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Make stories relevant to students' lives

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Make stories relevant to students' lives

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Read to learn more ways to apply asset based learning in the classroom!

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Read to learn more ways to apply asset based learning in the classroom!

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Connects learning to the brain

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Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, Evaluate

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Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, Evaluate

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Invite students to demonstrate understanding through active curiosity, exploration, evaluation, and expression

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Invite students to demonstrate understanding through active curiosity, exploration, evaluation, and expression

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hands-on, question-based, invites critical thinking 

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hands-on, question-based, invites critical thinking 

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What needs to be measured

Observe phenomena

Plan experiments

Programs of observations

Methods of data collection

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Highlights the deep relationship between humans and the natural world.

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Highlights the deep relationship between humans and the natural world.

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Principle 1: People depend on natural systems

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Principle 1: People depend on natural systems

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Combining relevant practice of science or engineering with cross cutting concepts.

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Combining relevant practice of science or engineering with cross cutting concepts.

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Principle 2: People influence natural systems

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Principle 2: People influence natural systems

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Principle 3: Natural systems change in ways that people benefit from and can influence

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Principle 3: Natural systems change in ways that people benefit from and can influence

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Principle 4: There are no permanent of impermeable boundaries that prevent matter from flowing between systems

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Principle 4: There are no permanent of impermeable boundaries that prevent matter from flowing between systems

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Principle 5: Decisions affecting resources and natural systems are complex and involve many factors

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Principle 5: Decisions affecting resources and natural systems are complex and involve many factors

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Crosscutting concepts: tools for making sense of phenomena. 

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Crosscutting concepts: tools for making sense of phenomena. 

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Scientific Investigation | Overview, Steps & Examples

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Scientific Investigation | Overview, Steps & Examples

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Science and Engineering Practices: engage students in science and practices that spark curiosity.

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Science and Engineering Practices: engage students in science and practices that spark curiosity.

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The Three “spheres” of Science Activities Represented in Teaching Science to Every Child

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The Three “spheres” of Science Activities Represented in Teaching Science to Every Child

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Three Spheres of Activity for Scientists and Engineers

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Three Spheres of Activity for Scientists and Engineers

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Science and Engineering Practices are one of the three dimensions of the NGSS. They represent a significant change in science education because they empower students to take the lead in their own education. And, they represent a shift away from teaching the scientific method.

Many people say that the Science and Engineering Practices, or SEPs, represent the biggest change that comes with the new standards. There is a lot to learn about these practices. Below, I tell you everything you need to know about the practices. Learn what the practices are, how to teach them and how students use them in the classroom.

What are the Science and Engineering Practices?

The Science and Engineering Practices are one of the three dimensions of the Next Generation Science Standards. The other practices are the Disciplinary Core Idea and the Crosscutting Concepts.

How many Science and Engineering Practices are there?

There are eight Science and Engineering Practices:

1. Asking Questions and Defining Problems

2. Developing and Using Models

3. Planning and Carrying Out Investigations

4. Analyzing and Interpreting Data

5. Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking

6. Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions

7. Engaging in an Argument From Evidence

8. Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information

How are the Science and Engineering Practices different from the Scientific Method?

In earlier versions of the standards, we taught students to use the scientific method. This was a multi-step approach to learning about science. However, there were several problems with the Scientific Method.

For example, the Scientific Method teaches students to follow a step-by-step approach to science. However, science is a dynamic process. Therefore, scientists can't use the same methods in every scenario. Instead, they adapt their methodology to suit the scenario.

Also, the Scientific Method left out several important scientific practices. For example, modeling and argumentation are sense-making tools used by scientists. Yet, this practice isn't in the scientific method. Therefore, the scientific method is an incomplete description of the work scientists do.

To learn more about how the practices differ from the scientific method, check out this blog post.

What is the difference between science and engineering?

Both scientists and engineers study the world around them. However, their studies use a slightly different lens. Scientists seek to describe the world and answer questions about it. Engineers seek to solve problems that they find in the world.

However, there are many similarities between science and engineering. For example, they use many of the same practices. And, both scientists and engineers don't follow a set method. Instead, they use the practices deemed necessary to solve the task at hand.

How do I teach the science and engineering practices?

It's best to introduce the practices one at a time. Personally, I like to provide students with information about the practice right before I want them to use it in the classroom.

