Last week, I attended the NSTA Area conference in Reno, Nevada where I helped facilitate the learning at a table in the "Making Sense of Three-Dimensional Teaching and Learning" workshop. The term "Cascade of Practices" was brought to my attention as we were discussing the shift away from the traditional fixed, linear approach of the scientific method that many of have used in the past and can still be found published in textbooks today. As stated in the STEM Teaching Tool Practice Brief #32, "Rigid representations of a single 'scientific method' do not accurately reflect the complex thinking or work of scientists." If we are going to teach students how to think and act like scientists and engineers, then we must also teach them how to leverage the science and engineering practices to help them figure out the natural and designed world around them. Below is an graphic of how the Science and Engineering Practices form a web and work together to help us make sense of science and engineering problems. This graphic is one of the tools found on the nextgenstorylines.org website. It is important to teach students that there is not one single approach or order to the practices we use when figuring out science and engineering problems. Students may start with analyzing and interpreting data which may lead to asking questions and then to planning and carrying out an investigation. Or, students may begin with obtaining and evaluating information in order to develop a model which leads to asking questions about the some of the missing information in the model. One way to present this idea to students is by using the terminology "Cascade of Practices" as explained in this STEM Teaching Tool Practice Brief #3. An Iterative ApproachSo how do we teach students to use these practices in a meaningful way? Especially if you are teaching this to them for the first time! One answer is through scaffolding. For example, you might provide a graphic organizer that cascades the practices for the students. Of course our goal is to teach students how to eventually choose the practices they need to use on their own, but they may need a little help along the way. Below is a graphic I use with middle school age students to develop an understanding of the engineering design process. I use the word iterative often and teach students that sometimes this process can be a bit messy. My advice is to have students use headings in their notebooks to help identify the order of the steps they used to solve the design problem. For elementary students, I might use this graphic organizer instead of engineering notebooks as a place to start with documenting the engineering design process. You may notice that I have not explicitly called out the practices in the image above or in the graphic organizer, but students are still using them nonetheless. Below I have listed the practices that I find in my experience students use the most during each step. Step 1 Define the Problem SEP Asking Questions and Defining Problems Step 2: Brainstorm SEP Developing and Using Models Step 3: Research SEP Obtaining, Evaluating and Communicating Information Step 4: Develop Ideas SEP Developing and Using Models SEP Obtaining, Evaluating and Communicating Information Step 5: Choose the Best Idea SEP Engaging in Argument from Evidence Step 6: Building Models and Prototypes SEP Developing and Using Models SEP Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking Step 7: Test and Improve SEP Planning and Carrying Out Investigations SEP Analyzing and Interpreting Data Step 8: Make Improvements SEP Developing and Using Models SEP Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking Step 9 Communicate Results SEP Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions It is important that students recognize and understand how they are using the science and engineering practices during design challenges or throughout a unit of study to reinforce the idea that they are now actually thinking and acting like scientists and engineers. I must end with this awesome video that can be found linked in STEM Teaching Tool #3 to reinforce the idea of how science really works. Enjoy!
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December 2021
AuthorCari Williams has been developing her understanding of The Framework for K-12 Science Teaching and the NGSS through the development of curriculum, collaborative learning experiences with NSTA 3D Learning Cadre Members and as a Science Peer Review Panelist for Achieve. To learn more, please go to |