Filtering by Category: Science

Why the 5E Model Provides the Best Way to Teach Science the NGSS Way

August 05, 2024 / Oskar Cymerman

Understanding the Next Generation Science Standards and using NGSS to create engaging and effective science lessons can be a challenge. However, by mentally replacing the NGSS with the 5E model offers a solid and structured approach to teaching that promotes inquiry and discovery the new standards call for. In this blog post, I’ll show you how I use both NGSS and the 5E model to design engaging and effective Earth Science lessons.

Understanding NGSS and the 5E Model

The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)

The NGSS three-dimensional learning includes:

Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCIs): Key concepts students should understand in each science discipline.
Science and Engineering Practices (SEPs): Skills students should develop to engage in scientific inquiry and engineering design.
Crosscutting Concepts (CCCs): Concepts that help students connect knowledge across different scientific disciplines.

The 5E Instructional Model

The 5E model is a five-part teaching framework:

Engage: Capture students' interest and stimulate their curiosity.
Explore: Provide hands-on experiences to form understanding.
Explain: Allow students to show understanding and provide clarification.
Elaborate: Deepen students’ learning through application.
Evaluate: Assess students’ understanding and skills.

Engaging with Phenomena

Engage: NGSS emphasizes the use of phenomena—observable events that can be explained scientifically—to spark curiosity and drive learning of concepts and skills through inquiry. The Engage phase of the 5E model captivates students’ interest and activates their prior knowledge.

By presenting a fun phenomenon, such as the year without a summer, you can immediately draw students into the lesson on lesser-known effects of volcanism, setting the stage for the initial exploration.

Hands-On Exploration

Explore: In this phase, teachers can design hands-on activities that explore key concepts or experiments that help explain the phenomenon. This phase aligns with NGSS’s focus on Science and Engineering Practices (SEPs), such as asking questions, developing models, and analyzing data. Ideally, you plan a lesson that challenges students to use online resources and simple materials you provide them with to design and build their own model or create their own experiment (and understanding) that shows the process, rather than giving them a set of directions to follow.

Activities such as creating a simulation of volcanic ash and gas spread using confetti and a fan allow students to actively engage in the scientific process and model the work of professional scientists.

Constructing Explanations

Explain: Here, students can use their models or experiments to show their understanding of the phenomenon and its key concepts. You may need to provide some instruction (direct, small group, individual) to clarify and expand on the more complex concepts. This phase connects the hands-on experiences from the Explore phase with the Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCIs) outlined in NGSS. By constructing explanations for the investigated phenomenon, students develop a deeper conceptual understanding and refine their scientific thinking.

For example, you can ask student groups to record a video of their confetti explosion and spread and explain how it relates to an explosion of a volcano such as Tambora aka the year without a summer culprit.

Extending Learning

Elaborate: Challenge your students to apply the concepts they learned to new situations or to explain other, related processes. This leads to a deeper and more flexible understanding of the concepts. This phase supports NGSS’s emphasis on Crosscutting Concepts (CCCs) by encouraging students to recognize patterns and make connections across different scientific disciplines.

For instance, after studying how the particles ejected from Mount Tambora spread and led to a year without a summer, students might explore how ocean circulation and the Earth’s rotation affect global wind patterns..

Assessing Understanding

Evaluate: The Evaluate phase is designed for students to demonstrate their learning through assessments that can seamlessly be aligned with NGSS’s three-dimensional framework (DCIs, SEPs, and CCCs). Performance assessments, as NGSS calls them, might include investigative projects, multimedia presentations, or other reflections that help teachers gauge factual knowledge and application of scientific concepts and scientific and science and engineering skills.

For example, students could create a museum exhibit that contains: (1) a model that thoroughly explains the types of volcanic eruptions that lead to ejection of large amounts of gas and particulates, (2) a statistical analysis of how the explosion of Tambora compares to average eruptions of this kind, and (3) a computer simulation of the mechanism of how the volcanic smog from Tambora spread and led to the year without a summer showing the influence of ocean circulation and global wind patterns on this process.

