1. Science 1-5 Curriculum workshop FALL 2011
Dean Elliott, Ministry of Education

2. AGENDA Welcome / Introductions Science Curriculum Overview
Planning for Inquiry in Science
Science 1-5 curricula
Physical Science
Life Science
Earth / Space Science
Wrap Up

3. Science Curriculum KWL
I/we already know …
I/we want to learn …
I/we learned …
Let us now take a few minutes to set the direction for the day. What is it that you, individually and as a group, already know about renewed Science 1-5 curricula?
Please jot down 2 -4 ideas individually, and then share with your group

4. Renewed Curriculum
This section provides an overview of the framework for renewed Saskatchewan science curricula.

5. The new curriculum website.

6. This is the home page for Science 6
This is the home page for Science 6. Only the PDF version of the document contains the complete curriculum.

7. This is an example of a page from Science 6, showing one outcome (DL6
This is an example of a page from Science 6, showing one outcome (DL6.1) and its associated indicators. On the right are support materials which have been reviewed and recommended for the curriculum and/or developed for the curriculum. The Resources tab lists all of the resources which have been reviewed, recommended, and included in either the Core or Additional Resource list for this curriculum.

8. Understanding Outcomes

9. Science Curriculum Framework
This section provides an overview of the framework for renewed Saskatchewan science curricula.

10. Curriculum Documents Introduction Using this Curriculum
Broad Areas of Learning
Cross Curricular Competencies
Aim and Goals
Inquiry
An Effective Science Education Program
Outcomes and Indicators
Assessment and Evaluation
Connections with Other Areas of Study
These are the key areas of

12. BAL / CCC Broad Areas of Learning Cross-curricular Competencies
Lifelong Learners
Sense of Self, Community, and Place
Engaged Citizens
Cross-curricular Competencies
Developing Thinking
Developing Identity and Interdependence
Developing Literacies
Developing Social Responsibility
The Broad Areas of Learning are a synthesis of the Goals of Education (1984?)
The Cross-curricular Competencies are a synthesis of the Common Essential Learnings (1988)
The full versions of each of these can be found as appendices in Renewed Curricula: Understanding Outcomes
Each science curriculum document contains a modified version of the BALs and CCCs.

13. K-12 Aim of Science
The K-12 aim of science curricula is to enable students to develop scientific literacy within the context of Euro-Canadian and Indigenous heritages, both of which have developed an empirical and rational knowledge of nature.
The overall aim of science education remains the same as in prior curriculum – the development of scientific literacy in students – but the definition of scientific literacy has evolved since the early 1990’s to include Indigenous ways of knowing.

14. K-12 Goals of Science
Understand the Nature of Science and STSE (Science, Technology, Society, and the Environment) Interrelationships
Construct Scientific Knowledge
Develop Scientific and Technological Skills
Develop Attitudes that Support Scientific Habits of Mind
There are four goals for K-12 Science. These are a synthesis of the 7 Dimensions of Scientific Literacy from previous curricula.

15. The Scientific Literacy Framework, which is comprised of the Foundations of Scientific Literacy, the Learning Contexts, and the Units of Study, provides a visual representation of the components of the science curriculum that contribute to the development of scientifically literate students.

16. Outcomes and Indicators
What students are expected to know and be able to do by the end of the grade in a particular area of study
Are mandatory
Indicators
Examples of the type of evidence that would show students have achieved the outcome
Represent the breadth and depth of the outcome

17. Sample Outcomes
DS1.1 Compare and represent daily and seasonal changes of natural phenomena through observing, measuring, sequencing, and recording. [CP, SI]
AW2.2 Assess the importance of air and water for the health and survival of living things, including self, and the environment. [CP, DM]
PL3.1 Investigate the growth and development of plants, including the conditions necessary for germination. [CP, SI]
SO4.3 Assess personal, societal, and environmental impacts of sound-related technologies. [DM, TPS]
HB5.3 Assess how multiple human body systems function together to enable people to move, grow, and react to stimuli. [SI]

18. Outcomes - Knowledge Dimension
Factual
Conceptual
Procedural
Metacognitive
Saskatchewan outcomes require that students develop a combination of factual, conceptual, procedural, and metacognitive knowledge.
Factual – essential facts, terms, details, or elements
Conceptual – principles, generalizations, theories, models
Procedural – methods of inquiry, skills, techniques, strategies
Metacognitive – awareness of own thinking and processes

19. Outcomes - Cognitive Process Dimension
Creating
Evaluating
Analyzing
Applying
Understanding
Remembering
Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy
The cognitive process dimension recognizes the different processes students use as they learn.
Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy

