Why Are You Teaching That

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Why Are You Teaching That?

• Colorado Science Summit Keystone Resort
  June 7, 2006

Jan Tuomi Lead Consultant Mid-continent Research
for Education and Learning
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Designing Effective Science Lessons
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What science content do you want your students to
understand?
What does it mean to understand?

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Teachers and students should have a content-based
answer to this question during any lesson.
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Fact or Concept?

• Cut apart the statements in your handout.
• As a group, sort into facts and concepts.
• Record the group consensus on the list.

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Learning factsdetails

• Direct instruction is best, e.g.
• Lecture
• Drill
• Memorization
• Simple paper and pencil assessments are
  appropriate, e.g.
• Fill in the blank
• Label drawing

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Learning skills

• Also, best first learned by direct instruction
  and guided inquiry
• Demonstration
• Practice
• Memorization
• Assess by observation, sequence, fill in the blank

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Learning concepts, principles, processes

• Inquiry works best to
• Put vocabulary, facts, details into a meaningful
  context
• Challenge pre-existing ideas that are not
  scientifically correct
• Apply knowledge by solving problem or applying a
  process

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Assessing concepts, principles, processes

• Students should demonstrate understanding by
• Performing a task
• Analyzing and interpreting
• Constructing a multi-part response

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The vital distinction is

• Knowing the difference between a fact and a
  concept (etc.)
• from the learners point of view
• And planning instruction and assessment
  accordingly.

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Taking into account the levels of knowledge, how
might a teacher be expected to answer this
question?
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What science content do you want your students to
understand?
What does it mean to understand?

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Identify big ideas, key concepts, knowledge
and skills that describe what the students will
understand
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Identifying Important Content
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Unpacking

• Identifying Big Ideas
• Identifying Key Concepts related to the big ideas
• Identifying Knowledge and Skills related to the
  key concepts

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Big Ideas ARE NOT
Topics
Big Ideas MAY BE
Standards
But all standards are not created equal
Big Ideas ARE
statements of what students should understand at
the end of a unit
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Topic Life Cycles What exactly should the
students know about life cycles? The life cycle
of a butterfly includes hatching from an egg,
growing as a pupa/caterpillar, forming a
chrysalis, emerging as an adult butterfly, and
living to lay eggs that start the cycle again.
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Directions

• Select a content area or a statement in the
  handout
• Write a big idea statement
• Unpack the key concepts, knowledge, and skills
• See definitions and examples in handout and use
  the resources provided

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Peer Review

• Is the content accurate, significant, and
  worthwhile?
• Is there a key concept, knowledge or skill
  missing?
• Is the content appropriate for the grade level
  and prior knowledge of the students?
• Is the time estimate sufficient to develop
  student understanding and abilities?

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Backward Design

• Content
• Big Idea
• Key Concepts
• Essential Questions
• Knowledge and Skills
• Prior Knowledge
• Common Preconceptions
• Assessments and Evidence of Learning
• High-Quality Learning Activities

From Wiggins, G. McTighe, J. (2005).
Understanding by Design, 2nd Ed.  Alexandria,
VA  Association for Supervision and Curriculum
Development.
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Discuss with a partner

• Using your unpacked big idea, key concepts,
  knowledge and skills, discuss
• how each would be assessed,
• what learning activities must be a part of this
  unit and in what order,
• the benefit of backward design to student
  learning.

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Why am I doing this?
If you asked a teacher this question, what would
be a good answer?
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Getting the CONTENT right is vital to student
learning
Audet, R. H. Jordan, L.K. (2003). Standards in
the classroom An implementation guide for
teachers of science and mathematics. Thousand
Oaks, CA. Corwin Press, p. 53. Used with
permission. 
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Then students are probably

• Working toward clearly defined objectives that
  focus on essential conceptual understanding
• Able to explain what they are learning
• Able to explain how well they are learning
• Showing personal interest in the objectives

If teachers are...
Setting Objectives and Sequencing Learning
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Identifying Important Content

• Identify big ideas, key concepts, knowledge and
  skills that describe what the students will
  understand.
• Prune extraneous sub-topics, technical vocabulary
  and wasteful repetition.
• Create essential questions that engage students
  with the content.
• Identify common preconceptions and prior
  knowledge
• Develop assessment that correlate to the
  conceptual understanding and related knowledge
  and skills
• Clarify and sequence the learning activities to
  focus instruction on conceptual understanding.

Why am I doing this?
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For more information

• On the content of this presentation
• or
• Designing Effective Science Lessons professional
  development sessions
• Contact Anne Tweed, atweed_at_mcrel.org or
  303-337-0990 or www.mcrel.org