5E Model and NGSS Just Fit

The 5E model’s emphasis on inquiry, hands-on learning, and real-world application makes it ideal for implementing NGSS. By starting with phenomena, the 5E model can be used to engage students in authentic scientific exploration, helping them build a deeper understanding of science concepts and practices. This approach not only aligns with the goals of NGSS by preparing students to think and act like scientists and equipping them with the skills and knowledge needed for them to become informed citizens, difference makers, and problem solvers of the future.

BOOKS & TOOLS

Phenomena Poster

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This 11x17 poster defines and gives examples of phenomena.

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Earth Science Reasons for Seasons Project

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Save planning time with this week-long Earth and Space Science engineering lesson. In this 5 day project, Earth and Space Science students build an interactive physical model that shows the “reasons for seasons” and an interactive computer interface that guides the user through the learning experience.

Includes 12 detailed slides (PDF and Google Slides link for editing) + detailed teacher directions (last 2 slides).

The project follows the guidelines set by the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and guides students in using Science and Engineering Practices (SEPs).

Student Performance Objectives:

Design and create a physical model that teaches how solar radiation changes based on latitude and hemisphere.
Create a computer interface that contains directions for using the model and understanding the content.

Student Learning Objectives:

Explain why the amount of solar energy Earth’s surface receives varies at different latitudes.
Explain the reasons for seasons on Earth.

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Earth Science: Mission Red Planet (Mars Rover Project)

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Save time by not having to plan for a week of solar system instruction and employ your students in authentic learning with this NGSS-focused engineering challenge.

Includes 14 detailed slides (PDF and Google Slides link for editing) + detailed teacher directions (last slide).

Mission Red Planet: Engineer and Deploy a Mars Rover is a challenging 5-day project designed to engage your Earth and Space or engineering students in real-world inquiry and problem solving.

Mission Objectives:

Build the Rover: Design and build a realistic self-propelled space explorer model (Mars rover) that can successfully land and rove.
Land the Rover: Design and perform a simulated planetary surface landing.
Deploy the Rover: Design and build a system that triggers movement upon (and not before) landing.
Explore the Planet’s Surface: Design and build a system that allows your rover to move at least 15 feet or 5 meters.

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Earth Science: Spacewalk Simulation Engineering Challenge (NGSS)

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Save your prep time and engage your students in authentic learning with this NGSS-focused engineering challenge.

Includes 12 detailed lesson materials slides (PDF and Google Slides link for editing) + detailed teacher directions (last slide).

Mission Red Planet: Engineer and Deploy a Mars Rover is a challenging 3 to 4-day project designed to engage your Earth and Space or engineering students in real-world inquiry and problem solving.

Mission Objectives:

Design and build the tools needed for a space walk.
Perform a simulated space walk during which you complete two tasks:
- Fix the damaged hull outside of the ship’s storage area.
- Remove the debris from the shield generator vents.
Explain and propose solutions to the challenges astronauts face when working in space.

Sale

PhenBL 16-Slide Professional Development Interactive Presentation

$10.00 $15.00

For use by a school district-level administrator or trainer or a consultant with a professional audience such as teachers and other stakeholders to explain the ins and outs of Phenomenon-Based Learning:

16 slides with speaker notes to aid presentation and cut down on preparation
high quality, original graphics
explain what PhenBL is and how to incorporate it into a classroom step-by-step
multiple examples of phenomena and PhenBL strategies
Explanations of NGSS and 3D learning (DCIs, SEPs, and CCCs)
Everything you need to teach implementation of PhenBL along with tools to do it

After purchase, you will receive a PDF slide that contains a link that will copy this Google Slides presentation to your Google Drive.

