Erin Barger

TE 861B: Final Interview Report

Students Interviewed
 Austin W – He is a straight A student who is also in many "gifted and talented" courses. He is fairly reserved when speaking
with teachers and answering questions because he is afraid of giving incorrect ideas or answers, so he often says he doesn't
know instead of just saying what is on his mind. He also does not often participate by sharing answers in front of other
students in LiveLessons for fear of being wrong and being made fun of.
 Austin T – He is currently earning B's in most of his classes. He is a very personable student who enjoys talking with teachers
and is open to asking questions and sharing any ideas that he has. He is a hard worker and when we set goals every two
weeks he always works toward accomplishing them.
 Allison – She is currently failing all of her classes except for Art and Health & PE. This is her first year at an online school and
she is struggling, partially due to her parents letting her be independent and trusting that she is doing the right things (even
though she is not). She seems to be missing a lot of instructions for completing assignments correctly, and she has a
tendency to rush through assessments and fail them. When we set goals every two weeks she either completely forgets
about them or only completes a step or two toward accomplishing them. She had the least amount to say when answering
questions during our interview, being fairly unsure of a lot of science ideas, and couldn't answer a lot of probing questions
with more information.
 Abbigail – She is currently earning B's in most of her classes. She is not very independent and gets a lot of assistance with
mom in staying on track and accomplishing her goals. When I ask her questions during our biweekly phone calls, she often
looks to her mother instead of just speaking to me. She enjoys science and had some ideas that helped her begin answering
the questions in the interview.
 Jayvon – He is currently failing (or nearly failing) all of his classes, but this is not reflective of his knowledge. Both his mother
and I recognize that he has low grades simply due to laziness and rushing to get things done. When speaking with him he
makes it obvious that he has a lot of knowledge and a strong vocabulary. In his interview he had a lot of correct ideas to
share and had no trouble explaining his ideas.
 Blaze – He is currently ranging in grades from 68% to 90%. He seems to perform fine on multiple-choice questions, but he
struggles when having to write/type ideas down into words. When we talk through scientific concepts verbally he is able to
shine and show what he knows. He's personable and enjoys chatting with me, so interviewing him was fairly easy. He had
many correct science ideas that he explained during our interview.
 Possible Follow-up Probing
Initial Question or Task Questions
1) How do plants grow?  Where do plants get the energy
and matter that they need to
grow?
 Where do the materials that
they need for growth come
from? (Where do they get what
they need so they can continue
to get bigger and have more
mass?)
 What evidence might you need
in order to support your claim?
What I learned
All of my students knew that plants require sunlight, water, and
soil in order to grow. Every student (except for Allison)
mentioned that plants take nutrients from the soil, and most
said that those nutrients either give them energy or help them
make their food to get energy. (Blaze and both Austins
specifically said the plant makes sugar or glucose.) Four of the
six students brought up photosynthesis (and Blaze just couldn't
remember the word, so arguably that makes five, Allison being
the one student who did not bring up any similar process).
Those four (Jayvon, both Austins, and Abbigail) also explained
that plants take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen in this
process. Austin T was the only student to suggest that plants get
their mass from making their food using soil, water, sunlight,
and CO2. The rest of the students all suggested water and
nutrients from the soil. When I asked those students about how
they could gather evidence to support that claim about mass
coming from the soil, or if they could design an experiment to
set that up, no students were on the right track, which shows
me that they have no experience coming up with ideas for
designing experiments to answer questions they have. For
example, Javyon's idea was to do an experiment labeling plant
pots (all the same type of plant in the same pots and same
amounts of soil) and watering them with different amounts of
water. When I redirected him to think about how he could
prove that the plant's mass comes from the soil, he couldn't
come up with an idea.
2) How do humans  Where do humans and other
grow? animals get the energy and
matter we need to grow?
 What are some things that
humans need in order to live?
 Why do we need those things?
(What are they used for?)
 How do we get the energy from
the food we eat?
3) What are some  How and why might changes in
factors that might cause [factor] affect the population of
the number of an organism?
organisms in a  Can you provide an example?
population to change  Can you tell me more?
over time?  Why do you think that?
 What might happen to
populations in an ecosystem if a
certain plant or animal was
completely removed from it?
All of the students recognize that we need to eat in order to get
nutrients and energy. All of the students (except for Allison)
mentioned something about food being digested, and Javyon
mentioned that there is chemical energy stored in the food that
we eat, but none of them were able to explain what happens to
that food to give our bodies energy. All of the students stated
that we breathe because we need the oxygen in the air, and all
students (except for Allison) mentioned that we breathe out
carbon dioxide. None of them understood what happens to the
oxygen in our bodies and why we breathe out carbon dioxide
instead. Javyon said that the change from oxygen to carbon
dioxide takes place in the heart. Austin T suggested that "we
breathe in oxygen, then we get rid of the carbon (since we don't
need it) and we release it in the form of carbon dioxide," though
he didn't have an idea as to where the carbon came from.
All students had an easy time coming up with at least a couple
answers to the initial question. Both Allison and Austin W
mentioned birth and death rates as affecting populations. Other
common ideas involved animals hunting each other, humans
hunting animals, habitat removal/destruction, and starvation if
there is a lack of food or other resources. Allison was the only
student to mention that populations change when animals
move to a different area or if something invades an area.
When asked what would happen to populations in an
ecosystem if one organism were removed, all students
understood that at least one other population of organism
would be effected, specifically mentioning that if a population
ate the species that disappeared, they would decrease in
population or would have to find something else to eat or leave
and go somewhere else because they lost a food source. Blaze

