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thomistic evolution: a catholic approach to understanding evolution in the light of faith

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Thomistic Evolution: A Catholic Approach To Understanding Evolution In The Light Of Faith

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Thomistic Evolution: A Catholic Approach To Understanding Evolution In The Light Of Faith [O.P., Nicanor Pier Giorgio Austriaco, O.P., James Brent, Thomas Davenport O.P., John Baptist Ku O.P.] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Evolutionary theory has raised numerous disputed questions among Catholics and other Christians concerning the relationship between faith and reason and between religion and science.

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The ACT Science test will contain 7 passages and 40 questions. The passages fall into three categories: Data Representation, Research Summaries and Conflicting Viewpoints. Many students find the Science test to be challenging because of the unfamiliar terminology and the variety of ways information is presented so don't feel like you're the only one! Let's focus first on understanding how data is represented on the test.

The Data Representation format will ask you to understand and interpret information presented to you in graphs or tables. Occasionally there will also be charts, scatterplots, and diagrams. You'll be able to recognize a Science passage as Data Representation if it does not contain multiple experiments or discuss multiple points of view. If you see a bunch of graphs and tables, you can bet it's Data Representation! Often a scientific process will be explained (such as photosynthesis or osmosis).

While you may not be familiar with the process the passage discusses, the good news is that all of the information you will need to answer the questions will be located in the data. In a way, the Science mumbo-jumbo is the least important aspect of the test - all we want to do is have a fairly strong grasp of what is being presented. Here are a few tips to make sense of it all:

Locate the label (or label it yourself!)

When you come across a table or a graph, read all of the labels. What is this chart called? If there is no label, or it is generic (such as "Table 1" or "Figure 1"), go back to the paragraph and see how the table or figure is described and then write a title yourself above the table/graph. Always locate the label for each set of data as you go. This will help you later figure out where to refer back for the correct answer.

Find out what the axes/columns/rows represent

Just like we located the label for the entire table, you will also need to read and understand each part of the data. Don't let an eagerness to get to those questions prevent you from reading the fine-print first! What is on the x-axis? What is on the y-axis? What is the label for each row and column? What are the individual parts of the diagram? You can't skip the small stuff and feel free to underline and circle to your heart's content. Anything that helps you remember is useful!

Note the units of measurement

If heat is a variable, is it in Fahrenheit or Celsius? Is the mass in grams, kilograms, pounds? It may sound silly, but this can help you answer questions quickly and correctly later on! Check to see if there are little asterisks (*) at the bottom of the table or graph. They can offer some important supplemental information, so make sure to read those too!

Note the overall trends in the data

Once you know the labels and the units of measurement for each item in the table/graph, it's important to spend a few seconds thinking critically about the data. If Column A for example is increasing, what is Column B doing? Does it also increase, or does it decrease? Does it decrease for awhile and then level off? Create your own system of labeling that makes sense to you. Some students draw arrows, some triangles, and some simply underline or circle the points where data changes. The idea is to notice the changes since the ACT Science Test commonly asks questions about the relationship between two sets of data. Two common relationships are direct variations and indirect variations.

Direction variation is when two things change in the same way over time. If Column A increases and Column B increases at the same time, we can say that the two vary directly. However, if when Column A increases, Column B decreases, there is an indirect variation (also called inverse) between the two.

It may seem like this will take you a long time, but making sure you have a strong understanding of the data will save you lots of headache when you read the questions. Even if the graphs and tables are confusing to you and seem intimidating, make sure you discipline yourself to read all of the words first. Don't skip something just because you don't understand the terms. The questions will be so much easier if you spend just a few minutes focusing on the data. Start practicing these tips with some Data Representation passages at home and you'll be amazed at how quickly you'll know where to look for the right answer!

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ACT Science: Data Representation - Kaplan Test Prep

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The ACT Science test will contain 7 passages and 40 questions. The passages fall into three categories: Data Representation, Research Summaries and Conflicting Viewpoints. Many students find the Science test to be challenging because of the unfamiliar terminology and the variety of ways information is presented so don't feel like you're the only one!

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The ACT Science section can cause a lot of unnecessary worry among test-takers. However you can still receive a strong score even if you aren't a budding Albert Einstein. Careful reading and note-taking (the same skills you use for Reading Comp!) are enough to answer most questions. Remember - the answer has to be based on the information in the passage. You just have to know where to look!

The ACT Science Test will always be the fourth test you'll take. It will have 7 passages and you'll have 35 minutes to complete them. That's about 5 minutes per passage so moving confidently through this test is essential! It takes practice to gain confidence in interpreting data and understanding the meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary. Luckily, you already have all of the skills necessary to do this from your high school Science classes.

Let's take a look at the first of three types of Science passages you'll see: Research Summaries.

Research Summaries involve one or more experiments conducted by a group of students or scientists. Often some type of phenomena will have been observed and the experiments will be set up to investigate how certain factors affect the phenomena. Often a graph, table or figure will accompany the description of the experiments to show the results. Here are some strategies to help you with these!

Identify the Purpose & Method

Make sure to underline the Purpose & Method for each Experiment as you read (don't wait until you finish reading everything or you won't remember!). The Purpose tells you why the scientists are conducting the experiment. What are they trying to find out? Look for verbs like "to study..." or "to examine..." in the first explanatory paragraph. That is often where the description of the Purpose can be found.

