Oscar Newman

Annotated Bibliography Science Methods (EDC&I 473A)

Week 2 Readings

Bang, M., & Medin, D. (2010, March 1). Cultural processes in science education: Supporting
the navigation of multiple epistemologies. Retrieved September 29, 2019, from
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/sce.20392?
shared_access_token=V7LauS_tQ80wHiFvpq55u04keas67K9QMdWULTWMo8PA_w-
eVhsvvPzYnLfklbI461PVZRqSeu9ldENinlyy7Hbuxyse3V7nD3SggIpEAOR3DIfD_3Tye6KlvuZ
rAUF6Ojufe0Dtrl1Ht2SGsDNLA9CwelOevlLNYjnQYcr9AWo=&.

Summary: Studying the diverse ways in which knowing occurs is a necessary step in creating
improved outcomes for students from indigenous communities. Ideas about knowing are
cultural, and in order to instruct students better these need to be explored.

Quote: “...[S]cience instruction is seldom recognized as a set of cultural practices.”

Response: It is informative that the authors included the sorry history of research within
American Indian communities. The way in which educators (and I am not certain this is
particular to science education) approach student knowledge and either recognize and
appreciate what conceptions students bring to class will make it easier or difficult to learn. My
concern is the degree to which the article criticizes a straw man. Is there anyone arguing that
it is best practice to be dismissive about student ways of knowing and learning? To be sure,
there is a danger in placing science instruction outside of culture (as is also the case in
mathematics), but this is a poor read of the history of science. Problem based instruction and
effective methods for leading discussions offer some ways to approach this problem. For the
discussion of teaching students the nature of science, there are similar dynamics teaching all
children. Science is not common sense, and there are areas of tension between science and
all cultures, to be certain, these tensions are especially pronounced in many communities,
and there should be no sugarcoating the connections between science and white supremacy,
but solutions may look similar across diverse communities.

Gonzales, J. (2018, September 20). Culturally Responsive Teaching: 4 Misconceptions.

Retrieved October 2, 2019, from https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/culturally-responsive-
misconceptions/.

Summary: In this interview, Zaretta Hammond, author of Culturally Responsive Teaching and
the Brain, is interviewed about culturally responsive teaching. The interview identifies
misinterpretations and criticisms of CRT from the educational community and defines its
principles.

Quote: All instruction is culturally responsive. The question is, to whose culture is it
responding?

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Response: This podcast explored the way that culturally responsive teaching has taken on a
life of its own since being defined in the mid-90s by Ladson-Billings. Of especial note is in the
distinction between multiculturalism and CRT. Student learning and achievements are the key
pieces of evidence that the teacher is employing CR practices, but there is a tendency to get
bogged down on superficial aspects of a classroom. That being said, in a social and political
era in which students who are undocumented or who identify as LGBTQ+, physical
statements of solidarity, welcome, and safety can go a long way in initiating dialogues that will
ultimately improve what students know and are able to do. Hanging flags and posters may
just be a starting point, but it can be an important one.

National Audubon Society. Climate Change and Birds. (2014, September 8). Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aN2-a82_3mg.

Summary: Birds are sensitive to environmental phenomena. Climate is changing due human
actions.

Quote: Every bird species is uniquely adapted to its surroundings.

Response: How very sad. I enjoyed the concise summary of what to do: reduce carbon
emissions and protect habitat of threatened species. I am concerned with two issues: 1. is this
an example of best practices in terms of getting people to change their behavior? I am not
certain. 2. The “there's something we all can do” message is asystemic. Personal choices
matter, but leveraging political power needs to be part of the message as well.

Pang, Valerie & Lafferty, Karen & Pang, Jennifer & Griswold, Joan & Oser, Rick. (2014).
Culture Matters in Science Education. Science and Children. 051.
10.2505/4/sc14_051_05_44.

Summary: Science instruction is more effective when parents are recruited as collaborators
and content is presented in accessible ways. Culturally responsive teaching can improve
student outcomes.

Quote: To create effective activities, teachers need to know how to integrate cultural and
linguistic elements into science education.” (Pang et al p.49)

Response: No surprises here. I was a little concerned that a lot of the examples of culturally
responsive teaching, e.g., posters of diverse scientists, represented the most superficial way
to present content differently. These were presented as decoration rather than shifts in
approach to teaching, whereas presentation of materials in Spanish represented a deeper
attempt to smooth communication boundaries between school and home. Overall, it was a
starting point, if not a deep shift in pedagogy.

Alexakos, Konstantinos & Antoine, Wladina. (2005). The Golden Age of Islam and Science
Teaching. Science Teacher.

Summary: In this article from an NSTA publication, teachers are presented with some
highlights of the history of science during the Golden Age of Islam to enrich their presentation

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of the history of science as a human endeavor with contributions from many cultures.

Quote: (Responding to Kuhn) “[S]cience and scientific research have to be understood as

human activities reflective of the era, culture, and scientific community in which they were
developed.”

Response: There were some examples with which I was not familiar here. I use a little
knowledge of this history in my Algebra 1 course, and I appreciated the presentation of the
development of mathematics as fully integrating the Greek approach to geometry and the
Babylonian and Indian focus on symbols. I am interested to learn more about the approach to
optics mentioned in the article that may represent an early tentative step to science as an
empirical field.

