Debra Reed, our district’s K-12 Science Curriculum Supervisor, and I mapped our course for next year. The biggest shift in year two of the grant is moving from project-based planning to an initiative based on systemic change for our elementary building. Here’s our draft from our initial planning sessions.

Focus of Team Initiative

Goal #1: Our most important initiative is to shift instructional practices in our school to become constructivist in nature using inquiry-based methods. Both problem and project-based experiences will be the foundation for long-term student-driven investigations centered on living environment concepts. All teachers and students should be involved in real issues that require creativity and innovation, communication and collaboration, critical thinking and problem solving to generate possible solutions and share findings and learning experiences with stakeholders.

Goal #2: Our second initiative is to increase the use of technology to facilitate learning for both teachers and students. We believe that technology (goal #2) must serve pedagogy (goal #1). We believe the infusion of technology must enable teachers and students to research, create, communicate, and collaborate. This initiative will create the transformative process we are seeking in technology infusion for our teachers and students.

Initiative Objectives

As a result of our initiative, teachers will:

• Understand constructivist theory
• Implement inquiry-based lessons (5E) and experiences (including PBL)
• Integrate technology into lessons
• Involve students in real-world issues that require creativity and innovation
• Establish their own personal learning network
• Design pre/post and formative/summative assessments tied to NYS/National standards
• Use data to inform instructional practices
• Work in collaborative teams focused on student learning

What will change?

Our current state of practice reveals many teachers using traditional, teacher-centered (didactic) direct instruction, where students are passive receptors of knowledge. The change will be the systemic impact on instructional practices and student learning.

As a result of our initiative, students will:

• Develop and implement their own scientific inquiry investigations
• Collect, organize, display, and analyze data from investigations to make decisions and develop solutions
• Increase content understandings related to the living environment
• Use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively
• Create and share multi-media presentations to reflect information learned through the project
• Exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology

What will change?

The change will be the shift towards a student-centered environment where they take the lead and responsibility for their learning and are supported and guided by classroom teachers.

As a result of our initiative, systems of technology support, leadership and administration will:

• Facilitate and support collaborative technology-enriched learning environments conducive to innovation for improved learning.
• Support hardware/software/networking

Plan for Measuring Impact on Teaching and Learning

Guiding Action Research Questions

1. What is the effect of implementing inquiry-based instruction on student learning?
2. How does technology support learning?

Multiple Measures of Data

1. Student Learning
   1. How do the post test measures of participating classes compare to the control classes?
2. Perceptions
   1. How do students, parents, and teachers gauge the importance/value of learning through inquiry?
   2. How do students, parents, and teachers gauge the importance/value of using technology?
3. Demographics
   1. How is student learning affected within various demographic groups? (special ed., gender)
4. School Processes
   1. How does the collaborative nature of this initiative support the shift in instructional practice and school/district goals?
   2. How does this initiative support collaborative technology-enriched learning environments that are conducive to innovation for improved learning?

Student Measures

• pre/post content assessment
• open ended task (post)
• journals/learning logs
• inquiry investigations
• graphing & analysis of data collection
• multi-media presentations
• surveys
• post reflections

Teacher Measures

• survey on student learning
• reflections
• pre/post HP technology survey
• pre/post Klem South pedagogy & technology use survey
• peer classroom observations

Leadership, Technology Support, & Administration

• survey
• reflections
• classroom observations

What’s important to note about this initiative is that it is TEACHER DRIVEN with administrative support. Planning for this systemic change for our school is incredibly exciting, yet brought about some personal stress and uncertainty. Last year it was a tremendous amount of work to be the Lead Teacher on the grant with just 4 other teachers and three classrooms working on the year-long project. Now that I’ll be working with 14 other teachers and 13 classrooms, how will we not only implement the environmental science year-long project with k-5 students, but also attain the pedagogical changes in instruction? In my next blog post, I’ll share what happened when our team of teachers in San Antonio met to tackle the obstacles and create a workable plan to create cohesion, excitement, and success for all teachers on the grant.

Questions and feedback on our plan are welcomed as well as other examples of systemic changes driven from the classroom.

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Data Supporting Impact on Student Learning
When examining the data it is important to note that the three participating classrooms have high populations of students receiving special services. Taking this into account, the gains made through the hands-on, technology rich classroom environments are noteworthy.