The Method for each experiment will be described in the following paragraphs. Make sure to make note of what is similar and what is different between the two experiments if there is more than one. Sometimes the scientists will change one or more factors between the experiments to see if the results change.

Understand the Factors

Factors, also known as variables, are important elements in these experiments. These are often things like temperature, pH, pressure, time, distance, etc. Depending on the way the variable is being used in each experiment, it can be called either dependent or independent.

Independent variables are those factors that are controlled by the scientists. Did the scientists increase the heat in the experiment? Did they add or remove pressure? If the scientists were the ones controlling the variable, it is independent.

Dependent variables are what the scientists observed changing. Let's say that when the scientists increased the heat in our hypothetical experiment, the time also increased.

It sounds silly, but many students will read the paragraphs and then skip over the data and figures and go straight to the questions. How can you possibly know where to look for the answer if you don't understand the data first? Read the title of each table. What is in each column? Make sure you understand how the labels in the data correspond to the descriptions in the passage. If there is a graph, read what is on the x-axis and y-axis. You should be doing this anyway to understand the factors, but it's very important to read every single word on the page BEFORE diving into those questions! Don't skip over anything just because it looks confusing or has unknown verbiage. A huge part of success on the ACT Science Test is simply knowing where to look for the right answer!

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ACT Science: Research Summaries - Kaplan Test Prep

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The ACT Science section can cause a lot of unnecessary worry among test-takers. However you can still receive a strong score even if you aren't a budding Albert Einstein. Careful reading and note-taking (the same skills you use for Reading Comp!) are enough to answer most questions.

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The second type of ACT Science passage you will see on test day is Conflicting Viewpoints. In these passages, several different viewpoints or hypotheses will be presented on a specific scientific phenomenon. The first few paragraphs will describe the phenomenon and the remaining paragraphs will outline each student or scientist's viewpoint. These passages typically contain more words than Research Summaries and Data Interpretation passages so your Reading skills will definitely be useful here! Let's look at some tips for handling Conflicting Viewpoints:

Identify the phenomenon

This is usually located in the very first paragraph. What is the main subject the students or scientists are studying? This frequently will include unfamiliar scientific terminology but don't panic! Any new vocabulary will be defined by the passage. Locate and underline the phenomenon before you move on to the viewpoints.

Understand the basic theories

Each student or scientist will have a basic theory in regards to the phenomenon. This is usually the first sentence underneath their name. Try and put yourself in each scientist's shoes. Ask yourself, how are the basic theories different? How are they similar, if at all? Underline these as well so you can easily reference them later.

Once you've located and underlined the basic theories of each scientist, identify what they are using to support their theory. Are there any graphs or figures involved? Make sure to draw on the figure exactly what is described by each theory and label it "Student 1", "Student 2," etc. Consider whether any of the supporting date is contradictory. For example, if Student 2's theory is correct, does that make Student 3's theory incorrect? If no support is provided for a theory, make sure to write "No Support" next to the paragraph.

The main goal of Conflicting Viewpoints passages is to understand what the argument or conflict is about and what is different about each of the points-of-view. As you carefully read and understand the phenomenon, basic theories, and support, it is also helpful to consider what are the strengths and weaknesses of each argument. What needs to be true in order for each theory to be correct? What assumptions are the scientists making?

You may find yourself taking a little more time than usual on Science passages to understand all of the viewpoints before you get to the questions. Make sure you get plenty of practice with Conflicting Viewpoints before your test so you are comfortable and confident with the format. You may feel more pressure on the Science test in terms of timing, but don't skim on the Conflicting Viewpoints passages - you'll need to truly understand each viewpoint to answer each question correctly!

Remember to start practicing now for the ACT Science test! Even if Reading and Science aren't your strongest subjects, you can still raise your score dramatically with careful practice. Now let's take a look at an example Conflicting Viewpoints question.

As you read each passage, look closely for keywords that help you identify the author's opinions. What does the author like? What does he criticize? What adjectives and adverbs does he use to describe the various scientific topics? He may feel positively about one thing, and negatively about another. Feel free to use smiley faces or positive and negative symbols on your ACT Science practice questions to help summarize the author's point of view. Don't feel like you have to take extensive, detailed notes.

Scientist 1 believes in "parallel evolution" and uses "anatomical evidence" to support the theory. Scientist 2 believes in the theory of an evolved "small isolated population" and uses "DNA evidence" to support the theory. Scientist 2 criticizes Scientist 1 by saying that 1's hypothesis is "much too recent." Now that we have a strong grasp on the foundation for each point of view, let's check out the question.
Which of the following best states the basis for the belief of Scientist 1? A Molecular changes are more important than anatomical differences B Molecular changes are less important than anatomical differences C Molecular changes are more important than anatomical similarities D Molecular changes are less important than anatomical similarities
We have already determined that "anatomical evidence" supports the theory, so we can eliminate A and C since those would support Scientist 2. Referring back to the passage, we can see that the scientist states: " These anatomical differences are so minor, this is clear evidence that modern humans must have evolved separately in Africa, Europe and Asia." Clearly, Scientist 1's focus is on the "differences." The answer is B.

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ACT Science: Conflicting Viewpoints - Kaplan Test Prep

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The second type of ACT Science passage you will see on test day is Conflicting Viewpoints. In these passages, several different viewpoints or hypotheses will be presented on a specific scientific phenomenon. The first few paragraphs will describe the phenomenon and the remaining paragraphs will outline each student or scientist's viewpoint.