20. Units of Study – Science 1-5
Life Science
Physical Science
Earth and Space Science 1
Needs and Characteristics of Living Things
Using Objects and Materials
Using Our Senses
Daily and Seasonal Changes 2
Animal Growth and Changes
Liquids and Solids
Motion and Relative Position
Air and Water in the Environment 3
Plant Growth and Changes
Structures and Materials
Magnetism and Static Electricity
Exploring Soils 4
Habitats and Communities
Light
Sound
Rocks, Minerals, and Erosion 5
Human Body Systems
Properties and Changes of Materials
Forces and Simple Machines
Weather
There are four units per grade in the renewed curriculum from Grades 1 to 10 – one Life Science, two Physical Science and one Earth and Space Science. There are no longer any optional units.
Note that outcomes in renewed curricula are meant to be achieved by the end of grade, not by the end of the unit. Teachers need to consider this organizational structure carefully when planning student assessment because students may not have achieved STSE, Skills, and Attitudes portions of outcomes by the end of a single unit if study.
The Units of Study can serve to provide connections to other areas of study through the topics and sub-topics contained within each unit.
Examples:
Grade 9 RE – Health (conception, birth)
Grade 8 CS – Phys Ed (study of body systems)
Grade 8 OP – Arts Ed (colour, vision, seeing)
Grade 7 EC & 8 WS – SS (land use)
Grade 6 DL – ELA (depictions of microorganisms in a variety of texts)
Grade 6 SS – Arts Ed (depictions of astronomical phenomena through music, drama, art, or dance)
Grade 7 MS – Math (expressing concentrations of solubility)

21. An Effective Science Education Program
Incorporates all Foundations of Scientific Literacy
Uses the Learning Contexts as entry points into student inquiry
Effectively uses the language of science
Develops evidence-based explanations using models
Incorporates laboratory and field work
Models and requires safe practices
Chooses /uses technology appropriately

22. Technology Choice / Use
Data collection and analysis
Data loggers
Graphing software
Visualization and imaging
Digital images / video recordings
Simulation / modeling software
Communication and collaboration
Word processing / presentation tools
Internet
Authentic science projects
Provide entry points into the curriculum that engage students in inquiry-based learning to achieve scientific literacy.
The contexts are not mutually exclusive; well-designed instruction may incorporate more than one learning context.
Students need to experience learning through each learning context at each grade.
It is not necessary, nor advisable, for each student to attempt to engage in learning through each learning context in each unit. Learning in a classroom may be structured to enable individuals or groups to achieve the same outcome through different learning contexts (DI). 22

23. Resources Core Resource List Additional Resource List
Pearson Saskatchewan Science 3 – 9
Textbook
Teacher resource 23

24. SK Science Teacher Resource
Indicators correlation chart
Activity planning chart
Resources
Cultural, field trip, speakers, on-line
Materials & equipment
Assessing student preconceptions (PCK)
Big ideas & questions
Lessons – explore, develop, communicate, A for L
Unit project, Summary, Review
Program Overview
Rubrics, line masters

25. Materials 25

26. Inquiry is …
What does inquiry mean to you?

27. Inquiry
“Discipline-based inquiry is authentic intellectual learning. It must make information meaningful to the students. In order to do so, the environment in which learning takes place must also be meaningful”.
Seymour Papert

28. Inquiry Pedagogy
“Inquiry into authentic questions generated from student experiences is the central strategy for teaching science.”
(National Science Education Standards - NRC, 1996, p. 31)

29. Inquiry in Elementary Science
Elementary students should be able to:
ask questions about objects, organisms, and events in the environment
plan and conduct a simple investigation
employ simple equipment and tools to gather data and extend the senses
use data to construct a reasonable explanation
communicate investigations and explanations.
(NRC, 1996, p )

30. Features of Classroom Inquiry

31. Levels of Inquiry Level Students provided with: Useful for:
Confirmation
Question
Procedure
Known results
Reinforcing previously introduced ideas
Introducing students to experiments
Having students practice a specific skill
Structured
Observing and recording data
Creating conclusions based on evidence
Guided
Developing procedures
Open
Developing questions
The Levels of Inquiry model is based on the amount of information provided to the students in advance.
Banchi, H., & Bell, R. (2008, October).
The Many Levels of Inquiry, Science and Children, 46(2),

32. Inquiry – A Topic is Not a Problem
Solar energy
Question
How can we cook effectively using the Sun?
Testable Question
How does the colour of the lining inside a solar cooker affect how quickly the water will heat up?
Hypothesis
If the lining inside a solar cooker is darker, then the water will heat up more quickly.

33. Planning for Inquiry in Science
Have participants arrange themselves into groups of 3 or 4 to plan one unit.

34. Planning for Inquiry in Science
Identify Desired Results
Outcomes / K-D-U
Big Ideas / Questions for Deeper Understanding
Learning Contexts (one or more)
Determine Evidence of Understanding
Relevant indicators
Criteria for judging achievement
Develop Learning Plan
Levels of Inquiry
Resources / materials / supplies / adaptations
The Planning for Inquiry in Science template is based on the Understanding by Design Model (Wiggins and McTighe) but has been modified to include the four learning contexts and to use vocabulary consistent with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Education.