Stokes, N.C. (2001) The Fin Art of Science: Japanese Fish Printing Brings Interdisciplinary
Science and Culture to the Classroom. The Science Teacher, March, 22-24

Summary: This is a practical exploration of a science activity. There is some cultural

background provided, but the main focus is on how to implement the activity in a science
classroom.

Quote: “There is no reason to stop at making prints from fish – many invertebrates such as
shrimp, crab, starfish, squid, and octopus also make great prints.”

Response: Who would have known? I thought the presentation of this activity represented a
pleasant approach to science inquiry: the level of content to grapple depends very much on
students. This was an activity with a lot of accessibility to explore deeply.

Madden, Lauren; Joshi, Arti. (2013) What Does Culture Have to Do With Teaching Science:
Teaching Plant Growth from an Asian-Indian Hindu Lens. Science and Children, September,
pp. 66-69

Summary: Plants are presented as an easy entry point to making connections with students'
home cultures in order to improve science instruction. The example of Indian American
students is presented, as well as background on the way plants are considered in Hinduism,
but there are ideas that can be applied to any culture.

Quote: “Using these strategies can enhance science teaching by sharing with students that
[there] are many sources of knowledge an expertise that should be valued and appreciated int
the classroom.”

Response: Every culture uses plants in some way. Every elementary school will feature plants
in its curriculum at some point. This approach represents an easy starting point for building
connections between the classroom and community. I especially liked the idea of using
interactive notebooks to have parents and family members see what students are learning
and enhance it.

Week 3 Readings

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Gonzales, J. (2019, July 21). Episode 126: Student-Written Graphic Novels. Retrieved
October 9, 2019, from https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/pod/episode-126/.

Summary: Interspersed with advertisements that make my disdain for podcasts come alive,
are some interesting explorations of how graphic novels and cartooning can create meaning.
Amplification through simplification is an interesting approach to using a different way of
approaching science observations. From a teaching standpoint, students are willing to share
information that they may not be able to articulate in other ways. For trauma informed
teaching, the use of graphic novels represents a potentially powerful tool.

Quote: “[A graphic novel] builds content schema for readers.”

Response: I enjoyed the intentional approach of introducing the graphic novel as a way to
strengthen relationships and use knowledge of students' proximal zone of development to
advance learning. The section on assessment was interesting and leads to more questions
about how to implement an activity like this in class. It would be interesting to explore more
about the use and creation of graphic novels in science class. Trinity: A Graphic History of the
Atomic Bomb and Feynman stand out as interesting examples to explore.

Renstrom, J. (2017) “Science Fiction as a Looking Glass: Teaching Students to Save the
World”. Tedx WalthamED Series. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=9Ed8OeZcOBI

Summary: The author explores uses of science fiction to teach tough concepts without some
of the cultural baggage with directly addressing the same issues in class. There was an
interesting aside on SF as cautionary as often as hopeful.

Quote: “Perhaps more importantly, these characters also inspire students to believe that the
world can be a better place and when that happens in class, students look around and they
see others invested in that idea. And when that happens, students are bolstered by the
possibilities of what a like-minded community can achieve.” (10:41)

Response: A lovely thought, but one that involves a lot of time invested. Is there a value to
using science fiction in science class? Perhaps, but there are some practical considerations
that are not addressed in the talk. For example, what about the different levels of reading
ability in class? Is there support for students with an IEP? For those students, a focus on
reading as opposed to hands-on science investigations may represent a frustration point that
does not have the same dynamic for other students. While there is more to teaching science
than “covering content,” this is a real problem for teachers who may already feel
overwhelmed. Is it worth the amount of time it could take to do this with more involved works
as opposed to novellas or short stories? Would it be better, then to implement something as
an after-school club or program? Perhaps, but then not all students would have the
opportunity. As a science teacher, I constantly reference science fiction – this gives me a
different perspective on reboots as new generations are introduced to familiar characters –
but at the same time, guidelines on implementation would need to be carefully considered to
implement SF into a science classroom.

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Week 4 Readings

Zimmer, C. (n.d.). Episode 1. Carlos Mariscal: What Do We Mean When We Ask, “What Is
Life?” Retrieved October 16, 2019, from https://carlzimmer.com/podcasts/.

Summary: Carl Zimmer, an author and recipient of the Stephen Jay Gould Prize (2016) for
“advancing public understanding of evolutionary science” interviews a philosopher of science
on the question, what is life? By exploring objects with intriguing ambiguities, the question of
categorizing objects in a binary system of living or nonliving is challenged. Additionally, human
impositions on the natural world, such as brain death, are explored. The exploration is
reminiscent of the Werner Heisenberg quote, “We have to remember that what we observe in
nature is not nature itself, but nature exposed to our method of questioning.”

Quote: “It resembles life in a number of important respects...It has a function. And the function
is given to it by the designer of this object.” (Zimmer, 05:09)

Response: The explanation of the wind-up gorilla was fascinating. The tentative answer given
for the objects “I worry that the question itself may be presuming the kinds of answer that it is
seeking” was a fabulous attempt to get at the heart of the question itself as an imposition on
an untidy natural world. Science is a construction. There are useful outcomes and
applications of that knowledge, but this podcast represents an exploration of the fact that all
science rests upon assumptions. Even if amazing outcomes are possible using those
assumptions, this knowledge results from a conceptual leap. Last, the quote above was
chosen because its language parallels language used in the recent movement to undermine
the teaching of evolution by natural selection, Intelligent Design.