Sale

Earth Science: Create a Computer Simulation of an ESS Concept

$2.00 $3.00

Save planning time with this introductory, 3-4 day Earth and Space Science engineering challenge in which students create a computer simulation of an Earth Science topic.

Includes 12 detailed slides (PDF and Google Slides link for editing) + detailed teacher directions (last slide) + a BONUS resource: Animation Guide for Google Slides.

The project follows the guidelines set by the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and guides students in using Science and Engineering Practices (SEPs).

Student Performance and Learning Objectives:

Design and create an informative computer simulation.
Use computer animation to simulate a key ESS concept.
Explain the key ideas of an ESS concept of your choice.

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Everyone has a different start and finish line
Quality is more important that quantity
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Inclusion despite beliefs, appearances, and circumstances
Thoughtfulness lowers barriers and reduces biases
Yesterday's mistakes are today's learning agenda

(2) Equality vs Equity (11 x 17 side-by-side comparison)

(3) Equality vs Equity (11 x 17 the difference Quote)

Every poster contains accompanying images.

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Back 2 School Classroom Bundle of 8 Posters

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8 digital, printable, size 11 x 17 classroom posters:

“Welcome” in multiple languages
“Hi” in multiple languages
Three Equity posters
Classroom Rules: Be Open, Be Kind, Have Fun
“Classroom of Champs”
“Kindness”

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Mistakes Are... Poster

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In this classroom Mistakes are Expected, Respected, Inspected, Corrected!

Learned helplessness is a result of years of conditioning that mistakes are bad for learning. Nothing is further from the truth - some of the most powerful life lessons come from making mistakes, reflecting on them, and growing as a result.

This is a PNG Poster you can print and display in your classroom to encourage a culture of risk-taking and learning from mistakes.

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

Creating Performance Assessments for Phenomenon-Based Learning

August 15, 2023 / Oskar Cymerman

As concerns grow that traditional assessments such as tests frequently fall short of capturing the depth of students' understanding and fail in measuring their ability to apply knowledge in real-world scenarios, Phenomenon-Based Learning (PhenBL) has emerged as a student-centered approach that prioritizes building comprehension through active inquiry. To align with this innovative instructional method, educators are turning to performance assessments – powerful tools that have the potential to unleash creativity, transformative skill-building, and deeper learning.

Understanding Phenomenon-Based Learning

Phenomenon-Based Learning is an inquiry-driven approach that uses real-world phenomena to engage students in exploration. Rather than starting by explaining facts and concepts to students, PhenBL is predicated on the learners investigating phenomena and forming understandings of the underlying principles (facts and concepts) behind these phenomena.

The Limitations of Traditional Assessments

Traditional assessments, such as multiple-choice exams, often assess rote memorization and superficial knowledge. They rarely measure skills such as critical thinking and problem-solving or in-depth knowledge. These assessments also fail to show students' ability to apply knowledge to real-life situations, which is a central goal of PhenBL and should be the goal of all learning.

Benefits of Performance Assessments

Performance assessments offer a transformative alternative to traditional testing methods. They focus on students' ability to apply knowledge, skills, and strategies to authentic, real-world scenarios. By leveraging performance assessments in phenomenon-based learning, we can:

Measure Deeper Understanding: Performance assessments allow educators to observe how well students comprehend and apply scientific concepts in practical contexts. For instance, students could conduct experiments, analyze data, and draw meaningful conclusions based on their observations.
Promote Critical Thinking: Performance assessments encourage students to think critically and creatively as they tackle complex problems related to the phenomenon. This enhances their ability to make connections, analyze information, and devise innovative solutions.
Teach Collaboration: Many performance assessments involve group projects or problem-solving, which cultivates effective teamwork and communication skills. Collaboration also enables students to share their unique perspectives and learn from each other.
Provide Timely, Constructive Feedback: Many meaningful performance assessments take more than one day to complete allowing opportunities for formative assessment. As teachers check in with various teams, they can provide timely feedback that guides students' progress. Such personalization enables teachers to assess understanding, keeps students on track, drives continuous improvement, and supports students' growth.
Enhance Engagement: Performance assessments take advantage of student interests and provide real-life relevance. Engaging in hands-on investigation and creation builds intrinsic motivation and enthusiasm for learning of content as the PhenBL vehicle connects the world of school with the world outside of it.

