Shoebox Science Packet
PISA Year 2
“Scientific inquiry refers to diverse ways in which scientists study the natural world and propose explanations based on the evidence derived from their work…and the activities of students in which they develop knowledge and understanding of scientific ideas, as well as an understanding of how scientists study the natural world.”
-National Research Council, 2000
/ New Jersey Department of EducationMath-Science Partnership Grant
Shoebox Science
Overview
Part 1- Design & Group Presentation (Summer Institute)
Goal:Design and construct a science inquiry lesson (one to two 40-minute lessons) that a student would be able to complete independently or in a group. (Note: Science content and inquiry should be the priority of the lesson, not time. The science content and inquiry should not suffer because of time.)
All of the materials and directions that are needed to complete the lesson must fit inside the box to make the implementation of the lesson easier and to encourage other teachers to use the lesson.
This is a scienceinvestigation that a teacher (or two teachers in the case of inclusion classrooms) must complete. Carol and Augusto will review the first draft of your shoebox lesson in the second week of the summer institute (time TBD) to check for science content and inquiry, and you will present a 10-min overview of the lessons (working draft) at the end of the two week institute. In addition to individual presentations, 2-3 lessons will be selected to be taught on the Friday of the second week.
Check the science concept of your lesson and reference the appropriate AAAS Benchmarks by using:
Part 2- Formal lesson review, revising, teaching, & sharing lesson online (during the school year)
The formal review of the lesson will occur after the summer institute but before you teach the lesson. An independent reviewer (CIESE staff members and/or invited content experts) will give you feedback on the science concepts, scientific practices, methodology, and pedagogy of the lesson to enhance and validate your lesson. You will then be asked to review, revise and teach the lesson to your class.Implementation of the lesson with your class will be observed during one of the 10 classroom visits during the school year. An online PD session will be held sometime in the Spring of 2009 to encourage collaboration and participation in the online community among PISA teachers and to provide additional opportunities to enhance science content knowledge. As part of the online workshop, teachers will be asked to share their lessons, provide feedback regarding the lesson, provide learning experiences of both teachers and students (details will follow). Using and teaching lessons created by other teachers and providing feedback are highly encouraged.
Shoebox Science
Action Plan Check List
During the summer institute
□Select a central question or science topic (reference
see p. 8)
□Modify or create a lesson using the model-based inquiry framework (see p.4). Write your lesson plan (use the full lesson plan, not abridged, format prescribed by your school or district).
□Create a student hand-out (see p. 5)
□Verify the science content using AAAS Benchmarks
□Share the first draft with Augusto and Carol to check and get feedback on science content, inquiry process, scientific practices, and pedagogy
□Do a 10-min informal overview presentation of your lesson (Friday of the second week)
□2-3 selected lessons will be taught to the whole group (Friday of the second week; materials will be provided)
After the summer institute and during the school year
□Finish the lesson
□Submit your shoebox science lesson (lesson plan, student hand-out, and assessment) to Augusto
□Independent review process (see p. 7)
□Revise the lesson
□Complete all of the shoebox components (see p.8)
□Teach the lesson to your class
□Submit your final shoebox lesson (lesson plan, hand-out, assessment, etc.) to Augusto (for PISA website)
□Share your lesson and reflection on the PISA listserv (see for instructions)
□Deadline: April 30, 2009
Model-based Inquiry Framework
Shoebox Science
Lesson Template for Student Hand-out (Sample)
Note: This is not the format of the lesson plan. The steps of going through scientific inquiry are not linear in nature. Therefore the steps below may be modified depending on your lesson.
- Central Question
- Creating Initial Models (eliciting student’s prior knowledge). In the box below:
- Sub-questions or guided questions
- Observations (student’s gathering and/or using observational data)
- Experimentations (predicting and testing) – guided and/or independent
- Analyzing Data
- Revising models based on new evidence or data
- More experimentations (optional, if needed)
- Class model- building consensus, making sense of data, and argue based on evidence.
- Summative Assessment
- Analysis of Models: Building Analogies (think-pair-share; discussion of strengths and limitations of models)
Model / Target / Strength of the Analogy / Weakness(es) or limitations of the Analogy
Shoebox Science
Independent Review Process
Each science lesson that is submitted to CIESE will be reviewed prior to posting to the PISA website. This is to ensure that each teacher has sufficient feedback and support regarding the science content, scientific inquiry, scientific practices, and methodology of the lesson.
Independent Reviewer
Independent reviewers will be science educators from Stevens Institute of Technology who have not assisted in any way to create the lesson and are knowledgeable of the science content of the lesson. All independent reviewers will have an understanding of the PISA project and the aims of the shoebox science project.
Evaluation Criteria
The criteria used to evaluate each shoebox science lesson are shown below.
Yes/No / Focuses on an earth or space science topic.
Yes/No / Targeted for grades 3-5 students
Yes/No / Content is based on valid scientific principles or concepts in subject area
Yes/No / The lesson objectives are performance-based
Yes/No / The assessment will reflect student’s learning in the lesson
Specific Criteria for Scientific Inquiry
Yes/No / Uses model-based inquiry framework
Yes/No / The central question targets scientific concepts in grades 3-5 earth or space science.
Yes/No / The central question promotes learning through inquiry.
Yes/No / The lesson will allow student’s thinking to be visible by forming a model and revising their models.
Yes/No / The lesson allows students to investigate and do experiments.
Yes/No / The investigations and experimentations will promote scientific practices.
Yes/No / The lesson will allow student’s thinking to be visible by talking, asking questions, analyzing data, giving explanations, and presenting their ideas to others.
Pedagogical Criteria
Yes/No / Can be readily replicated by other teachers
Yes/No / All information and instructions are clearly explained
Additional Comments
Shoebox Science Lesson
(Components)
Your shoebox science kit should include the following:
Title, theme, grade level written on the outside of the box
Lesson Plan
Student hand-out
All materials must fit in the box (put any small pieces in zip-lock bags).
Assessment – design and include (in the envelope) a short self-assessment task to be completed by the student. The assessment instructions should be written on an index card. If your assessment includes a handout, a copy must also be included in the shoebox.
Optional- engineering lesson extension
All directions on how to make the shoebox, what materials go into it, the assessment, sample answer key, any piece of information for this project should be sent to me on a word file a few days after the final presentation.
Earth, Astronomy & Space Science Topics- The water cycle (evaporation, condensation, etc.)
- The weather and climate change
- Fossils
- Property of Rocks and Minerals
- Structure of the Earth’s surface
- Soil & layers of the Earth
- Positions & motions of Sun, Moon & Stars
- Volcanoes
- Erosions & weathering
- Earthquakes
- Oceans
- Rivers
- The air that surrounds us (air particles and wind)
- The Earth’s waters
- Underground sources
- Glaciers
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