Context-Dependent “Upper Anchors” for Learning Progressions
TL;DR: The authors argue for a shift from the predominant model of the upper anchor as the fixed, sophisticated way of thinking toward a more expansive "upper reach" that acknowledges plurality and context-dependence in ways of knowing.
Abstract: In the spirit of model revision, researchers continue to refine the notion of a learning progression. Despite many advances in learning progressions research, one key design element has eluded scholarly critique, the upper anchor. Drawing on science education research and studies of science, this essay argues for a shift from the predominant model of the upper anchor as the fixed, “most sophisticated” way of thinking toward a more expansive “upper reach” that acknowledges plurality and context-dependence in ways of knowing. Three possible models for context-dependent upper reaches are offered.
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TL;DR: In this article, a series of TBIT-based micro-courses with the pandemic as background is described, and a descriptive study is reported to illustrate the effects of three micro-course.
Abstract: At the beginning of 2020, to stop the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) to the campus, the Ministry of Education of China launched a policy "Suspension of classes without suspending schooling" for the spring semester of 2020. However, the drawbacks of online teaching (e.g., students' inadequate autonomous learning, the lack of effective online instruction) forced us to modify teaching strategies during this special period, especially developing courses that are suitable for student learning at home and improving their key competencies. In order to solve these problems, this study introduces some theoretical exploration and practical work of curriculum design under the guidance of thinking-based instruction theory (TBIT) during the pandemic. We firstly introduce TBIT, and elaborate on the curriculum design under the TBIT theoretical frame. Then we describe a series of TBIT-based micro-courses with the pandemic as background. A descriptive study is reported to illustrate the effects of three micro-courses. Results showed that, compared to national curricula, the TBIT-based micro-courses not only improved the course quality but also enhanced students' motivation and facilitated their online learning behavior (such as interactive communication) for the online courses. The current study has important implications for how to design effective and interesting online courses suitable under pandemic and capable of improving students' thinking abilities and key competencies.
14 citations
01 Jan 2019
TL;DR: In this paper, a validation framework for research on the development and use of science Learning Progressions (LPs) is presented, which describes how evidence from various sources can be used to validate LPs.
Abstract: This article provides a validation framework for research on the development and use of science Learning Progressions (LPs). The framework describes how evidence from various sources can be used to...
12 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a qualitative analysis of secondary data from the history of chemistry, philosophy of chemistry and student thinking, as well as primary data from student and teacher questionnaires and interviews in eight chemistry classrooms, and a formative assessment activity in four of these classrooms, was performed to understand the heterogeneity of thinking/speaking about substance in chemistry classrooms.
Abstract: Teachers face challenges when building the concept of substance with students because tensions of meanings emerge from students’ daily life and canonical ideas developed in classrooms. A powerful tool to address learning, pedagogical, and research challenges is the conceptual profile theory. According to this theory, people employ various ways of conceptualizing the world to signify experiences. Conceptual profiles are models of the heterogeneity of modes of thinking and speaking about a given scientific concept which are used in a variety of contexts. To better understand the heterogeneity of thinking/speaking about substance, the present study aimed to answer: (1) What are the zones that constitute the conceptual profile of substance?; and (2) What ways of thinking and speaking about substance do teachers and students exhibit when engaged in a classroom formative assessment activity? The study adopted an inductive–deductive qualitative analysis approach to analyze secondary data from the history of chemistry, philosophy of chemistry, and student thinking, as well as primary data from student and teacher questionnaires and interviews in eight classrooms, and a formative assessment activity in four of these classrooms. Six conceptual profile zones were found through identifying sets of ontological, epistemological, and axiological commitments regarding each zone. Subsequently, the conceptual profile of substance was tested by employing it to re-analyze the formative assessment activity to represent high school students’ and teachers’ thinking about substance. The developed conceptual profile was found to be effective, thus prospectively useful to teachers, in representing the heterogeneity of thinking about substance in chemistry classrooms.
7 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors report how to characterise reasoning behaviours and how to nurture their growth in mathematics education, while reasoning behaviours can be observed, how to characterize them and characterise them remains ambiguous.
Abstract: Promoting reasoning is the goal of mathematics education. While reasoning behaviours can be observed, how to characterise them and nurture their growth remains ambiguous. In this article, we report...
4 citations
Cites background from "Context-Dependent “Upper Anchors” f..."
...Learning progressions are governed by three design principles; they are conjectural, grounded in research and instructionally useful (Sikorski, 2019)....
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TL;DR: The research-based, Thailand-based learning progression for haze pollution developed by Ladachart, Poothawee and Ladachhart opens a new front in the long-running debate over the compatibility of place-based education (PBE) with educational standards as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: The research-based, Thailand-based learning progression for haze pollution developed by Ladachart, Poothawee and Ladachart opens a new front in the long-running debate over the compatibility of place-based education (PBE) with educational standards. This debate encompasses disagreement over whether PBE and standards are philosophically compatible and substantive cases have been made for both sides. However, with their place-based learning progression, Ladachart, Poothawee and Ladachart have demonstrated that research-based learning progressions, which by design (but as of yet incompletely) underpin widely used standards such as the Next Generation Science Standards, can be formulated in the context of place-based learning and applied to the development of place-based curriculum, instruction and assessment; and can be used to inform future supplements and revisions of standards now in effect. In the meantime, the method of “bundling” offers a way to synergize standards-based and place-based education for current instructional practice, as illustrated by examples of “bundling standards in place” for Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, and the northern karst belt of Puerto Rico.
