Learning Progressions in Science
Learning Progressions in Science

Author: Alicia C. Alonzo

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-07-30

Total Pages: 495

ISBN-13: 9460918247

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Learning progressions – descriptions of increasingly sophisticated ways of thinking about or understanding a topic (National Research Council, 2007) – represent a promising framework for developing organized curricula and meaningful assessments in science. In addition, well-grounded learning progressions may allow for coherence between cognitive models of how understanding develops in a given domain, classroom instruction, professional development, and classroom and large-scale assessments. Because of the promise that learning progressions hold for bringing organization and structure to often disconnected views of how to teach and assess science, they are rapidly gaining popularity in the science education community. However, there are signi?cant challenges faced by all engaged in this work. In June 2009, science education researchers and practitioners, as well as scientists, psychometricians, and assessment specialists convened to discuss these challenges as part of the Learning Progressions in Science (LeaPS) conference. The LeaPS conference provided a structured forum for considering design decisions entailed in four aspects of work on learning progressions: de?ning learning progressions; developing assessments to elicit student responses relative to learning progressions; modeling and interpreting student performance with respect to a learning progressions; and using learning progressions to in?uence standards, curricula, and teacher education. This book presents speci?c examples of learning progression work and syntheses of ideas from these examples and discussions at the LeaPS conference.

Taking Science to School
Taking Science to School

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2007-04-16

Total Pages: 404

ISBN-13: 0309133831

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What is science for a child? How do children learn about science and how to do science? Drawing on a vast array of work from neuroscience to classroom observation, Taking Science to School provides a comprehensive picture of what we know about teaching and learning science from kindergarten through eighth grade. By looking at a broad range of questions, this book provides a basic foundation for guiding science teaching and supporting students in their learning. Taking Science to School answers such questions as: When do children begin to learn about science? Are there critical stages in a child's development of such scientific concepts as mass or animate objects? What role does nonschool learning play in children's knowledge of science? How can science education capitalize on children's natural curiosity? What are the best tasks for books, lectures, and hands-on learning? How can teachers be taught to teach science? The book also provides a detailed examination of how we know what we know about children's learning of scienceâ€"about the role of research and evidence. This book will be an essential resource for everyone involved in K-8 science educationâ€"teachers, principals, boards of education, teacher education providers and accreditors, education researchers, federal education agencies, and state and federal policy makers. It will also be a useful guide for parents and others interested in how children learn.

A Framework for K-12 Science Education
A Framework for K-12 Science Education

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2012-02-28

Total Pages: 400

ISBN-13: 0309214459

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Science, engineering, and technology permeate nearly every facet of modern life and hold the key to solving many of humanity's most pressing current and future challenges. The United States' position in the global economy is declining, in part because U.S. workers lack fundamental knowledge in these fields. To address the critical issues of U.S. competitiveness and to better prepare the workforce, A Framework for K-12 Science Education proposes a new approach to K-12 science education that will capture students' interest and provide them with the necessary foundational knowledge in the field. A Framework for K-12 Science Education outlines a broad set of expectations for students in science and engineering in grades K-12. These expectations will inform the development of new standards for K-12 science education and, subsequently, revisions to curriculum, instruction, assessment, and professional development for educators. This book identifies three dimensions that convey the core ideas and practices around which science and engineering education in these grades should be built. These three dimensions are: crosscutting concepts that unify the study of science through their common application across science and engineering; scientific and engineering practices; and disciplinary core ideas in the physical sciences, life sciences, and earth and space sciences and for engineering, technology, and the applications of science. The overarching goal is for all high school graduates to have sufficient knowledge of science and engineering to engage in public discussions on science-related issues, be careful consumers of scientific and technical information, and enter the careers of their choice. A Framework for K-12 Science Education is the first step in a process that can inform state-level decisions and achieve a research-grounded basis for improving science instruction and learning across the country. The book will guide standards developers, teachers, curriculum designers, assessment developers, state and district science administrators, and educators who teach science in informal environments.

