Science Assessment, Linking Science and Literacy, and Science and English Language Learners: What Does Current Research Say About Best Practices? (Ticket C-1)

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Plenary Session Speakers

Peter Dow, Chairman, First Hand Learning
Michael Klentschy, former superintendant, El Centro School District

Date: Saturday, March 21, 2009; 8:00 AM – 3:30 PM
Location: New Orleans—Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, Rooms 343–345

Agenda

Plenary Sessions

Plenary Session I: Lessons from the Sputnik Era?

Peter Dow, Chairman, First Hand Learning, Inc.

The launching of Sputnik on October 4, 1957, brought about the most sweeping transformation of science education in our nation's history. The National Defense Education Act of 1958 led to an unprecedented national investment in the reform of science teaching. For a decade scholars and teachers from across the country collaborated on the development of revolutionary new curricula. But the movement lost its steam when we beat the Russians to the moon. Today we face an even a more daunting challenge: most of the developed world does a better of teaching science than we do, and our ability to understand and cope with the world around us deteriorates by the day. Are there still educational lessons to be learned from the Sputnik era?

Plenary Session II: Best Practice: How Have Schools Responded to Research Recommendations?

Mike Klentschy, Former Superintendant of the El Centro School District

Schools and school districts have responded in a variety of ways to many research-based based practices in science. Districts have closely aligned these research-based practices to increasing science content understanding for both students and teachers, using or instituting best practices for making science and literacy connections, and providing opportunity and support to learn for historically underrepresented students and to align assessment with instruction. The most effective district practices will be highlighted.

Breakout Sessions

Select three when registering.

C2: Aligning Classroom-Based Assesment with High Stakes Tests

Presenter:
Marian Pasquale, Educational Development Center

Date: Saturday, March 21, 2009
Location: New Orleans—Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, Room 335

Session Summary
In this session participants will examine the different kinds of assessment items, open-ended, multiple choice, graphic, and performance found on high stakes tests and explore how they can incorporate similar kinds of tasks into classroom units. Participants will use a simple tool to analyze sample tasks to determine the level of thinking required of students as well as the kinds of information about student understanding the tasks provide. We will consider how the level of cognitive demand of assessment tasks match the classroom units learning goals and students’ opportunity to learn.

C3: Implementing Formative Assessment: Belief-System Changes Required

Presenter:
Kathy Long, Lawrence Hall of Science, University of California, Berkeley

Date: Saturday, March 21, 2009
Location: New Orleans—Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, Room 336

Session Summary
The ASK Project has spend five years developing a formative assessment system. We now have evidence that indicates that this system can enhance instruction and improve student achievement. But we also know that it takes more than simply having a good set of "tools" for this to happen. In this session, we will briefly describe the design of the assessment system we have created, then spend the majority of time sharing and discussing the challenges to implementation that require belief-system changes in order to take advantage of the assessment system's full potential.

C4: Reading and Writing in the Service of the Inquiry Based Science

Presenters:
Gina N. Cervelti, University of Colorado at Boulder
P. David Pearson, Lawrence Hall of Science, University of California, Berkeley
Marco A. Bravo, San Francisco State University
Jacqueline Barber, Lawrence Hall of Science, University of California, Berkeley

Date: Saturday, March 21, 2009
Location: New Orleans—Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, Room 337
Intended Audience: All Elementary

Session Summary
In this session we present our work in building a model of science and literacy integration. This model puts literacy instruction (reading and writing texts, vocabulary and discourse routines) to work in the service of acquiring the knowledge, skills, and dispositions of inquiry-based science. Such an approach maximizes the synergy between these traditionally segregated curricular enterprises while achieving curricular economy. Data gathered thus far provide compelling evidence of the efficacy of this approach, for all students including English language learners. Students involved in our study show significant growth in science understandings and literacy achievement when compared to comparable comparison groups.

C5: Research on Effective Science Instruction for English Language Learners

Presenters:
David Crowther, University of Nevada, Reno
Joaquin Vila, Salisbury University

Date: Saturday, March 21, 2009
Location: New Orleans—Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, Room 338

Session Summary
With the increasing diversity in the Nation’s schools, the regular classroom teacher, subject specialist, and administration all need to understand how English is learned as a second language. This session will focus on research related to methods and pedagogy on teaching science to English Language Learners (ELL). Relevant research will be shared including: ELL population growth; standards for content, language, process skills and integration of standards; effective content teaching with embedded or sheltered instructional strategies; specific ideas on effective delivery integrating reading, writing, listening and speaking discourse within guided inquiry science instruction; and effective assessment that looks at content knowledge development that is independent of children’s abilities to read, write and communicate in English.

C6: Science IDEAS: Making the Case for Integrating Reading and Writing in Elementary Science as a Key Element in K–12 School Reform

Presenters:
Nancy Romance, Florida Atlantic University
Michael R. Vitale, East Carolina University

Date: Saturday, March 21, 2009
Location: New Orleans—Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, Room 339
Intended Audience: Supervisors, Administrators, Teachers Elementary, Middle, High, College, All

Session Summary
Presented is the K-5 Science IDEAS model as an interdisciplinary, research-based approach for increasing time for meaningful learning in science by integrating reading/language arts within science instruction. Discussed as implications for school reform are research findings: (a) showing the effect of the Science IDEAS model in accelerating ITBS Science/Reading Comprehension achievement across K-8, (b) reporting guidelines for expanding K–5 instructional time for science to 1½–2 hours daily, and (c) providing a rationale for why the incorporation of reading within in-depth science instruction serves as a stronger learning environment for K–12 student comprehension development than traditional reading approaches.

