Elementary Students' Science Investigation and Designed Solutions to Increase Neighborhood Biodiversity

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 9
  In Roundtable Session: Attending to Ecosystems and Community in Science Learning

Abstract

To realize learning through science investigation, policy documents call for necessary shifts in instructional materials, assessment and pedagogy. This paper describes research to evaluate elementary students’ learning associated with a science investigation (NRC, 2019) and career awareness program for students within urban, under-resourced schools. Thirty-six students from in and out-of-school programs utilized a five week curricula and iPads equipped with mobile apps adapted for their age and purpose. Investigation activities included collection of data on the number and kinds of animals in their schoolyard and the creation of designed solutions to increase local biodiversity. Student learning was determined through paired-samples t-tests analyses demonstrating statistically significant differences with the strongest outcomes on the most challenging claim-evidence tasks.

Authors

• Nancy Butler Songer, University of Utah

• Guillermo D. Ibarrola Recalde, Stevens Institute of Technology