Using Knowledge Integration Tools to Support Next Generation Science Standards–Aligned Science and Engineering Instruction

• In Event: Knowledge Integration: Trajectories, Opportunities, and Future Directions

Abstract

Objectives. In this research, we use knowledge integration (KI) design principles to create curriculum and assessment for science and engineering practices. The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS; NGSS Lead States, 2013) call for a fundamental shift in instruction, engaging students to integrate disciplinary and crosscutting knowledge with science and engineering practices. The NGSS incorporate engineering as part of what it means to do science, emphasizing how science is applied to the designed world. Curriculum designers need contexts where students can test and apply their scientific ideas to solve realistic problems. This vision challenges partnerships designing curriculum materials for teachers and classrooms (e.g., Purzer, Moore, Baker, & Berland, 2014).
Theoretical Framework. KI design principles and processes can guide designers of NGSS-aligned science and engineering curricula, assessments, and learning technologies (Linn & Eylon, 2011). KI also provides a conceptual lens to understand how learners connect engineering and science disciplines along the three dimensions of the NGSS: disciplinary core ideas, crosscutting concepts, and science and engineering practices. We created a customized version of the Web-based Inquiry Science Environment (WISE; Slotta& Linn, 2009) called WISEngineering (Chiu et al., 2013) that implements KI principles and processes.
Data Sources & Results. We report on empirical studies testing KI scaffolding tools designed to help students develop integrated proficiency with science and engineering by supporting engagement in engineering design activities. This poster synthesizes data from middle school students in physical (N=40) and life science (N=160) classes participating in week-long WISEngineering projects on Growing Plants without Soil, and Designing Ice Cream Coolers. To assess the advantages of the KI scaffolds for science and engineering practices we designed pretests, posttests, and embedded assessments and scored them with a KI rubric. We discuss how tools within WISE support students to use KI processes to develop understanding of engineering and science ideas by scaffolding design practices.
To illustrate, an NGSS engineering core idea is defining and delimiting engineering problems, and the NGSS practice of asking questions and defining problems involves specifying criteria and constraints for real-world problems. To support this core idea and practice, students used the match and sequence tools within WISE to distinguish among specifications and constraints and get immediate feedback. To help students develop connections among scientific ideas and engineering design practices, we designed visualizations and simulations and guided students with explicit prompting to determine which scientific ideas impacted their designs. Students responded to embedded open-response prompts to articulate the criteria and constraints they deemed important. Using KI rubrics, we rewarded students for linking disciplinary ideas and constraints.
Results revealed that students started with limited understanding and made progress in linking specifications and constraints. They began to consider disciplinary constraints in problem definitions. The supports helped students use science disciplinary ideas to justify and explain their designed solutions.
Significance. This work highlights how KI processes can play a vital role in NGSS aligned instruction. WISE offers online, freely available scaffolding tools to help science teachers successfully implement engineering projects in their classrooms, potentially broadening participation in STEM and making science more accessible and engaging to diverse learners.

Authors

• Jennifer L. Chiu, University of Virginia

• Kevin McElhaney, SRI International