(See Appendix A)

Goldacre, B. (n.d.). Battling Bad Science. Retrieved October 16, 2019, from
https://www.ted.com/talks/ben_goldacre_battling_bad_science?language=en.

Summary: There are many types of bad science. This talk explores bad public
entertainers/”scientists” but is largely focused on science that is bad because it is presented
in a way to obfuscate the strength of results. Unfortunately, the title of this talk is misleading.
There are many other kinds of bad science, including textbooks rife with misconceptions,
teaching that fails to address student prior knowledge adequately (e.g., the Private Universes
Project), or lack of teacher preparation in teaching science. A more appropriate title would
relate to battling charlatanism or the unfortunate effects of the pharmaceutical industry relying
upon lack of science literacy in the general public.

Quote: “But we're also unimpressed by authority because it's so easy to contrive.” (Goldacre.
01:59)

Response: People respond to authority. There would be no need to fabricate credentials or

intentionally misrepresent trial data if there were no benefit in doing so. This talk presents the
results of a scientifically misinformed public in a society that has now codified the ability of

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industry to influence its own regulation as free speech. There are important things that should
be resisted, but declaring those things to be defined as bad science is also detrimental.

Gonzales, J. (2016, November 27). Know Your Terms: Constructivism. Retrieved October 16,
2019, from https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/constructivism/.

Summary: Constructivism carries the day in education. At least in theory. It would be an

interesting challenge to find an educational philosophy that was in opposition to the idea that
students create meaning through rich experiences guided by the teacher. In practice,
however, rote learning still exists. A fundamental dissonance between theory and practice.

Quote: “Each time one prematurely teaches a child something he could have discovered
himself, that child is kept from inventing it and consequently from understanding it
completely.” (Piaget, quoted in Cult of Pedagogy)

Response: I have never taught primes using beans. There is rich possibility of a garden math
lesson emerging from that little nugget from Bruner's quote. To understand education today
(at least in theory, see above) one must be familiar with Constructivism. Of course, there are
critiques of child-centered learning based on a fear of relativism or the belief that students are
best prepared by acquiring a standard set of knowledge, but a larger dynamic would be the
disconnect between educators that value this approach, but teaching in a stereotypically
traditional manner. It would be worthwhile to explore whether this dynamic were more evident
in schools serving low income, at-risk students.

Kirch, S., & Stetsenko, A. (2012). What Does It Mean to Know? Third-Grade Students
Research Using Claims and Evidence in Science. Science and Children, (Summer 2012), 44–
49.

Summary: This article summarizes a professional development program for intermediate

teachers to learn methods for teaching students about claims and evidence. Students
operated at a sophisticated intellectual level in evaluating evidence within a short time.
Creative activities like integrating art to have students represent the meanings of claims and
evidence were used as well.

Quote: “Tommy added, 'But it says 'the scientists' so I think it is real,' and Katie elaborated on
Tommy's comment...”

Response: These teachers must have also read the Bruner's Process of Education in which it
is claimed “We begin with the hypothesis that any subject can be taught effectively in some
intellectually honest form to any child at any stage of development.” The students in this
project were doing some heavy intellectual work. Future questions are raised: how might this
lesson be extended into other areas? Examples from science and literature are used, but
what about deductive disciplines like mathematics. Teachers are expected to promote
mathematical discourse much as teachers are expected to use competing explanations
strategically in science class, but the way a lesson like this would possibly unfold in a
mathematics classroom would be an interesting area to explore.

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Keely, P. (2012). Guest Editorial: Misunderstanding Misconceptions. Science Scope, 12–15.

Summary: In this short article, Keely articulates misconceptions about misconceptions.

Important works in the study of science misconceptions, such as the Private Universes
Project of the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and the Uncovering Student
Ideas in Science probes are mentioned. Students enter the classroom with conceptual
understanding that may be in error, but through which students are able to make meaning.
Understanding is presented as a continual process and there are many actionable steps for
classroom teachers, including to overcome the urge to immediately correct ideas at odds with
conventional science explanations.

Quote: “I have observed that the word misconception seems to have a pejorative connotation
to most practitioners.” (Keely, p. 13)

Response: Bravo to the idea of celebrating the ability of all students to think and create
meaning. With regards to the idea that misconceptions arise from instruction and instructional
materials, there is certainly more that could have been written, but teacher preparation would
certainly be a means of resolving this. There is also the system by which educational
materials are created, marketed, and used by real districts that informs the quality of
instructional materials. As a critique, the idea that teachers are just using probes like the ones
in Uncovering Student Ideas and “calling it a day” does not seem warranted. Perhaps
teachers are not reading the material at the front of the book and only using it as a handout,
but that is an assessment of science educators that is not very charitable.

Jackson, J., Durham, A., Dowell, S., Sockel, J., & Boynton, I. (2016, December). Claims and
Evidence: Creating Opportunities for Students to Practice Speaking and Writing About
Science. Science and Children, 64–69.

Summary: In this article, introducing primary elementary students to CER frameworks is

explored. Actionable ideas include being systematic about the use of language, providing
stems for student statements, and visual aids are described. Interactive word walls, in
particular, are presented as a way to visually provide information to students as well as an aid
in student discussions about evaluating competing claims and assessing the strength of
claims.