Examples of Performance Assessments in Phenomenon-Based Learning

Design and Conduct an Investigation: Students can be tasked with designing and conducting their own investigations related to the phenomenon in question. They can develop hypotheses, plan experiments, gather data, and draw conclusions, showcasing their inquiry and experimental skills and gaining deeper knowledge of the concepts. For example, you could challenge students to design a school-wide survey on a social or psychological topic or to use the web as a resource to design an experiment that demonstrates and helps them explain (and thus learn) a science concept.
Create a Multimedia Presentation: Students can create multimedia presentations such as explainer videos that contain models of phenomena concepts, or infographics that explain and exemplify a phenomenon to a broader audience. The key for teachers is to combine visual and verbal communication skills and challenge students not to read the information they wrote down, but rather convey the complex ideas in a simple way that is effective in both showing what the students learned and teaching the audience about the concepts and mechanisms responsible for the phenomenon studied. Check out my Coral Bleaching Project to get an idea for how to set this up.
Solve Real-Life Problems: Challenge students to apply their understanding of the phenomenon to solve real-world problems. For example, they might devise sustainable solutions for an environmental issue around you school, such as lack of composting or recycling. Or they might propose an engineering design solution for some observed inefficiency. The idea is not to have students change the world in situ, though that’s highly desirable if possible, but to have them practice critical thinking, problem-solving, and design skills in an authentic way while learning content at the same time. For example, they could research and design a safer, or more interesting playground for the elementary school nearby. Their dream playground might not get built but their skills will be.

Learning and Growing through Performance Assessments

Performance assessments can provide a dynamic and effective means of evaluating students' learning in Phenomenon-Based Learning. By focusing on application, critical thinking, and collaboration, these assessments align perfectly with the goals of PhenBL. Embracing performance assessments empowers students to demonstrate the depth of their understanding and equips them with the skills they need to succeed in an ever-changing world. As educators continue to explore the potential of Phenomenon-Based Learning, performance assessments stand out as a valuable ally in nurturing a new generation of engaged, inquisitive, and capable professionals.

If you found this post helpful, sign up for my Teaching Tips, Resources, & Ideas Newsletter to get the next article when it drops. It’s totally free.

BOOKS & TOOLS

Phenomena Poster

$1.50

This 11x17 poster defines and gives examples of phenomena.

Mistakes Are... Poster

$3.00

In this classroom Mistakes are Expected, Respected, Inspected, Corrected!

This is a PNG Poster you can print and display in your classroom to encourage a culture of risk-taking and learning from mistakes.

Equity: Bundle of 3 Posters - SAVE 25%

$4.00

3 Equity Promoting Posters.

(1) Equity (11 x17):

Everyone has a different start and finish line
Quality is more important that quantity
Understanding that diversity makes us stronger
Inclusion despite beliefs, appearances, and circumstances
Thoughtfulness lowers barriers and reduces biases
Yesterday's mistakes are today's learning agenda

(2) Equality vs Equity (11 x 17 side-by-side comparison)

(3) Equality vs Equity (11 x 17 the difference Quote)

Every poster contains accompanying images.

Sale

Back 2 School Classroom Bundle of 8 Posters

$5.00 $8.00

8 digital, printable, size 11 x 17 classroom posters:

“Welcome” in multiple languages
“Hi” in multiple languages
Three Equity posters
Classroom Rules: Be Open, Be Kind, Have Fun
“Classroom of Champs”
“Kindness”

ON SALE until August 30th.

