Brian Crosby, an upper elementary teacher for over 30 years, now facilitates STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education for teachers and administrators in six counties in northern Nevada. Coming from a background in outdoor education and educational technology, Brian fused his “at risk” students use of technology with field trips, art, hands-on activities and a problem-based approach, to build their schema of the world while at once connecting them to it.
Brian believes strongly that providing exciting and motivating hands-on, minds-on experiences, although crucial, is not good enough for our students. They require the time to “Go Deep” and leverage their learning through all aspects of the curriculum including integrated, rigorous language arts, math, art and social studies work. (Retrieved from: http://learningismessy.com/blog/?page_id=2).
He writes a lot about the importance of connecting students with real world experiences in the classroom in order to establish the relevance of learning STEM concepts. This question of "So what? Why do I have to learn this?" has been looming large in my mind as my MT's classes move into topics which require higher mathematics and become more abstract. Why does a student need to know about rate laws and how to calculate them? State and National standards drive these instructional decisions- yes, students need to know about rate laws and how to calculate them. Okay. Got it. But... I think the big question becomes, "How do we make this concept relevant to their daily lives and help them to become stronger problem solvers and communicators in the process?"
This is where the 8 Practices of Scientists and Engineers (well, one in particular) and Brian Crosby come in. The Next Generation Science Standards were built on 8 practices that the experts of the National Research Council (NRC) have researched and identified as important practices/skills that scientists and engineers. One of these practices is called, "Obtaining, Evaluating and Communicating Information." In the sciences, this practice introduces students to the complex and varied ways by which scientists and engineers communicate within the discipline and also with the society in which they design and implement their investigative work. Of the eight NGSS practices, this one seems to more strongly connect the science classroom discourse and learning objectives with the “real world” and is important for students to engage in because it makes student critical analysts and helps them to develop a language and means for communicating with a community. So, one way to make things more relevant for students is to frame the concept in the context of their community and interests! Rate laws become more relevant when students are asked to run a lab in response to a "business letter" which asks them, these budding chemists, to determine the optimal procedure for a creating a new product and then to write back to the company their findings in a professional manner. This idea can be further extended by asking the students to write a pamphlet, infographic or webpage alerting their community to the consequences of.... [fill in the blank].
Along with strengthening the "So what" element of learning, teaching students to obtain, evaluate and communicate information empowers them with better tools for academic independence, literacy and social equality. This is a big claim, I know! However, as I researched this practice for my Science Methods course, I found it interesting that the practice of obtaining, evaluating and communicating information can be leveraged for social justice. Not only does this skill strengthen students' abilities to engage in scientific practices, but it strengthens them as citizens! When considering how I can address equity in my classroom, I have limited my considerations to strategies for helping women and minorities have a stronger voice and identity as a scientific thinker. Extending this thinking, the implementation of this practice in my classroom can enable students to build connections with others outside of the classroom as well as have strategies for engaging with scientific texts, whether encountered in the workplace or in the newspaper. As students become more literate and more able to evaluate and communicate knowledge, they are better prepared to translate these skills outside of the classroom into daily life, in which they will encounter text and/or data in which they must be able to critically engage with it and make decisions about the consequences of that information.
According to Brian Crosby,
To begin developing this practice in my own teaching, I would like to develop a lab write-up which requires the students to synthesize their gathered information and analysis and communicate to an audience, such as having them write a business letter or letter of inquiry to a chemical company. I would also like to have students present their knowledge in various forms, such as through the design of a model or a storyboard of the phenomenon that they observed and tested, as well as a verbal presentation of their conclusions in front of the class. Each of these are important methods for communication and would give students experience with the multimodal communication present in the scientific community.
So, engagement and empowerment. Is it feasible to bring this kind of "real-world communication" into every lesson, into every lab report? Is it necessary to do this? I would love to hear others' thoughts on this!
