The Framework and NGSS emphasize using lines of evidence to construct explanations and develop arguments that demonstrate understanding about scientific phenomena. For this vision to be actualized in science classrooms, students must engage in investigations where they reason about their established lines of evidence as they construct explanations of phenomena. Reasoning about the evidence they have gathered enables students to construct and then defend explanations through argumentation. However, there is a blurriness for many teachers around these contemporary science practices. The purpose of this article is to clarify these practices by (a) identifying characteristics of explanations and arguments, (b) delineating how to engage students in science practices that develop lines of evidence they can use to make sense of phenomena, and (c) offering guidance on how to scaffold explanations and arguments around a local phenomenon. In this article I use the example of Niagara Falls, which is a local phenomenon for my middle school science students. Contemporary standards require a shift in classroom culture, instructional practices, and students’ understanding of what it means to learn science. This article helps middle school science teachers make this shift.

Studying moths is an excellent way to include students in science practices by introducing them to a ubiquitous but under-appreciated animal group that can be found in their local places, including urban, suburban, agricultural, forested, and other habitats. In this paper, we share a simple, low-cost method that can allow individual students or groups to collect moth specimens and begin to ask and answer questions about moth diversity and abundance in their local community.

Research on science teaching and learning supports instructional sequences that are driven by phenomenon, provide student-agency, and are made relevant to students. The use of locally-based, phenomenon-driven instruction that creates opportunities for students to engage in coherent investigations can provide opportunities to realize a vision of science for all students. The purpose of this article is to share a local, phenomenon-based instructional sequence that supported all students in connecting to their place, drawing from their experiences, and pursuing their curiosities in order to make sense of an intriguing event while learning about science ideas. By using local examples, our students were able to quickly connect to the material and focus on the concepts rather than trying to make sense of the landscape. They were able to use the local phenomenon as an anchor for understanding these abstract physical science concepts in meaningful ways.

Project-based and student-driven learning continue to be at the forefront of school reform efforts. Technology is a significant bridge and tool used empower and leverage student projects. Geospatial technologies continue to be underutilised in the middle grades. There are many cutting edge, free geospatial tools available through the ESRI School Bundle. This article is aimed at bridging the gap in the practitioner literature about how free geospatial technologies can be used in the project-based, science classroom. Numerous example products and recommendations are made to encourage teachers to consider these technologies. This manuscript also explains one example of a geospatial project educators could recreate in a science classroom.

Our program seeks to introduce middle school students to a range of STEM topics and careers. We planned and enacted a five-lesson unit themed around the contributions of trees/green spaces to ecological and community health. Humans thrive in ecologically healthy communities; however, not all communities have access to healthy ecosystems. Students were introduced to basic ecology tools and concepts, investigated urban parks to make ecological and sociological observations, and analyzed and interpreted the data for shared patterns of interest. The centerpieces of this unit were field work in parks where we followed a question-driven, observational study with scientific investigations into the effect of tree canopy on surface temperature, followed by independent student research to create final products allowing students to blend creativity, technology, and their newly-acquired ecological understanding towards making a lasting impact.

Secchi Dip-In citizen science project for Science Scope

In this article, we use the strategies listed above to engage students in a 5E lesson on static electricity (partially addressing MS-PS2-3). We start the engage phase by using a “magic trick” as a hook to engage students about static electricity. During the explore phase, students get the chance to interact with a variety of static electricity phenomena and write down what they are curious about. Next, we help students make sense of the experiences through teacher questioning in the explore phase. In the elaborate phase, we encourage student speculation and questions by having them generate their own research questions. In the evaluate phase, we use novel scenarios related to what students learned to assess their thinking and maintain curiosity. Throughout all of the 5E, we strive to model curiosity by looking excited, asking speculative questions, and being interested in students’ ideas (Clough et al., 2009).

Helping our students make sense of data while they are working with phenomenon can be an excellent way for students to build critical 21st-century data skills in engaging and authentic ways. Here I outline an instructional strategy we can use when integrating data visualizations in our phenomenon-based units. Additionally, I recommend two reflection exercises to consider when thinking more broadly about the intersection of data, communication, and phenomenon in your current curriculum

Focus on Physics

Fact or Faux?