Erica Klaus

Resource Review

Resource Summary

A lesson plan published in NSTA’s journal, Science and Children in March 2014 outlines how one teacher used an inquiry-based approach to teach the concept of decomposition in the classroom (see below). The teacher, Patty Spring, and co-author Natalie Harr describe the reasoning and resources used to help students consider “a world where decomposers were absent” (2014, p. 34). The series of lessons are incorporated into a unit on life cycle and take 3 weeks on and off according to Spring and Harr (2014). Students start by considering guiding questions as a part of a group discussion to asses previous knowledge and student misconceptions about how food or other organic matter seem to disappear. Spring collects organic materials for her students to watch over the upcoming weeks and each student group chooses one specific item to keep track of. Students design an investigation to show the progression of how the items will disappear, including how they will collect data. The students continually observe the tank and have continued discussions on how they know decomposition is happening. Students learn more about the decomposition process through class discussion and individual research with teacher provided resources. After the students worked to gain an understanding of how decomposition works and what it does, students take a mini field trip to a park with help from a naturalist. The students carefully explore to find places where decomposers are present and discuss with each other the role the decomposers play in the park. Later, students are asked “if aliens came to our planet and stole all the decomposers? What would this look like? How would it be different from our world today?” (Spring & Harr, 34).

Completeness and Accuracy of the Science Content

The series of investigations and discussions in the article thoroughly explain how a decomposer can break down plant matter, but scat and animal matter would also have to be discussed so students will not have a mixed conception due to “focusing on one feature, but not others” (Harlen, 2001, p. 61). An example student response to the final evaluation probe in Spring & Harr’s work also discusses the role of scavengers (2014). The response implies that the role of decomposers lesson was implemented alongside other lessons to teach the entire life cycle together. This lesson and its explanation of the role of decomposers is a great resource to teach alongside other lessons about ecological interactions to show a continuing cycle instead of simply a line of who eats what. Students can easily become confused about the idea of life being recycled or the “circle of life” concept because the food chain is often described as line of a plant being eaten by a herbivore who is eaten by a carnivore. This lesson is great at discussing how decomposers break down dead organisms to recycle some organic matter containing nutrients to be mixed back into soil.

Appropriateness of Pedagogical Approach

The lesson plan uses the 5E model and is based around NGSS standards. Students’ misconceptions are assessed and they have the chance to explore a situation with decomposers to gain background knowledge before completing research to learn about how decomposers play a role in an ecosystem. Students extend their learning by exploring a new, but similar situation involving decomposers and discussing how they function in that situation compared to the previous. Finally, students are evaluated using a probe that also incorporates literacy. Though Spring and Harr do not specifically talk about how literacy can be taught using the story writing probe in the lesson plan, it can be adapted to become a lesson plan that integrates narrative writing and science. The approaches used are rooted in NGSS because Spring focused on how to incorporate the standards as she planned the lesson (2014).

Considerations for Student Knowledge

Spring and Harr took into account student misconceptions as the lesson was being outlined and include a list of probable misconceptions in the beginning of the work (2014). The authors came up with specific guiding questions to bring previous knowledge and misconceptions forward in the form of a group discussion in a non-threatening way in order to be sure they were addressed in the lesson.

Alignment with Curriculum

NGSS-4-ESS2-1: Make observations and/or measurements to provide evidence of the effects of weathering or erosion by water, ice, wind, or vegetation.

· Disciplinary Core Idea- 4-ESS2.E: Biogeology: Living things affect the characteristics of their environment. [This standard specifically talks about decomposers and nutrient cycling (National Research Council, 2012)].

· Science and Engineering Practices- Planning and Carrying Out an Investigation (use data as evidence to describe a phenomenon).

· Crosscutting Concepts- Cause and Effect Relationships (students see the effect of decomposers in an ecosystem).

Works Cited

Harlen, W. (2001). Taking children’s own ideas seriously. In R. Najar (Ed.), Primary Science: Taking The Plunge (2nd ed.). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

National Research Council. (2012). Disciplinary core ideas: Earth and Space sciences. A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Disciplinary Core Ideas [The National Academies Press Open Book Digital Edition]. Retrieved fromhttp://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=13165&page=189.

Spring, P. & Harr, N. (2014). A world without decomposers: How scary!. Science and Children 51(7), 28-37.