This 25-26 school-year, we revised our curriculum units in grades 3-5 (K-2 will be next school-year) to better reflect the 3-dimensions of learning from the
K-12 Science Framework. While the topics of the units remain the same, our instructional model has shifted so that students are engaging in Investigations tied to local and relevant anchoring phenomena. Investigating phenomena moves us from teaching about science to teaching science.
What Are Science Phenomena and Why Do We Need Them?
Science phenomena are observable events that can be explained using science. Students
investigate phenomena because they give purpose to science – they require the application of
science. Phenomena are introduced at the beginning of science investigations and during these
investigations the focus remains on the phenomenon as students gather data and/or
information to serve as evidence and use this evidence in combination with Core Ideas to
make sense of the phenomenon. The investigation concludes with an explanation of the
phenomenon and arguments for how the evidence supports the explanation. After students make sense of and construct explanations of phenomena in the classroom, they can now also make sense of analogous phenomena. For example, if students can explain what causes water to condense on the outside of a glass of ice water, they can also explain what causes the bathroom mirror to fog up after a shower, or what causes their breath to be visible on a cold day. (NGSS Planning Guide, RVCC Science Education Institute).
A Sample Investigation: General Overview
GATHER
During an Investigation, which can last 3-5 days, students are introduced to a phenomenon and generate questions to add to the class' Driving Question Board. Using these questions, students take time to gather information such as reading articles, viewing videos, and/or planning and conducting their own investigations as it connects to the anchoring phenomenon.
REASON
Once students have gathered enough evidence from their data and information, they work collaboratively to build and/or sketch a model of the phenomenon. This is where students can often make the invisible, visible.
COMMUNICATE REASONING
After students have created their models, revised them, and optimized one of them, they are ready to explain their thinking by independently writing an explanation. This explanation is sometimes shared with other peers and serves as formative assessment for the teacher.
The teacher's role is to facilitate student learning and explicitly bring out the 3-dimensions of learning. In other words, the teacher presents students with the relevant Core Ideas related to the Investigation and engages the students in several activities related to the Science Practices. Throughout the Investigation, the teacher engages students in discourse especially connected to the relevant Crosscutting Concepts.