Quote: “They get flustered and concerned. “I have to explain that I’m asking Why? because
they were right and I want them to tell me more. Because? is less threatening.” (Jackson et al.
p.64)

Response: Assessing the way that teachers roll out science inquiry to young students and the
particular challenges of using language that will create easy points of access for students who
are English Language Learners is insightful. The stem, “I know I am right because...” in
contrast, does not seem that it would be particularly helpful. This seems to set kids up for
failure by not presenting scientific explanations as tentative. This type of language focuses on
“being right” more than being scientific.

Canipe, M., & Tolbert, S. (2016). Many Ways of Knowing: A Multilogical Science Lesson on

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Climate Change. Science and Children, 31–35.

Summary: This article details lessons that incorporate both Western scientific evidence as
well as indigenous evidence. Students are guided to a deeper understanding of the issue of
climate change by learning from multiple perspectives that are rigorous and systematic.

Quote: “When integrating indigenous knowledge in science education, it’s important to

position it as a valuable knowledge system in its own right and not merely as a tool for
acquiring Western scientific knowledge.” (Canipe & Tolbert. p. 35)

Response: While the perspective of science as a human endeavor is appreciated, there is an

unnecessary dilemma established in the quote above. It could also be the case that both
qualitative evidence as well as formal scientific evidence can complement one another in
guiding the development of conceptual understanding about climate science. Moreover, the
bird foraging lab was utterly contrived. There is no problem modeling ecosystem interactions,
but this aspect of the sequence of instruction did not seem to serve to advance
understanding.

Week 5 Readings

Davis, V. (2018, February 9). 5 Formative Assessment Strategies to Help with Classroom
Management @coolcatteacher. Retrieved from https://www.coolcatteacher.com/e250/.

Summary: The title of this podcast is straightforward. Indeed, there are explanations of five
simple formative assessment activities presented here. Activities were presented that involved
different amounts of time for implementation/student attention to thinking.

Quote: “So, remarkable teachers, remember… we need to be checking for understanding –

pretty often! Every 15-20 minutes at least, in our class periods. That’s 2-3 times per class
period if you have a 50-minute class period like I do.”

Response: The above quote is fairly important. In addition to assessing student

understanding, teachers need to assess student engagement with a lesson, conceptual
difficulty, task difficulty, and so on or the teacher will get to hone management strategies
instead of the lesson they originally planned. It is easy to forget that many management
situations occur when there is a disparity between what the students can do and what the
teacher is asking them. I imagine these numbers are even more pronounced for the students
we teach at IW. Last, the Twitter activity was interesting, but I wonder if this is not dated.

(Growth Mindsets v Fixed Mindset Sprouts). Sprouts. 2016. YouTube Channel. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUWn_TJTrnU

Summary: This is literally the TLDR version of Mindsets. As such, it presents the broadest
generalizations that can be drawn from the book while avoiding nuance.

Quote: “shows that nurture is more important than nature”

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Response: Egads. What a miserable quote in 2019. Nature v nurture deprives all but the
worst conversations of nuance and complexity. One study justifies this extravagant
statement? This claim is completely unwarranted.

The Big Idea of Sustainability & Essential Questions. (n.d.). Retrieved October 23, 2019, from
http://www.sustainableschoolsproject.org/sites/default/files/Big Ideas Essential Questions.pdf.

Summary: These are indeed a long list of questions that can inform discussions of
sustainability and community.

Quote: “How are human and natural systems interrelated?”

Response: The authors must have failed to read last week's readings.

These are questions that can be used to consider the way that environment and a place
interact. Context is sorely lacking here. Who are the authors and what are their goals? The
questions seem tame enough and could probably guide interesting conversations, but to what
end? By whom?

Froschauer, L., & Bigelow, M. L. (2012). Rise and shine a practical guide for the beginning
science teacher. Arlington, VA: National Science Teachers Association.

Summary: This is a chapter on assessment from a book for preservice or teachers that are
new to teaching science (or their mentors). Topics include preassessments, formative
assessments, tips on reteaching strategies, summative assessments, rubrics, and some
description of PBL strategies and authentic assessment.

Quote: Although a comprehensive discussion of assessments and grading is beyond

the scope of this book, this chapter provides some information and ideas that will
prove helpful to the beginning teacher. (Froschauer & Bigelow. p.106)

Response: There are useful ideas here that can explain topics that are new to teachers at the
beginning of their career. However, the failure to address a core issue, grading, makes this a
problematic resource. For many teachers the tension between ideas of assessment and
grading undergird the tensions between philosophy of education statements and the practices
in which classroom teachers actually engage.1
Finally, the failure to venture into this ethical minefield is a salient way that most teaching
certification programs fail to adequately prepare their students. 2

1See Newman (unpublished) rule 67: If you want to get a room full of teachers to disagree, ask them to decide
on the best way to grade students. (Also, the corollary: 67A: If your school culture becomes too agreeable, ask
teachers if missing assignments should be counted as a zero. Hyperbole alert!)
2 I am truly trying to be charitable here, but I have never encountered teachers who felt like they were really
prepared to grade at the beginning of their careers, yet everyone spent time learning about assessment.
There are legal, ethical, institutional, and cultural reasons why this topic is avoided, but the subject is often
avoided to the detriment of teachers and students.

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McNeill, K. L., Katsch-Singer, R., & Pelletier, P. (2015, December). Assessing Science
Practices: Moving Your Class Along a Continuum. Science Scope, 21–28.

