K-8 Interactive Science Overview

Pearson recently launched a new fully articulated K-8 science program titled Interactive Science. Organized through three pathways—Reading, Inquiry, Digital—Interactive Science engages students through experiences that make science personal and relevant. Through the use of its innovate write-in student edition and digital path, Interactive Sciencemakes students owners of their understandings, developing enduring understanding of the big ideas of science. While there are developmentally appropriate pedagogical differences across the different grade bands, Interactive Science continually seeks ways for students to become engaged in science (i.e. Untamed Science Videos), to comprehend the content (i.e. frequent point-of-use formative assessments), and then to demonstrate their understanding and even connect concepts (i.e. scaffolded inquiry labs).

Interactive Science Foundational Research

There is extensive research on how students learn, and from it we can learn strategies that are most successful in reaching all learners. Interactive Science is based on the most meaningful research and practices from academic research and from some of the most highly regarded experts in science education. What results is a program rooted in sound learning approaches, teaching strategies, and ideas to engage all learners, to maximize their learning, so that they can apply their thinking.

Understanding by Design

Understanding by Design represents a disciplined way of thinking about the design of curriculum, instruction, and assessment. It pulls together many ideas and processes that have been tested both through research and classroom use and proven to give rise to powerful learning experiences that result in deeper understandings of the core facts, concepts, and generalizations, a.k.a., the “Big Ideas”.

Understanding by Design provides a way to move from “covering the curriculum” to “ensuring understanding”. The learning is achieved not through hoping that the “teaching” of content yields understanding, but through carefully-designed instruction derived from the specific understandings and applications sought. The work of learning provides students with the opportunity to investigate, play with, test, and verify key concepts to make sense of content.

As co-author of the highly acclaimed book Understanding by Design, Grant Wiggins, also author (exclusive Pearson author) of InteractiveScience, outlines the concept of “backward design”—instructional planning that focuses on desired outcomes and builds instruction toward those outcomes.

Funded by the National Science Foundation, the Earth Science Literacy Initiative has gathered a list of key understandings about Earth that are important for researchers, and most especially for educators. The group chaired by Interactive Science author Dr. Michael Wysession and represented by top scientists working in earth sciences today, established a framework document of the Big Ideas and supporting concepts that all Americans should know about earth sciences. With Dr. Wysession’s guidance, those Big Ideas are reflected in Interactive Science.

Interactive Science begins with the introduction of one or more Big Ideas of science. Students discuss what they knowabout that idea before instruction begins,and discuss how the Big Ideas will relateto what they will be studying in the nextchapter or group of chapters. Driven by a Big Idea, each Interactive Science chapter begins with a Big Question. The questions are seemingly simple enough for students to have a lively discussion about from prior knowledge, yet complex enough for students to wonder and want to learn more, making the learning cohesive, focused, and fun. As a chapter unfolds, students link back to the Big Question on multiple occasions. Questions are always simple enough for students to be able to think about. At the beginning of the chapter, students can share their knowledge and their thoughts about the question. As students progress through the chapter, their knowledge about the topic will grow, making it fun to look back and compare their prior knowledge with their new understandings.

Student Engagement

Research tells us that the link between student engagement and achievement cannot be stronger. We know that students need to develop their sense of competency and make connections with others. The work we give them should also provide an opportunity for self-expression and allow them a degree of autonomy. (Anderman, L.H.; Midgley, C. “Motivation and Middle School Students.” Champaign, IL: ERIC Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early Childhood Education, University of Illinois, 1998.). This is done through the materials that relate to students lives, and by giving students ownership of their learning and piquing students’ natural curiosity about scientific concepts.

Teachers also understand that multi-modal instruction is more engaging and more inclusive, but they often don’t have the means or time to vary instruction as much as they would like. Studies have shown that when “teachers and instructional programs integrate different learning styles, they raise the level of overall student achievement.” (Rhonda-Dawn Farkus, “Effects of Traditional versus Learning-Styles Instructional Methods on Middle School Students,” Journal of Educational Research, 97/1 (September/October 2003), pp. 42-51.) “In a study of 105 middle school students, researchers found that student performance and enthusiasm improved significantly when they were taught by a multi-sensory program that drew on various learning skills as opposed to those students who were taught by more traditional methods (lecture, group discussion, and visual aids).”

Interactive Sciencefocuses onstudent engagement, ownership, and relevance in a variety of ways.

  • A write-in Student Edition that promotes ownership
  • Untamed Science videos, tapping into students prior knowledge and providing discussion opportunities
  • My Planet Diary lesson-starters, helping address the “so what” in science
  • Almost-daily inquiry lab activities, providing both minds-on and hands-on inquiry learning
  • Online technology tools and virtual lab environments

Inquiry

Educators argue the merits of a pure inquiry approach in which students identify their own scientific hypotheses, create their own experiments, acquire their own knowledge, and draw their own conclusions, versus more traditional approaches of delivering content and duplicating traditional, cookie cutter science labs.