Sale

PhenBL 16-Slide Professional Development Interactive Presentation

$10.00 $15.00

16 slides with speaker notes to aid presentation and cut down on preparation
high quality, original graphics
explain what PhenBL is and how to incorporate it into a classroom step-by-step
multiple examples of phenomena and PhenBL strategies
Explanations of NGSS and 3D learning (DCIs, SEPs, and CCCs)
Everything you need to teach implementation of PhenBL along with tools to do it

After purchase, you will receive a PDF slide that contains a link that will copy this Google Slides presentation to your Google Drive.

Because... Chemistry Unisex T-Shirt

from $15.00

Color:

Size:

Buy on Amazon

Breaking Down Phenomenon Based Learning and NGSS

$5.00

This infographic explains how Phenomenon Based Learning (PhenBL) can be used in the context of Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). It explains what PhenBL is, describes the main intentions of the NGSS, and breaks down the three-dimensional (3D) learning framework NGSS proposes to use in solving phenomena and learning science and engineering concepts and skills.

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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: Lesson-Level vs Anchoring Phenomena

August 12, 2023 / Oskar Cymerman

Using phenomena to engage students and drive learning is what Phenomenon-Based Learning (PhenBL) is all about.

First, identify the core idea along with its supporting ideas you want students to learn.

Second, choose a phenomenon that will lead students to discovering these ideas.

Third, give students the time and the tools to investigate. Initially, you might have to guide their investigations and help them break down phenomena.

Fourth, have your students examine and construct models that show and explain various concepts that describe and solve the phenomenon studied.

Fifth, find out what your students learned by using a thoughtful performance assessment (next post).

And don’t forget to involve peer and teacher collaboration, discussion, questioning, feedback, and common learning experiences to keep everybody on track while exploring phenomena.

Two types of phenomena

If you are fairly new to Phenomenon-Based Learning and the above steps make your head spin, you are not alone. PhenBL lesson design requires a lot of thoughtful planning and the first few months are the hardest, as is the case with starting, learning, and becoming good at every new thing life throws at us. But it gets easier, and once you get a full school year under your belt, you can mostly reuse and recycle from year to year and just tweak that which needs tweaking.

But your anchoring and lesson phenomena can stay the same. Unless better phenomena occur shortly before you are due to teach a related concept and you just do not want to (nor should you) pass up such easily-relatable opportunities.

Anchoring phenomena and lesson phenomena are both components of Phenomena-Based Learning, but they serve different roles in the instructional process.

Lesson Phenomena

Perhaps the fastest way to get comfortable with PhenBL is to choose and use lesson-level phenomena. This will allow you to repeat the lesson design cycle over and over in a short time span and lead to a level of comfort that helps you avoid the “how do I do this again?” brain pain.

Generally, lesson phenomena are used to drive single lessons that may last one or a few days. They are chosen to support the learning objectives of each lesson and require students to gain understanding of the concepts named by these objectives. While not too easy, lesson phenomena can be solved in a day or a few days.

Lesson-Level Phenomenon Example

Watching vinegar and baking soda react and form carbon dioxide is a good example of lesson-level phenomenon that might be used to introduce the concept of chemical reactions. As the vinegar (acetic acid) and the baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) react, students observe bubbles (carbon dioxide) forming. Teachers might have students measure the temperature before and after the reaction and write down the observations and questions these observations bring up. Then, students could use online resources (or the textbook) to answer the questions they generated.

Teachers can support students in their investigations by checking on the specifics each group is researching and asking leading questions that help students learn how to distinguish chemical reactions from physical changes or how to set up a simple experiment to test the identity of the produced gas. Then, students may be encouraged to repeat the original experiment utilizing their gas test - lighting a wooden splint and inserting it into the carbon dioxide enriched atmosphere.

This observable phenomenon serves as a concrete example to teach students about chemical reactions and can be “solved” in one or two days, depending on the scope of the lesson.