This looks different based on the practice and how it is used in my storyline. Often, I ask students to complete a scaffolded version of the practice. Then, I explain the significance and identify it as one of the practices. Finally, I help students refine their use of the practice.

For example, when discussing temperature and particle motion, I put food coloring in two beakers with water at different temperatures. Then, I ask them to draw what they see. After, I ask them to imagine what they think it might look like at the particle level.

Once students have completed their initial drawing, I explain that they created a simple model. We discuss how scientists use models. Then, we decide what things we can do to make our model better. For example, using universal symbols helps other people understand their models.

What mistakes do teachers make when introducing the practices?

One of the common mistakes that teachers make is introducing the practices all at once at the beginning of the school year. There is no harm in a brief introduction. For example, listing the practices and what practices are isn't harmful.

However, students probably won't remember the practices until they actually use them. So, it's not the most effective use of class time to introduce the practices all at once.

What about an intro unit?

In order to make this introduction more meaningful, some teachers build an introductory unit to introduce the classroom. However, this isn't an effective use of time.

Instead, introduce the practices in the context of the content for the year. This ensures that you will get to as much content as possible throughout the school year.

What are the science and engineering Practices used for?

Students use the Science and Engineering Practices to make sense of phenomena and develop solutions to problems. They use these practices the way that a scientist and or engineer would.

Students use the practices in a variety of ways. However, the practices fall into 3 general categories: Sense-making, investigating, and critiquing. Sometimes, similar practices are used together. But, the practices can be used in different combinations and groupings.

Using the Practices to Investigate

Students use the practices to investigate. For example, students ask questions about phenomena, problems or potential design solutions. Then, they plan an investigation to gather information. Finally, they use mathematics and computational thinking to process the information they gathered during their investigation.

If you follow the 5E model, students use these practices most often during the explore phase.

Using the Practices for Sense-Making

Most often the following practices are associated with sense-making: developing and using models, analyzing and interpreting data and constructing explanations, and designing solutions. While using these practices, students piece together their understanding of phenomena. As they use the practices, their understanding becomes more clear.

Using the Practices for Critiques

Critiques are important in both science and engineering. Scientists critique explanations of phenomena. Engineers critique design solutions. In your class, students will use the practices of engaging in an argument from evidence and obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information to provide critiques.

I like to use these practices in conjunction with practices outside of this category. For example, I often ask students to critique peer models. The critiques lead to better sense-making from the practice of modeling.

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How to Use the Science and Engineering Practices

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Science and Engineering Practices are one of the three dimensions of the NGSS. They represent a significant change in science education because they empower students to take the lead in their own education. And, they represent a shift away from teaching the scientific method.

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Have students use DCI to construct explanations and develop agrguments.

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Have students use DCI to construct explanations and develop agrguments.

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Make the classroom the least restricted learning environment for all students

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Make the classroom the least restricted learning environment for all students

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Highlight student experiences, interests, and voices.

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The approach known as funds of knowledge (or FoK) originated in Tucson, Arizona, in the early 1980s. The project was aimed at countering what was described as deficit thinking in education; i.e., the idea that low school performance among underrepresented students was caused by underlying linguistic, economic and cultural limitations (González, Moll & Amanti, 2005).

The original authors of this approach, known as the "Tucson academics" (Hogg, 2011, p. 669), put forward their ideas with the purpose of contributing to the educational reform of public schools that serve US-Mexican populations in the southwestern United States (Gonzalez, Moll & Amanti, 2005; Velez-Ibanez & Greenberg, 1992).

In order to challenge the deficit thinking prevalent in education and the racist policies that misunderstand the inherent complexities of migrant people, it was argued that the households of students of Mexican origin living in Tucson did, in fact, have at their disposal a wide variety of skills, knowledge and competencies forged in their working lives and community history (Moll, Amanti, Neff & González, 1992). However, these intellectual and educational resources were essentially invisible in school practice and curricular structure due to asymmetric power relationships (Rodriguez, 2013). Therefore, school performance could be improved by having teachers visit the families of some of their students, identify their skills and knowledge and incorporate them into educational practice.