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ACT Science Test passages come in three forms: Data Representation, Conflicting Viewpoints, and Research Summaries. You will need to modify your approach slightly for each one.

Data Representation focuses mostly on charts, graphs, and tables, so you will need to practice identifying variables, units, and trends. The Conflicting Viewpoints passage typically has no diagrams and is more like the paired passage you will encounter on the Reading Test. Research Summaries describe one or more experiments. You will need to understand the Purpose, Method, and Results for each experiment and know what the similarities and differences are between them. Don't treat these 3 formats all the same; they are each quite unique.

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10 Must-Know ACT Science Tips – Kaplan Test Prep

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Read through our must-know ACT science section strategies, and get our ACT experts’ top tips to master the section.

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April 2024 Editor's Pick

Students reinforce their knowledge that DNA is the genetic material for all living things by modeling it using toothpicks and gumdrops that represent the four biochemicals (adenine, thiamine, guanine, and cytosine) that pair with each other in a specific pattern, making ...

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Ignite STEM learning in K-12 - TeachEngineering

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Free, K-12, NGSS standards-aligned STEM lessons and hands-on activities for teaching elementary, middle and high school science, engineering design and math. Search by concepts or specific Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) to Ignite STEM learning in K-12.

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provided by ACT

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Seven sets of free The ACT Science practice test questions that you can use to familiarize yourself with the test instructions and format.

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Ideas for scaffolding labs into real inquiry

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Ideas for scaffolding labs into real inquiry

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Creating a STEM "ecosystem" - more info than you need but may give you some ideas

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Explore the Synergies project, a case study for how to comprehensively integrate three exemplary teaching practices into a STEM-learning ecosystem.
The nature of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) learning is changing as individuals have unprecedented, 24/7 access to science-related information and experiences from cradle to grave. Today's science-education opportunities include not only traditional schooling, but also libraries, museums, zoos, aquaria, science centers, and parks and preserves; diverse broadcast media such as television, podcasts, and film; organized youth programs such as 4-H, after-school or summer camps, and special-interest clubs and hobby groups; and an ever-increasing array of digital media such as personal games, the internet, and social media. Collectively, these formal and informal resources are referred to as the STEM learning ecosystem. The concept of an ecosystem has also been expanded to include not only material resources such as institutions and organizations, but also social ones: social networks, peers, educators (in school and out of school), friends, and family. In total, the ecosystem is "the dynamic interaction among individual learners, diverse settings where learning occurs, and the community and culture in which they are embedded" (NRC 2015, pp. 1-2). These various organizations and tools enable a growing number of individuals to customize and take charge of their own STEM learning.

This shift in the nature of STEM learning has not been fully understood or embraced by the educational establishment; however, that is changing. According to a new National Research Council (NRC) report, Identifying and Supporting Productive STEM Programs in Out-of-School Settings (NRC 2015), the United States should strive toward a community-wide ecosystem approach to STEM education, one that connects STEM learning experiences across the day and over a lifetime.

The NRC report summarizes a growing body of STEM-learning research and evaluation studies conducted within many fields, including formal education, youth development, cognitive and social development, informal learning, and out-of-school time. The report concludes that STEM learning results from dynamic interactions that occur over time among the diverse settings in which learning occurs (e.g., home, school, youth groups, hobby clubs, museums, libraries, after-school programs), the community and culture in which these activities are embedded, and the characteristics of the learner (e.g., interests, dispositions, values). In particular, the report notes that successful STEM education programs

are intellectually, academically, socially, and emotionally engaging to youth;

are responsive to youths' interests, experiences, and cultural practices; and

make connections between formal and informal education experiences.

We present the Synergies project as a case study for how to comprehensively integrate these three exemplary practices into a STEM-learning ecosystem.

Synergies: An Overview

Beginning with a planning year in 2010 and with support from the Noyce, Lemelson, and National Science Foundations, our research team, based at Oregon State University, initiated the Synergies research-practice partnership in Portland, Oregon (see sidebar). Our goal was to create a more effective and synergistic community-wide education system. We selected the Parkrose community because it is small and relatively self-contained, with most of the education resources found in any U.S. city (i.e., schools, museums, after-school programs, libraries, parks), as well as the socioeconomic challenges of most urban areas.

Although a neighborhood of Portland, Parkrose is unique in many ways. It is geographically bound, cut off from the rest of Portland on three of its four boundaries (two by freeways, one by the Columbia River), and it is the area of Portland with the highest crime and unemployment rates in the city. Although metropolitan Portland is primarily white, the majority of the Parkrose community is made up of minorities. Although almost 40% of Parkrose residents are Caucasian, over half are recent immigrants from Eastern Europe. Parkrose has its own school district made up of four elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school. Seventy-nine percent of children at the middle school qualify for free or discounted meals and over 50 languages are spoken among the 1,200 children in the district. Thus, Parkrose represents a microcosm of urban America.

We also selected Parkrose because community members and partners welcomed our involvement. They were uniformly open to change, excited about being a community-based laboratory, and committed to improving the lives of the community's children. In conceptualizing Synergies, the goal was to determine to what extent we could design a research study that would provide both fundamental understandings about how diverse youth in an under-resourced community become interested and engaged in science (or not) across settings, situations, and time frames. We also wanted to examine whether these data could be used to engage a community in rethinking and redesigning its STEM-learning ecosystem. In this article, we describe our efforts to integrate the three NRC recommendations into the Parkrose ecosystem.