2^nd graders in Eva Burns’ class and a control class were given two different assessments; a ten question multiple choice test and a scientific process design task. Results reveal that students in Eva’s class scored higher on several of the multiple choice questions, in particular the questions about seasonal changes, making observations, and identifying correct units of measure.The scientific design task revealed significant differences in the depth of student responses from Eva’s class. We feel the hands-on inquiry-based focus of this project was the factor resulting in students in her class demonstrating a deeper understanding of the scientific method.

3^rd graders in Martha Erbland’s class and a control class were also given two different assessments; a 15 question multiple choice test and a scientific process design task. While the results of the test did not show significant gains, responses on the scientific design task from Martha’s students showed a much deeper understanding and application of the scientific method. Martha also stated that beyond these scores she has seen a marked improvement in her students’ questioning skills, ability to make connections across subject areas, and their understanding and interpretation of data.

4^th graders in Donna Hoffend’s class and a control class were given a fifteen question objective test. Results reveal no differences in student results between the classes. It is also interesting to note that 75% of current 4^th graders had the opportunity to work on a similar year-long project while in 3^rd grade. After lengthy discussions of the data, the team feels as though outside factors may have affected the results. Donna has students with multiple needs including students who receive weekly psychology and talk mentoring sessions. Coupled with the extreme academic needs and special education services, we were very pleased with the test results.

Impact on Instruction
One of our main objectives was to infuse technology into project lesson plans to engage learners, promote higher-order thinking skills, and provide authentic experiences. Through our individual professional development plans and our face-to-face meetings, each member was able to redesign lessons to become more constructivist in nature. Eva stated, “In the past, I gave my students all the information they needed to know. I told them what they would be learning. This year, I am able to give them the technology tools they need in order to find out what they want to know about. We used inquiry throughout the project and students were more motivated to learn because they had an invested interest in what we were learning about.”

The level of personal confidence with technology integration has soared for all participants. Donna noted, “Many of these new technological skills allowed me to create new and interactive lessons for my students.” Just looking at the pre and post data from our technology surveys reveals an incredible amount of growth in regards to the use of technology to support learning.

Another objective was to participate in a Professional Learning Community to reflect on improving student performance throughout the project. Chris reflected, “Perhaps the most important improvement to my teaching repertoire was the collaboration I had with team members. I learned how to redirect our focus based on the questions and interests of our students and the data collected from formative assessments.” This focus has afforded us opportunities to open our practice and learn from each other in ways we have never experienced before.

What’s Next?
Now we wait to see if we will be awarded a continuation and expansion of the grant for our school next year. If awarded, ten additional teachers will join and we’ll expand our focus to “Environmental Stewardship” K-5. If not, I’m sure this team of teachers will work on other problem and project-based learning experiences with their kids next year and encourage other grade level team members to join in.

While this was the most intensive project I have worked on in years, it was by far the most rewarding working as a collaborative team and seeing the kids present their findings, reflect using VoiceThread (in progress), and seek out new learning opportunities. Isabelle wrote on the Pond Partners wiki, “Fourth grade learned about potable water and how we waste it. I think we should also take into consideration how much garbage we throw out. Do you think we could all team up to try and recycle more? Are garbage dumps are getting full of things that we can recycle? Anything that has a 1 or a 2 on the bottom you can recycle. Lets all recycle!” I see a possible PBL topic for next year!

I’d love to learn more from other classroom teachers who are collecting and analyzing data to identify the impact of technology and/or PBL on learning for both students and teachers. Please share your ideas and suggestions. Thanks!

This year several grade levels have worked in the MST PORTAL room using GPS & Geocaching as part of their science lessons (2nd grade for butterfly migration, 5th grade for latitude/longitude and science process skills, and our HP group for marking data collection locations). Also an afterschool program is currently underway led by a senior at Schroeder H.S. who is teaching a handful of kids about geocaching out on the Hojack Trail.  If you are interested in learning more about this technology, my first recommendation this week is to check out Anna Baralt’s blog, GPS and Geocaching with Elementary Students.  She has written about everything you could ever want to know about GPS, Geocaching, and GIS all related to elementary age students.

