ReportWire

Tag: 5e

  • Teachers Raise Expectations and Student Achievement in Elementary & Middle School Science

    Teachers Raise Expectations and Student Achievement in Elementary & Middle School Science

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    Press Release
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    updated: Jul 26, 2021


    SALEM, Mass., July 26, 2021 (Newswire.com)
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    Research from Northeastern University’s Dr. Tracy L. Waters on the implementation of KnowAtom’s Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)-based curriculum in fourth and fifth-grade classes showed elementary and middle school teachers increased their expectations of what students can achieve. In addition, students were better prepared for new standardized test questions aligned with the NGSS after completing KnowAtom’s hands-on, collaborative science lessons.

    Educators who participated in Waters’ study expressed having higher expectations of their students after implementing KnowAtom’s NGSS hands-on curriculum that’s designed for the NGSS. Waters‘ research also revealed major changes in teaching practices, student achievement levels, and classroom behavior. Using KnowAtom, students also strengthened critical thinking and writing skills through their science time on learning. Teachers began changing their testing requirements from vocabulary and traditional recall to performance tasks where students demonstrate their level of mastery of the NGSS standards.

    “KnowAtom integrates the scientific and engineering design process throughout its NGSS-based curriculum,” said Francis Vigeant, founder and CEO, KnowAtom. “By creating a learning environment where students take more responsibility for their own learning process and by giving them the opportunity to test their own ideas hands-on, we’re able to fuel learning with a student’s own personal interest in real-world phenomena. KnowAtom improves student engagement and, as Waters’ study shows, our professional development shifts teachers’ expectations of what their students can achieve.”

    One educator who participated in the study described changing her instructional methods from asking students to fill in missing words on a handout, which required low-level cognition but aligned to the teacher’s expectations for the students, to asking students to apply core concepts in real-world situations. With collaborative, hands-on lab work, elementary and middle school students analyzed data and described the weather and climate of a specific region, while identifying factors that contributed to changes in both. The teacher reported altering her own belief about what her students could accomplish after using the KnowAtom science curriculum. In addition, her students were better prepared for the types of questions asked on new standardized tests aligned with the NGSS.

    According to Waters’ research, critical thinking, math and literacy skills were also strengthen with the use of KnowAtom’s curriculum. One administrator noted seeing students do more writing in the science classroom when previously there had been no expectation that reading or writing was a part of learning science. Teachers reported that holding their students accountable for more than low-level recall, requiring them to model habits of mind during classroom discussions and debate, which helped improve literacy skills.

    Read the full article here.

    About:

    KnowAtom provides solutions designed for NGSS mastery: thoughtfully designed curriculum, integrated hands-on materials, and personalized professional development. Our research-based, classroom-tested tools and techniques bring students’ own ideas to life with hands-on materials and technology.

    To learn more, visit www.knowatom.com.

    Media:

    Francis Vigeant
    617-475-3475
    fvigeant@knowatom.com

    Source: KnowAtom

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  • New Constructivist Teaching With 5e Model Promotes Diversity of Thought and Hands-on Participation in the Classroom

    New Constructivist Teaching With 5e Model Promotes Diversity of Thought and Hands-on Participation in the Classroom

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    Researchers Study Elementary and Middle School Teachers Using Resources Designed for NGSS

    Press Release
    –


    updated: Jul 19, 2021


    SALEM, Mass., July 19, 2021 (Newswire.com)
    –
    A study of the use of KnowAtom’s Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)-designed curriculum in the classroom from Northeastern University researcher Dr. Tracy L. Waters shows an increase in student engagement and hands-on application of core principles and 21st-century career skills. The collaborative KnowAtom curriculum promotes differentiation in how students learn core science concepts and helps spark excitement about the scientific process in K-12 students.

    Dr. Waters investigated the implementation of KnowAtom’s hands-on science curriculum by 4th– and 5th-grade teachers. Her research shows teachers better met the needs of diverse learners through the use of differentiation, allowing students more responsibility over their own learning process and promoting diversity of thought through hands-on science investigations.

    “Using the KnowAtom curriculum, learners take the lead in their own journey,” said Francis Vigeant, founder and CEO, KnowAtom. “Instead of being given information, students begin to discover core competencies on their own within a framework of phenomena and the NGSS. Rather than recalling facts, students discuss what they’ve read, challenge thinking, collaborate with peers, and identify their own connection to STEM – skills vital for life.” 

    A district administrator who took part in Dr. Waters’ study reported a dramatic change in how students learned using the KnowAtom curriculum with 5e constructivist teaching techniques. Promoting teamwork and diversity of thought through hands-on science investigation, students were encouraged to come up with their own ideas and hypotheses, as well as processes for testing them. Together, students experimented, tried different ways to solve problems, worked together to overcome obstacles, and learned core competencies while strengthening reading, writing, math, and teamwork skills. Previously, teachers in the district taught by demonstrating experiments, with students watching and recording results.

    The teachers in the study also reported a change in their teaching processes and beliefs about what students could learn when given the opportunity to take the lead in the classroom. Rather than pre-defined classroom activities where all students are encouraged to take the same route and report the same results, KnowAtom’s curriculum gives students more choice in the classroom and rewards a variety of outcomes. Students are encouraged to work together to overcome obstacles and model their knowledge in response to real-world scenarios.

    Implementing the KnowAtom curriculum also resulted in an increase in the use of science vocabulary and “strong academic language” during classroom discussion, teachers reported. Dr. Waters found that students strengthened core reading, writing and math skills while using the KnowAtom curriculum. For English language learners, KnowAtom’s visual vocabulary helped students master the communication needed to accomplish teamed hands-on learning opportunities.

    Using KnowAtom’s curriculum helped improve engagement and made students more accountable for the choices they made throughout their learning process, the teachers reported. Their testing methods changed, differentiation increased, with fewer “one right answer” assessments. Continue reading.

    Media Contact:

    Francis Vigeant

    617-475-3475

    Source: KnowAtom

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