some type of quantifiable data to support or refute any claims. 2.Remember to document your process and cite any additional resources you use. 3.Use technology as appropriate.  Be ready to move on at 11:15

More Evidence Summarize the Important Facts, Ideas or Concepts (1 per row) What claim can you make based on this idea, fact or concept? What specific evidence from your investigation or your text supports this claim?

Adding to Our Model What new information can you include in your model? or Is there anything you want to change in your model?  Does your model……  - Accurately represent the scientific principles?  - Use mathematics & statistics appropriately to show relationships?  - Relate the data to the situation? Use the Gotta Have it Checklist

Formalizing C-E-R Claim – a statement or conclusion that answers the original question/problem Evidence – Scientific data that supports the claim Reasoning – a justification that connects the evidence to the claim using scientific principles ….Rebuttal – recognizes and describes alternative explanations, and provides counter evidence and reasoning for why the alternative explanation is not appropriate “Supporting Grade 5-8 Students in Construction Explanations in Science,” McNeil, Krajcik 2009

Please be ready to start at 1:00!! Lunch!

Make Your Explanation Cl-Ev-R Claim Relevant Stands Alone Evidence Appropriate Sufficient Reasoning Stands Out Link Between Claim and Evidence

Regroup & Reflect Post your team’s CER and as you transition to your LIT Team, gallery walk the explanations 1.Reflect on how today’s activities inform your work as a strategy for instructional design. 2.Use the Danielson framework to connect today’s work to your professional goals (TPEP)

Reflecting on Developing and Using Models  How did the initial model, investigation and revised model phases help you to connect to developing and using modeling as a practice?  How have your ideas changed?  Use the practices documents to identify where/how/when you were engaging in scientific and mathematical modeling practices

Modeling as a Practice in Math  identify variables in the situation and selecting those that represent essential features,  formulate a model by creating and selecting geometric, graphical, tabular, algebraic, or statistical representations that describe relationships between the variables,  analyze and perform operations on these relationships to draw conclusions,  interpret the results of the mathematics in terms of the original situation,  validate the conclusions by comparing them with the situation, and then either improving the model or, if it is acceptable,  report on the conclusions and the reasoning behind them

Developing and Using Models in Science (MS)  Evaluate limitations of a model for a proposed object or tool.  Develop or modify a model—based on evidence – to match what happens if a variable or component of a system is changed.  Use and/or develop a model of simple systems with uncertain and less predictable factors.  Develop and/or revise a model to show the relationships among variables, including those that are not observable but predict observable phenomena.  Develop and/or use a model to predict and/or describe phenomena.  Develop a model to describe unobservable mechanisms.  Develop and/or use a model to generate data to test ideas about phenomena in natural or designed systems, including those representing inputs and outputs, and those at unobservable scales.

Reflecting on Formative Assessment ●Reflect on the use your work today in terms of formative assessment: ●The “Gotta-have” checklist ●Evidence from your investigations and text ●Your model ●Your C-E-R ●The “Is it a model?” probe ●Revisit the probe. Any changes you’d like to make?

Connecting to Engineering Design  Come up with question your students might have…  What are some other applications of these science ideas?  (Just as that experience with erector sets sparked creative ideas…. What about M&M’s)?

LIT planning time  protocol are your LIT notes for today!!

Put a Bow on It…Wrap It Up  Consensus on March meeting  Complete evaluation form – link in Edmodo  Post LIT notes  Turn in  protocol  Clock hours form

Content Connections – Mathematics Develop understanding of statistical variability.  CCSS.Math.Content.6.SP.A.1 Recognize a statistical question as one that anticipates variability in the data related to the question and accounts for it in the answers. For example, "How old am I?" is not a statistical question, but "How old are the students in my school?" is a statistical question because one anticipates variability in students' ages. CCSS.Math.Content.6.SP.A.1  CCSS.Math.Content.6.SP.A.2 Understand that a set of data collected to answer a statistical question has a distribution which can be described by its center, spread, and overall shape. CCSS.Math.Content.6.SP.A.2  CCSS.Math.Content.6.SP.A.3 Recognize that a measure of center for a numerical data set summarizes all of its values with a single number, while a measure of variation describes how its values vary with a single number. CCSS.Math.Content.6.SP.A.3

CCSSM content connections Summarize and describe distributions.  CCSS.Math.Content.6.SP.B.4 Display numerical data in plots on a number line, including dot plots, histograms, and box plots. CCSS.Math.Content.6.SP.B.4  CCSS.Math.Content.6.SP.B.5 Summarize numerical data sets in relation to their context, such as by: CCSS.Math.Content.6.SP.B.5  CCSS.Math.Content.6.SP.B.5.a Reporting the number of observations. CCSS.Math.Content.6.SP.B.5.a  CCSS.Math.Content.6.SP.B.5.b Describing the nature of the attribute under investigation, including how it was measured and its units of measurement. CCSS.Math.Content.6.SP.B.5.b  CCSS.Math.Content.6.SP.B.5.c Giving quantitative measures of center (median and/or mean) and variability (interquartile range and/or mean absolute deviation), as well as describing any overall pattern and any striking deviations from the overall pattern with reference to the context in which the data were gathered. CCSS.Math.Content.6.SP.B.5.c  CCSS.Math.Content.6.SP.B.5.d Relating the choice of measures of center and variability to the shape of the data distribution and the context in which the data were gathered. CCSS.Math.Content.6.SP.B.5.d

Math ideas  Did anyone consider Surface area – volume?  Measurement  Variability in Temperature data?  Ratio & proportion (in collecting data… or defining melting)

Science content Cross-cutting concepts Conservation of Matter Cause and Effect Scale Proportion Quantity (if go with packaging ideas) Dissolving vs. Melting Determining if Chemical reactions occurred Chemical vs. Physical reactions Releasing or absorbing thermal energy Insulation Diffusion

Mathematical Modeling “the process of choosing and using appropriate mathematics and statistics to analyze empirical situations, to understand them better, and to improve decisions”