4 citations
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Book•
15 Sep 2013
TL;DR: The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) as discussed by the authors is an extension of the Common Core State Standards for Literacy in Science and Technical Subjects for Middle and High Schools in the US.
Abstract: 1 Front Matter 2 NEXT GENERATION SCIENCE STANDARDS: Arranged by Disciplinary Core Ideas 3 Connections to Standards: Arranged by Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCIs) 4 NEXT GENERATION SCIENCE STANDARDS: Arranged by Topics 5 Connections to Standards: Arranged by Topics 6 VOLUME 2: APPENDIXES 7 APPENDIX A: Conceptual Shifts in the Next Generation Science Standards 8 APPENDIX B: Responses to the Public Drafts 9 APPENDIX C: College And Career Readiness 10 APPENDIX D: "All Standards, All Students": Making the Next Generation Science Standards Accessible to All Students 11 APPENDIX E: Disciplinary Core Idea Progressions in the Next Generation Science Standards 12 APPENDIX F: Science and Engineering Practices in the Next Generation Science Standards 13 APPENDIX G: Crosscutting Concepts in the Next Generation Science Standards 14 APPENDIX H: Understanding the Scientific Enterprise: The Nature of Science in the Next Generation Science Standards 15 APPENDIX I: Engineering Design in the Next Generation Science Standards 16 APPENDIX J: Science, Technology, Society, and the Environment 17 APPENDIX K: Model Course Mapping in Middle and High School for the Next Generation Science Standards 18 APPENDIX L: Connections to the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics 19 APPENDIX M: Connections to the Common Core State Standards for Literacy in Science and Technical Subjects
4,261 citations
01 Jan 2007
TL;DR: Taking Science to School as mentioned in this paper provides a comprehensive view of what we know about teaching and learning science from kindergarten through eighth grade, focusing on a broad range of questions, including when children begin to learn about science and how to do science.
Abstract: What is science for a child? How do children learn about science and how to do science? Drawing on a vast array of work from neuroscience to classroom observation, Taking Science to School provides a comprehensive picture of what we know about teaching and learning science from kindergarten through eighth grade. By looking at a broad range of questions, this book provides a basic foundation for guiding science teaching and supporting students in their learning. Taking Science to School answers such questions as: * When do children begin to learn about science? Are there critical stages in a child's development of such scientific concepts as mass or animate objects? * What role does nonschool learning play in children's knowledge of science? * How can science education capitalize on children's natural curiosity? * What are the best tasks for books, lectures, and hands-on learning? * How can teachers be taught to teach science? The book also provides a detailed examination of how we know what we know about children's learning of science--about the role of research and evidence. This book will be an essential resource for everyone involved in K-8 science education--teachers, principals, boards of education, teacher education providers and accreditors, education researchers, federal education agencies, and state and federal policy makers. It will also be a useful guide for parents and others interested in how children learn.
1,922 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue against the common assumption that regularities are static and that general traits of individuals are attributable categorically to ethnic group membership, and suggest that a cultural-historical approach can be used to help move beyond this assumption by focusing researchers and practitioners' attention on variations in individuals' and groups' histories of engagement in cultural practices.
Abstract: This article addresses a challenge faced by those who study cultural variation in approaches to learning: how to characterize regularities of individuals’ approaches according to their cultural background. We argue against the common approach of assuming that regularities are static, and that general traits of individuals are attributable categorically to ethnic group membership. We suggest that a cultural-historical approach can be used to help move beyond this assumption by focusing researchers’ and practitioners’ attention on variations in individuals’ and groups’ histories of engagement in cultural practices because the variations reside not as traits of individuals or collections of individuals, but as proclivities of people with certain histories of engagement with specific cultural activities. Thus, individuals’ and groups’ experience in activities—not their traits—becomes the focus. Also, we note that cultural-historical work needs to devote more attention to researching regularities in the variat...
1,805 citations
Book•
01 Jan 2007
TL;DR: Taking Science to School as discussed by the authors provides a comprehensive picture of what we know about teaching and learning science from kindergarten through eighth grade by looking at a broad range of questions, this book provides a basic foundation for guiding science teaching and supporting students in their learning.
Abstract: What is science for a child? How do children learn about science and how to do science? Drawing on a vast array of work from neuroscience to classroom observation, Taking Science to School provides a comprehensive picture of what we know about teaching and learning science from kindergarten through eighth grade By looking at a broad range of questions, this book provides a basic foundation for guiding science teaching and supporting students in their learning Taking Science to School answers such questions as: * When do children begin to learn about science? Are there critical stages in a child's development of such scientific concepts as mass or animate objects? * What role does nonschool learning play in children's knowledge of science? * How can science education capitalize on children's natural curiosity? * What are the best tasks for books, lectures, and hands-on learning? * How can teachers be taught to teach science? The book also provides a detailed examination of how we know what we know about children's learning of science--about the role of research and evidence This book will be an essential resource for everyone involved in K-8 science education--teachers, principals, boards of education, teacher education providers and accreditors, education researchers, federal education agencies, and state and federal policy makers It will also be a useful guide for parents and others interested in how children learn
1,601 citations
1,473 citations