Summary: With plenty of examples of classroom implementation, this article offers an

interesting approach to grouping NGSS Science Practices into different categories based on
the types of thinking involved and provides practical evidence on promoting development of
constructing explanations and engaging in argument from evidence.

Quote: “Limit teacher talk during argumentation by physically removing yourself from the
discussion (e.g., sit in the corner of the room) or telling students that you have a specific task
during the discussion.” (McNeill et al. p.27)

Response: This is a useful guide to exploring an important shift in the NGSSs. There is an
area of concern in that the authors position the rubric and evaluating practices as the
assessment of a class. Is this the level in which learning actually occurs? Also, how can this
be used to account for student differences in not only the attainment of mastery of the
Practices, but also preferred learning styles, language usage, and other things that could
affect student participation in a class discussion?

Week 6 Readings

Ross, D., Fisher, D., & Frey, N. (2009, November). The Art of Argumentation; Fourth Graders
Practice with Language Frames to Learn the Process of Argumentation in Inquiry-Based
Instruction. Science and Children, 28–31.

Summary: Based on the idea that argumentation is a skill that needs to be developed, this
article provides some practical suggestions in how to use templates for argument in class
discussions. Teaching argumentation is presented as a way to approach a sophisticated
understanding of science that accounts for uncertainty and the role of assumptions, warranted
or not in arguments.

Quote: “Children are often good at arguing, but not argumentation.” (Ross et al. p.28)

Response: This statement is so true. Frames are useful and appear in many classes. This
article is valuable in showing some ways they may be used to model the process of
argumentation, but I think more examples would have been helpful. Last, I was a little put off
by multiple frames that incorporated the word “belief” because this can lead the way to
unproductive conversations in science class. Science is not a set of beliefs. There are
credible arguments, and we can evaluate how evidence makes an argument credible or not,
but the use of belief edges into treacherous territory for science class.

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Falk, A., & Brodsky, L. (2014, October). Teacher's Toolkit: Scientific Explanations and
Arguments: Supporting Students with Explicit Reasoning in Argumentation. Science Scope,
10–21.

Summary: This article applies the work, The Uses of Argument, by Toulmin, to scientific
argumentation in classrooms. There are lots of graphic organizers presenting ways of
structuring and analyzing arguments derived from classroom discussions. In addition, there is
a focus on moving beyond primary data as the only valid source of evidence in science
classrooms. There were some useful tools like outlining facilitation moves to improve student
skills in deductive reasoning and sorting information to determine which evidence is more or
less relevant.

Quote: “In essence, we would be asking [students] to make arguments using information that
represents a series of inferences, not primary data. This is consistent with the practice of
scientists, who often use primary data but also use information from data that have been
interpreted by others.” (Falk & Brodsky, p. 20)

Response: This article was about an increasingly important topic, yet was presented in an
unwieldy way. As the ability of humans to communicate becomes easier via technology, there
is no better time to consider how to effectively weigh evidence and understand the
complexities of argumentation. The usability of this article will not improve the situation, which
is unfortunate, because the underlying ideas presented are sound.

Viskontas, I., & Hari, K. (n.d.). 137 Jonah Berger - The Hidden Forces that Shape Behavior.
Retrieved October 29, 2019, from https://soundcloud.com/inquiringminds/137-jonah-berger-
the-hidden-forces-that-shape-behavior.

Summary: This Inquiring Minds podcast episode is an interview with author Jonah Berger
about the book Invisible Influence: The Hidden Forces That Shape Behavior. The
conversation delved into how people who claim to value their independent thinking base
important decisions on conformity.

Quote: “We think that where we ended up is the only place we could have ended up...But
some small things had a big impact on those decisions” (4:47)

Response: Other people have a big impact on our lives, to a greater degree than commonly
believed. There are some pretty sweeping generalizations in classic pop psychology mode.
There were some interesting suggestions about the role of class in valuing conformity or not,
but in the end, this is an interesting exploration of trivialities. One interesting connection to the
Islandwood program is in the effect of an audience on performance. Specifically, the effect of
a trusted or valued peer on a performance would seem potentially relevant in the case of
partner teaching or mentor observation. It is interesting to explore the way that the observer
influences the performance, especially when we evaluate whether the performance is in an
area of strength or weakness. There was also an interesting, if entirely ahistorical, section by
the moderators at the end that hinted at forgiving oneself for failing to reach the heights of
success.

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Davey, G. (2009, May 14). Friends - Ross and Phoebe argue about Evolution. Retrieved
October 29, 2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=cXr2kF0zEgI&index=3&list=PL6ewytVfHTFvmGqPjIjoBG4oWSM41LDvF.

Summary: This is five minutes more than I have ever been able to stomach of this insipid
show. Phoebe mentions a variety of quack theories and then states she does not believe in
evolution (or gravity). The character Ross explains that there is evidence for evolution. In
addition to arguments that parallel historical critiques of evolution, Phoebe latches on to a
kernel of truth in a portrayal of scientists as prone to dogma as other humans.

Quote “Monkeys. Darwin. I just think it's a little too easy.” (0:53)

Response: Two quotes come to mind:

On the characterization of a scientist as dogmatic, here is one from Bertrand Russel:

“Every man of science whose outlook is truly scientific is ready to admit that what passes for
scientific knowledge at the moment is sure to require correction with the progress of
discovery; nevertheless, it is near enough to the truth to serve for most practical purposes,
though not for all. In science, where alone something approximating to genuine knowledge is
to be found, men’s attitude is tentative and full of doubt.”

