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Phenomenon-Based Learning: Guiding Student Investigations of Phenomena

July 26, 2023 / Oskar Cymerman

Phenomenon-Based Learning (PhenBL) can be a game changer in the way students learn science and other subjects. When done right, PhenBL fosters deeper learning and the development of transferrable 21st Century skills our students can use to thrive in their future lives and economy.

However, Phenomenon-Based Learning requires careful consideration and preparation.

First, you need to plan out the core idea and the supporting facts students need to learn.

Second, you need to choose an appropriate phenomenon for your PhenBL lesson.

Third, you need to make sure student investigations into this phenomenon lead them to learning what they need to learn. This is where you, the teacher, comes in and this is what this article is about.

Phenomenon First… then what?

In the last post, I used a High School Social Studies phenomenon - the Omaha Beach D-Day Landing movie clip from Saving Private Ryan accompanied by this question: 2,400 US soldiers died storming Omaha Beach on D-Day. Why was the US willing to enter WWII and sacrifice so many lives in mid-1944 after staying out of the war for nearly 5 years? The main purpose of using this phenomenon is to lead students to discovering and learning why the US entered WWII, other than the standard “Pearl Harbor, duh!” (final straw) answer.

Here are the next steps I would take to set up student investigation into the phenomenon:

Ask students to make claims and write down questions related to these claims: Working in small groups, ask students to compile two lists. First, they write down a list of possible reasons that might answer the phenomenon question using logic and prior knowledge only. Second, students go through the list and write down any questions that come to mind related to each reason. Ask them not to use their textbook or technology to look things up yet.
Facilitate a class discussion: Ask groups to share their claims. To aid this process and avoid superficial responses you might want to use a few thought-provoking questions such as: What do you know about US participation in WWII? and How did the war affect the US and its citizens prior to D-Day?
Create a class concept map: As students share their claims, capture these ideas and questions by writing something like: Possible Reasons for US Entering WWII in the center of the class board and adding student provided claims around. Combine similar claims and stick to 3-5 claims including 1-2 false claims students will have a chance to debunk while investigating later. Then, claim by claim, ask students to volunteer some questions each brings to mind.

**Phenomenon Brainstorming Concept Map**

The completed concept map provides a framework for student investigations and can serve as a scaffold you use at the beginning of the school year and remove as students become more comfortable and proficient with planning their own investigations, which ultimately leads to them becoming more self-directed; a valuable life and work skill.

Now that the general plan for the student exploration into the phenomenon and the topics relevant to it is hashed out, it is time to turn it over to the students. I always have my Earth and Space Science students work in groups of 4-5 as I rotate from group to group to check on their progress, keeping the core idea and the supporting facts in mind (or on a sheet of paper) to help students regain focus should they stray too far from the lesson objectives.

As students investigate using online resources - we have a class set of textbooks we almost never use - they find evidence to support and debunk the claims they previously made. Then, they explore further to answer the class-generated questions related to each claim and the questions they must ask and answer to explain their claims in depth. To ensure students did deep, I ask questions that force students to explain the whys and hows of the whats they are investigating and lead them to connecting the phenomenon to the core idea.

Phenomenon-Based Learning involves creating a storyline. The phenomenon begins the story and everything that follows is scripted in a way to lead to the desired end - meaningful learning and skill building through real-life problem solving. The teacher is the script writer, the director, and the editor, and, yes - that’s a lot of hats to wear, but if you’ve been in the teaching game for a while you’d expect nothing less.

Did you find this post helpful? The next one will dive into Breaking Down Phenomena to make student explorations easier. Sign up for my Teaching Tips, Resources, & Ideas Newsletter to get it when it drops. It’s totally free.

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categories / Science
tags / teaching teens, parenting teens, deeper learning, independence, lifelong learning, simplicity, skills, success skills, learning, making life easier, kids

Phenomenon-Based Learning Lessons: Choosing and Using Phenomena

July 22, 2023 / Oskar Cymerman

This poster shows and explains what phenomena are and gives many examples of natural and human made phenomena. — **Phenomena are everywhere and can be natural or designed by humans.**

Explained and exemplified, let’s talk about how to use phenomena in the classroom.

Before you Choose a Phenomenon

Use backwards design to plan for what you (and the state you teach in) want your students to learn. This involves using the main (core) idea (or ideas if more than one) of the lesson/unit and creating a concept map or an outline of the ideas that connect to it - ideas that help create and explain the whole picture. Check out my previous post: Where and How to Begin with Phenomenon-Based Learning if you’d like some help on this. Laying out the major content you want to focus on will lead you to the right phenomenon.