4) Task: Ask student to  What are some important parts
draw a picture or (both living and nonliving) of an
explain in words how ecosystem that you might want
energy flows through an to include?
ecosystem.  Where does the energy start
flowing into an ecosystem?
(Where does the energy come
from?)
 Where might the energy flow
after that? Why?
 Where or how might energy
flow out of an ecosystem?
5) Task: Ask student to  What are some important parts
draw a picture or (both living and nonliving) of an
explain in words how
and Abbigail mentioned more information about how other
populations could be effected, too, and Abbigail specifically said
"the food chain could get crazy and out of hand." Jayvon said
"the ecosystem might get weak" if an organism were removed.
When students were describing the flow of energy through an
ecosystem, some of them did not understand the word
ecosystem, so we broke it down and started with habitat and
went from there. They all recognized that the sun is the source
of energy for ecosystems because plants take that in and use
that energy to photosynthesize. (Abbigail said something
strange, that "a plant's energy could go into the air," but she
couldn't elaborate further. Austin W suggested that "energy can
be stored somewhere in leaves and stems of the plant, or used
to produce food.") Then animals get their energy from eating
plants or other animals. Jayvon and Austin T stated that the
energy could be stored and/or used by animals. Blaze
mentioned that the energy could be stored as fat. When asked
where the energy from an animal might go who doesn't get
eaten by anything and it dies, some said they weren't sure.
Abbigail and Austin W suggested that animals that eat dead
things could take the energy, like worms in the soil. Austin T
suggested "microscopic germs" could get the energy from the
dead body, indicating that he is the only student who
knows/remembers something about decomposers. Allison said
the energy is left on the ground. Blaze suggested that the
energy "changes into something else like grass or a Venus fly
trap" or that the "energy turns into another part of the
ecosystem. Energy never dies."
Due to a lack of time, I did not ask Austin T or Jayvon this series
of questions. When first asked about what matter was, Blaze
and Abbigail both had no idea, while Austin W and Allison both
 matter flows through an ecosystem that you might want
ecosystem. to include?
 What is matter? What are some
examples of matter that might
move through an ecosystem?
 Where might that matter flow
after that? Why?
said that matter is stuff that has weight. I learned that the
students have an understanding of how matter can move from
organism to organism in a food chain, and organisms release
matter back into the environment through going to the
bathroom (Blaze), but on their own none of them were thinking
about the water cycle or how oxygen and carbon cycle through
plants and animals through photosynthesis and respiration.

Interview Questions about Nature of Science: (Due to a lack of time, I could not ask these questions to Jayvon and Austin T.)

1. How do you think scientists decide when something is true? – My students understand that scientists do experiments or
tests in order to figure out if something is true or not. Abbigail specifically mentioned that the experiments are performed
many times and you have to get the "same answer" each time, and that will tell you if something is true or not.
2. Do “scientific facts” ever change? – For this question, I prefaced it with a quick reminder of differences between laws and
theories (because the next question is too similar to not have that discussion first). Talking about that with my students first
showed me that they haven't yet grasped the difference between laws and theories, and even when given an explanation
they still struggle with it. Three of the four students aid that scientific laws can change if someone comes along and does an
experiment that disproves it. (Austin W said yes they could change, but could not explain that answer.) Blaze was the only
student who said no "because they did experiments and found the answer, and it's true, so it's true forever."
3. After scientists have developed a theory (e.g. atomic theory), does the theory ever change? – Again, all students said yes
except for Blaze. The students really didn't have any new reasons for their answers, as I really don't think they thought this
question was different from the previous because they don't understand the difference between laws and theories. Blaze's
explanation was similar to the previous one.
4. Do you think that it is important to learn science? Why or why not? – The students all said it was important for everyone to
learn science, and most of their reasoning involved if they decide to be a scientist when they grow up. When I asked them if
it was still important for non-scientists to learn science, they all said yes, but had difficulty explaining why in ways that
practically made sense for everyone. Austin W just said because science is interesting and cool, and Blaze said you can collect
rocks or use science to figure out which foods are healthy or poisonous. This shows me that my students don't understand
how science knowledge can be applied in everyday life.