Concepts of Matter in Science Education
Concepts of Matter in Science Education

Author: Georgios Tsaparlis

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2013-07-09

Total Pages: 535

ISBN-13: 9400759142

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Bringing together a wide collection of ideas, reviews, analyses and new research on particulate and structural concepts of matter, Concepts of Matter in Science Education informs practice from pre-school through graduate school learning and teaching and aims to inspire progress in science education. The expert contributors offer a range of reviews and critical analyses of related literature and in-depth analysis of specific issues, as well as new research. Among the themes covered are learning progressions for teaching a particle model of matter, the mental models of both students and teachers of the particulate nature of matter, educational technology, chemical reactions and chemical phenomena, chemical structure and bonding, quantum chemistry and the history and philosophy of science relating to the particulate nature of matter. The book will benefit a wide audience including classroom practitioners and student teachers at every educational level, teacher educators and researchers in science education. "If gaining the precise meaning in particulate terms of what is solid, what is liquid, and that air is a gas, were that simple, we would not be confronted with another book which, while suggesting new approaches to teaching these topics, confirms they are still very difficult for students to learn". Peter Fensham, Emeritus Professor Monash University, Adjunct Professor QUT (from the foreword to this book)

Atlas of Science Literacy
Atlas of Science Literacy

Author:

Publisher: Aaas Project 2061

Published: 2001

Total Pages: 165

ISBN-13: 9780871686688

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An oversized book with ambitious goals: That's the Atlas of Science Literacy. Asking -- then answering -- such vital questions as: -- What should students learn? -- When should they learn it -- and in what order? -- How does each strand of knowledge connect to other vital threads? This new educational tool from AAAS's Project 2061 graphically depicts connections among the learning goals established in Benchmarks for Science Literacy and Science for All Americans. The Atlas is a collection of 50 linked maps that show exactly how students from kindergarten through 12th grade can expand their understanding and skills toward specific science-literacy goals. But the maps don't just show the sequence of Benchmark ideas that lead to a goal. They also show the connections across different areas of mathematics, technology, and (of course) science -- including gravity, evolution and natural selection, the structure of matter, and the flow of matter and energy in ecosystems. This groundbreaking book is every school's road map to helping children learn science systematically. Using the Atlas of Science Literacy as your guide, trace the prerequisites for learning in each grade, make the connections to support science content, and show the way to the next steps to learning for your students.

Ready, Set, SCIENCE!
Ready, Set, SCIENCE!

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2007-11-30

Total Pages: 221

ISBN-13: 0309106141

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What types of instructional experiences help K-8 students learn science with understanding? What do science educators, teachers, teacher leaders, science specialists, professional development staff, curriculum designers, and school administrators need to know to create and support such experiences? Ready, Set, Science! guides the way with an account of the groundbreaking and comprehensive synthesis of research into teaching and learning science in kindergarten through eighth grade. Based on the recently released National Research Council report Taking Science to School: Learning and Teaching Science in Grades K-8, this book summarizes a rich body of findings from the learning sciences and builds detailed cases of science educators at work to make the implications of research clear, accessible, and stimulating for a broad range of science educators. Ready, Set, Science! is filled with classroom case studies that bring to life the research findings and help readers to replicate success. Most of these stories are based on real classroom experiences that illustrate the complexities that teachers grapple with every day. They show how teachers work to select and design rigorous and engaging instructional tasks, manage classrooms, orchestrate productive discussions with culturally and linguistically diverse groups of students, and help students make their thinking visible using a variety of representational tools. This book will be an essential resource for science education practitioners and contains information that will be extremely useful to everyone �including parents �directly or indirectly involved in the teaching of science.