C7: Supporting and Assessing English Language Learners in Writing Scientific Explanations

Presenters:
Katherine L. McNeill, University of Michigan
Joseph S. Krajcik, University of Michigan

Date: Saturday, March 21, 2009
Location: New Orleans—Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, Room 340

Session Summary
Science writing can be a challenge for all students, but particularly English language learners who are unfamiliar with the implicit norms of science. A main goal of science is for students to write scientific explanations where they support the claims they are making with appropriate evidence and reasoning. In this session, we will provide an instructional model for scientific explanation, pedagogical strategies and a general rubric that can be used across different science content areas. We will also use videoclips and samples of student writing from Grade 5–8 classrooms to illustrate how to support and assess students in scientific explanations.

C8: Talk in the Science Classroom

Presenters:
Karen Worth, Educational Development Center
Jeffrey Winkokur, Educational Development Center
Sally Crissman, Educational Development Center
Martha Winokur, Educational Development Center

Date: Saturday, March 21, 2009
Location: New Orleans—Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, Room 341
Intended Audience: Teachers, Supervisors, Administrators Elementary

Session Summary
Carefully guided science talks are important to the development of student science reasoning skills and their understanding of concepts and the nature of science. Using video and participants' experience, this session will explore the nature of student science discussions. The focus will be on the teacher’s role in (1) creating a set of norms and expectations that support discussion, (2) teaching students the necessary skills, and (3) facilitating the discussions as they unfold. We also will look at how science discussions allow students to develop their thinking and understanding.

C9: Contextualizing Science Instruction: Making Connections between School Science and Student Knowledge in Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Classrooms

Presenters:
Sara Tolbert, University of California, Santa Cruz
Regina Suriel, University of Georgia, Athens

Date: Saturday, March 21, 2009
Location: New Orleans—Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, Room 342
Intended Audience: Teachers, Administrators, Teacher Educators Elementary, Middle

Session Summary
Former bilingual/ESOL science teachers will share research-based culturally responsive pedagogical approaches to teaching science in diverse elementary and middle school classrooms. Contrasting the assumption of traditional pedagogies in which science learning begins in the classroom, this approach, contextualized science instruction, supports the idea that students know and do science outside the classroom. The goal is to incorporate those intellectual, sociocultural, and linguistic resources to further develop their science understandings. Implementation of the contextualized pedagogy leads to increased student participation in and more positive attitudes toward science. Instructional strategies will be shared (i.e., integration of cognates, cultural products, community science, etc.).

C10: Using the Science Writing Heuristic to Promote Understanding of Science Conceptual Knowledge in Middle School

Presenters:
Brain Hand, The University of Iowa
Jay Staker, Iowa State University

Date: Saturday, March 21, 2009
Location: New Orleans—Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, Room 346
Intended Audience: Teachers K-12

Session Summary
The Science Writing Heuristic approach involves engaging students in negotiating meaning through the use of science argument structures. Students are required to ask questions, make claims based on evidence and reflect on their understandings. The use of such an approach has dramatic impact on students’ performance on standardized tests provided that it is implemented well.Teachers are required to focus on learning and to align their assessment practices with this learning approach. The use of writing to learn strategies are strongly emphasized and utilized within this approach. The use of language and argument practices are embedded in authentic science practices.

C11: Using Assessment Design as a Model of Professional Development

Presenter:
Paul S. Kuerbis, Colorado College

Date: Saturday, March 21, 2009
Location: New Orleans—Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, Room 347

Session Summary
If you were challenged to refine and revise embedded assessments within the units of study from FOSS, STC, and Insights kit-based science programs, how would you proceed? In this session, leaders of the Science Teacher Enhancement Project unifying the Pikes Peak region (STEP-uP) will describe the process they used to meet this task through the design and implementation of high-quality professional development. We will describe the evolution of a process of developing the required products that was as valuable as the products themselves. Our process provides a model for how school districts and schools can engage teams of teachers, assessment experts, and science faculty to become more familiar with curriculum analysis, formative and summative assessments, and real application of science standards.

C12: From Practice to Research and Back: Perspectives and Tools in Assessing for Learning

Presenters:
Jim Minstrell, Facet innovations
Ruth Anderson, Facet Innovations

Date: Saturday, March 21, 2009
Location: New Orleans—Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, Room 349
Intended Audience: all

Session Summary
What are we learning about teachers' knowledge and skills in formative assessment? How do we promote teacher understanding of formative assessment and support their skills at implementing diagnostic assessment and feedback or actions to promote student learning? Our recent research is focused on answering these questions. Participants in this session will experience research and implementation tools designed to support teacher learning and practice in assessment and designing/adapting actions based on identified student needs. We will also share the tools and what we are learning from our collaborative work with teachers as they adopt an ongoing formative assessment perspective.