Middle School Science Cohort

1. Middle School Science Cohort Teach for America Professional development day Saturday, September 25, 2010 Content Session 1

2. Agenda Welcome Activity (19 min) Contact Information (1 min) Session Norms (5 min) History of Content Sessions (5 min) Purpose of Content Sessions (5 min) Session 1 – Integrating Scientific Reasoning Skills (CRS) into Daily Planning (35 min) Work Time (25 min)

3. Welcome! • Sign-In • PD Day Schedule • Whip Around - Please share your: • Name • Corps Year • Grade • Subject • School And… • Funniest Moment of the School Year

4. Contact Information Kevin Hooper Content Course Instructor hoopkev@gmail.com (815) 210-4707 Bethany Edwards Program Director bethany.edwards@teachforamerica.org Wiki Space Site: http://tfamiddleschoolscience.wikispaces.com/

5. Session Norms Honor each other’s strengths Be open to new ideas Be professional with time - in and out of the session Be ready to contribute to discussion Additions?

6. History 2008 – “All Corps” Events: Focus on a sense of community. Response to workshops were positive. 2009 – PD Days: PD, Pedagogy, Landscape, Content 2010-11 – PD Days: Content playing central role Success Stories from ’09 CM?

7. Purpose CMWBAT become better teachers and leaders faster through targeted and differentiated support CMWBAT expand their teaching networks to include fellow CMs and CCIs in order to obtain additional resources, content knowledge and support CMWBAT earn credits towards their AmeriCorps award eligibility.

8. Session 1 – Science Reasoning Skills (CRS) • Objectives: • CMWBAT have and locate science reasoning skills (CRS) resources. • CMWBAT effectively match content standards with science reasoning skills (CRS) within a unit plan. • CMWBAT create a daily lesson plan that incorporates science reasoning skills (CRS).

9. Why Are We Doing This? Our students deserve an excellent, holistic science education that emphasizes content, reasoning skills and lab skills. To be successful in subsequent high school classes and in college, students must have exceptional scientific reasoning skills. 3 points of growth on the ACT can mean a world of difference in terms of college acceptance and opportunities for scholarships. Middle School: Science Reasoning Skills High School: College Readiness Standards

10. Science Reasoning Skills (CRS) Resources • Science Reasoning Skills: • Illinois Assessment Framework – Scientific Inquiry Standards • Student Achievement Toolkit • Exemplary Scientific Inquiry Assessments – TFAnet • CRS: • “The Bible” – 9 years of ACT exams with each question aligned to CRS • ACT-CRS Booklet ***All resources will be uploaded to our wiki space***

11. Analyze a Strong CRS Lesson Plan Take 5 minutes and review the following example of a strong CRS lesson plan. As you read, take note of the following: 1. What are the components of this lesson plan that make it a strong example of how to teach CRS? 2. How is this plan similar to how you have been (or been thinking of) teaching CRS in your classroom? 3. How is this LP different from the way you have been (or been thinking of) teaching CRS in your classroom?

12. Scaffolding Down to Middle School Food Webs & Collecting/Analyzing Data: An experiment was conducted to determine the feeding rate at which two different water beetles eat frog eggs. The data are shown in the graph. How many frog eggs did Beetle B eat in the first 4 minutes?

13. Scaffolding Down to Middle School Cells & Collecting/Analyzing Data The graphs above show the rate at which four different disease-producing bacteria grow. Which bacterium would produce a disease in the shortest amount of time?

14. How to Create a CRS Lesson Plan • Identify the skills (CRS and content) to integrate • Two approaches: • Content objective first, match appropriate CRS skill • CRS skill first, match appropriate content objective NOTE: This step can/should be done at the LTP level, but can work just fine at the UP or LP level. Approach 2 can work well with contents that don’t have as clearly a defined “narrative structure,” like environmental science, integrated science and to a certain extent, biology Approach 1 works better with contents that have a clear “narrative structure,” like chemistry and physics

15. Guided Work-Time • Define mastery of the CRS by looking at “unfamiliar” content assessment items • Use the assessment resources and alignment guide provided for easy searching • Look at multiple items (if available) to get the broadest sense of what mastery of the skill means

16. Guided Work-Time • Write key points for the CRS using the unfamiliar assessment items • Do the key points contain all of the necessary knowledge and skills (step-by-step) required by the CRS, as defined by the unfamiliar assessment items? • Are the key points transferable regardless of content? • Are the key points descriptions of how to perform the skill and not just a reiteration of “test taking” strategies (i.e. read and reread the question, eliminate incorrect answers, etc.)? NOTE: If there are content-based key points, you should add these as well, if you have a discrete content objective.

17. Guided Work-Time • Integrate the CRS with the content by writing a familiar content passage and aligned assessment items • What made you decide to pair this skill with this content to begin with? How can this skill be used to access this content? • Use unfamiliar content passages and questions as models. The ACT recycles language and question structure, so can we…

18. Guided Work-Time • Determine your lesson methods (“I do, we do, you do”) • Modeling and practicing with both familiar and unfamiliar content • Example Framework: • “I do” with familiar • “We do” with familiar • “I do” with unfamiliar (LOOK! We don’t need to know the content to be able to do this!) • “We do” with unfamiliar • “You do” with both familiar and unfamiliar

19. Analyze Unit Plans Take 4 minutes and review the following unit plans. As you read, take note of the following: • What are the key differences between the two units? • What skills will the students be able to perform after each unit?

20. Work Time • Please use the remaining time for the following: • Creating your lesson • Small group discussion with Kevin and Bethany • Small group discussion with fellow CMs • Small groups to troubleshoot urgent beginning-of-year issues • Please email the following to Kevin (hoopkev@gmail.com) by Midnight tomorrow evening (Sunday, September 26): • Content Objective you will be teaching in the next two weeks • Science Reasoning skills you will be integrating • Anticipated date of the lesson • PD will evaluate lesson plan for the following components: • Science Reasoning skills that are relevant to content objective • Activities in lesson plan that are aligned to target science reasoning skills • Ability to be executed within the next two weeks of school for observation

21. Closing • Despite this difficult time in the school year, don’t lose sight of the Big Goals for our students. • Scientific reasoning skills can (and should!) be taught in conjunction with your content. • Begin teaching, assessing and tracking CRS immediately so that your students see progress this year in their own abilities.