Understandings Formanystudents,mathandsciencecanbeveryconfusing.Toperformwellinthesesubjects,thereare necessaryhabitsorbehaviorsthatwhenacquiredandappliedcreatedeeperlearningopportunities. Examplesincludeinvestigationalpracticesandlogicalreasoningskills.Toastudent,thesecanbeas equallyunfamiliarasthecontent,especiallyifascienceormathcurriculumisverycontentfocused, wheretheemphasisonprocessassumesanimplicitormarginalizedrole.Thisoftenoccursasareaction tothepressureforperformingwellonhighstakesstandardizedtests,whichrankstudentsandschools primarilythroughtheassessmentofcontent.Or,perhaps,theressomethingadditionalorlargeratwork thatrelatestotheeffectsofacontentorientedclassroomonstudents. Movingtowardsaprocessorientedcurriculumposesitsownchallenges.Understandably,behaviors wouldbedifficulttoevaluatewithastandardizedtest,yettherearenumerousmeansofmonitoringhow studentsapproachasubject,suchasthroughobservationoranalysisofstudentselfassessments.Ifan educatorwashopingtocultivateworkhabitsorbehaviorsassociatewithagivensubject,ortodesigna classroominsuchawaytomakeprocessesexplicitlearninggoals,itseemsaconcertedefforttoidentify anddefinewhattheyarewouldbenecessary.

Mathandsciencedisciplineshistoricallyhaveworkhabits andprocessesattributedtostudentperformance,whichhavebeendiscussedinliterature,yetIfeel therealsoisaneedtorecognizevehiclesforlearningthatmaterializeinrelationtotheworkbeingdone inthecontextoftheclassroom.Thesemayappearasuniquestrategiesthatstudentsusewhentheyare confrontedwithaparticulartypeofproblem,orcouldalsobeasupportthatstudentsrequireto performeffectivelywithinthelearningenvironment.Whicheverthecase,thereoughttobea mechanismtoidentifywhentheyariseandhowtheywillbedefined. Ifeelthatidentifyingworkhabitsisbestenabledwhenthereisconsistency,whichcanbeachieved througheffectiveclassroomstructures.Classroomstructuresshouldbedesignedtofacilitatework,set expectationsandaccountability,andmaintainaculturewithintheclassforworkethicandsocial interaction.Beyondmyclass,thestructuresweuseshouldprovidestudentsmethodsforconducting scienceormathwork,servingtosetthestageforcontinuedsuccess. Inthefollowingsections,Idiscusschallengesinteachingmathandscience,selfassessment,classroom structure,andperformanceasitrelatestoscienceandmathwork. Whattoteachformathandscience? Ibelievetheroottodifficultiesstudentsfaceinmathandsciencestemsfromambiguityabouthow thosesubjectsshouldbetaught,andtowhatend.Sure,therearethestandards,andstandardizedtests toassesstheleveltowhichstudentsacquirecontent.Thisstickingtobasicsapproach,however,doesa disservicetostudentsbytrivializingthesubjectsofmathandscience.Shoenfieldmakesapointthat whenmathematicalknowledgeisseenasabodyoffactsandproceduresdealingwithquantities, magnitudes,andforms,andrelationshipsamongthem,thenknowingmathematicsisseenashaving masteredthesefactsandprocedures.Heoffersananalogytofurtherthisargument,statinga curriculumbasedonmasteringacorpusofmathematicalfactsandproceduresisseverelyimpoverished

inmuchthesamewaythatanEnglishcurriculumwouldbeconsideredimpoverishedifitfocusedlargely, ifnotexclusively,onissuesofgrammar.(1992) Whatelseshouldweteachstudentsformathandscience?Outsidetherealmofcontent,thereisan emphasisfortheteachingofprocessesassociatedwiththenatureofmathematicalorscientificthinking, namelyproblemsolvingandmethodsofinquiry.Theissuethatarisesforproblemsolvingisthat althoughthetermappearsoftenintexts,itisdifficulttofindanaccuratedescriptionofwhatitisorhow itshouldappearinaclassroom.Jonassen(2000)writesthatlearningtosolveproblemsistooseldom requiredinformaleducationalsettings,inpart,becauseourunderstandingofitsprocessesislimited. Inabasicsense,Ifeelproblemsolvingisbestdefinedasamethodologyforarrangingmentalactionsto developasolutiontoagivenproblem.Iwouldalsoarguethatourunderstandingofitsprocessesisless limitedthansuggestedbyJonassen,andinsteadsobroadinscopethatitbecomeschallengingtofinda waytospecifywhatitentailsfromacomprehensivestandpoint.Ineveryclass,thereareunique