Anchoring Phenomena

Anchoring phenomena, or anchor phenomena, are used as starting points for entire units of study. They are carefully selected to engage students' curiosity and serve as a focal point for learning and inquiry throughout the unit. An anchoring phenomenon is much more difficult to solve and requires several weeks to be fully understood and explained by students. Each “anchor” is supported with multiple, related lesson-level phenomena and concepts these phenomena represent that help break down the anchor concepts into more digestible chunks.

Anchoring Phenomenon Example

Watching a series of images or a brief video about recent record temperatures, forest fires, droughts, floods, and other extreme weather events is a great way to introduce a unit on global climate and climate change or a unit that focuses on impacts of human activity on the Earth systems.

As any good anchor should send students down a rabbit hole of big and small ideas that support an overarching unit concept, this phenomenon, one that leads to the understanding the ins and outs of global climate change, should lead students to the investigation into global warming, greenhouse effect, heating of the oceans, shifting weather patterns, burning of fossil fuels, increased occurrence of extreme weather, and other human impacts and causes of climate change.

Such an anchoring phenomenon will take weeks and multiple, connected lessons to “solve” and will need to be supported with several lesson-level phenomena to focus students on deeply understanding one major global-climate-change-related concept at a time.

Anchoring vs Lesson Phenomena

In summary, anchoring phenomena are overarching real-world events that initiate an entire unit of study, providing a context for the exploration of concepts. They engage students and set the stage for deeper inquiry. On the other hand, lesson phenomena are specific examples or instances of observable events used within individual lessons to reinforce the concepts covered in that particular session. They support the learning objectives of each lesson and contribute to students' understanding of the broader core idea introduced by the anchoring phenomenon.

If you found this post helpful, sign up for my Teaching Tips, Resources, & Ideas Newsletter to get the next article on Creating Performance Assessments when it drops. It’s totally free.

BOOKS & TOOLS

Sale

PhenBL 16-Slide Professional Development Interactive Presentation

$10.00 $15.00

16 slides with speaker notes to aid presentation and cut down on preparation
high quality, original graphics
explain what PhenBL is and how to incorporate it into a classroom step-by-step
multiple examples of phenomena and PhenBL strategies
Explanations of NGSS and 3D learning (DCIs, SEPs, and CCCs)
Everything you need to teach implementation of PhenBL along with tools to do it

After purchase, you will receive a PDF slide that contains a link that will copy this Google Slides presentation to your Google Drive.

Phenomena Poster

$1.50

This 11x17 poster defines and gives examples of phenomena.

Mistakes Are... Poster

$3.00

In this classroom Mistakes are Expected, Respected, Inspected, Corrected!

This is a PNG Poster you can print and display in your classroom to encourage a culture of risk-taking and learning from mistakes.

Equity: Bundle of 3 Posters - SAVE 25%

$4.00

3 Equity Promoting Posters.

(1) Equity (11 x17):

Everyone has a different start and finish line
Quality is more important that quantity
Understanding that diversity makes us stronger
Inclusion despite beliefs, appearances, and circumstances
Thoughtfulness lowers barriers and reduces biases
Yesterday's mistakes are today's learning agenda

(2) Equality vs Equity (11 x 17 side-by-side comparison)

(3) Equality vs Equity (11 x 17 the difference Quote)

Every poster contains accompanying images.

Sale

Back 2 School Classroom Bundle of 8 Posters

$5.00 $8.00

8 digital, printable, size 11 x 17 classroom posters:

“Welcome” in multiple languages
“Hi” in multiple languages
Three Equity posters
Classroom Rules: Be Open, Be Kind, Have Fun
“Classroom of Champs”
“Kindness”

ON SALE until August 30th.

Because... Chemistry Unisex T-Shirt

from $15.00

Color:

Size:

Buy on Amazon

Breaking Down Phenomenon Based Learning and NGSS

$5.00

Comment 0 Likes

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