35. Planning for Inquiry – Stage 1
Identify Desired Results
Students will know…
Students will be able to…
Students will understand that…
Identify the “Big Ideas”
One summary sentence
3-5 questions for deeper understanding
Each group should choose an entire unit to plan. It is usually sufficient to identify 4-6 items for knowledge, 4-6 for skills, and 1 or 2 for understanding.
Developing the “big ideas” or enduring understandings is an iterative process. Typically, first tries to do not capture the essence of the entire unit. Teachers should expect to return to the Big Ideas and Questions for Deeper Understanding multiple times during the planning process and when reflecting on student learning.

36. Units of Study – Grades 1-5
Life Science
Physical Science
Earth and Space Science 1
Needs and Characteristics of Living Things
Using Objects and Materials
Using Our Senses
Daily and Seasonal Changes 2
Animal Growth and Changes
Liquids and Solids
Motion and Relative Position
Air and Water in the Environment 3
Plant Growth and Changes
Structures and Materials
Magnetism and Static Electricity
Exploring Soils 4
Habitats and Communities
Light
Sound
Rocks, Minerals, and Erosion 5
Human Body Systems
Properties and Changes of Materials
Forces and Simple Machines
Weather
There are four units per grade in the renewed curriculum from Grades 1 to 10 – one Life Science, two Physical Science and one Earth and Space Science. There are no longer any optional units.
Note that outcomes in renewed curricula are meant to be achieved by the end of grade, not by the end of the unit. Teachers need to consider this organizational structure carefully when planning student assessment because students may not have achieved STSE, Skills, and Attitudes portions of outcomes by the end of a single unit if study.
The Units of Study can serve to provide connections to other areas of study through the topics and sub-topics contained within each unit.
Examples:
Grade 9 RE – Health (conception, birth)
Grade 8 CS – Phys Ed (study of body systems)
Grade 8 OP – Arts Ed (colour, vision, seeing)
Grade 7 EC & 8 WS – SS (land use)
Grade 6 DL – ELA (depictions of microorganisms in a variety of texts)
Grade 6 SS – Arts Ed (depictions of astronomical phenomena through music, drama, art, or dance)
Grade 7 MS – Math (expressing concentrations of solubility)

37. Learning Contexts Scientific Inquiry (SI)
Key concepts, principles, laws, and theories
Technological Problem Solving (TPS)
Human and social needs - prototype
Cultural Perspectives (CP)
FN&M (or other) knowledge and ways of knowing
STSE Decision Making (DM)
Key issues and potential stakeholders
The four learning contexts represent different ways to engage students in inquiry in science.

38. Learning Context Examples
Scientific Inquiry (SI)
ME3.1c - Compare the characteristics of contact, magnetic, and static electric forces, including the range over which they act, and propose methods of increasing or decreasing the effects of these forces.
Technological Problem Solving (TPS)
ME3.2d - Design, construct, and test an object such as a toy or game whose function depends on attractive or repulsive magnetic forces.
Cultural Perspectives (CP)
ES3.2a - Suggest ways in which individuals and communities value and use soil, including the importance of Mother Earth for First Nations and Métis peoples.
STSE Decision Making (DM)
PL3.2 k - Defend a position related to plant use (e.g., picking plants, harvesting crops, fertilizing, and planting invasive species) and protection (e.g., establishing conservation areas, planting native species, and developing alternatives to plant-based products).
The four learning contexts represent different ways to engage students in inquiry in science.

39. Planning for Inquiry – Stage 2
Determine Evidence of Understanding
Evidence
How much?
What type?
Of learning
For learning
As learning
Criteria
Student-selected
Teacher-selected
Determine how much evidence will be collected. Ultimately teachers will collect less, but more thorough, evidence of learning.

40. Planning for Inquiry – Stage 3
Develop Learning Plan
Activities
Resources
Adaptations
Levels of Inquiry
Confirmation
Structured
Guided
Open

41. Teaching Physical Science1
Using Objects and Materials
Using Our Senses 2
Liquids and Solids
Motion and Relative Position 3
Structures and Materials
Magnetism and Static Electricity 4
Light
Sound 5
Properties and Changes of Materials
Forces and Simple Machines

42. Teaching Life Science Life Science 1
Needs and Characteristics of Living Things 2
Animal Growth and Changes 3
Plant Growth and Changes 4
Habitats and Communities 5
Human Body Systems

43. Teaching Earth/Space Science
Life Science 1
Daily and Seasonal Changes 2
Air and Water in the Environment 3
Exploring Soils 4
Rocks, Minerals, and Erosion 5
Weather

44. Contact Information
Dean Elliott Ministry of Education