Vocabulary Instruction in Science

I observed a high school Biology classroom last semester and I was intrigued to know that they all kept vocabulary books. This was a place that students wrote down definitions and were able to utilize their “dictionary” as much as they needed…even during tests. This instructor knew the importance of teaching the basic vocabulary of each scientific concept before engaging in the lesson. This eased frustrations and allowed for better comprehension of the subject by the students. I absolutely plan on using something like this in my future classroom. As a student and now as a professional, I rely on vocabulary words to comprehend any topic I run into. I realize the importance of words and I feel my students should as well.

--Stacy Mosier, 2010, Saint Joseph's University

When I mentioned to the teacher how they make the memorization of vocabulary a little more interesting, he mentioned a game he calls Biominoes. They are small blocks, the shape and size of Dominoes. One end of the paper has a vocab word that the students are learning, and the other end has a definition of a word. The students are then required to match up the word end to the corresponding definition on another piece. This makes the learning a little more interactive and fun for the students, but still ensures that they are learning the required information.

--Melissa Blotter, SJU

I agree that it's important to implement a range of strategies to support vocabulary learning, some fun and creative and others more traditional, such as vocabulary quizzes. You also mention the importance of defining vocabulary as a pre-reading strategy. The science teacher at my school does a fun project with students where they have to find vocabulary terms in magazines and newspapers and then cut them out. They also find images associated with the word. They create collages on poster board, and these are hung around the room for the trimester. I have walked into the room when students are working on this project, and they are all engrossed in what they are doing.

--Dr. Eileen Erwin, SJU

the five E's of teaching

There is a five step process for teaching in this week's science module that may be of interest to those in other content areas. I will try to present it in a manner that suggests its applicability across the curriculum. It's best summarized as "the five E's."

1. Engage. An activity that creates interest, raises questions, accesses prior knowledge, generates perdictions about what might happen or be true.

2. Explore. An activity that has students working together without direct instruction in order to pursue questions and predictions raised during the Engagement phase. Students puzzle through a problem while the teacher limits herself to asking probing questions as appropriate.

3. Explain. Teacher provides formal explanations and definitions, using students' previous experiences when possible. Students explain concepts in their own words with accuracy the goal.

4. Elaborate. Students apply new knowledge in new situations, asking questions and checking with one another for clarity and understanding. Teacher observes and coaches as necessary.

5. Evaluate. Teacher assesses students' knowledge and use of new concepts and skills. Students assess their own learning and group processing skills.

Note that direct instruction comes at the third stage, not the first. Consider the value of this, with engagement and exploration activities preceding the teacher's formal presentation or modeling of necessary explanations and definitions.

--Dr. James Lee, Saint Joseph's University

Best Final Exam

If I've already told you this, I apologize, but here is one of the best final exams I know of. I have seen a video of it, including the student presentations.

Students in an 8th grade science class have been working as partners in the lab all year. At the end of the year, as a final exam, the teacher gives each pair a "mystery substance" to analyze. Students are to hypothesize what it might contain and then do the work necessary to determine what the substance is. They create a data chart and draw conclusions. Each pair then makes a presentation to the rest of the class on the process they used to determine what their mystery substance was. Both must speak, and there must be at least one visual, perhaps a data chart reproduced on the overhead or Smartboard. There is a rubric for A, B, C, and failure. The items in the rubric are the components of the scientific process that students have been learning about and practicing all year. This is a test of the progress they have made in applying that process to solving a scientific "problem".

--Dr. James Lee, Saint Joseph's University

Using Journals in Science

One of the best uses of journals is to have students think about their thinking. That is, it is a metacognitive exercise in which students look at their learning process and write about how they are learning, what is giving them problems, and what they can do to do better. Also, using journals to explain a process or a concept is a good test of how well students know something, and when it is done as part of a journal exercise it is relatively non-threatening to find that they have trouble being clear because they haven't learned the material well enough. This, too, becomes then a metacognitive exercise in which they learn about the extent of their own learning and how well established it is.

"Class, I want you to write in your journals today a one paragraph description of how photosynthesis works. Be as clear as you can be. When you are finished, I will ask you to read your description to a partner, who will tell you just how clear your explanation was to him or her."

--Dr. James Lee, Saint Joseph's University

Creative Assessments

My thoughts:

I think students could find creative assessments frustrating if they're not given appropriate scaffolding or direction. I think if we make sure that students know what is expected of them and provide appropriate scaffolding to help them, then they will not find it frustrating, but very enjoyable.

Response from Dr. James Lee:

I agree. Sometimes teachers use the concept of a "creative assignment" to provide little or no direction, seemingly assuming that the creative impulses of students will take over and work wonders. Ah, but we know how disastrous an approach that can be! The other problem that I see is when teachers accept almost anything under the umbrella of "oh, that's really creative!" when in fact the product may demonstrate very little thoughtfulness or quality.

We make a mistake if we allow "creativity" to be some kind of amorphous "thing" that no one can really account for and that therefore cannot really be taught or judged. This is not to say, however, that we can predict what it will be or that we can or should provide a recipe for it. It is to say that we need to teach students how to go about exploring and shaping creative possibilities and then, after careful consideration, move forward. After all, the Muse will usually not come and sit on their shoulder.

Affective objectives and their importance in all content areas

Affective objectives are designed to engage the feelings and attitudes of students. They are present in such behaviors as choosing to listen rather than sleep; volunteering to research a question or to give an answer; explaining one's feelings about a reading passage, video, or piece of music; demonstrating determination in solving a problem; speaking with conviction; describing one's changing feelings while reading a novel; selecting a book to read that seems interesting; choosing to be unbiased in judging an argument (ironically, to suspend feelings as much as possible, but by choosing this, opting for a particular attitude towards learning), etc. These are all behaviors and attitudes we seek because we know they enhance learning. Learning is always greater when feelings as well as thoughts are involved.