Choosing a Phenomenon: Part 1

Good phenomena address the content to be learned and are relevant and/or interesting to your students. This doesn’t mean that every phenomenon has to blow students’ minds (though mind blowing helps) but it is important to pick an event students can relate to somehow (you can create a common experience for your class to help with some difficult phenomena).

So, when choosing a phenomenon, consider (1) the content to be learned, (2) the diversity of your students, (3) the scope: does the phenomenon anchor the entire unit, or represents a part of one unit, or is used for a single lesson?, and (4) how you will present it to the students: video, image(s), school grounds stroll, field trip etc.

Beginning with a phenomenon

Beginning the lesson by showing students a phenomenon should stimulate student interest and get them thinking about the smaller (but important) concepts that ultimately tie into the core idea of the lesson. Most of the time, I use images or a video that may contain a prompt but do not give my students much background information. Rather, I aim to ignite the process of students investigating on their own while I guide them - ask leading questions, look for misconceptions, and ask them to dig deeper and revise their thinking if it strays. Initially, the hardest part was trusting in the process - that student-led exploration can lead to them discovering and understanding the core idea. This is why the teacher guidance is so important.

Let’s start exploring this process by examining the two phenomena examples below:

Social Studies (HS): Show students the Omaha Beach D-Day Landing movie clip from Saving Private Ryan and ask a question such as: 2,400 US soldiers died storming Omaha Beach on D-Day. Why was the US willing to enter WWII and sacrifice so many lives in mid-1944 after staying out of the war for nearly 5 years? You could use EdPuzzle to trim the video if you wish and add the question you want at the end, so students can view it and make some claims to answer the question in small groups before you discuss as a class.

Earth and Space Science (MS / HS): Show students the Diamond vs. Graphite image and pose this question: Each made of carbon; a diamond is forever, but graphite not so much. Why?

Each phenomenon is tied to the core idea. The Omaha Beach landing phenomenon does not beat around the bush - it is presented in a way that directly ties the event to the core idea of US entering WWII. 11th graders working in small groups can likely tackle this lesson in one day. The science example is more indirect - I am looking for my students to connect the differences between two forms of carbon and how different minerals form on Earth. Depending on the ensuing storyline I create, student might spend several days first investigating and then modeling the different mineral-forming processes.

Both phenomena cannot be answered with one sentence and require digging deeper. As students investigate, they find themselves asking new questions that require further investigation. Additionally, each phenomenon is either interesting or easy to relate to.

Choosing a Phenomenon: Part 2

Choosing an appropriate phenomenon can be challenging and may require some heavy thinking. The best way to get better at picking phenomena is picking phenomena. The more you create, the better you get at creating. Here’s the phenomenon recipe I use:

Break down the core idea.
List different things, events etc. the core idea makes you think of.
Consider student age, interests, backgrounds, experiences etc.
Pick items from #2 that are relevant or interesting, question provoking, not easy to explain, and not super frustrating.
Use the list from #4 and find/create a phenomenon to represent it. You can Google: events related to ___________ or examples of _____________ - just be careful not to pick something that’s too simple.

And then there are times when it just appears to me. With practice, I am confident it will happen to you too. Or maybe you already are a phenomenon ninja and don’t yet know it. Dive into Phenomenon-Based Learning and find out.

My next post will explain How to Guide Student Investigations of Phenomena. Sign up for my Teaching Tips, Resources, & Ideas Newsletter to get it when it drops. It’s totally free.

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categories / Science, Earth Science
tags / teaching teens, parenting teens, deeper learning, independence, lifelong learning, simplicity, skills, success skills, learning, making life easier, kids

Where and How to Begin with Phenomenon-Based Learning

July 15, 2023 / Oskar Cymerman

Being told by the admin that you’ll be using a brand new learning approach in your classroom next year is often overwhelming and upsetting because it involves first learning and understanding a new process, then figuring out how to use a new set of strategies this process comes with, and then accepting the facts that:

You are being forced to change how you teach.
You will have to spend significant time adopting the new way and creating new lessons.

This is exactly what happened to me last year when our school district mandated the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and Phenomenon-Based Learning (PhenBL).

So, I got right on it - I embraced working for free over the summer, sacrificed family time for curriculum writing, and thanked my admin team for the opportunity to better myself.

Good for you if you called bullshit on the statement above because my initial response was less than stellar. I was upset. Here I was - teaching chemistry - feeling like I really hit my stride in the last few years. I was building relationships and having fun helping teens learn. I had it figured out and I was doing a good job in preventing most kids from hating chemistry; and if you remember high school chem you know that’s a feat.