On the entire episode:

“Debating creationists on the topic of evolution is rather like trying to play chess with a pigeon
— it knocks the pieces over, craps on the board, and flies back to its flock to claim victory.” -
S. D. Weitzenhoffer

Golden, B., Grooms, J., Sampson, V., & Oliveri, R. (2012, March). Generating Arguments
About Climate Change. Science Scope, 26–35.

Summary: In the instructional sequence highlighted in the article, students learn to construct
arguments from evidence about climate change exploring questions such as, What is
climate? Is there evidence the climate is changing? What are the causes of climate change?
Students are presented with a variety of evidence from sunspots data to disprove a common
misconception about climate change to global fossil fuel emissions over time to bolster the
accepted science understanding of the issue.

Quote: “Another helpful suggestion would be to elaborate to students that this is not an
opportunity to state their beliefs; instead, they should emulate scientists by building an
explanation based on data.” (Golden et al. p. 29)

Response: The idea of these lessons is sound, but there is a deeper issue. Is there a need to
have students prove that the climate is changing? This seems analogous to a biology
assignment in which students prove that evolution by natural selection can occur: there is
value in the exercise, but in a certain way, students are deprived of doing authentic inquiry

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since the answer is known3. Also, there are ways to do this sort of inquiry that are not as
clearly understood. For example, students could look at hurricane or tropical storm data over
time and see what trends emerge. Here, the science is more ambiguous and the convergent
aspect of these arguments would not be an issue.

Week 7 Readings

Pratt, R. (2015) Pratt on Texas Podcast. Data or Dogma in Climate Change Alarmism.
Retrieved from https://podcasts.google.com/?
feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9wcmF0dG9udGV4YXMucG9kb21hdGljLmNvbS9hcmNoaXZlL3JzczIueG
1s&episode=aHR0cHM6Ly9wcmF0dG9udGV4YXMucG9kb21hdGljLmNvbS9lbnRyeS8yMDE
1LTEyLTEwVDAwXzM0XzIzLTA4XzAw&hl=en&ep=6&at=1567795880227

Summary: This is a podcast that dismisses the work of climate scientists to use data to show
that the climate is changing.

Quote: “Only a very weak idea demands it must be protected from any criticism.”

Response: Global Warming Alarmists is a wonderfully-dismissive term. This is an interesting

use of the idea of throwing someone's words back at them to undermine them.

deGrasse Tyson, N., & Nye, B. (2015, October 7). Star Talk: Science Literacy vs Climate
Change Deniers. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lu5Tja5Coi4

Summary: In this conversation between Bill Nye and Neil deGrasse Tyson on Star Talk, big
stakes are discussed. Nye offers the idea that it will be a close call, and the results could be
truly disastrous.

Quote: “I strongly believe...it's going to be a near-run thing”

Response: Which will prevail – scientifically literate population or the forces of anti-science? It
is an interesting topic and one that takes more that three minutes to explore. To the ideas
presented here, I would add that anti-intellectualism comes not just from the right, but from
the left as well in the postmodern use of social constructivism to present all science as
subjective artifice, a legacy of colonialism and related enterprises that should make way for
other types of knowledge that do not happen to be subjected to the same rigor.

Ruhle, S (2019). Democrats Turn Focus to Climate Change. Retrieved from

http://www.msnbc.com/stephanieruhle/watch/2020-democrats-turn-focus-to-climate-change-
68249669597

3 Some, of course, may disagree of this assertion. To this, I would add that there have been many lines of critique on
Global Climate Change, but that not all lines of disagreement have been in the spirit of honest skepticism. I would be
wary, here, of the “teach both sides” approach that has devalued the teaching of evolution or made it so controversial
that real school teachers shy away from the headache of a scientifically conventional topic that is politically
controversial.

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Summary: This is a summary of a 2020 US Presidential debate that covers the way in which
all the Democrat candidates are focused on addressing climate change. Different candidates'
positions are analyzed and one quote by Warren is used to address the political usefulness of
focusing on issues like straws or meat consumption when there are larger political issues.

Quote: (From Elizabeth Warren) “This is exactly what the fossil fuel industry hopes we will all
talk about.”

Response: This report hovers around the important question of who has the responsibility to
address climate change. In the superficial issues of straws, light bulbs, and so on, the
arguments presented by analysts seem to indicate that focusing on these issues will alienate
voters and ultimately cost Democrats the election. To this, I would add that those on the Left
are perfectly capable of shaming themselves on these issues. In a similar way to the way in
which Warren dismisses these high-profile issues as preventing scrutiny of regulation and
larger targets like manufacturing, there is often attention to these issues without looking at
larger issues. At Islandwood, I have not seen, for example a presentation of the issue of food
waste that does not present the problem as one created exclusively by the end user. Are
there other lenses with which to view food production and consumption? Certainly, and there
is value in reducing waste. But perhaps we are not going to Oort Report our way out of the
bigger issue unless the issue of leveraging political power to regulate is addressed.

Peek, L (2019). 2020 Democrats Sound Alarm on Climate Change. Retrieved from
https://video.foxnews.com/v/6084083195001/#sp=show-clips

Summary: [In order to load this Fox News video, you will have to apparently disable ad
blocking and privacy Chrome extensions. How reassuring.] This is another summary and
analysis of the same Democratic debate from the other side of the political spectrum. The
difference between the Liberal and Conservative perception of this issue is discussed. Andy
Puzder offers the idea that Dems are focusing on the wrong aspects of the issue while Juan
Williams offers the thought experiment of how we will remember this issue in the future.

