Scott Slough

Building Prior Knowledge and Vocabulary in Science in the Intermediate Grades: Creating Hooks for Learning

Vocabulary knowledge is a salient factor influencing success both in and out of school. The specialized vocabulary knowledge in science represents the concept-laden hooks on which learning is hung and enables students to build prior knowledge through the expansion of these conceptual hooks. We have identified four levels of learners—struggling readers (SR), English Language Learners (ELL), breakthrough learners (BL), and conceptual learners (CL)—that are found in almost every intermediate and middle school classroom in the United States, including science. We propose a focus on science learning with strong theoretical and practical supports from reading and the purposeful combination of narrative informational text, textbooks, and hands-on science activities in a manner that is adaptable to the needs of all students in learning science.

Student-Accessible Science Texts: Elements of Design

Within this article, we introduce our conception of text accessibility. First, we synthesize recent research on informational text quality and present key attributes proven to contribute to comprehension of science texts beyond the readability formula. These features include (a) the concreteness of text, (b) the voice of the author, (c) coherent writing structure, (d) selective use of visual information, and (e) integrated verbal and visual information. Throughout our presentation of text accessibility, we illustrate with excerpts from current middle school science texts.

Why PBL? Why STEM? Why now? an Introduction to STEM Project-Based Learning

STEM Project-Based Learning (PBL) requires a professional teaching force empowered with the skills necessary for designing learning experiences that maximize student potential. Therefore, effective STEM PBL requires teachers to experience high quality professional development to learn how to design high quality experiential learning activities. Not all professional development activities are created equal (Desimone, Porter, Garet, Yoon, & Birman, 2002; Garet, Porter, Desimone, Birman, & Yoon, 2001) and not all enactments meet the expectations of high quality professional development (Capraro, Capraro, & Oner, 2011; Capraro, & Avery, 2011; Han, Yalvac, Capraro, & Capraro, 2012).

Development of the Graphical Analysis Protocol (GAP) for Eliciting the Graphical Demands of Science Textbooks

School-based science textbooks have morphed in format and now mimic the layout of webpages and science trade books, with typical layouts including photographs, table, textboxes, flowcharts, drawings, and a myriad of other visual representations. Teachers report preference for these high visual-content books to traditionally formatted textbooks. While an increasing visual presence in science has been noted by many and explored in both middle and high school science textbooks, there is little information available about the graphical demands of science textbooks. Additionally, there is little research exploring the manner in which verbal and visual text work together. We discuss the development of a new instrument, the Graphical Analysis Protocol (GAP), based on four principles: (1) graphics should be considered by form and function, (2) graphics should help a viewer build a mental model of a system, (3) graphics and texts should be physically integrated, and (4) graphics and texts should be semantically integrated and discuss three research articles utilizing the GAP instrument for unique science textbooks.

Theoretical Framework for the Design of STEM Project-Based Learning

Do you remember learning how to ride a bike? Or do you remember teaching someone to learn how to ride a bike? Learning to ride a bike or teaching someone to ride a bike is an iterative process where the learner wants to “experiment” too quickly and the teacher tries to impart his/her wisdom so the learner does not make the same mistakes that his/her did. In the end, the learner probably had to repeat many of the same mistakes; and most importantly, no one would have pronounced one of the early experiences as a failure because the learner was not ready to ride in the Tour de France. Learning to teach Project-Based Learning (PBL) effectively requires that an individual practice some of the patience and techniques required to teach someone to ride a bike, patience to allow the learner to take control and become more experienced in the techniques that build upon the expanding experience and knowledge base as a catalyst for accelerated learning. Just as learning to ride a bike – or learning to let the learner learn on his/her own – is not an all or nothing process, learning to learn in a PBL environment and learning to teach in a PBL environment are not all or nothing propositions.

Education and science connect at sea

In the past several decades, the scientific communitys collective understanding of Earths history and the processes that shape this dynamic planet has grown exponentially. Yet communicating the current understanding of Earth systems to the community outside of science (educators and students, policy makers, and the general public) has lagged. In 1995, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences (NAS) led the effort to establish National Science Education Standards (http://www.nap.edu/readingroom/books/nses/),with the goal of helping all students achieve scientific literacy. Earth and space sciences are one of the eight categories of content standards. Clearly the establishment of science education standards alone will not foster a scientifically literate society, as indicated in the NAS report “Rising Above the Gathering Storm” (http://www.nap.edu/catalog/11463.html). This report, released last fall, warns that without strong steps to improve federal support for science and technology research, and science and technology education, the quality of life in the United States is threatened as the country loses its competitive edge.

Classroom Management Considerations

The issue of classroom management in a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Project-Based Learning (PBL) classroom is really two distinct issues; the first issue is how to design a PBL activity to maximize learning and the positive behavior of the learner; the second issue lies in a variety of topics related to the management of a classroom with groups of students working together. There is a mistaken perspective that STEM PBL simply involves creating an open-ended question and letting the students do all of the work, but this could not be further from the truth.