The idea involves an educational policy and concept which, by recognizing and legitimizing the lifestyles involved in the cultural practices of the students' families, is expected to create relationships of "confianza" (mutual trust) between teachers and families in order to: a) build bridges of cooperation that can diminish the prejudices and stereotypes between the two contexts of activity (González & Moll, 2002) and b) link school curricula and educational practice to the lifestyles of students (McIntyre, Rosebery & González 2001).

The concept

The funds of knowledge (FoK) concept originated with the seminal works by Vélez-Ibáñez (1983) on U.S. Mexican households and their social and economic systems of interchange. Vélez-Ibáñez, together with Greenberg, were the first to propose the notion of FoK, in the context of the study into the forms and strategies that allowed immigrant families to survive and further their personal development in the United States. They understood the term to mean the "specific strategic bodies of essential information that households need to maintain their well-being." (Velez-Ibanez & Greenberg, 1992, p. 314). However, the definition of FoK most-widely used in the literature (Hogg, 2011) is the one provided by Moll, Amanti, Neff & González (1992): "These historically-accumulated and culturally-developed bodies of knowledge and skills essential for household or individual functioning and well-being" (p. 133).

The background

The first study to explore the educational potential of the funds of knowledge approach was the "Community Literacy Project", initiated in 1988 (González, 1995). The main goal of this project was to help teachers to design new forms of education based on the literacy practices and funds of knowledge of the documented households.

After this experience, a pilot FoK study was initiated in 1990-91, with 10 teachers from three schools (González, 1995). The premise and the findings of the "Funds of Knowledge for Teaching Project" was the same as in the "Community Literacy Project" and in all the sister projects, such as the subsequent project BRIDGE (González, Andrade, Civil & Moll, 2001), namely, that the educational process can be greatly enhanced when teachers learn about their students' households and their everyday lives (González, 1995).

In other words, low-income Latino families and communities have linguistic and cultural resources that can be employed to support children's learning in school. Teachers can strategically connect the curriculum to these rich, culturally-based, out-of-school activities ranging from tasks involved in gardening and house construction to the commercial transactions taking place at "swap meets" (González, Moll & Amanti, 2005; McIntyre, Rosebery & González, 2001). For example, McIntyre, Swazy & Greer (2001) described how two teachers made visits to the homes of their students in rural Kentucky to better understand their particular funds of knowledge. As a result of these visits, the two teachers designed a series of reading, writing, and mathematics lessons around a major annual school event: the "Agricultural Field Day". They connected the curriculum to students' lives by uncovering the students' and families' extensive knowledge and abilities of farming (e.g., growth rates of various plants).

What is meant by culture?

It is important to note here that culture is understood to refer to socio-cultural practices, what people do (and the experiences associated with these practices), how people perceive what they do. Consequently, rather than assuming a static, homogeneous conception of culture (Japanese culture, corporate culture, and so on), the approach acknowledges the hybrid nature of culture (González, 1995). In other words, the focus is not on shared culture, but rather on families' practices and lived experiences. It is a processual approach that focuses on the processes of everyday life, in the form of daily activities, as a frame of reference. These daily activities are a manifestation of particular historically accumulated funds of knowledge that households possess. Instead of representations of an essentialized group (Islamic culture, Mexican culture), household practices are viewed as dynamic, emergent, and interactional (González, Moll & Amanti, 2005). Hence the need to carry out an ethnographic analysis, i.e., to visit the homes of families in order to document the practices and life contexts through which each family's particular abilities, skills and knowledge emerge (González, 1995).

Objectives

The objective of the funds of knowledge approach is threefold: first, to improve the academic performance of those students considered underrepresented due to low income, racial/ethnic minority status, foreign origin, low fluency in English or being first-generation college students (Rios-Aguilar, Kiyama, Gravitt & Moll, 2011); second, to improve relations between teachers and families by creating ties of "confianza" (mutual trust) and third, to carry out curricular and instructional innovations by incorporating their funds of knowledge and their articulation within the curriculum and school practice.

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The Funds of Knowledge approach - Funds of Knowledge Alliance

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The approach known as funds of knowledge (or FoK) originated in Tucson, Arizona, in the early 1980s. The project was aimed at countering what was described as deficit thinking in education; i.e., the idea that low school performance among underrepresented students was caused by underlying linguistic, economic and cultural limitations (González, Moll & Amanti, 2005).

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Important for students to build on what they already know