toolkit
TEACHER’S
Toolkit for
improving practice
In a standards-based climate, it is important for teachers
to know that they are addressing the concepts and skills
that will prepare students for success on measures of
achievement as well as success in the worlds of science,
technology, engineering, and mathematics. A focus on
standards that are valued by the scientific and educational
communities has created a need for change in the ways
that teachers know, think, and act in the classroom. Such
change, to be effective, requires an understanding of science content, knowledge of how students learn, and the
implementation of research-based practices that lead to
student achievement.
Teacher as instructional designer
Every teacher is an instructional designer who makes hundreds of decisions related to classroom practices, activities,
experiences, materials, and resources. Teachers have access to
thousands of instructional activities and commercial products,
as well as an endless supply of books, websites, and resources
to support teaching and learning. Yet, our efforts often fall
short of our expectations for student achievement. The mere
availability of instructional materials is not enough; the quality of the lessons that guide the teaching/learning process is
a key factor in increasing student achievement.
This Teacher’s Toolkit offers an approach for the design
and delivery of high-quality instruction that focuses on
important goals and standards and research-based effective
practices for improving student achievement. Thoughtfully
crafted lessons are powerful tools for guiding the teaching/
learning process and improving practice.
Further, when teachers work collaboratively in learning
communities comprised of grade-level or interdisciplinary
teams with knowledgeable leaders or consultants, they are
able to plan lessons that target important concepts and skills,
use data to inform practice, and differentiate instruction to
meet the needs of students. The sharing of ideas, insights,
and approaches among teachers and with community leaders
strengthens the support system needed for success. In the words
of Iris Weiss (1994), “The challenge for inservice education goes
beyond teacher enhancement to creating a support structure that
will enable teachers to translate what they learn into improved
learning for students.”
Elizabeth Hammerman ([email protected]) is a science
teacher educator, author, and consultant living in North Carolina.
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Improving practice through purposeful planning
Pedagogical content knowledge can be defined as a set of teaching
strategies that are strongly connected to ways of knowing, thinking, and learning within the discipline, and operationally defined
in terms of what teachers need to know and be able to do in the
classroom to deliver instruction effectively (see Figure 1).
Most state standards endorse inquiry as the approach to effective teaching and learning in science. In order for teachers to
implement inquiry-based instruction, they must be comfortable
with what inquiry looks like in the classroom (see Figure 2).
FIGURE 1
The union of the three
components is called pedagogical
content knowledge
The art of effective teaching has three major components:
Content
knowledge
Knowledge
of how
students learn
Pedagogy
Pedagogical content knowledge
FIGURE 2
Characteristics of inquiry-based
instruction
In a classroom setting, inquiry-based science:
• Focuses on important concepts and principles, skills,
and dispositions
• Provides a context that is meaningful and interesting
for students
• Is rich with investigations and firsthand experiences that
follow a learning-cycle model, address misconceptions,
and use a variety of tools and technologies to engage
learners
• Provides opportunities for students to collect and record
data, reflect on experiences, make sense of data they
collect, and frame knowledge
• Provides frequent interactions between students
and teachers, develops critical and creative thinking,
formulates thought, and develops a deep understanding
of concepts
• Links learning to the lives of students, technology,
careers in science, community, state, national, and
world issues, and other subject areas
• Uses a variety of formative assessments to provide
feedback to students and guide learning
toolkit
TEACHER’S
FIGURE 3
Planning model
Components of highquality instruction
Strategies for design and delivery
CT—Clear Targets:
Identify high priority goals,
standards, concepts,
skills, and dispositions for
your grade level.
• Become familiar with state and local (high-priority) goals and standards for your grade level or gradelevel span
• Identify and clearly describe concepts and skills that will be the basis of instruction
• Maintain a focus on important concepts and skills throughout instruction
INFO—Understand
Important Concepts:
Research information
related to each topic;
research common
misconceptions.
• Find updated information about the topic; be sure to include concepts and principles that relate to the
goals and standards
• Identify and use books, videotapes, websites, community resources, and other sources of information
• Consider what students will know (content) and be able to do (skills) following the unit of instruction or
instructional activity
• Research common misconceptions students have about the topic
• Be aware of some of the problems students generally have understanding the content or achieving the
objectives
CTX—Context:
Provide a context that
is meaningful and
interesting for students.