And now, all that was about to change and change is the very thing we’ve evolved to avoid and resist. Thanks to our amygdala, change brings on fears associated with uncertainty, discomfort, difficulty, lack of control, and incompetence. Change is hard.

So my lizard brain took over and I first wanted to quit, then find a job in some neighboring district, then switch professions ‘cause teaching’s such a pain in my back brain, and finally become financially free overnight by turning into a GOAT investor who consistently beats the stock market and lives the life. I even bought this book. I complained and cursed to anyone who’d listen too, because peace of mind turned to fear and fear to stress and stress sucks.

But then I remembered that I really like teaching, working with kids, my school, colleagues, and my principal who helped me create my flexible seating classroom and is always supportive. She came through this time as well and found a way to pay her science teachers for 40 hours of summer curriculum work. I know there are many school districts where teachers are forced to do this work for free and it blows and they are justified in their resentment of such disrespect.

I have no control of what district admins will do and what they do pisses me off sometimes. But since I have no control over them I chose to focus on what I can control, which is learning how to use this phenomenon-based thing. So I did and I started using PhenBL.

Here, I share how I interpret and use Phenomenon-Based Learning. I hope you find it helpful. This post is meant to help you figure out how to keep track of what students need to learn during the course of a PhenBL lesson - how to create a plan that will help you guide your students as they investigate on their own.

The main premise of PhenBL is not to give students any answers but have them find the answers for themselves and for teachers to mindfully guide them toward these answers. The “answers” are all of the concepts you want students to learn dictated by the learning standards you must follow. Phenomenon-Based Learning done right can help students avoid shallow learning as it stimulates diving deep into the lesson topics to find more thorough understandings.

planning for More complete learning using Phenomenon-Based Learning

Start with one core idea and make a quick concept map or an outline that breaks this idea down into main supporting ideas and the facts about them.

The core idea

This is the key concept or the essential question that translates the learning standard to something normal humans can understand. This is the big understanding that requires putting together multiple other understandings to be fully understood.

High School US History: Reasons for the United States Entering WWII

Middle School / High School Earth and Space Science: How Do Different Minerals Form?

The main supporting ideas

These are the few main ideas that provide major facts about the core idea. This could be a list of reasons for the core idea.

US History: Reasons for the United States Entering WWII (CORE)

The Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor
Japanese Control of China and Asia
Germany's Aggression and Unrestricted Submarine Warfare Sinking U.S. Ships
Fear of German Expansion and Invasion

Earth and Space Science: How Do Different Minerals Form?

Precipitation
Volcanic Processes
Metamorphism
Weathering
Organic Deposition

The Facts

These are various important truths or basis students learn as they investigate the phenomenon. These facts lead them to uncovering the main supporting ideas for why the phenomenon happens, and ultimately learning the ins and outs of the core idea.

US History: Reasons for the United States Entering WWII (CORE)

The Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor: Why did they attack? Why is Pearl Harbor important? What was the US initial response?
Japanese Control of China and Asia: How did they gain this control? Why does US care?
Germany's Aggression and Unrestricted Submarine Warfare Sinking U.S. Ships: Why are they provoking the US? How long has this been happening and why did US hesitate to respond? How does this affect the US economy and world standing?
Fear of German Expansion and Invasion: What are the global consequences of this? How does it affect the US? Is Germany even capable of attacking the US mainland?

Earth and Space Science: How Do Different Minerals Form?

Precipitation: Explain this process. Types of precipitation. Factors involved. Examples of minerals that form.
Volcanic Processes: Explain this process. Intrusive vs Extrusive. Factors involved especially heat. Examples of minerals that form.
Metamorphism: Explain this process. Types. Factors involved especially heat and pressure. Examples of minerals that form.
Weathering: Explain this process. Factors involved. Examples of minerals that form.
Organic Deposition: Explain this process. Factors involved. Examples of minerals that form and organisms that are involved.

This is the stuff you want your kids to learn - the core idea, the short list of main reasons that support it, and the details about each - as this creates a more complete picture; as opposed to leading students to regurgitation of facts on the test they will forget shortly after the test. You know, the status quo.

Chances are you are already doing a version of this when planning lessons or units of study, because it involves nothing more than backwards design - figuring out the unit, or the lesson takeaways first - followed by planning the activities that help students learn these takeaways and assessments that prove they’ve learned this content.

Then, you create a storyline. A carefully chosen phenomenon begins the story. The activities that follow are parts of the storyline and the performance assessments culminate it. But let’s use the KISS method - one thing at a time, ‘cause easy does it. Till next time.

Did you find this post helpful? The next one will dive into Choosing a Phenomenon. Sign up for my Teaching Tips, Resources, & Ideas Newsletter to get it when it drops. It’s totally free.