Engaging Youth

The heart of a quality STEM-education ecosystem is building upon and nurturing the personal curiosity, realities, and interests of youth. To this end, Synergies takes a learner-centered approach, studying STEM interest and participation through the lens of a single cohort of approximately 200 Parkrose youth as they move through their personal science-learning ecosystems, including physical resources (i.e., classrooms, after-school programs, libraries, parks); social networks of family, friends, and teachers (in school and out of school); and digital resources, including Minecraft and search engines such as Google. From the outset, we were committed to the idea that changes to education practice should be built on sound research, so over the first five years of the project, we collected interest and participation data from all youths annually (as well as intensive, monthly case study data from 20 youths).

We started when participants were in fifth grade (age 10 or 11); they are now in high school. Synergies directly addresses adolescent interest and participation in STEM, with the goal of transforming Parkrose into a place where youth can engage in sustained, firsthand experiences with STEM phenomena and materials, maintained by the entire ecosystem (in school and out of school). This was not the reality in Parkrose in 2010. The middle school offered few after-school programs; none were STEM-related. Not only were Parkrose science-education resources fragmented, but often, residents also did not fully appreciate the resources that did exist, nor completely understand the resources' potential. Additionally, many youth and families lacked social capital and agency to use these resources more regularly and effectively. Unfortunately, this is the case in many diverse, under-resourced communities such as Parkrose with high numbers of immigrant families.

At critical junctures, we also hired Parkrose "youth researchers" at an hourly wage. These high school-age youth helped us better understand, from a youth and local Parkrose perspective, the range of choices and venues that middle school-age youth encounter, their views of science, and the issues, realities, and "ground truth" of the system we are studying. During our first year, we taught these youth a variety of skills, including how to conduct open-ended interviews and create videos. Youth researchers reflected upon their own science experiences and conducted interviews with 10- to 14-year-old Parkrose youth. This helped us understand what types of science-related activities and practices Parkrose youth might be engaging in. Youth also created videos about what science meant to them, sharing these at a public meeting attended by parents, community leaders, school and informal educators, school administrators, and the press.

Responding to Youths' Needs and Interests

Successful citizenship in the 21st century increasingly requires a foundation of interest, facility, and comfort with STEM ideas, practices, and fields (NRC 2011). Some individuals will build on this foundation to pursue STEM academically and professionally, whereas others will use their STEM interest and understanding to pursue science-related hobbies and pursuits. All will require this foundation to make informed political, social, and economic decisions. Thus, it is essential to broaden and deepen access to and participation in quality science education for all youth, especially youth from communities or social groups that historically have not been fully represented in science fields or science-related hobbies and pursuits (e.g., low income, minorities, females).

STEM interest during early adolescence, particularly between ages 10 and 14, has been shown to be key to predicting involvement in continued STEM education, careers, and hobbies (see Falk et al. 2015). Children whose STEM interest is developed and sustained are likely to become adults who pursue STEM interests at home and work. However, despite considerable efforts to encourage STEM interest and participation among youth, a range of indicators suggest that improvements in facilitating and sustaining STEM interest and participation, particularly among those in poor, under-resourced communities, have been modest at best (Griffiths and Cahill 2009; NRC 2015; Osborne, Simon, and Collins 2003).

Therefore, a major focus of our research is on how STEM interests change during adolescence and what factors (e.g., school, parents, peers) seem to influence these changes over time. Similar to previous research (see Osborne, Simon, and Collins 2003), our data show that on average, youth interest in STEM topics and activities declined significantly over the four-year period between fifth and eighth grades (note: one exception was interest in technology, which remained constant over this period). Findings have allowed us to be strategic about the educational institutions and organizations we invite to partner with us and the science programming we offer. For example, survey results indicated that most middle school youth were interested in science topics and practices (e.g., doing experiments) and technology-related topics and activities (e.g., designing and playing video games). Therefore, we initially focused on partnering with 4-H to offer an after-school science club and Pixel Arts Game Education to teach youth how to design interactive new-media games. Both programs were hugely successful, serving 20-40 youth per program in the first year they were offered. The science club has now expanded to two days per week to accommodate interested youth, and there is a Science/Art Club and weekly "Patterns in Art and Puzzles" club to build math interest; Pixel Arts continues to offer these programs. With help from both Synergies and Pixel Arts staff, interested youth also have connected with the local high school gaming club and participated in gaming events in the greater Portland area. In addition, Girls, Inc., has offered sessions about "real-life math," a nine-week curriculum about managing personal finances, including a bank field trip to expose young women to math-related careers.

However, because the research followed the same youth for four years, rather than sampling different youth at different times, we see that not all youth have the same levels and trajectories of interest over time. In fact, most of the overall decline in STEM interest observed was attributable to only about a quarter of youth whose STEM interest sharply declined between sixth and seventh grades. The interest of another 40% remained relatively stable, and for about a third, science and math interest remained high and technology interest actually increased significantly. In other words, traditional efforts to address declining youth STEM interest appear to make the assumption that interest can be developed or supported with one-size-fits-all solutions, such as changing how science is taught in classrooms or providing better preparation for teachers (Osborne and Collins 2000; Woolnough 1994). However, the STEM interest groups that emerged within our data indicate that youth are actually exhibiting different phases of interest, with the majority showing situational interest in STEM topics or activities, whereas about a quarter have crossed a threshold into emerging individual interest.