• Create a context that will make learning interesting, relevant, and enjoyable for students
• Use role-play; accept an invitation from a scientist or director of a science center; respond to a
“help wanted” ad; send students on a journey of discovery; change the classroom into a cell, a plant,
an ecosystem, or an “experimental lab”; allow students to solve a crime, a health problem, an
environmental crisis
ACT/EXP—Activities and
Experiences: Follow a
Learning Cycle;
use a consistent format
such as the 5 Es.
• Scan curriculum guides, websites, and other resources for activities that address the important concepts
and skills; be prepared to modify activities to meet the needs of your students
• Research community resources and experiences that will enhance learning, such as displays from
organizations, local artifacts, field trips, school site experiences, and guest presenters
• Review the learning cycle
• Use a format such as the five Es—Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, Evaluate—that follows a
learning cycle
• List equipment and materials needed; suggest management strategies; identify safety concerns
• Develop a set of activities that build on concept understanding and develop skills
• Differentiate learning through choice, tiered learning, centers, stations, flexible grouping patterns, and others
• Focus on meaning
• Provide opportunities for re-learning and extended learning
INT—Integrate Reading
and Writing: Use
notebooks, graphic
organizers, and written
summaries of meaning.
COM—Communicate
learning.
LINKS—Connect to
Students’ Lives: Explore
science-technologysociety issues and
highlight careers in
science.
ASSMT—Assessment
for Learning: Use
assessments to provide
feedback and guide
learning.
• Consider a variety of strategies for integrating reading and writing
• Understand how stories, poems, articles, case studies, and websites can be used to enhance reading
and comprehension skills
• Use student notebooks/data sheets; summarize learning
• Use graphic organizers to show relationships
• Create meaning and communicate understanding orally and visually
• Apply concepts to the lives of students, technology, and society
• Make connections relevant to students
• Research careers in science
• Include opportunities for technological design
• Create case studies to promote thinking and problem solving
• Extend meaning through research and community action
• Consider a variety of ways for students to show learning
• Use notebook entries, reports, summaries, observations, homework, data tables/graphs, graphic organizers
and other visuals, projects/products, models, interviews, peer reviews, and quizzes to monitor student progress
• Provide frequent feedback to students about their learning
• Provide rubrics that allow students to self-assess
• Create a positive environment for learning based on success rather than punishment
Modified from Becoming a Better Science Teacher: Eight Steps to High Quality Instruction and Student Achievement (Hammerman 2006).
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toolkit
TEACHER’S
Thoughtful planning guides effective delivery
Sample middle-school science lesson
Many of the instructional materials and resources that
guide instruction in middle-school classrooms do not include components of inquiry or high-quality instruction.
Thoughtful planning engages teachers in activities and
experiences that deepen their understanding of effective
teaching and learning and change the way they think and
act in the classroom. The process enables teachers to
When teachers use a framework such as this or others to
design lessons, they begin to address all of the components
and take ownership of their work. Then, an amazing thing
happens. As they become more familiar with goals and standards, read and research content, create interesting contexts,
research activities and apply strategies, and ultimately, teach
the lessons, they realize the tremendous potential high-quality lessons offer for effective teaching and learning. Thus,
teachers embellish and modify lessons over time, practice and
refine strategies for effective delivery, and develop confidence
in their ability to teach science effectively.
The guided-inquiry lesson (see Investigating osmosis
activity) follows the format for high-quality instruction. All
components are identified with the capital letters that are
shown in the chart.
• align concepts and skills to important learning goals and
assessments,
• broaden their understanding of important concepts
and skills,
• apply a variety of methods, strategies, and resources to
accommodate student diversity and promote learning,
• research ways to link science to technology and society and
integrate science with other areas of the curriculum,
• design multiple and varied classroom assessments to provide
feedback to students and use data to guide instruction, and
• deliver instruction more confidently and effectively.
A planning model for high-quality instruction
The planning model offered here (Figure 3) provides a framework for the design and delivery of inquiry-based instruction.
The chart identifies and briefly describes components of
high-quality instruction and offers strategies for applying
them to the design of lessons that can be used to guide effective delivery.