Affective objectives include arguing a position; explaining why one feels more "comfortable" approaching the solving of a math problem one way rather than in other ways; describing one's feelings about a character in a novel; expressing feeling or emotion in a foreign language dialogue; and even comparing one's "gut" feeling about how to proceed with a science experiment with what turns out to be a workable approach.

We can also consider as affective objectives the study of values and feelings as presented in the content to be learned. I can ask students to compare the values of two political regimes or to explain what values most environmentalists have in common. If I then ask students how they feel about these values, whether they endorse them or reject them, whether they have sympathy or dislike, I am asking them to connecting the study of values with the students' own beliefs.

We ignore the affective "domain", which Bloom has made so famous, at our peril!

--Dr. James Lee, Saint Joseph's University

goals, objectives, and assessment

Thoughts from Emily Wachsman on goals, objectives, and assessment in teaching science:

Physical Science

• Enduring Understanding: Chemical formulas are simplified & standardized descriptions of chemical reactions.
• Enduring Question: What are the basic components of a chemical formula? What do chemical formulas tell you about the chemical reaction?
• Cognitive learning objective: Students should be able to identify reaction types and predict the outcomes of the reaction (synthesis, decomposition, etc).

• Enduring Understanding: Solutions are formed by specific solute-solvent interactions, and depend on energy and other physical conditions.
• Enduring Question: What factors influence the formation of a solution when the solvent and solute are mixed?
• Psychomotor Learning Objective: Students should be able to demonstrate methods of preparing different types of solutions under different situations (concentration, temperature, etc).

Life Science

• Enduring Understanding: Ecosystems are a complex and diverse habitat for a variety of organisms.
• Enduring Question: What relationships exist between living organisms within a given ecosystem? How do organisms interact with their ecosystem?

o Cognitive Learning Objective: Students should be able to analyze the dynamic ways in which organisms in any given ecosystem interact.

• Enduring Understanding: Understand the dynamic nature of ecosystems, and how one small change can have drastic consequences for the entire system.
• Enduring Question: How do ecosystems change over time? What impact can humans have on ecosystems? How can we conserve and protect the environment?

o Affective Learning Objective: Students should analyze the impact humans can have on diverse ecosystems. Students should develop an interest in sustainable/eco-friendly practices, and take an interest in incorporating some of these ideas into their daily lives.

Earth & Space Science

• Enduring Understanding: The environment, and subsequently weather, is influenced by a complex set of physical and chemical processes.
• Enduring Question: What causes the weather? How can we predict the weather?
• Psychomotor Learning Objective: Students should be able to use various instruments to gather data regarding weather (barometric pressure, temperature, etc).

• Enduring Understanding: Oceans are an essential aspect to Earth’s ecology, and provide humans with vital resources for food, fuel, and water.
• Enduring Question: What resources do we get from the ocean? Why is the ocean considered an important part of scientific research?
• Cognitive/affective Learning Objective: Students should be able to describe the effect of Oceans on Earth, and illustrate the variety of ways oceanic resources are utilized. Students should become interested in the importance of Oceans, and take it upon themselves to investigate current research on deep sea vents or other popular oceanic topics.

Assessments

The assessment possibilities for sciences are seemingly endless. I have struggled somewhat with trying to think up ways to assess my students without traditional paper and pencil tests, which I a not a huge fan of. However, as I was reading this chapter and designing my EU’s, EQ’s, and objectives, I found myself with hundreds of possible assessments ideas! That is exciting to me, because it makes me feel more confident in my abilities to truly bring constructivism to my class. One of my favorite assessment types described by Bybee, Powell, & Trowbridge (2008) are creative assessments. The students I observed my first semester of the OATCERT program were required to develop a trail guide about local plant species as part of their botany unit. I thought the idea was great, and the students seemed very engaged and excited about learning botany classifications and identification techniques so they could apply it to their trail walks. I thought, given how boring that topic generally is for most students, that the trail guide assessment was a brilliant idea to get the students engaged. A similar type of creative assessment could be used in the ecology unit described above. For example, I could have the students develop a creative assessment in which they develop a new idea for green/sustainable energy or a new way to manage an ecosystem considered at risk. In this assignment, they will look at the ecosystems around them, try to find creative solutions, and even analyze how they can use more green energy or eco-friendly practices in their daily lives. Both learning objectives from the life sciences section above could be met through this assignment: students will not only have to understand diversity of ecosystems and the dynamic interactions found within them, but they will also have to think about how humans effect their environment. Hopefully this will also help them to generate interest, and apply what they have learned to their own lives. I think an important aspect of this assignment, as Bybee et al. (2008) point out, is to show students previous examples of this type of assignment if available, or give them some ideas to start with ((p. 136).

Another type of assessment that will be frequently used throughout any science class is the practical assessment. According to Bybee et al. (2008), a practical assessment is one that “provides information on students’ skill and problem-solving abilities through the use of apparatus setups, experiments, and open-ended situations that can reveal certain thinking processes” (p. 136). For example, under the physical science section, one of my learning objectives is for students to demonstrate the laboratory skills required to make solutions. Here, I can provide the students with the objective of making different solutions under different conditions. As they progress, I can even add an oral interview into the assessment, and ask them to explain the underlying scientific processes occurring. By having the students explain these processes to me, I will be able to ascertain their true understanding of the subject matter, rather than simply their ability to repeat and set of directions. So often, at least in my experience, lab practicals become more about going through the motions, rather than really learning why something is occurring. I think it would interesting to have the students attempt to create a solution that won’t actually work because the conditions are wrong, and then ask them to explain why. Regardless of how it is done, I think it is much easier than I thought previously to include constructive assessments into my lessons.