My second recommendation for reading this week comes from Sylvia Martinez.  Have you ever found yourself frustrated and confused by the use of technology in your classroom?  Have you ever thought about asking one of your students for help?  Read this post about the talents of an 11 year old.  I can think of a few tech-savy kids right at Klem South who would love the opportunity to help other students AND teachers learn more about using technology in the classroom. 

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When you teach science, you teach literacy. Kids learn to observe, ask questions, predict, sequence, infer, draw conclusions, analyze, evaluate, summarize, compare/contrast, solve problems, and read and write in meaningful contexts. Modeling metacognition is such a big part of elementary science. We focus their attention on what is going on in their heads as they try to make meaning of situations and identifying strategies to assist in the process. This is exactly what we want them to do when they have a book in front of them. We want kids to be active participants in the learning process as they attempt to make meaning. So why is it that reading is taught during “reading” time and science it taught during “science” time or whenever teachers find the time?

Finding the time to teach science is essential. David Warlick recently blogged about the diminishing time elementary teachers are spending teaching science since NCLB took effect. David writes,

Improving reading and math skills is not the problem. The problem is how we’re paying for it.

Extra ELA time is not the answer nor is taking away recess.

Brian Crosby shares an account of how we are paying for it as he tells of students’ reactions to the recent eclipse. Students were scared, but it’s even more frightening to think about the future implications for these kids not having the opportunities to explore science in elementary school. I loved reading the comment from Doug Noon.

Teach Science. Teach Social Studies. Be a radical.

On the flip side, Jenny, a 5th grade teacher blogged about the disparity of time devoted to teaching reading between elementary and middle/high school. As in most elementary classrooms, her students devote much less time to social studies and science than ELA and math. She wrote,

I feel that my students have to be able to read, write, and do math in order to be able to truly understand social studies or science. So I don’t have any concerns about how we spend our time…

What are your thoughts about how we spend our time at the elementary level?
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The first post is Reading Plants by Jabiz Raisdana whose blog, The Intrepid Teacher, I just recently discovered. In this post Jabiz shares his story of working with struggling readers and how he connected a gardening project with the book Where the Red Fern Grows through the common theme of perseverance and hard work found in both.

et al. by Bob Sprankle who writes Bit by Bit, illustrates how kids are actually attempting to “see” a million by raising one million pennies.

A penny for your thoughts on these posts and your views on project-based learning.

As part of their research, students gathered information about the effect on the environment from spills. Mr. Dehm, a grandfather of one of the students who owns property in the Thousand Islands, came to Klem South to share information about the actual spill in 1976. This past summer he was replacing some boards on his dock and discovered oil still coating the underside from the spill more than 30 years ago. He happened to save a few of the boards and brought them in for the kids to see. He also shared old photographs he had taken of the clean-up effort as well as recent pictures taken this fall where oil is still present on some of the rocks. Mr. Dehm also shared a navigation map and talked about the changing water levels in the river. After this visit, students were even more convinced that action needs to be taken to protect the water, shoreline, and wildlife. They also had new questions that they needed to find answers to.

The next person the students were able to talk with via iChat was Todd Woody, a senior editor for Fortune Magazine and author of the Green Wombat blog. Not only did students gather information about the spill in San Francisco Bay, but they also worked on their communication skills in a real-world context. Todd provided insight into the environmental impact of the spill, the nature of his job as an editor and writer, his interest in the endangered wombat, and concerns about global warming.

Students also sent an email to the NYS DEC requesting specific information regarding winter shipping. As a result, they were able to talk, via speakerphone, with Rodger Klindt, a fisheries biologist who works on the St Lawrence River and is familiar with the seaway issues. Students’ ideas about the possibility of ice increasing the chance of an accident were confirmed and they also discovered new information about the changing water levels throughout the season. In the winter the water levels are generally lower. A lower water level results in swifter river currents. Add ice, lower water, and swifter currents to the mix and navigation can become tricky. A slight mistake can cause an accident. This valuable information to use in their video was recorded on a laptop using Audacity.

Through these connections, both in person and remotely, students were able to learn from others outside of our classroom and local community. Next it is their turn to share their work with a wider audience. Check back in a few weeks for the finished video.