Quote: (Juan Williams) “We do things in America to try to improve the quality of life for our
society. ”

Summary: Regulation is presented as dangerous because it involves control. Interestingly,

some analysts argue that there are problems with carbon emissions, but that the Dems are
focusing on the wrong targets. Williams presents an effective line of argumentation that we
may look back on these current attempts to regulate life in the US in the future the same way
we now look back on limiting smoking in public places or speed limits. It will be interesting to
see how this argument fares in this issue when it has been utterly ineffective in the issue of
gun control.

Larson, B. (2010). Making the Climate Connection: Resources and Learning Progressions for
Teaching Students About Weather and Climate. Science and Children, April, 61–65.

Summary: This article presents application of the idea of learning progressions to apply best
practices in sequencing instruction to weather and climate. Resources and sample

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activities/investigations are presented in a way that will help primary and intermediate
teachers structure lessons to teach students about these important topics.

Quote: “[Learning progressions] identify the order in which students can best learn and
understand science over a broad span of time.” (Larson, p. 61)

Response: Larson uses some resources from the NRC (Taking Science to School) and the
AAAS (Benchmarks for Science Literacy), but surprisingly does not reference the Atlas for
Science Literacy which handles much of the same work from the standpoint of conceptual
understanding. The author laments the lack of learning progressions (“I don't know of any
current research efforts underway to establish learning progressions for weather and climate,
and I would welcome input on the progressions I share here.” (Lawson, p.61)) but neglects a
resource published nine years earlier on that very issue. While the difference is on focusing
on activities rather than conceptual attainment, this is a big oversight.

Week 8 Readings

Mcgough, J., & Nyberg, L. (2015). The Power of Questioning: Guiding Student Investigations.
NSTA Press.

Summary: This is an NSTA resource on questioning. A main idea is that students already
have questions, and their questions can provide motivation that drives engagement
throughout inquiry. Questioning must be developed in order to focus on science as inquiry
and questions are important to assessment. There is practical exploration of using unit guides
to develop questions to drive inquiry and developing the ability to ask better questions by
learning about different types of questions like convergent versus divergent. The use of
questioning types is guided by what the teacher wants to know and how they want the
students to be engaged. Depth of Knowledge and wait time are also mentioned.

Quote: “Children ask questions and make connections to what is being learned in the
classroom every day – on the playground, at home, walking to and from class, and when
listening to stories and presentations. Sharing these connections through academic discourse
helps students formulate new ideas and reconstruct old ones by adding new information from
others' experiences.” (McGough & Nyberg, p. 8)

Response: This is an introductory guide to asking questions. The first chapter places
questioning at the heart of what a teacher should know and be able to do in order to
effectively develop student skills and abilities in inquiry. It would be interesting to see how
problems of practice are explored in subsequent chapters. For example, what if questions are
only useful in eliciting responses from some students but not others? How is diversity
addressed?

Rothstein, D., & Santana, L. (2014, October). The Right Questions. Retrieved December 7,
2019, from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/oct14/vol72/num02/The-
Right-Questions.aspx.

Summary: This article highlights the Question Formulation Technique and provides examples

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of classroom practice. There is analysis of how students can use questions they develop and
why this is a powerful approach to using questions in the classroom.

Quote: “This is the kind of intellectual heavy lifting that scholars in any field must do. Stuart
Firestein (2012), chair of the biology department at Columbia University, argues that a
successful questioning strategy for young scientists "is one that provides them even a glimpse
of what's on the other side of their ignorance and an opportunity to see if they can't get the
question to be bigger" (p. 107). In the Question Formulation Technique, it's elementary,
middle, and high school students who are doing that kind of high-level thinking.”

Response: This seems like an interesting technique to try in the classroom. I like the idea that
it can really be a tool for empowering students by yielding a great deal of control. At the same
time, I think it would be useful for creating engagement and ownership of learning. The
reflection of “What did you learn?” and “How did you learn that?” Seems to be a great way of
drawing student attention to how the activity is different from what they may have done
previously.

Ince, R. (2015, July 15). Curiosity is the Greatest Act of Rebellion. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMa3qnbVte0

Summary: In a “wide-ranging monologue” that goes from the Imp of the Perverse to Feynman
to the importance of not watching TV, Robin Ince encourages us to not waste our lives.

Quote: “We have the most complex thing [(the brain) in the] known universe ...do not waste
it.”

Response: There are layers of irony here. This video was an incoherent mess.

Gonzalez, J. (2016). Cult of Pedagogy: Is Your Lesson a Grecian Urn? Retrieved from
https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/grecian-urn-lesson/

Summary: In this podcast, the idea of a poorly conceived lesson is presented with a
memorably bad sequence of instruction on an ancient cultures unit. Gonzalez explains how
this problem stems from orienting design around the activity rather than the enduring
understanding, but it is a common issue with new teachers. There are tips for spotting these
lessons as well as teacher loopholes.

Quote: “I’ve seen far too many 'Grecian Urns': projects that look creative, that the teacher
might describe as hands-on learning, interdisciplinary teaching, project-based instruction, or
the integration of arts or tech, but that nonetheless lack any substantial learning for students.”