According to the National Science Education Standards:

Students at all grade levels and in every domain of science should have the opportunity to use scientific inquiry and develop the ability to think and act in ways associated with inquiry, including asking questions, planning and conducting investigations, using appropriate tools and techniques to gather data, thinking critically and logically about relationships between evidence and explanations, constructing and analyzing alternative explanations, and communicating scientific arguments (NRC 1996, p. 105).

However, educators often interpreted the term “inquiry-based instruction” to mean implementing hands-on activities into their science classroom. The National Research Council published a report titled “Inquiry and the National Education Standards” where they indicated that “the form that inquiry takes depends largely on the educational goals for students, and because these goals are diverse, highly structured and more open-ended inquiries both have their place in science classrooms” (NRC 2000, Chapter 1).

One might argue that the most authentic inquiry activities are those in which students answer their own questions through analyzing data they collect independently. However, an activity can still be inquiry-based when the questions and data are provided, as long as their students are conducting the analysis and drawing their own conclusions. Furthermore, most students need substantial scaffolding before they are ready to develop scientific questions and design effective data collection procedures to answer those questions. The ideal plan for inquiry instruction recognizes this fact and seeks to help students progress to greater inquiry skills through a series of graduated steps...(Bell, R., Smetana, L., Binns, I. (October 2005). “Simplifying Inquiry Instruction” The Science Teacher, pg 31.)

Teachers are looking for a science program that helps them build inquiry into their daily instruction. Engaging students in scientific inquiry is recognized as important, yet difficult. For instance, teachers have difficulty helping students with scientific inquiry practices, such as asking thoughtful questions, designing experiments, and drawing conclusion from data. “Many science teachers do not have the appropriate content expertise to create an inquiry-based learning environment.” (Krajcik, J. S., Mamlok, R., & Hug, B. (2000). Modern Content and the Enterprise of Science: Science Education in the Twentieth Century. In Corno, L (Ed.), Education Across a Century: The Centennial Volume. One-hundredth Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL.) Recent studies of the inquiry-based approach have found that students taught via this method, which one researcher describes as “hands-on and minds-on,” “develop an enduring interest in science and take more responsibility for their learning.”

Interactive Sciencestudents are guided through the write-in Student Edition by means of a series of minds-on interactivities. But minds-on learning is only a part of the learning. There are four levels of hands-on inquiry built into the program. Students engage in the ABC—Activity Before Concept—inquiry activities at the beginning of the chapter and lessons to engage students and set a purpose for reading. Students also have 2-4 quick labs available for every lesson. At the chapter-level, students have scaffolded inquiry opportunities available to transfer understanding to a new situation. In elementary, students have access to directed, guided, and open inquiry options. As students grow with the program, directed and open inquiry options are available for middle grades students. Since inquiry activities are available to support every big idea and its support essential or lesson question, it is possible for teachers to teach through hands-on inquiry every day with Interactive Science. It is also important to note that all lab materials are available online in editable format so that the teacher can make any necessary adaptations to meet the need of his or her unique classroom.

STEM

As a result of poor international performance, the Department of Energy developed the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) initiative, specified in the Department of Energy Science Education Enhancement Act of 1990 to support science, math, technology, and engineering education consistent with its energy and defense missions. Over the past few years, there has been a rise in interest in programs that support this STEM initiative by groups such as NASA, museums, and state boards of education such as in Indiana. According to Indiana’s Academic Standards for Science, “As citizens of the constructed world, students will participate in the design process, students will learn to use materials and tools safely and employ the basic principles of the engineering design process in order to find solutions to problems.”

Interactive Science weaves the design process throughout core and ancillary instructional materials to excite and prepare students for STEM careers. Pearsonhas also developed a partnership with National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to share the goal of engaging and motivating students in the areas of STEM education through relevant and personal experiences.The mission of NASA is to pioneer the future in space exploration, scientificdiscovery, and aeronautics research. An important aspect of this mission is promoting an interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education, as well as attracting and retaining students in STEM disciplines through a progression of educational opportunities for students, teachers, and faculty. In order to increase interest in STEM careers, NASA has provided and reviewed content for career and biology features within the Interactive Science Write-in Student editions. Drawing from its rich array of over 1,500 digital resources, Pearson has embedded NASA online resources shown within the Interactive Science digital path.