The process was fairly simple. With support from the homeroom teacher, the students brainstormed ideas, illustrated the main points, wrote elaboration sentences, and practiced speaking their parts. I scanned the images and imported them to Microsoft Photo Story 3. I used ccMixter, a site featuring community music licensed under Creative Commons, for background music and then recorded student voices over the images. Once completed, the videos were posted on TeacherTube. For the final step, the students drafted, revised, and edited an email letter to be sent to NYS members of Congress with links to the posted videos.
Download Video by Mrs. Erbland’s Class

Download Video by Mrs. McDonnell’s Class

Download Video by Mrs. Pennock’s Class

What other ideas do you have to help us continue to provide experiences for our students to share their work with audiences beyond the classroom teachers?

The goals for Jim are to have his students experience inquiry-based teaching and learning prior to their student teaching placements as well as to provide more authentic conversations regarding planning, student assessment, instructional best practices, and the reflective nature of teaching.

Here in the MST PORTAL we are looking to continue to promote open, reflective teaching and learning through shared conversations and experiences with professionals outside of our school via scheduled videoconferencing chats, streaming lessons/presentations, and face-to-face gatherings. Our continued goal is to expand the number of teachers taking advantage of the job-embedded professional development opportunities made possible because of this unique partnership. Whether teachers want to learn more about inquiry-based mathematics (especially with our new math series), the Backward Design process, using technology to support student learning, or simply to gather the collective ideas of 20 eager pre-service teachers to help plan a lesson or unit, these experiences can happen within the school day, side-by-side with another teacher(s) for guidance and support, and as an integrated part of classroom planning and instruction.

In February, Jim’s students will be exploring Understanding by Design and the Six Facets of Understanding including discussing what “counts” as evidence of understanding. To follow up on this work, we have a videoconference scheduled on March 6th to examine and discuss student work samples. If you’d like to join the conversation and perhaps share samples of student work (math problem-solving would be great), just let me know.

For our next videoconference on April 3rd, we are seeking interested teachers to collaborate with the pre-service teachers on the initial development of a math/science inquiry-based lesson. As part of their class requirements at SJFC, the pre-service teachers will work on the development of a webquest to support the content of the lesson. This activity will be inquiry-based, provide distinct roles for students, and may provide a hands-on component. Once completed, teachers will be able to implement the webquest with their students (either the entire class or with a small group) and then reflect on the experience and effectiveness of student learning.

If you have any comments on our progress to-date with this partnership or ideas to share, please comment.

Why is it that language arts and mathematics always take precedence over science? Is it due to the focus and demands of the state tests in these subjects, district and building goals focusing on literacy, or perhaps the uneasiness in regards to content and methodology? Is the lack of resources and materials the reason science is so often left behind?

In our district students perform very well on the NYS 4th Grade Science Test. Does this mean our students have the ability to think and work as scientists or are they good test-takers? Students can “learn” science via videos, reading and discussing textbook chapters, and answering worksheets and still “meet or exceed” state standards in science. Is this what we want for our children? The measures of proficiency from state tests should not be the only indicator of student achievement in science.

How can we develop opportunities for all elementary students to experience and explore science as inquiry that is rich in content, challenging, exciting and alive? How can we communicate to our parents and community members the essential need in today’s society to promote science education in elementary school? How can we reassure teachers that teaching science does not take away valuable time from language arts or mathematics, but rather high-quality science education can enhance critical thinking skills, creativity, and a desire to learn that crosses all curricular areas?

What about elementary science? How do we begin the conversations that will lead to change?

Teaching science as inquiry requires teachers to shift their instructional design from showing and telling to providing opportunities for students to observe, share ideas, grapple with discrepant events, ask their own questions, and discover ways to collect and analyze data, conduct research, and ask new questions based on their discoveries. Inquiry is messy, open-ended, and often time consuming. Yet this student-centered approach is essential if we want our students truly understand key scientific concepts.

Today I worked with 3 classes participating in our HP grant project, Pond Partners, and the goal was to have students develop their own questions to investigate out in the field as part of this project. It wasn’t easy. The classroom teachers and I had to continuously probe their thinking, model how to ask questions, and focus students’ attention on the purpose of the project. We choose to guide and direct their inquiry rather than have the experience be completely open. While this may not always be the best approach, given our time constraints and project outline, it was our best option. If by the end of the year students can ask relevant scientific questions, these guiding steps will have been well worth the effort.