A large body of research indicates that youth in different phases of interest development require different interventions to successfully support their interest development (Hidi and Renninger 2006). For example, studies indicate that youth with an emerging individual interest in STEM reported that their parents had much more positive attitudes toward science than youth who were STEM-disinterested. Therefore, one intervention that partners will incorporate into programming is family nights, during which youth can participate in engaging STEM activities with their parents and siblings, fostering an important connection between family and STEM interest.

Partners have also committed to offering a variety of activities that will include more challenging extensions to support the well-developed individual enthusiasm of STEM-interested youth who have demonstrated some persistence in re-engaging with STEM over time. At the same time, partners will offer more personalized support and scaffolding for youth in less-developed phases of STEM interest, who are triggered by the environment and situation in which they find themselves (e.g., being drawn in by a novel hands-on activity). The goal is to support youths' opportunities to develop deeper individual interest in STEM over time by building from whatever triggered the situational interest.
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Connecting STEM Learning

We have argued that quality science learning is best supported through a healthy and robust community-wide ecosystem. In most communities, there is a lack of coordination and cooperation between science-education providers, in school and out of school, resulting in a fragmented set of science-education resources and offerings. A critically important Synergies finding was how disconnected STEM learning in school and out of school was for most youth. A striking example was that a large group of youth became interested in astronomy after a sixth-grade astronomy unit. Both survey and interview results showed that even STEM-disinterested youth connected strongly with astronomy. In fact, one case-study youth who had shown little interest in science declared that she wanted to become an astronomer after the unit. However, because there were no readily available astronomy out-of-school programs, this triggered situational interest remained unsupported and gradually dissipated. This finding and others like it highlight the importance of connecting the STEM learning that takes place in schools with related out-of-school programs to ensure that youth with situational interest in STEM have ample opportunities for those interests to develop over time and become sustained.

We are taking a two-pronged approach to strengthen the Parkrose STEM-learning infrastructure:

1. recruiting and encouraging existing Portland and Oregon formal and informal education institutions and organizations to more actively support Parkrose STEM learning, and

2. hiring a community coordinator to promote STEM and broker relationships between formal and informal institutions and organizations.

Over the first five years of the project, we built community alliances and initiated planning for community-wide "interventions," working to engage as many of the community's education players as possible (i.e., formal and informal educational organizations and institutions and educators, parents, community leaders, youth themselves) in the redesign of the STEM-learning ecosystem. We established relationships with a variety of organizations: Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI), Schools Uniting Neighborhoods (SUN) schools, Oregon ASK (Oregon Afterschool Network), Mt. Hood Community College, Port of Portland Engineering Outreach, Oregon MESA, and Multnomah County Libraries. By establishing strong working relationships with these and other partners (18 total; see box), we were able to significantly enhance the community's informal STEM infrastructure at minimal added cost, even with the addition of the half-time community coordinator, whose position is proving to be cost-effective. Most partners had existing funding from either operational or program grants, and the goal from the beginning was to leverage these existing human and financial resources to build a sustainable ecosystem. Many of these institutions and organizations are interested in developing further STEM programming, and we will continue to work with them over the coming years to offer more out-of-school STEM opportunities in the future.

Critical to the functioning of the ecosystem is the Synergies community coordinator, who is responsible for the day-to-day organization and coordination of Parkrose STEM efforts. This person provides on-the-ground coordination with education partners (including the schools), parents, and community "connectors." The coordinator also forges connections between teachers and after-school providers with the goal of supporting youths' seamless learning, in and out of school. She has office space at the middle school two days per week, assists with after-school offerings, and meets regularly with the after-school SUN coordinator and all STEM faculty at the middle school, as well as the district-level director of school improvement. As we integrate more community partners, she will also liaise between those organizations and the school, with the goal of identifying community resources that extend youth STEM interest beyond the school day.

Critically, all partners actively contributed to the development of a Parkrose STEM Education Plan, a multistep process of convening senior leadership among our existing 16 partners. Meetings were structured so that our team shared research findings, built consensus around strategies, and organized working groups. Smaller working groups created specific research-based plans around specific "challenges" (e.g., engaging parents, leveraging peer interest) highlighted by findings. The resulting plan was circulated among the partners for review; a final version was approved by the 16 institutions and organizations. The plan is designed to build on existing youth interest and participation when it is there; foster interest and participation when it is waning, with particular attention to issues such as the influence of family and peers; and use all community resources to accomplish these outcomes.

Key aspects of the plan ensure that:

1. All partners are treated as equals.

2. Each of the Parkrose STEM learning opportunities interconnect.

3. Every Parkrose STEM-education provider knows what other providers are doing, as well as what youth in their programs are interested in outside of the program.

We envision a learning ecosystem in which school teachers know what youth do during the summer and in after-school programs and encourage them to connect those experiences. At the same time, after-school and summer STEM educators know what youth are doing in school and work to make those connections relevant. One proposed plan for addressing these goals is to provide opportunities for classroom teachers and informal educators to meet during the school year and coordinate and connect their activities, in school and out of school. Also, at the end of each school year, a classroom teacher will share a "brokering document" for each youth with any educator working with the youth in the summer. In turn, educators who work with youth over the summer will share a similar "brokering document" for each youth with the next year's teacher. This easy-to-fill-out document will include information about the youth's progress and interest in STEM. We also plan to create an interactive calendar of youth activities in school and out of school that can be accessed by school teachers, after-school and summer STEM educators, and parents and youth. These three proposed strategies and tools (i.e., regular meetings between school teachers and after-school and summer STEM educators, a brokering document, and an interactive calendar of youth activities in school and out of school) will be tested in the next phase of the project.

