EDC: Center for Science Education

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CSE's Spring 2007 Presentation Schedule

Come see us!

National Afterschool Association Conference, Phoenix

3/21-3/23

Thirteen/WLIW21's Annual Celebration of Teaching and Learning, NYC

3/23-3/24

Beginning Teacher Center Conference, Boston

3/25-3/27

NSTA (National Science Teachers Association), St. Louis

3/29-4/01

AERA (American Educational Research Association), Chicago

4/09-4/13

NARST (National Association of Research in Science Teaching), New Orleans

4/15-4/18


National Afterschool Association Conference

FRIDAY, 3/23

Long-Term Staff Training to Promote Afterschool Science
Charles Hutchison
8:30-10:00
CSE's N-PASS professional development program supports science center and 4-H trainers in nine states to conduct long-term training for after-school program leaders and administrators on how to implement hands-on science and engineering projects with children. This session will begin with a description of the structure and reach of the program—the participants, the curricula, the pedagogical approach. Then participants will view video clips of program leaders working with children and will learn about how the N-PASS trainers observe and support after-school staff and how they structure monthly professional development workshops to train the after-school staff in all aspects of implementation of the science projects with children. The session will end with some ideas about how interested participants might put similar training programs in place in their own location or region.

General information on the conference: http://www.naaconference.org/


Thirteen/WLIW21's

Annual Celebration of Teaching and Learning

FRIDAY, 3/23

Discussion and Writing in the Inquiry-Based Elementary Classroom
Karen Worth
8:30-9:30
This presentation will focus on the inquiry-based science classroom and the importance of discourse and writing in the development of scientific reasoning. Connections between literacy and science can be found across the stages of the inquiry process as students explore phenomena, plan their investigations, document their work, develop written reports, and discuss and debate in small and large groups. The presentation will provide a framework for thinking about these connections both from the perspective of science learning and the development of critical literacy skills.

Teaching Through Inquiry in the Elementary Science Classroom
Marian Pasquale
11:15-12:45
What does inquiry science learning look like in the elementary grades? While most elementary teachers engage students in hands-on science activities, they rarely feel confident about their own abilities to help children inquiry deeply into scientific phenomena. Through a brief investigation, participants will be introduced to the nature of science inquiry and some instructional strategies that support it. These strategies will be discussed within the context of a teaching framework that encourages children to extend their explorations and deepen their understanding. Participants will view classroom video vignettes and will reflect on these experiences, relating them to their own teaching practices.

Science and Media
Jacqueline Miller
2:30-3:30
Where do people get most of their understanding of science one they have left school? How do they decide what is real and what is hype? Evaluating the credibility of stories about science requires knowledge and the ability to critically assess the news. This presentation will discuss the role of the media in informing the public about major scientific issues. Strategies for helping students develop skills for analyzing the credibility of these reports will be explored. Approaches to using the media as springboards or contexts for developing conceptual understandings in science will also be considered.

SATURDAY, 3/24

What Does Meeting the Standards Look Like in a Middle Grades’ Science Classroom?
Marian Pasquale
11:15-12:45
In this session, participants will consider how the elements of inquiry-based science teaching can meet the unique learning needs of the middle-level student. They will conduct an investigation designed to model pedagogical practices recommended in the National Science Education Standards (NSES) , grades 5-8. Participants will design an investigation, answer questions they have generated, and then consider how the explorations and investigations can be used to understand basic science concepts. Participants will reflect on these experiences, relating them to their own teaching practices. A video case study will be used to help the participants get a sense of how this type of investigation reflects criteria established in the NSES for grades 5-8.

General information on the conference: http://www.thirteencelebration.com

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Beginning Teacher Center Conference

TUESDAY, 3/27

Why Content Mentoring?
Marian Pasquale - Tuesday, March 27,
11:15–12:45
Marriot Long Wharf Hotel
While mentoring programs do afford critical support to new teacher programs, they often neglect subject-matter content and pedagogy. This session introduces participants to EDC's Middle Grades Science Mentoring Project, which is used primarily in urban school districts in MA. Program staff will share EDC's model, which integrates science content knowledge, pedagogy and mentoring strategies and skills. Participants will learn the integral components to subject matter mentoring and the important relationship between good mentoring and teacher retention.

