TEAMS SEMINAR, JANUARY 24, 2009 UNIVERSITY OF SAN FRANCISCO

XENIA MEYER, DOCTORAL CANDIDATE, CORNELL UNIVERSITY

Critical Thinking in Science Education and Standardized

Testing:

Two Birds with One Stone through Inquiry-based

Instruction

What did we just do?

Engaged in student-centered instructionInteracted with our peersAcknowledged multiple possibilities (more

closely models actual science)Made observationsMade inferences based on observationsUsed evidence to state claimsInquiry!

Inquiry?

“The diverse ways in which scientists study the natural world and propose explanations based on evidence derived from their work. Inquiry also refers to the activities of students in which they develop knowledge and understanding of scientific ideas, as well as an understanding of how scientists study the natural world”

(National Research Council [NRC], 1996, p. 23).

What is it?

Learning science, rather than learning about it…

Abilities to do inquiry• formulating questions• designing investigations• dealing with data• constructing and testing explanations• communicating results

(NRC, 1996)

Knowledge about inquiry• Scientists use varied methods• Scientific inquiry involves testing ideas• Scientists use logic, higher-order thinking, and current

knowledge• Scientific investigations lead to more questions

What does inquiry look like?

From http://www.materialsworldmodules.org/pedagogy/inquiry_continuum.shtml

Bybee’s Instructional Model

If that’s inquiry, why don’t we see more of it?

From http://www.brynmawr.edu/biology/franklin/InquiryBasedScience.html

INQUIRY BASED TRADITIONAL

Principle Learning Theory

Constructivism Behaviorism

Student Participation Active Passive

Student Involvement in Outcomes

Increased Responsibility Decreased Responsibility

Student Role Problem solver Direction follower

Curriculum Goals Process oriented Product oriented

Teachers Role Guide/facilitator Director/ transmitter

Comparing Inquiry and Traditional Science Instruction

But, what’s wrong with traditional instruction?

Traditional school science tends to be disconnected from both actual science and students’ everyday lives

Traditional instruction oftentimes takes the shape of didactic teaching, lectures, verification labs, and worksheets. Students are not encouraged to engage in scientific questions

and to think deeply and critically about what they are learning

Students are not participating in the activities of science and thereby not appropriating scientific knowledge and culture

How does this connect to NCLB?

“State test[s] led teachers to abandon more constructivist, open-ended activities for more structured, worksheet-based activities that more closely mirrored the test”

(Sloan, 2007, p.

28).

When “a child-centered culture is supplanted

by a test-centered culture, it is likely that academic achievement, as well as meaningful school experiences and personal bonds among teachers and students, will diminish”

(Valli & Chambliss, 2007, p. 73).

Conclusions from Ethnographic Research

“Cross-state studies link high-stakes testing with increases in dropout rates for ELLs and minority students, as the achievement gap widens” (Fine et al. 2007, p. 78)

An increased focus on testing diminished the student-centered approaches that provided educators with a better understanding of how to meet their students’ needs.

While educators may have the best intentions of assisting struggling students with test preparation, these approaches must be reconsidered.

Equity in Science Education: Challenged by NCLB

Educational researchers point out that many students in urban schools learn science through traditional instructional approaches (Settlage & Meadows, 2002) Many urban students are from backgrounds

underrepresented in the sciences (Latino, black, Native American, Pacific Islander)

Instruction is focused on standardized test preparation rather than engaging in the activities of science

Students indicate lack of interest in science and pursuing science careers

Meeting success through alternatives

Educational researchers conducted case study investigations of schools serving underrepresented and ELL students that are meeting educational success (Fine, Walter, Pedraza, Futch, & Stoudt, 2007) Graduation Rate: 88.7%; >90% graduates go on to college

Findings: Student-centered instruction used Alternative instructional approaches Evaluation methods include portfolio-based assessments Collaborative planning and curriculum development

amongst teachers Student sense of ownership and agency at the school

Discussion: Think , Pair, Share

In what ways, if any, may engaging students in inquiry prepare them for standardized tests?

How would it be possible to bring more inquiry into your own classroom?

Review: Is this inquiry?

1. Having students follow a procedure to complete a lab2. Having students classify substances based upon their

observable properties. 3. Having students make presentations of data collected

during lab.4. Hands-on labs5. Giving students a white powder and asking them to

determine what the powder is6. A class discussion about the arrangement of the

periodic table. (Crawford, 2008, Fossil Finders Presentation on Inquiry)

References

Bybee, R. (1997). Achieving scientific literacy: From Purposes to practice. Portsmouth: Heinemann.

Fine, M., Jaffe-Walter, R., Pedraza, P., Futch, V., & Stoudt, B. (2007). Swimming: On oxygen, resistance, and possibility for immigrant youth under siege. Anthropology & Education Quarterly, 38, 76-96.

National Academy of Sciences. (1998). Teaching about evolution and the nature of science. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.

 National Research Council. (1996). National science education standards. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.

 National Research Council. (2000). Inquiry and the national science education standards. Washington, D.C., National Academy Press.

Settlage, J., & Meadows, L. (2002). Standards-based reform and its unintended consequences: Implications for science education within America’s urban schools. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 39 (2), 114-127.

Sloan, K. (2007). High-stakes accountability, minority youth, and ethnography: Assessing the multiple effects. Anthropology & Education Quarterly, 38, 24-41.

Valli, L., & Chambliss, M. (2007). Creating classroom cultures: One teacher, two lessons, and a high-stakes test. Anthropology & Education Quarterly, 38, 57-75.

Xenia Meyerxenia.meyer@cornell.edu