References
Hammerman, E. 2006. Becoming a better science teacher: Eight steps to
high quality instruction and student achievement. Thousand Oaks,
CA: Corwin Press.
National Research Council (NRC). 1996. National science education
standards. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
Weiss, I.R. 1994. The context of science and mathematics in-service
education programs. In Teacher enhancement for elementary and
secondary science and mathematics: Status, issues, and problems,
eds. S.J. Fitzsimmons and L.C. Kerpelman. Washington, DC:
National Science Foundation.
Investigating osmosis
Overview: This activity is part of a unit on cell structure and function. Students should have studied the basic structure of
cells and functions of cell parts, including the cell membrane.
This investigation takes students through a controlled experiment during which they will study osmosis and investigate
factors that affect the ability of the cell membrane to regulate the internal environment of the cell.
(CT) Content goals and standards
National Science Education Standards—the cell
5–8: Cells carry on the many functions needed to sustain life. They grow and divide, thereby producing more cells. This
requires that they take in nutrients, which they use to provide energy for the work that cells do and to make materials that
a cell or an organism needs (NRC 1996, p. 156).
(CT) Instructional objectives
Through this activity, the student will
• conduct a controlled experiment
• identify and describe the problem, procedures, and variables in the controlled experiment
• describe their observations and explain their findings (data)
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Investigating osmosis
• explain the process of osmosis and draw a conclusion based on their data
• apply their learning to the functioning of cells in the human body
(INFO) Background information for teachers
Cell membranes act as barriers to most, but not all, molecules. Cell membranes allow some materials to pass, while
preventing the movement of other molecules. Cell membranes are semi-permeable barriers that separate the inner cellular
environment from the outer cellular (or external) environment.
Osmosis is a special kind of diffusion; it is the diffusion of water across a semi-permeable membrane. During osmosis,
water molecules move from an area of higher concentration to an area of lower concentration. More specifically, osmosis
occurs from an area of high concentration of water molecules to an area of low concentration of water molecules. Thus, in
osmosis, it is only water that moves from a weaker solution (with more water) to a stronger solution (with less water).
solute = dissolved substance
solvent = a liquid capable of dissolving one or more substances
Osmosis
Semi-permeable membrane
High solute
Low solute
Importance of osmosis: The movement of water across cell membranes and the balance of water between a cell and its
environment are crucial to the functioning of the cell. The diffusion of water across a membrane generates a pressure called
osmotic pressure. Osmosis is of great importance in biological processes where the solvent is water. The transport of water
and other molecules across biological membranes is essential to many processes in living organisms.
Cell membranes are completely permeable to water, therefore, the environment the cell is exposed to can have a significant
effect on the cell. The environment that surrounds the cell determines the direction in which the water molecules move.
1. If the solution outside the cell is equal in concentration to its cytoplasm (within the cell), the cell will remain the same size
and shape.
Isotonic solutions contain the same concentration of solute as another solution. When a cell is placed in an isotonic solution,
the water diffuses into and out of the cell at the same rate. The fluid that surrounds human body cells is isotonic.
Isotonic solution
water moves out/in at the same rate
2. If the concentrations are different, the cells could shrink from loss of water or burst with too much.
A. A hypertonic solution contains a high concentration of solute relative to another solution, such as the cell’s cytoplasm.
When a cell is placed in a hypertonic solution, water moves out of the cell, causing the cell to shrivel.
Hypertonic solution
water moves out; cell shrivels
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toolkit
TEACHER’S
Investigating osmosis
B. A hypotonic solution contains a low concentration of solute relative to another solution. When a cell is placed in a
hypotonic solution, water moves into the cell, causing the cell to swell and possibly explode.
Hypotonic solution
water moves in; cell bursts
Reference: http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/kinetic/diffus.html
Materials/Safety
Per team: Four potato halves—cut like this
Each team will need three raw halves and one half that has been boiled for a short time; sugar; salt; ½ tsp. measuring
spoon; four small margarine tubs or similar containers; paper towels; (plastic knife).
Pre-activity: Boil one potato for every two groups of students. Each group will need one half of a potato that has been
boiled. Students will use a data sheet (or notebook) to record observations and explanations.
