Integrating Purpose and Science Instruction: Analyzing AI-Generated, Standards-Aligned 5E Lesson Plans

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Saturday 3:20 pm Four Seasons Ballroom 2-3
  In Roundtable Session: Implications for Teacher Education: Using Moral Perspective (Table 9)

Abstract

In this study, we qualitatively examine AI-generated, standards-aligned 6th-grade science lesson plans for opportunities to support adolescent purpose development. We found that TEKS-aligned 5E lesson plans often link to purpose-related elements like personal meaning and beyond-the-self intentions. However, there are gaps in connecting to students’ goals or intentions and leveraging the repeating science theme of interconnectedness as an entry point for reflecting on purpose in life. Additionally, the 5E lesson plan model emerged as particularly well-suited to integrating purpose support with standards-aligned science education. This work is significant for pedagogical scholarship related to purpose and for science educators making sense of the deeper meaning of their subject matter.

Author

• Brandy P Quinn, Louisville High School