scenariosandcontextthatshapethenatureofproblemsthatstudentsconfront,andassuch,thenature ofproblemsolvingineachclassisuniquelycharacterized.Partofthefollowingresearchistoidentifyand cultivatethecognitiveprocessesstudentsusetonavigateandsolveproblemswithintheclassroom. Teachcontentorprocess? Toquestionwhethertoteachcontentorprocessassumesthatthereshouldbeadistinctionbetweenthe two,asiftheyexistindependentlyofeachother.Ifeelthereareconnectionsbetweenthemthat shouldntbemarginalized,ascontentcannotbeacquiredwithoutsomeformofcognitiveprocess.Inan instructionalapproachthatvaluesbothcontentandprocess,elementsofeachshouldbeacknowledged explicitly.Traditionally,contenthasbeenassessedinmanyfamiliarways,includingformativeor summativetestsandquizzes.Process,however,canbemonitoredinamoreindirectmanner. Inanattempttodetermineawaytomakesciencemoreaccessibletostudents,WhiteandFredriksen proposeusinganinstructionalapproachthatdevelopsstudents'metacognitiveknowledgeandskills throughaprocessofscaffoldedinquiry,reflection,andgeneralization.(2009)Metacognitioncanbe definedasthinkingaboutthinkinginanefforttodevelopknowledgeorbeliefsaboutwhatfactorsor variablesactandinteractinwhatwaystoaffectthecourseandoutcomeofcognitiveenterprises. (Flavell).ThesecondpartofWhiteandFredriksensproposalthatIfeelissignificantisthemetacognitive actofreflection,whichisatypeofselfassessmentthatcansufficientlygivevaluetoprocessina classroom.Throughselfassessment,studentsandIcanmaketheprocessesassociatedwithscienceand mathworkmoreexplicitlydefined. Studentselfassessmentasreflection,notevaluation Therearemanyformsofselfassessmentdescribedinliteraturedependingonthepurposeforwhichit willbeused.OnethatItendtoagreewithstatesitasaprocessbywhichstudents1)monitorand evaluatethequalityoftheirthinkingandbehaviorwhenlearningand2)identifystrategiesthatimprove theirunderstandingandskills.(McMillan,JamesH.,Hearn,Jessicapg.40)Thepartofthisdefinition thatconflictswithmeistheinclusionofevaluation,whichIfeelwouldworkagainstmyresearchgoals.

Thedistinctionfromselfevaluationcanbedescribedas,Studentselfassessmentoffersalocalviewof astudentslearning,whereasstudentselfevaluationprovidesaglobalview.(Stallings,Tascionepg.548) Thedifferenceisthatoneprocessdealswithdevelopingapersonalperspectiveofwork,andtheotheris tomeasuretheleveltowhichworkalignswithanauthoritativeperspective.BecauseIwillbeanalyzing selfassessmentsforfeedback,Iwantforthemtobegenuinestudentperspectives.Iftheywere evaluativeinnature,thenIfeelthattheinformationIobtainwouldbeconstrainedasstudentsmake effortstoframeandmeasuretheirgrowthinrelationtomyexpectations.Theirselfassessmentswould becomelessgenuine. Mydefinitionforstudentselfassessmentisstudentsreflectingontheirexperiencesinaneffortto characterizetheireffortsbyrecognizinggrowthandsignificantfactorsthatcontributetotheir performance.Asstudentsselfassesstheyincreasetheirmetacognitiveknowledge,andcanprovide moreconcretefeedbacktohelpmeplanmynextstepsordesignstructuresthatsupportbetter performance. StructureinaClassroom Simplyput,Idefinestructureineducationasproceduresandroutinesthatguidestudentworkand behavior.Therearemanydifferentlayersofstructurewithinaschool.Onthemostcomprehensivelevel, thereareonesthathavebeendesignedinaccordancewiththeschoolsmission.AtHighTechHigh, thesearerulesandguidelinesthatareoutlinedinthestudenthandbookandalsoavailableontheschool website.Theyservetomaintainadherencetodesignprinciplesandestablishaschoolwidecultureof learning.Withinaclassroom,teachersmaycreatestructuresthataremorespecifictotheirpractice. TeachforAmericadetailsmanyareastoconsiderwhendoingthis,andsuggestsstructuresforgiving instruction,managingdailytaskssuchastakingattendance,andaddressingadministrativeneeds(2011). Therearealsomoretangible,physicalstructures.Thesecanbeforthelayoutoftheroominpreparing anappropriatelearningenvironment,oralsobespecifictoanactivitythatistobeperformed.For example,inascienceclass,therecouldbecertainexpectationsorproceduresforthepositioningof