Virginia Mathematics Teacher Fall 2016

Science Literacy (2013-2015)

standards in the areas of scientific investigation and science-embedded mathematics skills. Standards articulated the expectation that the student would be able to design an experiment, analyze sample data, and draw content-based conclusions (see Figure 1). Embedded mathematics skills included multi-step problem solving, data tabulation and analysis, graphing, solving equations, estimating, and using scientific notation. 3 A teacher-developed 5E format curriculum unit (Bybee et al., 2006) was also created to teach performance standards skills in the context of field-based investigations. The 5E unit progression included: Engagement, targeting students’ perceptions of unit relevance and requiring a pre-assessment of students’ content knowledge; Exploration, requiring students to generate a research question and collect data; Explanation, requiring students to analyze and communicate their data; Extension, requiring students to connect their findings thematically; and Evaluation, requiring students to present their findings through a ‘science fair’ classroom period. The unit is available upon request. Project 2: Project Discourse ‘n’ Argumentation (D’n’A): Building Blocks for Middle School

Project D’n’A served 35 middle school science teachers. It targeted 2012 VDOE priorities of collaborations with high needs, low-performing schools, PD around a specific instructional model, attention to teachers’ capacity to develop students’ skills in scientific discourse and argumentation, mathematics-science integrations, and progress- based assessments. Two cohorts of teachers participated in summer institutes and school year meetings and collectively developed lessons that use the Argument Driven Inquiry (ADI) instructional model (Sampson, Grooms & Walker, 2011) 4 . ADI involves an eight-step process that scaffolds inquiry and provides opportunities for students to develop, evaluate and revise content- based arguments. Arguments are comprised of a guiding question, (e.g. for science, “How does light interact with different surfaces?” or for mathematics, “How does altitude affect the percentage of hemispherical area that is visible by an observer?”) followed by a claim, presentation of evidence, and a justification. Students work in groups to develop a proposal for investigating a question, gather experimental or observational data, and prepare a whiteboard that includes each

Figure 1 . Performance Standards for Secondary Sciences used to generate Measures of Student Progress

3 To access the assessments, single sign on (SSWS) permission is required. Go to http://www.doe.virginia.gov/administrators/ superintendents_memos/2014/290-14.shtml. Tutorials on the design and utilization of data from the assessments can be found at https://sites.google.com/site/vasecassessscience2/ home Sample assessments can be obtained from the authors. A generic version is shown in Figure 1 (a), (b), and (c).

4 See also www.argumentdriveninquiry.com

Virginia Mathematics Teacher vol. 43, no. 1

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