Conclusions
 From my interviews I can conclude that my students understand DCI LS1.C: Organization for Matter and Energy Flow in
Organisms partially. (Strongly connected is PS3.D: Energy in Chemical Processes and Everyday Life that describes the chemical
reaction of photosynthesis and cellular respiration.) All students know that plants need water and sunlight in order to live and grow,
and most of them know that they are used to make their food (sugar). Some students identified that they also need carbon dioxide
in order to photosynthesize, and they also release oxygen. Hopefully students will be able to grasp the inputs and outputs of
photosynthesis through my lessons and use of Legos. The other half of the DCI that involves knowing that food goes through
chemical reactions to break down and rearrange food molecules to form new molecules was not known by any students, so this will
likely be new information for most of the students in my class when I teach it in LiveLesson. I'll need to introduce these concepts as if
they have never heard of this process before, showing lots of images and examples to demonstrate what all is happening, and of
course using Legos for the chemical reaction piece of it.
The students also understand DCI LS2.A: Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems well. They all understand that
organisms are dependent upon their environment in order to live, so if there are changes to their environment (such as a lack of
resources and lack of habitat), they will either die, have to go somewhere else, or find another source of food (if that is what
changed). No students mentioned how some organisms might compete with each other for resources, impeding their growth, but
that topic is heavily covered in the next unit and is not emphasized in this one. Going along with this is also LS2.C: Ecosystem
Dynamics, Functioning, and Resilience, focusing on how populations change based on other things changing in an ecosystem.
LS2.B: Cycle of Matter and Energy Transfer in Ecosystems is understood fairly well when it comes to energy, and not as well
when it comes to matter. Students understand that energy transfers between organisms in feeding relationships through food
chains/webs, though they may not know the specific vocabulary words to describe those organisms (producers, consumers,
decomposers) since none of them used those words in our interviews. None of them mentioned the idea that energy is also released
to the environment from organisms in the form of thermal energy instead of just all going straight to the next thing that eats it. The
students didn't seem to truly understand what "matter" meant, and therefore didn't have a strong idea of how matter might move
through an ecosystem. In my lessons we will need to heavily emphasize what matter is, and what some of the types of matter are
that we might see moving through an ecosystem.
During my interviews, I really only gave the students a chance to construct explanations (in terms of the science and
engineering practices). [Due to a lack of time and difficulty with actually being able to share any drawings that students may have
made (it is nearly impossible to see pencil drawings over webcam, especially with not being able to hold them still), I did not have
any students draw models for my questions.] In asking students to explain their ideas, I noticed that most students responded well
to being asked questions like, "Why do you think that?" Most of them required prompting to continue and explain, usually just
sharing one sentence at a time with me. Perhaps this shows that they need practice coming up with longer explanations of ideas
without being prompted every step of the way. (This has shown to be true in other ways when students answer essay questions in
various subjects – they often will answer just one part of a multi-question prompt.)
When it comes to the three crosscutting concepts associated with this unit (cause and effect, energy and matter, and stability
and change), the students seem to have some strong foundational skills already. When it comes to ecosystems, students recognize
that a cause (some sort of event in an ecosystem, such as hunting, deforestation, or the removal of a species) will have some sort of
effect on the rest of the ecosystem, though there is no telling how big the students think this change in the ecosystem might be. So
when it comes to stability and change, it is unclear whether the students understand that a small change in one part of a system
might cause a large change in another part. This concept can be hit harder next unit when we discuss interdependent relationships
in ecosystems, however, and there is a larger emphasis on how changes can cause other changes in an ecosystem. Then for the
crosscutting concept of energy and matter, the students seem to grasp that energy flows throughout an ecosystem and it can be
tracked through, at least up to a certain point (like when an organism dies). The parts that the students might not yet grasp are that
matter and energy are conserved, and that the transfer of energy actually drives the motion and/or cycling of matter. In my
LiveLessons I can make sure to emphasize that matter in photosynthesis and cellular respiration is always conserved during those
chemical reactions, showing with Legos how the atoms are simply being rearranged, and I can be sure to emphasize once we get
into matter and energy flow that we can always account for all of it – we can track it and always figure out where it goes, and none
of it disappears. For the transferring of energy driving the movement of matter, I suppose I would need to emphasize that the
matter is only moving because of that need for energy to flow.
I think during this unit I could have the opportunity to have my students understand how this knowledge can apply to their
lives or the lives of other people, since that is not something that they were able to express easily in the interviews. We can discuss
how the knowledge of plants photosynthesizing can help students successfully grow plants, making sure they have what they need.
They can use their knowledge of how we use food to understand that if we put too much chemical energy (in the form of food) into
our bodies and we don't exercise and use that energy, we can gain weight – so this knowledge can help students maintain a healthy
weight and lifestyle. Their knowledge of how ecosystems are affected by change can be used to help them prevent negatively
impacting ecosystems and (in the future) vote against things that could have a negative environmental impact. They can also apply
this knowledge to endangered animals (and why we should work to keep them around) and invasive species (and why we should
keep them out of where they don't belong).