furnitureandequipmentwhenperformingexperiments. Thereareclearpurposestocreatingstructuresforaclass.Asimpliedabove,theycanbeparticularly usefulforstrengtheningclassroommanagement.Proceduresandroutinescreateaclassroom environmentwhereeveryoneunderstandswhichstudentbehaviorsareappropriateandwhatteacher responsesareexpectedineverysituation(TeachforAmerica2011).Whenthereisaconsistencythat allowsforstudentstopredictexpectationsandprepareaccordingly,thereisanincreaseinaccountability andefficiency.Effectivestructuresletthestudentsknowwhatistobedone,andhowtogoaboutdoing it.Frompersonalexperience,Iknowthatclassroomoccurrencescanbefairlyunpredictable,andcan easilycontributetoachaoticenvironment.Ifeelthatitbenefitsboththestudentsandmetocreate consistencywhereIcan,andstructuresfunctiontomaximizeconsistency. AlternativeDefinitionofStructureinEducation Anotherwaythatstructurecanbeinterpretedistodescribepatternswithinrelationships,suchasa socialstructure.Ineducation,thisdefinitionwouldalsoapplytotheconnectionsorinterworkingsof

knowledgewithinadiscipline.JeromeBruner(1977)statesthatgraspingthestructureofasubjectis understandingitinawaythatpermitsmanyotherthingstoberelatedtoitmeaningfully(pg.7).Heis relatingstructuretounderstandingthenatureofasubjectandapplyingperspectivesgeneratedfrom thatunderstandingtootherthings.ThisisagoalthatIultimatelyhopemystudentswillachieve,yet forthepurposeofmyresearch,itisnotthedefinitionofstructurethatapplies.Ratherthanconcerning theessenceofasubject,tome,structurepertainssolelytothesystemsoforganizationforconducting workwithinmyclass.Forscience,structuresmaytaketheformofguidelinesthatfacilitateinquiryor experimentation.Inmath,theymayexistasstrategiesorsupportsthatstudentshaveaccesstoand applyastheyengageinwork. PerformanceinaScienceorMathClass Structurescanbedesignedwithdifferentintentorlevelsofapplication.Aspreviouslydiscussed,some arebroadandcanbecreatedforgeneralclassroommanagement.Othersaremorespecificallydesigned forperformingwithinagivendiscipline.Myactionresearchistodeterminewhatspecificstructurescan improveperformanceinascienceormathclassroom.Inordertoelaborateonthis,Imustdetailwhat performingwellinscienceormathentails. Performancecanbeattributedtovariousexpectationswithinasubject.Formath,ithasprimarilybeen associatedwithtestingresults.WhetherIagreewiththisnotionornot,itbecomesdifficulttoignoreit whenconsideringmathclassesthatstudentswilltakebeyondmyclass.Ican,however,usetestsasa mechanismtoaidselfassessment,whichwillgiveitarolethathelpstodevelopstudentawarenessof process.Testswillhelpstudentsmeasurewhattheyhavelearnedintermsofcontent,butalsoprovide anexperienceforstudentstoreflecton,therebymaintainingthebalancebetweencontentandprocess. AccordingtotheCaliforniaDepartmentofEducation,inascienceclass,studentsoughttobeprimarily focusedondevelopinganunderstandingofsubjectspecificcontent,suchascalculatingthepHofa solutioninchemistry.Otherconsiderationsareprovidedforunderstandinghistoricalsignificanceof notablediscoveriesandalsofordevelopingtheskillsassociatedwithinvestigationandexperimentation (2003).Forthetimeframeofmyresearch,itwouldbedifficultformetofocusonallofthosecriteriafor performance,soforpracticalpurposes,Iwillbefocusingontheacquisitionofscientificskills,namely processesassociatedwithscientificinquiry,whichencompassesinvestigationandexperimentation.I chosethesecriteriabecauseIbelievetheseskillsetstobemosttransferrabletoothersubjects, contributingtothecontinuationoflearningbeyondmyclass. ScientificInquiry Determiningaconcretedefinitionforscientificinquirycanbechallenging.Literaturetypicallyrelatesitto workthatscientistsdo,ortheprocessesinvolvedwiththatwork.IntheNationalScienceEducation Standards(1996),scientificinquiryreferstothediversewaysinwhichscientistsstudythenaturalworld andproposeexplanationsbasedontheevidencederivedfromtheirworkandalsoreferstothe activitiesofstudentsinwhichtheydevelopknowledgeandunderstandingofscientificideas(p.23). Thiscanbesummarizedasthemeansofacquiringscientificknowledge,whichisafairlybroaddefinition, yetthosewaysareexpandedonlaterinthesamearticle.