Disciplinary Core Ideas
Disciplinary Core Ideas

Author: Ravit Golan Duncan

Publisher:

Published: 2016

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781938946417

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Like all enthusiastic teachers, you want your students to see the connections between important science concepts so they can grasp how the world works now-- and maybe even make it work better in the future. But how exactly do you help them learn and apply these core ideas? Just as its subtitle says, this important book aims to reshape your approach to teaching and your students' way of learning. Building on the foundation provided by A Framework for K- 12 Science Education, which informed the development of the Next Generation Science Standards, the book' s four sections cover these broad areas: 1. Physical science core ideas explain phenomena as diverse as why water freezes and how information can be sent around the world wirelessly. 2. Life science core ideas explore phenomena such as why children look similar but not identical to their parents and how human behavior affects global ecosystems. 3. Earth and space sciences core ideas focus on complex interactions in the Earth system and examine phenomena as varied as the big bang and global climate change. 4. Engineering, technology, and applications of science core ideas highlight engineering design and how it can contribute innovative solutions to society' s problems. Disciplinary Core Ideas can make your science lessons more coherent and memorable, regardless of what subject matter you cover and what grade you teach. Think of it as a conceptual tool kit you can use to help your students learn important and useful science now-- and continue learning throughout their lives.

Learning Progressions in Geography Education
Learning Progressions in Geography Education

Author: Osvaldo Muñiz Solari

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2016-07-30

Total Pages: 196

ISBN-13: 3319447173

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This book informs an international audience of teachers, scholars and policymakers about the development of learning progressions for primary and secondary geography education in various countries and regions of the world. The book represents an important contribution to learning progressions research and practice. The different chapters explore how curriculum standards and frameworks in different countries portray progress and sophistication in the learning of geography. The book compares educational systems and how teachers and curriculum developers use the concept of “learning progression” to guide educational practices. As an approach to educational research, learning progressions offer considerable potential for understanding how children develop understanding of geographic concepts and practices across grade bands and in relation to national geography standards. The book analyzes the general conditions of learning progressions within the context of a globalized world. Important themes are addressed such as: knowledge acquisition in formal education; measuring learning progressions in informal settings; learning progressions for one curriculum standard or several standards; conditions to assess progression in the learning of facts, concepts, and skills; and multiple pathways for understanding or learning geography. The contributing authors are experienced scientists in the field from all around the world giving specific insights into the practices of their countries. The book appeals to K-12 teachers, school administrators, policymakers, researchers in geography education, professors and lecturers at universities around the world.

Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding
Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding

Author: Bernard J. Nebel

Publisher:

Published: 2007-11

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781432706104

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This is The most comprehensive science curriculum for beginning learners that you will find anywhere * Here are 41 lesson plans that cover all major areas of science. * Lessons are laid out as stepping stones that build knowledge and understanding logically and systematically. * Child-centered, hands-on activities at the core of all lessons bring children to observe, think, and reason. * Interest is maintained and learning is solidified by constantly connecting lessons with children's real-world experience * Skills of inquiry become habits of mind as they are used throughout. * Lessons integrate reading, writing, geography, and other subjects. * Standards, including developing a broader, supportive community of science learners come about as natural by-products of learning science in an organized way. Particular background or experience is not required. Instructions include guiding students to question, observe, think, interpret, and draw rational conclusions in addition to performing the activity. Teachers can learn along with their students and be exceptional role models in doing so. Need for special materials is minimized. Personal, on line, support is available free of charge (see front matter).

Proficiency Scales for the New Science Standards
Proficiency Scales for the New Science Standards

Author: Robert J, Marzano

Publisher: Solution Tree Press

Published: 2015-08-17

Total Pages: 264

ISBN-13: 0991374851

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Transform an in-depth understanding of the new science standards into successful classroom practice. You’ll learn how to align instruction and assessment with the science standards and create proficiency scales that can be used to plan all types of lessons. Discover hundreds of ready-to-use proficiency scales derived from the Next Generation Science Standards that are applicable to specific areas of science instruction.