This is where the 8 Practices of Scientists and Engineers (well, one in particular) and Brian Crosby come in. The Next Generation Science Standards were built on 8 practices that the experts of the National Research Council (NRC) have researched and identified as important practices/skills that scientists and engineers. One of these practices is called, "Obtaining, Evaluating and Communicating Information." In the sciences, this practice introduces students to the complex and varied ways by which scientists and engineers communicate within the discipline and also with the society in which they design and implement their investigative work. Of the eight NGSS practices, this one seems to more strongly connect the science classroom discourse and learning objectives with the “real world” and is important for students to engage in because it makes student critical analysts and helps them to develop a language and means for communicating with a community. So, one way to make things more relevant for students is to frame the concept in the context of their community and interests! Rate laws become more relevant when students are asked to run a lab in response to a "business letter" which asks them, these budding chemists, to determine the optimal procedure for a creating a new product and then to write back to the company their findings in a professional manner. This idea can be further extended by asking the students to write a pamphlet, infographic or webpage alerting their community to the consequences of.... [fill in the blank].
Along with strengthening the "So what" element of learning, teaching students to obtain, evaluate and communicate information empowers them with better tools for academic independence, literacy and social equality. This is a big claim, I know! However, as I researched this practice for my Science Methods course, I found it interesting that the practice of obtaining, evaluating and communicating information can be leveraged for social justice. Not only does this skill strengthen students' abilities to engage in scientific practices, but it strengthens them as citizens! When considering how I can address equity in my classroom, I have limited my considerations to strategies for helping women and minorities have a stronger voice and identity as a scientific thinker. Extending this thinking, the implementation of this practice in my classroom can enable students to build connections with others outside of the classroom as well as have strategies for engaging with scientific texts, whether encountered in the workplace or in the newspaper. As students become more literate and more able to evaluate and communicate knowledge, they are better prepared to translate these skills outside of the classroom into daily life, in which they will encounter text and/or data in which they must be able to critically engage with it and make decisions about the consequences of that information.
According to Brian Crosby,
Even having ubiquitous family access and proficiency in using the internet is a game-changer. I remember as a child, conversations with some of my parents’ friends and acquaintances often led me to want to know more about something or helped me see why or how I might want to try a different strategy to do something. How do we create that experience for our students who haven’t experienced these kinds of conversations?Learning in connected classrooms (supported by connected teachers) helps provide or expand connections that some families may not have or know how to utilize in helping their children learn. Our role as teachers is to facilitate as students build their own personal learning networks, showing them how to utilize those networks in meaningful, courteous ways.
I am beginning to appreciate how many layers of student learning can be developed when putting together a lesson or unit! Brian's challenge of providing students' with opportunities also presents itself as an asset to student learning. Want students to be engaged? Want them to become increasingly independent learners and empowered citizens? Maybe these are layers that can be addressed through the intentional design of classroom discourse, student work and assessment. Scaffold them in learning to articulate their understanding of rate laws, make their words have meaning outside of your classroom walls and let them experiment with different modes of communication!
To begin developing this practice in my own teaching, I would like to develop a lab write-up which requires the students to synthesize their gathered information and analysis and communicate to an audience, such as having them write a business letter or letter of inquiry to a chemical company. I would also like to have students present their knowledge in various forms, such as through the design of a model or a storyboard of the phenomenon that they observed and tested, as well as a verbal presentation of their conclusions in front of the class. Each of these are important methods for communication and would give students experience with the multimodal communication present in the scientific community.
So, engagement and empowerment. Is it feasible to bring this kind of "real-world communication" into every lesson, into every lab report? Is it necessary to do this? I would love to hear others' thoughts on this!
Hey Laura! I really like your idea about having students write a business letter or a letter of inquiry to a chemical company. My girlfriend has written letters to CEO's and presidents of several companies and she has received responses from many of them! Most of the time she asks them for advice on how to become successful in her occupational field, and in life general and they have replied with very thoughtful responses. I feel that through empowering and engagement, we can intrinsically motivate these students as well as give them more opportunities to take ownership of their own learning. I think that this "real-world communication" is very feasible, and it would be a great way to emphasize literacy and communication skills as well. Keep up the great work Laura!
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