Carla Zembal-Saul – författare

By providing a variety of strategies, scenarios, student samples, classroom video clips from across all science content areas, rubrics, and guidelines this book provides teachers with the tools to successfully support young scientists to use evidence to construct scientific explanations.

With the view that children are capable young scientists, authors encourage science teaching in ways that nurture students’ curiosity about how the natural world works including research-based approaches to support all K-5 children constructing scientific explanations via talk and writing. Grounded in NSF-funded research, this book/DVD provides K-5 teachers with a framework for explanation (Claim, Evidence, Reasoning) that they can use to organize everything from planning to instructional strategies and from scaffolds to assessment. Because the framework addresses not only having students learn scientific explanations but also construct them from evidence and evaluate them, it is considered to build upon the new NRC framework for K-12 science education, the national standards, and reform documents in science education, as well as national standards in literacy around argumentation and persuasion, including the Common Core Standards for English Language Arts (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2010).The chapters guide teachers step by step through presenting the framework for students, identifying opportunities to incorporate scientific explanation into lessons, providing curricular scaffolds (that fade over time) to support all students including ELLs and students with special needs, developing scientific explanation assessment tasks, and using the information from assessment tasks to inform instruction.

ABOUT THE VIDEO

All of the video clips associated with this text were filmed in elementary grade classrooms in central, rural Pennsylvania. None of the lessons were staged or scripted. The video was not professionally recorded or produced given that our aim was to be as non-intrusive as possible in the classrooms in which we were guests. Permissions were secured for all students and teachers appearing in the video clips. We hope those that view the videos are as grateful as we are that these teachers were willing to share their attempts to integrate scientific explanation into their science teaching practices, providing us with insights that would not be possible without these images. They are the true heroes of this work. - Carla L. Zembal-Saul, Katherine McNeill, and Kimber Hershberger

Research shows that that children learn science and engineering subjects best by engaging from an early age in the kinds of practices used by real scientists and engineers. By doing science and engineering, children not only develop and refine their understanding of the core ideas and crosscutting concepts of these disciplines, but can also be empowered to use their growing understanding to make sense of questions and problems relevant to them. This approach can make learning more meaningful, equitable, and lasting.Using cases and shorter examples, Rise and Thrive with Science shows what high-quality teaching and learning in science and engineering can look like for preschool and elementary school children. Through analyses of these examples and summaries of research findings, the guide points out the key elements of a coherent, research-grounded approach to teaching and learning in science and engineering. This guide also discusses the kinds of support that educators need to implement effective and equitable instruction for all children. This book will provide inspiration for practitioners at the preschool and elementary levels to try new strategies for science and engineering education, whatever their level of experience.Rise and Thrive with Science will be an essential guide for teachers as they organize instruction to enable young children to carry out their own science investigations and engineering design projects, determine the kinds of instruction that lead to meaningful learning, and try to engage every one of their students.

Grounded in empirical research, this book offers concrete pathways to direct attention towards elementary science teaching that privileges sensemaking, rather than isolated activities and vocabulary. Outlining a clear vision for this shift using research-backed tools, pedagogies, and practices to support teacher learning and development, this edited volume reveals how teachers can best engage in teaching that supports meaningful learning and understanding in elementary science classrooms.Divided into three sections, this book demonstrates the skills, knowledge bases, and research-driven practices necessary to make a fundamental shift towards a focus on students’ ideas and reasoning, and covers topics such as:An introduction to sensemaking in elementary science;Positioning students at the center of sensemaking;Planning and enacting investigation-based science discussions;Designing a practice-based elementary teacher education program;Reflections on science teacher education and professional development for reform-based elementary science.In line with current reform efforts, including the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), Sensemaking in Elementary Science is the perfect resource for graduate students and researchers in science education, elementary education, teacher education, and STEM education looking to explore effective practice, approaches, and development within the elementary science classroom.