General information on the conference: http://www.simmons.edu/conferences/btc/

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NSTA

WEDNESDAY, 3/28

Discussion and Writing in the Inquiry-Based Elementary Science Classroom: Critical Partners in the Development of Scientific Reasoning and Conceptual Understanding
Karen Worth, Jeff Winokur, Sally Crissman, Martha Winokur (Center for Applied Child Development, Tufts University)
America's Center, Room 221
7:30–4:00
Much is being made of the connection between science and literacy in educational arenas. Publishers are producing science readers by the dozens. Science journals and science notebooks are more and more common. Teachers and other educational leaders are emphasizing the connection in the hopes of keeping science off the back burner. Others see science as a way to motivate students to build their literacy skills and improve test scores. This institute is based in the growing literature on the role of discussion and writing in interpreting, analyzing, and synthesizing the ideas and experiences of scientific investigations.

THURSDAY, 3/29

Does Inquiry Make a Difference? A Synthesis of Research on the Impact of Inquiry Science on Student Outcomes
Daphne Minner, Abigail Jurist Levy
Renaissance Grand Hotel, Landmark 4
2:00–3:00
Participants in this session will review this completed NSF-funded study.

PDI NSRC Pathway Session: Curriculum—The Leading Edge of Reform: Lessons Learned
Barbara Berns (EDC), Nancy Landes (BSCS), Sally Shuler (NSRC)
America’s Center, Room 228
3:30–4:30
Join the leaders from EDC, BSCS, and NSRC as they share the collective lessons learned as they worked with districts and states to implement and "spread" research-based science materials and the kinds of approaches that are helpful in assisting interested districts/states to build their capacity to implement research-based K–12 science programs.

PDI FHL Pathway Session: Science Notebooks—Developing Literacy Skills in an Authentic Context
Sally Crissman, Jeff Winokur, Karen Worth, Martha Winokur (Center for Applied Child Development, Tufts University)
America’s Center, Room 225
3:30–4:30
Using classroom video and student notebooks, participants will identify ways in which inquiry-based science provides students with the opportunity to practice and hone many key literacy skills while deepening their understanding of science concepts.

Toyota Tapestry Award Reception
Bernie Zubrowski
Location: Renaissance Grand Hotel, Majestic A/B/C
6:00–7:00
This talk will be about the integration of design and inquiry.

FRIDAY, 3/30

The Role of Discourse and Writing in Inquiry Science in Grades 4-8
Karen Worth, Sally Crissman, Marian Pasquale, Jeff Winokur, Martha Winokur (Center for Applied Child Development, Tufts University)
America’s Center, Room 163
1:30–4:30
This short course will focus on the role of discourse and writing in inquiry-based science, particularly in the development of student scientific reasoning and conceptual understanding.

BaP Special Session: Integrating Engineering/Technology and Science
Bernie Zubrowski
America’s Center, 229
2:00–4:00 
Simple engineering challenges provide an excellent and concrete context for integrating the inquiry and design process. This session will illustrate how physical science concepts can be meaningfully introduced by way of these challenges.

SATURDAY, 3/31

Processing for Meaning: Constructing Transferable Knowledge
Jud Hill
Adam’s Mark Hotel, Directors Row 26
11:00–12:00    
In this session, participants investigate the stage of the Processing for Meaning stage of the learning cycle, where students organize their findings and present to their classmates and teacher using the language of science in their defensible discourse.

Writing in Science Using Data from Firsthand Experience
Jeff Winokur, Karen Worth, Martha Winokur (Center for Applied Child Development, Tufts University)
Millennium Hotel, Lewis Room
3:30–4:30
Participants explore ways in which writing from firsthand science experiences can improve students' scientific reasoning.

General information on the conference: http://www.nsta.org

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AERA

FRIDAY, 4/13

Mixed Methods Approach to Conceptualizing Methodological Rigor for Reviews of Existing Research
Daphne Minner, Abigail Jurist Levy
10:35am–12:05pm
Hotel Inter-Continental Chicago / Empire Ballroom, Seventh Floor
This paper describes the development of these mixed-method criteria and how they were employed in the synthesis. The discussion focuses on how using a mixed-method approach allowed for a deeper understanding of the results and potential implications for the usefulness of the results to practitioners and policy makers.

General information on the conference: http://www.aera.com/annualmeeting/

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NARST

TUESDAY, 4/17

Inquiry-based Science Instruction and Students’ Science Content Knowledge: A Research Synthesis
Abigail Jurist Levy, Daphne Minner, Erica Jablonski
2:45–4:15
Sheraton New Orleans, Napoleon B1
This session will review the completed, NSF-funded study, “Does Inquiry Make a Difference? The Impact of Inquiry Science Instruction on Student Outcomes.” The paper discusses in detail the nature of student outcomes across and within science disciplines, grade levels, and research designs, including studies using quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods. The nature of inquiry instruction and “inquiry saturation” are also discussed.

General information on the conference: http://www.narst.org/conference/

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