Conclusions

For the past 100 years, both the public and policy makers have come to believe that the words learning, education, and school were synonymous; today, however, public STEM education does not just happen in school. Today's learners spend only a fraction of their lives in a classroom, and most learning is free-choice, driven by an individual's needs, interests, and access to learning opportunities. If we are to achieve the often-stated goals of creating a science-engaged and literate public, then we need to invest in public science education-not exclusively a school-based public-education system but one that occurs from morning to night, year-round, and across the lifespan. We need to invest in creating a network of public science-education experiences that seamlessly incorporate learning opportunities in and out of school, framed increasingly around science concepts and practices that support each learner's desire to answer important questions in his or her own life. To do this, we need to connect learning experiences across settings; leverage and customize community resources and partnerships; and broker additional science-learning opportunities across individuals' lives that connect to their family, cultural practices, and community.

A range of organizations and communities have begun working in these ways, including the Synergies project in Portland, Oregon, but currently, these examples represent only a tiny number. In the future, we must work toward the creation of a public science-education ecosystem that fully accommodates and uses the science-learning opportunities across all available times, spaces, and modalities, a science ecosystem that moves away from one-size-fits-all instruction to more individualized, competency-based experiences that encourage the exploration of new ideas, while at the same time providing just-in-time, personalized support for individually relevant science learning for all.

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Taking an Ecosystem Approach to STEM Learning | Connected Science Learning

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Explore the Synergies project, a case study for how to comprehensively integrate three exemplary teaching practices into a STEM-learning ecosystem. The nature of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) learning is changing as individuals have unprecedented, 24/7 access to science-related information and experiences from cradle to grave.

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NGSS: A Vision for K-12 Science Education

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An in depth look at the Next Generation Science Standards. This video talks about the 3 areas of the NGSS: Disciplinary Core Ideas, Science & Engineering Practices and Crosscutting Concepts.

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guides, resources

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"beta" lessons, etc provided by vetted NGSS contributors with guidance on how they can be further aligned with NGSS

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The NSTA Next Generation Science Standards Hub offers information, resources, news, professional learning opportunities, and expert advice in understanding and implementing the Next Generation Science Standards - NGSS

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Link to means of evaluating current lessons and how they align to NGSS

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As educators implement new science standards in their classrooms, one of the most important decisions they face is selecting the best instructional materials to support student learning. Achieve has worked with teachers, states, and leaders in science education research to develop a suite of tools to support educators in this effort.

Is this resource designed for the NGSS? The EQuIP tools can help you answer this question.

The Educators Evaluating the Quality of Instructional Products (EQuIP) suite of tools includes rubrics to evaluate science lessons, units, and year-long instructional materials, a professional learning facilitator's guide, and some quality example lessons vetted by the Peer Review Panel for Science. These tools can help educators make evidence-based decisions about which instructional materials to use and help developers/publishers determine how to design materials for the NGSS to ensure that their final product is true to the standards.
Evaluating Instructional Materials
Achieve is broadening its reach to identify more high-quality materials designed for the NGSS. We hope this will help both those developing materials-whether in the classroom, a university, or a publishing company-and those looking for quality materials to support implementation.

The Educators Evaluating the Quality of Instructional Products (EQuIP) Rubric for science provides criteria by which to measure the degree to which lessons and units are designed for the NGSS. The EQuIP webpage includes information for the EQuIP rubric, a professional learning facilitators guide, helpful training videos, and more.

The NGSS Lesson Screener provides criteria for a quick look into the degree to which lessons and units are designed for the NGSS.

This document categorizes and describes some of the common ways those developing and marketing science instructional materials are making connections to the NGSS. In addition to sharing the categories of claims common in the marketplace, several examples are provided of claims that Achieve would like to see more frequently-ones that closely tie to the major NGSS Alignment Claims: How Publishers Talk About the Next Generation Science Standards: NGSS Innovations.

"PEEC" is an acronym for the PEEC can be used by educators to evaluate the degree that the Primary Evaluation of Essential Criteria for NGSS Instructional Materials Design. NGSS Innovations are represented in science instructional materials programs.

The EQuIP Peer Review Panel (PRP) for Science was launched in September 2016 to provide concrete examples of high quality lessons and units that, along with professional learning, can support implementation of the NGSS. The PRP seeks to identify lessons and units that best illustrate the cognitive demands of the NGSS as introduced in A Framework for K-12 Science Education

The criterion-based reviews provided by the Peer Review Panel are meant to be constructive and in the spirit of continuous improvement. All submissions receive feedback regardless of their rating and confidentiality will be ensured for those that are not ready to be shared publicly. Lessons and units that are rated by the PRP as Examples of High Quality NGSS Design , Examples of High Quality NGSS Design, If Improved , or identified as Quality Works in Progress will be publicly posted along with the EQuIP criterion-based feedback so that all educators can benefit from these materials.

NGSS Design Badge: Achieve awards a digital badge called the NGSS Design Badge to science units designed for the NGSS that have earned the highest rating on the EQuIP Rubric for Science based on a review conducted by Achieve or its Science Peer Review Panel. The digital badge includes a logo, the name of the unit, the date the badge was awarded, and a "Verify" button. When a user clicks on the digital badge to verify its authenticity, the badge provides a full EQuIP evaluation describing quality features of the unit in question.