Safety: Teachers may wish to pre-cut potatoes and holes in the tops of the potato halves so that students will not
handle knives.
Cross section of potato
Carefully cut a small round hole about 1–1 ½ cm in diameter
and about ½ cm deep in the top of each potato half.
(CXT) Engagement
Tell students they have been invited by cell biologists (cytologists) from a local university to assist them with their research.
As their contribution to the research, they will investigate factors that affect the ability of cells to function and regulate.
• Review cell structure and the function of the cell membrane to regulate the internal environment of the cell, as needed.
Ask students what they know about diffusion and osmosis—review as necessary.
• To get students thinking about how a change in pressure can affect an object, ask them if they have ever forced air into
a balloon after it was fully inflated. If so, what happened? (It burst.) Introduce isotonic, hypertonic, and hypotonic solutions.
See visuals in background information.
Introduce students to the inquiry question
Inquiry question: How does the internal environment of a potato affect the ability of potato cells to function and regulate?
Ask them to think about what will happen when they change the internal environment of three potato halves to determine
what effect the changes have on the functioning of the cells. One potato half will remain unchanged.
(ACT/EXP) Exploration (done by each student group)
1. Place each of the four potato halves—three raw and one boiled—in a small plastic container with the cut side down/small hole
on top. Add a centimeter of tap water around each potato. Label the potatoes: 1–4. Let potato 4 be the boiled potato.
2. Measure ½ teaspoon of salt and place it into the cavity of potato 1; measure ½ teaspoon of sugar and place it
into the cavity of potato 2; leave potato 3 empty; measure ½ teaspoon of salt and place it into the cavity of potato
4 (the boiled potato).
NOTE: Remember that the tops of the potatoes are dry at the beginning of the experiment. There is no water in the “well.”
The addition of salt and sugar changes the internal environment of the potato.
(INT) Predict
What do you think will happen in the wells of potatoes 1, 2, 3, and 4 after 45 minutes?
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TEACHER’S
Investigating osmosis
Record predictions on the data table or in your notebook.
Data table
Potato #
1 with salt
2 with sugar
3 control
4 boiled
with salt
Prediction
Observations
Conclusion
15 min:
30 min:
45 min:
15 min:
30 min:
45 min:
15 min:
30 min:
45 min:
15 min:
30 min:
45 min:
Observe: Make observations every 15 minutes for the class period.
Record the observations on the data table or in your notebook.
Infer or conclude: Based on your observations, make inferences or draw conclusions about how the internal environment
of a potato affects the ability of potato cells to function and regulate.
(COM) Explanation
1. Briefly describe your observations for potatoes 1–4.
2. Draw the process of osmosis as it occurred in your potato halves.
3. What happened in potato 3? Why do you think this happened?
4. What happened in potato 4?
5. Compare potato 1 with potato 4. They both had added salt. Did you expect that the results would be the same? Why or
why not?
6. Infer what might have happened to potato 4 because of boiling.
7. Explain what happens to cells when placed in a hypertonic solution and a hypotonic solution. Now apply what you learned
and describe how the body’s internal environment (isotonic solution) affects cells.
8. What new questions do you have? Identify questions that can be answered by conducting an experiment (operational questions),
and those that require additional research or an expert response. For example, what effect does salt solution have on other types
of cells, such as cheek cells or other types of plant cells? Will spaghetti cook faster in salt water or in unsalted water?
(LINKS) Elaboration
1. Research the effects of drug and alcohol use and abuse on the functioning of cells and the central nervous system.
2. Learn about diseases and conditions related to the structure and function of cells, such as sickle cell anemia.
3. Plan and conduct a test to answer one of your new questions.
4. Prepare to give a demonstration or share a report of your test or findings from research.
(ASSMT) Evaluation
A variety of formative assessments, such as observation checklists, notebook entries, data tables, drawings, explanations,
interviews, applications, research, and written summaries of learning are needed to enable students to show evidence of
learning throughout instruction. At a minimum, they should be able to
• conduct a controlled experiment,
• identify and describe the problem, procedures, and variables in the experiment,
• describe their observations and explain their data,
• explain the process of osmosis and draw a conclusion based on their data, and
• apply their learning to the functioning of cells in the human body.
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