 Inquiryisamultifacetedactivitythatinvolvesmakingobservations;posingquestions;examining booksandothersourcesofinformationtoseewhatisalreadyknown;planninginvestigations; reviewingwhatisalreadyknowninlightofexperimentalevidence;usingtoolstogather,analyze, andinterpretdata;proposinganswers,explanations,andpredictions;andcommunicatingthe results.(1996) Thisapproachesamoredefinedsetofprocesses,butIfeelthatitisstilltooextensivetobeclearly adoptedorassessedwithinmyclass.Itisreasonablethatanumberofthoseprocessesorabilitiesmay beappropriateforagivenactivity,butitisunlikelythatallofthemwouldauthenticallyapply.In addition,someofthelistedprocessesremainvagueoropentointerpretation. Ithasbeenarguedthatscientificinquiryiscontextualizedwithintheframeworkofaspecificresearch agendainaparticularscientificfield(Hanauer,Hatfull,andJacobsSera2009).Formyresearch, scientificinquiryprocesseswillbedefinedbythestructuresfortheworkthatisbeingconducted.Those structureswillincludethelearninggoalsoftheactivities,theappropriateprocessesnecessarytopursue aninquiry,andreflectivepractices.Allofwhichwillprovidethecriteriaforassessment. Structuresforstudentperformance Therearemanyinstructionalmethodsthatareusedtoteachscienceandmath,rangingfromdirectto morestudentdriven.Therehavebeencasesmadeforboth,andallpracticesinbetween.Theargument tendstofocusonthelevelofdirectionthatisoffered.Ibelievethatmovementbetweenthesepractices isachievedthroughthestructuresthatareinplace.Effectivestructureshouldallowthestudentto evolvefrommoreguidedinstructiontolessguidedovertime,andideallyenablethestudenttoperform selfguidedwork.Thishasalsobeensuggestedinliteraturefordesigninganinquiryprogramwhich entails(starting)fromaresearchprocessthatisguidedanddirectedbyknowledge,questions,and proceduresfromtheinstructortoasituationinwhichthestudentresearcherworksindependentlyin coordinationanddiscussionwithothermembersofthelab(Hanauer,Hatfull,andJacobsSera2009). CarlWenninglaysoutamethodtoachievethistransitioninLevelsofinquiry:Hierarchiesofpedagogical practicesandinquiryprocesses.Inhisarticle,hedescribesahierarchyofpracticesincludingdiscovery learning,interactivedemonstrations,inquirylessons,inquirylabs,andultimately,hypotheticalinquiry (2005).Thepurposeofthishierarchyistodemonstratethat,inaccordancewiththesequence,the intellectualsophisticationshiftsfromlowtohigh,andthelocusofcontrolfromtheteachertothe student.Therelevancethisinsighthasonmyresearchisthatitnecessitatesthescaffoldingforlearning byimplementingintermediatelevelsofinstructionalapproaches.Thisinsightwillbehelpfulin designingtheworkinbothmathandscience.Skills,procedures,androutineswillinitiallybehighly demonstratedtothestudents,butincreasinglybecomeselfmanagedastheresearchprogresses.

Conclusion Ihavemanyhopesformyresearch.Asmentionedpreviously,mygoalforstudentsistoenableand inspirethemtobecomelifetimesciencelearners.Ihopetheyfindvalueintheunderstandingsgained frommyclass.Itisunreasonabletoexpectacomprehensiveeducation,butnottoexpectstudentsto gainnewperspectivesthatcanbeutilizedfortherestoftheirlives.Ouraimasteachersistogiveour studentasfirmagraspofasubjectaswecan,andtomakehimasautonomousandselfpropelleda thinkeraswecanonewhowillgoalong(learning)onhisownonceformalschoolinghasended (Bruner,1961,p.22).Inquiryandmathematicalthinkingprocessesarenotsubjectspecificskillsets. Throughtheactionresearchproject,Ihopethatstudentsidentifyskillsthatareapplicabletoother disciplines.Ifthestructuresthatfacilitatetheacquisitionoftransferrableskillsaresuccessful,then, hopefully,thosestructurescouldbetransferabletootherclassrooms.Althoughtheremightbesome minordifferencesinexpectationsandproceedings,theframeworkforanystructuresasitrelatestoskill buildingcouldremainrelativelyconsistent.WhenIcompletemyresearch,Ihopetobeabletoprovide examplesandinsightofhowstructuresmaybeadaptedforinterdisciplinaryapplicationforstudent learning.