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As educators implement new science standards in their classrooms, one of the most important decisions they face is selecting the best instructional materials to support student learning. Achieve has worked with teachers, states, and leaders in science education research to develop a suite of tools to support educators in this effort.

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Case Study: Guided Inquiry Model of Teaching science

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Case Study: Guided Inquiry Model of Teaching science

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How to Read the Next Generation Science Standards | Next Generation Science Standards

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The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are distinct from prior science standards in that they integrate three dimensions within each standard and have intentional connections across standards. To provide guidance and clarification to all users of the standards, the writers have created a system architecture that highlights the NGSS as well as each of the three integral dimensions and connections to other grade bands and subjects.

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Short article

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Scientific Literacy - Neil deGrasse Tyson

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Short Article

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The push for STEM initiatives - coding workshops for elementary school children, or extended-day science experiments for middle school students - reigns at the forefront of the education conversation today. But anyone in the classroom knows that science can be a tough subject to teach, with educators at times overwhelmed with the amount of material to cover, and students simultaneously discouraged with the amount to master.

As STEM enthusiasm percolates, the teaching of science - its importance, its challenges - isn't always part of the conversation. Usable Knowledge spoke with two Harvard faculty members, one an experienced high school teacher and the other a philosopher of science, whose thoughts may help to reframe and revitalize the mission of science education. Both argue that science should be much more than the rote memorization of theories, formulas, and vocabulary. It should be an education in problem solving and collaboration.

Science as Skill Building

HGSE Lecturer Victor Pereira, who taught high school science for more than a decade before becoming the master teacher in residence (science) in the new Harvard Teacher Fellows Program, knows the challenges firsthand. Classes can vary hugely in terms of students' prior knowledge, experiences, and interest in the subject, he says. By the time they reach high school, many students are wary of science, thinking the material is boring and useless, or that they themselves are incapable of learning it. And building an understanding of science depends on acquiring a new and complicated vocabulary, which can be odious to teach and to learn.

To confront these obstacles, educators should help their students approach science as more than an academic subject, Pereira says. "The nature of science itself is: make observations of the natural world, try and identify patterns, ask questions, find answers, ask more questions," he explains. "It's solving. It's a way of thinking." He argues that educators should portray science as acquiring skills, rather than memorizing facts. If the classroom focuses on the scientific process of discovery, more students will be engaged in the subject matter.

Collaborative Search for Truth

HGSE Professor Catherine Elgin, who specializes in the philosophy of science, has theorized that learning science includes the pursuit of another attribute: morality. Scientific inquiry, Elgin says, requires collaboration. Any project, in fields ranging from astrophysics to microbiology, requires a team of scientists working together to garner results. This collaboration requires trust: In order to be confident in their findings, scientists need to be able to trust both their teams and the researchers whose work they have studied.

To uncover new knowledge and advance their fields, scientists have to be trustworthy themselves. After all, they want their findings to contribute to the discovery of truth - an underlying goal of any scientific inquiry. What's more, scientists know that the public depends on them to publish accurate research that will lead to necessary advances in health and technology. To meet these expectations, findings must be honestly and meticulously recorded. Because this trustworthiness is a moral attribute, Elgin maintains, scientific inquiry is a moral activity.

But how does this connect to science education?

Elgin explains that the process of learning science reinforces these attributes. Chemistry majors cannot become chemists - and high schoolers cannot pass their chemistry labs - if, as students, they do not work together, double-check their assignments, and remain honest in their reports.

"Science does not happen on an island or in isolation," Pereira says. It's the science teacher's responsibility to make sure that students understand the importance of collaborating, along with staying organized and paying attention to detail.

Fostering Engaged Learners

These interrelated characteristics of science education - the process of discovery and the collaboration on trustworthy results - are not mutually exclusive. Pereira believes that science teachers should encourage their students to look at scientific advancements through an ethical lens, looking for patterns and asking questions about scientific developments. Science teachers should help students think critically about current technologies made possible by science, and reflect on whether future technologies will be morally acceptable.

The payoff of stepping back to consider the purpose of science education? Increased student engagement, Pereira says. Like all of us, students want to learn what's important. "The science teacher has to make sure that the class is relevant to what's happening in students' lives, and that they know how they can apply it," he says.

***

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The push for STEM initiatives - coding workshops for elementary school children, or extended-day science experiments for middle school students - reigns at the forefront of the education conversation today. But anyone in the classroom knows that science can be a tough subject to teach, with educators at times overwhelmed with the amount of material to cover, and students simultaneously discouraged with the amount to master.

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Scientific literacy is necessary | Andrew Zwicker | TEDxCarnegieLake

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Neil deGrasse Tyson and Bill Nye: What's a "Good" Education?

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Link to info

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The Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame invites high school teachers to a summer seminar that integrates the disciplines of science and religion in ways that nourish the imagination.

The Science & Religion Seminars equip teachers with approaches that expand the dialogue between the disciplines and challenges the notion that science and religion are in conflict.

