This video provides tips for eliciting students’ initial ideas, here in the context of fifth-graders thinking about why a flashlight stops working if left on. Listen for how the teacher revises the guiding question, supports talk, and uses model scaffolds for elicitation and later planning.
Several tips here enhance access for students, such as grounding the unit in a shared observational task (rather than assuming students have had particular kinds of experiences) and scaffolding students’ modeling. Note also how the teacher makes flexible use of a unit plan and devises next steps in response to students’ ideas.
For more on designing a model scaffold to elicit students’ initial ideas, read: Fowler, K., Windschitl, M., & Auning, C. (2020). A layered approach to scientific models: Creating scaffolds that allow all students to show more of what they know. The Science Teacher, 88(1), 24-36.
Explore ways to select science read-alouds that center justice
This professional learning resource shares the story of the Seattle Public Schools science specialists and how they organized professional learning communities across the district to inquire about justice-centered science teaching and learning.
Build from structured partner talk to a structured whole-class share-out
This site is primarily funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) through Award #1907471 and #1315995