As outlined by the Indiana Academic Standards for Science, Interactive Science provides opportunities for students to engage in the design process within core program resources. In Interactive Science, students:

  • Identify a need or problem to be solved
  • Brainstorm potential solutions
  • Select a solution to the need or problem
  • Select the most appropriate materials to develop a solution that will meet that need
  • Create the solution through a prototype
  • Test and evaluate how well the solution meets the goal
  • Evaluate and test the design using measurement
  • Present evidence using mathematical representations
  • Communicate the solution including evidence using mathematical representations, drawings, or prototypes
  • Communicate how to improve the solution

Pearson has also developed a STEM Activity Book that provides additional opportunities for students to engage in the engineering design process. These activities integrate math, engineering, and technology with science as students solve real-world problems.

Reading

Research tells us that for many students, reading in the content area is a challenge. What do effective readers do? Through studies of good readers (Duke, N. K.; and Pearson, P.D. “Effective Reading Practices for Developing Reading Comprehension.” What Research Has to SayAbout Reading Instruction, eds, A. E. Farstrup and S. J. Samuels., Newark, DE: International Reading Association, 2002.) many have concluded that teaching content reading strategies that engage the readers through before, during, and after reading activities build knowledge, metacognitive strategies, and comprehension. A number of studies have also supported the use of a wide variety of graphic organizers such as words maps, compare-and-contrast charts, and Venn diagrams, to be used either while reading or after reading. (University of MichiganTextural Tools Study Group).

Interactive Scienceembeds meaningful purposes for reading. An Engaging Question and striking photo at the beginning of the chapter spark discussion and provide motivation for reading. An inquiry activity at the beginning of each chapter allows students to make observations about new chapter and gives them a purpose to read.

In Interactive Science, every chapter in K-5 and every lesson in 6-8 focuses on one target reading skill so that students can learn one technique at a time.

Target Reading Skills
K-5 / 6-8
Text Features
Main Idea and Details
Sequence
Compare and Contrast
Draw Conclusions
Cause and Effect / Identify the Main Idea
Identify Supporting Evidence
Outline
Ask Questions
Compare and Contrast
Sequence
Relate Cause and Effect
Relate Text and Visuals
Summarize

The very nature of a write-in student edition provides point-of-use support for reading information text. Chunked text with numerous interactivities requires students to stop while they read and assess their understanding – right there – not just at the end of a lesson or chapter! Dynamic visuals allow students to see what they read. Great for below level readers or ELL students, the highly visual nature of InteractiveScience provides students with a “wow” experience to engage and motivate, and to set a further purpose for reading.

Writing in Science

Research tells us that reading and writing go hand in hand, allowing students to form a record of what they are learning. There are many benefits to incorporating writing activities in the science classroom, including addressing student misconceptions, exploring topics in greater depth, and sharpening critical thinking skills. With the great popularity of science notebooks for encouraging note-taking and recording learning, it is clear that may classroom teachers agree.

Interactive Sciencegoes one step further in the journaling process providing students with the opportunity to write, draw, graph, and even self-assess right at point of use in their write-in student book, creating a personal record of their learning experiences. Students further engage in authentic scientific thinking as they carry out their own science investigations via hands-on inquiry activities.

Assessment

Research tells us thatgood teachers assess students’ work every day. Research tells us the importance of questioning students throughout instruction in order to monitor student learning and change course, if necessary.

“Knowledge of children’s learning and the development of expertise clearly indicates that assessment practices should focus on making students’ thinking visible to themselves and to others by drawing out current understandings so that instructional strategies can be selected to support an appropriate course for further

learning.” (Pelligrino, J.; Chudowsky, N.; and Glaser, R. Knowing What Students Know: The Science of Educational Assessment. Washington, DC:NationalAcademy Press, 2001.)

Interactive Scienceprovides frequent formative assessments to progress monitor students so there are no surprises on the “big test.” A variety of summative assessment options provides multiple ways for students to demonstrate their understanding of the Big Question. Performance-Based Assessments provide an alternative way to assess students’ understanding of unit concepts. Three choices per unit allow for student choice and differentiated instruction.

Differentiated Instruction

Teachers understand that providing instructional pacing options is more engaging for students, but with the constraints of the classrooms and curricula, they have difficulty providing true differentiation. To this point, a study of middle school students of varying abilities showed they valued learning at their own pace and an active approach to studying. The authors write, “The obvious outcome of this study is that these middle school students value active approaches to studying relevant curriculum at their own pace.Additionally, collaboration, technology, and choice [woven] throughout these learning opportunities in compelling ways enhance student engagement.Less obvious, yet perhaps more important, is inviting middle school learners into the dialogue about learning.” (Beatrice, Suzanne Hassler, Bernd Kersten, John Sweller, “Learner Control, Cognitive Load, and Instructional Animation, Applied Cognitive Psychology 21 (2007), pp.713-729.)