Response: I think all experienced teachers have a story like this, if not a shared vocabulary.
For me, my narrative device is the punchline of the story is the response to an observer's
question about the goal of a science lesson, “Oh, we're just making bubbles!” It would be nice
to see some unifying language here for teachers the way the Modern Jackass story from This
American Life (link to TAL here) was a great way to present a definition for a common

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occurrence. Last, the teacher loopholes were lovely.

Riddle, B. (2019). Scope on the Skies: Monitoring the Hydrosphere. Science Scope, 042(05),
18–21.

Summary: This is a brief guide to using resources to monitor water, especially free resources
from NASA. There is a discussion of different satellites whose data can be accessed by
students. There are also different topics like water pollution and citizen science monitoring for
pollution.

Quote: “All of Earth’s water, no matter where it is located, is being threatened by climate
change, pollution, and the uneven distribution of fresh water across the planet, which is
perhaps the biggest threat of all...That is why it is so important to teach students about water
and how to manage the human impact on water.” (Riddle, p. 18)

Response: This is a nice introductory guide for teachers who are interested in the subject. It
would have been interesting to include more resources about how the hydrosphere works.
There is a big list of resources at the end of the article.

Week 9 Readings

Krulwich, R. (2018). Smarty Plants [Audio blog post]. Retrieved from

https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/smarty-plants/

Summary: In this episode of Radiolab, the necessity of a brain is explored: can plants think?
Can they make decisions? Scientists present many stories of plants doing things that seem to
require a brain.

Quote: “It's almost as if these plants -- it's almost as if they know where our pipes are.”

Response: I was personally interested in this story as I had to deal with this last year at my
home. The mimosa story was fascinating, but my favorite part of this Radiolab episode was
when Monica Gagliano said, “ I don't know. I don't know yet. But what I do know is that the
fact that the plant doesn't have a brain doesn't -- doesn't a priori say that the plants can't do
something. The fact that humans do it in a particular way, it doesn't mean that everyone
needs to do it in that way to be able to do it in the first place. There are multiple ways of doing
one thing, right?” This was a spectacular statement of the process of science. There is a
hidden complexity to many things, and our own frame of reference can impose limitations in
the metaphors we use. This was nicely linked with the previous article on the Question
Formulation technique as an example of how this is a real process that scientists use.

Mcgough, J., & Nyberg, L. (2015). The Power of Questioning: Guiding Student Investigations.
NSTA Press.

Summary: This is another excerpt from a book on student investigations. There are sections
on using observations to launch investigations and using investigations to bolster English and
language arts skills. Student investigations that prominently feature technology are also

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showcased; for example, there is discussion of a student project to raise salmon eggs. Last,
there is brief discussion on using investigations to support the needs of students who are
diverse learners.

Quote: “Investigations create three-dimensional learning experiences that include a variety of

access points.” (Mcgough & Nyberg, p. 52)

Response: This was a fine introduction to several ways to use investigations, but it would
have been nice to include more guidelines about selecting an investigation. Finding
investigations to do is probably not as big a problem as finding impactful investigations.
Rather than limiting the representations of neat investigations, it would have been nice to
include general strategies for selecting them. Presumably, this occurs elsewhere in the book.
Also, I hope that more discussion of students who are diverse learners and student who are
English language learners is fleshed out later in the book, because there was not a lot of
substance to this critical area for science teachers. Science investigations offer potentially rich
access points for different student strengths, but there is a lot more to the practice of doing
this effectively than on the last two pages of the article.

Gagnon, V., & Bradway, H. (2012). CONNECTING EARTH SYSTEMS: Developing Holistic
Understanding Through the Earth-System-Science Model. Science Scope, 36(4), 68-76.

Summary: This article explains the rationale for teaching Earth science through an Earth
systems science lens in order to learn about an event through the ways in which different
Earth systems are connected to the event and to each other. There is discussion about how
teachers can use a collaboratively developed tool throughout the school year to learn about
Earth as a system of interconnected systems rather than relying upon human conceptual
devices that emphasize differences between different types of processes to explain the
natural world.

Quote: “But compartmentalized Earth science no longer exists, and implementing teaching
methods that support student development of holistic understanding can be a time-consuming
and difficult task.” (Gagnon & Bradway, p. 68)

Response: It is useful to teach students, as these teachers did, that there is one Earth and
that scientists have found ways to categorize related phenomena in order to understand
natural process better. At the same time, it can be a limiting view when, in fact, there is simply
one Earth. It would be interesting to explore more about the ways in which this lens was used
throughout the year: it would simply be a contrivance if this idea were only rolled out from time
to time while for the majority of the year, a teacher stuck to their old, compartmentalized
resources. Additionally, it would be nice to see more on the teaching of systems, such as
emergent properties of systems and feedback loops, which offer interesting extensions to the
discussion of causes and effects.

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Appendix A Bonus Quotes

“The Federal government doesn't want me

to go to school.
I ask too many questions,
and I don't play by their rules.
In school they tried to tell me
that a rock is not alive,
but I have seen a volcano growin' up and die
In school they tried to tell me
that a tree it couldn't feel.
But I have felt a tree and it was breathing for real.
In school they tried to tell
me animals couldn't talk.
But they can understand it when a dog starts to bark.
In school they tried to tell me
man doesn't have a soul.
'What happened to his?' I say
'Cause mine is still whole!'”

-Michael Franti & Spearhead, “Of Course You Can”

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