A Model for Interactive, Web-based Curricula to Support Responsive Teaching and Student Inquiry in Elementary Science Classrooms

Session participants will explore and discuss a beta version of an interactive, Web-based, curricular environment designed to facilitate responsive teaching and students’ science inquiry.

Date/Time
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Product Feedback Session
References

Resource mentioned during the presentation:

Promoting Inquiry web site: http://cipstrends.sdsu.edu/car_module/

The presenters of this session seek feedback on the design and feasibility of an interactive, Web-based  curriculum environment that aims to support responsive teaching and elementary students' science inquiry. Session participants will explore and discuss a beta version of an interactive, Web-based,  curriculum environment designed to facilitate responsive teaching and students’ science inquiry.

Material development was grounded in work studying and articulating learning progressions for students and teachers (grades 3–6) in scientific inquiry and its facilitation, within the context of energy. As part of this work, the presenters developed responsive curriculum-prototype materials to support teachers in listening and responding to the substance of student ideas as they engaged with familiar phenomena, which were rich in science possibility and could tap into students’ extensive knowledge about the world. By design, materials were open-ended in nature. They encompassed an opening question or activity and then proposed a menu of possible follow-up activities, initially generated in anticipation of things students may say and then grounded in how events unfolded during classroom implementations. The premise was that teachers would select their own path through the materials, or make up new activities, guided by their own students’ ideas and reasoning. Another aspect of the presenters’ work, then, involved professional development. They met regularly (biweekly and summer sessions) with teachers to help them attend more closely to student thinking, consider the merits of ideas, and make decisions about next steps. They began to explore Web-based technology as a way to support project teachers and to consider issues of scalability and sustainability. 

These initial curriculum and professional development efforts resulted in an interactive, Web-based environment designed to promote responsive teaching and student inquiry. Materials include a curriculum overview for each grade level, a rich opening question or activity, and a menu of possible activities that teachers may decide to use depending on what arises in their classrooms. Activities are linked to video clips from classrooms of teachers who have implemented the module. Video clips can serve as opportunities to practice identifying and responding to students’ ideas and to see how things might play out in the classroom. Commentary from teachers that address what they saw in students’ ideas, how they assessed the ideas, and how that guided their decision making for next moves accompany many of the clips. Multiple video-based trajectories are included. A workspace allows teachers to track student ideas and share their own arc of implementation. Discussion and sharing boards and an immediate “Help!” board are intended to facilitate professional community, offer critical and timely support, and provide opportunities for ongoing professional development (individual teachers, collaborative peer group, or facilitator-lead sessions). Project teachers worked with staff to select and develop video material and commentary and provided feedback to design along the way.

The session will begin with a brief introduction to the project and a tour of materials. Participants will then be able to visit interactive stations where they can explore the Web space, including classroom video examples and accompanying teacher commentary, and active teacher discussion boards. The session will end with a facilitated discussion of materials and more general issues associated with Web-based curricula and professional development materials.