Program Highlights:

Inspiring talks from leading scientists and theologians

Development of lesson plans and teaching materials with curriculum experts

Collaboration with seminar faculty on how to develop an elective course in Science & Religion for high school students

Science teachers will learn how theological insights can be used to inform some of the typical topics in biology and physics, while religion teachers will explore how scientific findings can help inform and enhance their appreciation of God's creation. All participants will discover how to pass that awareness on to the students. In addition, the participants of Foundations Notre Dame will view a presentation of All Creation Gives Praise in Notre Dames's Digital Visualization Theater, in which theological reflections and astrophysical explanations are blended together in a digital journey through the universe.

Two Locations, Two Levels of Engagement

Level 1: Foundations Seminars

University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN (June 17-22, 2018)

Foundations Notre Dame offers a humanistic approach featuring lectures by scientists and theologians, as well as collaborative discussions and workshops. This seminar will be live streamed for participating schools.

Notre Dame Seminary, New Orleans, LA (June 24-29, 2018)

Foundations New Orleans offers a more STEM-oriented approach with hands-on scientific experiments and lessons that integrate theological concepts and reflection. Participants will work in a high school laboratory hosted by neighboring St. Mary's Dominican High School.

Schools that already demonstrate a high level of science and religion integration will be invited to participate in a higher level 2.5-day Capstone Science & Religion Seminar at the University of Notre Dame that focuses on advanced topics in science and theology.

Who Should Attend?

Teachers from the science and religion disciplines that possess a sincere desire to learn how the disciplines are connected and to share those insights with students in their classes.

Priority will be given to schools that apply with a team of at least three teachers from biology/chemistry, physics, and religion.

Teachers need not be experts in connecting the two ways of knowing, but they must possess the desire to learn how they can be connected and to share some insights gained in the seminar with students in their future classes.

SUBMIT AN APPLICATION

To submit an application, please click here.

If you have questions or are interested in future seminars, please contact us by phone at (574) 631-1379 or by email. Thank you.

A More Integrated Way of Teaching

Catholic Tradition holds that there are two "Books of God": the Book of Nature and the Book of Scripture, both of which point to and reveal the invisible God who is both transcendent to and immanent in the world.

In his recent encyclical letter, Laudato si', Pope Francis encourages the faithful to view the world through the eyes of faith and reason, and to recognize that "science and religion, with their distinctive approaches to understanding reality, can enter into an intense dialogue fruitful for both." The Catechism tells us that "[t]hough faith is above reason, there can never be any real discrepancy between faith and reason." St. Paul said "the invisible things of God have been clearly seen by the mind's understanding of created things." For St. Augustine, "the ores of divine providence are everywhere to be found" in the created world. St. Bonaventure held that "the presence of God suffuses creation and readily offers itself to those who study it attentively." Diligent and faithful study enables us to discover those "ores of divine providence."

Despite the complementarity accorded to faith and reason in Catholic Tradition, the modern period has been marked by conflict and misunderstanding that has polarized science and religion. Moreover, attempts to foster dialogue between them and to seek their integration have been undermined by those, in the name of science and religion alike, who seek to exclude one from the other. While acknowledging areas of conflict and the need for respecting their own integrity, the seminar will attend to areas where dialogue between religion and science can be fruitful and where integration is possible.

Seminar Goals

Participants will learn how to incorporate material learned in the seminar into their regular classes in biology, physics, or religion. Moreover, seminar faculty will work closely with teachers who wish to create a new elective course that focuses specifically on the relationship between science and religion.

Seminar Faculty

Foundations Notre Dame:

Stephen M. Barr, Professor of Physics, University of Delaware

John Cavadini, Professor of Theology, University of Notre Dame

Fr. Terrence Ehrman, CSC, Assistant Director for Life Sciences Research and Outreach, Center for Theology, Science & Human Flourishing, University of Notre Dame

John O'Callaghan, Professor of Philosophy, University of Notre Dame

Foundations New Orleans:

Christopher T. Baglow, Ph.D., Professor of Theology, Notre Dame Seminary

Stephen M. Barr, Professor of Physics, University of Delaware

Tim Burgess, Ph.D., Chair of Science Department, McGill-Toolen Catholic High School

Matthew Foss, Char of Science Department, St. Mary's Dominican High School

Cory Hayes, Ph.D., Professor of Philosophy and Theology, St. Joseph Seminary College

Clare Kilbane, Ph.D., Professor of Education, Otterbein University

Dan Kuebler, Chair of Biology Department, Franciscan University in Stuebenville

Stacy Trasancos, Ph.D., Author and Adjunct Professor, Seton Hall University, Holy Apostles College and Seminary, Kolbe Academy

Schedule & Stipend
Through the generosity of the Templeton Foundation, the Foundations Seminar is free to Catholic high school teachers recommended by their principal.
Over the course of 8 weeks prior to the event, seminar participants will read key texts in religion, philosophy and science and will share their insights in an online forum.A $750 stipend, lodging and meals will be provided for up to three teachers per school. Larger teams are invited to attend at a cost of $500 per each additional teacher. Additional participants may also join online via live streaming at no additional cost.Admitted schools are asked for a deposit for materials of $350 per teacher which is fully refundable upon completion of all seminar requirements.Participants will receive a certificate for up to 100 contact hours of professional development from the University of Notre Dame.

Apply now to Foundations!

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ENR // AgencyND // University of Notre Dame

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The Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame invites high school teachers to a summer seminar that integrates the disciplines of science and religion in ways that nourish the imagination. The Science & Religion Seminars equip teachers with approaches that expand the dialogue between the disciplines and challenges the notion that science and religion are in conflict.