Using Text for Problem Engagement and Modeling of Scientific/Engineering Practice

• In Event: 30.029 - Integrating Literacy and Science to Promote Equitable Opportunities in Project-Based Learning: An Interdisciplinary Effort

Abstract

The same third-grade class (referred to in Paper #2) was investigating how friction affects the motion of objects as they explored the larger problem of designing inexpensive moving toys that young children would enjoy. In this paper, we focus on the design and use of a particular text - which we call the Balloon Rocket Text - that focused on core ideas related to force and motion. The text, written as a narrative, and used in an interactive read aloud, was designed to assume a number of roles in the curriculum, including: (1) introducing students to variables, such as the size of the balloon propelling the rocket and the material of the track on which rocket traveled and how these variables would influence the movement of the rocket, (2) providing the context for a second-hand investigation (Authors, 2001) in which the students engaged in sense-making about the investigation featured in the narrative, and (3) modeling scientific practices, such as observing phenomena and planning an investigation that would meet the requirements for a “fair test” in preparation for their own first-hand investigation of the influence of friction on motion across a horizontal plane.

In this paper, we develop a case study at the level of the classroom examining instruction related to the use of the Balloon Rocket Text, which includes the instruction in which the class read the text and the lessons that followed, in which students planned and carried out related investigations (conducted over four days). Within this context, we investigate how the teacher mediated the use of the text, using both the lesson plans and an interactive reading guide, as well as how students’ experiences with the text positioned them to plan and conduct their own investigations related to the driving question for the unit: How can we design fun moving toys that any kid can build?

The primary data sources include the lesson plans and teachers’ guides; lesson resources, such as the texts designed for instruction; videos of lessons; and field notes from classroom observations.
The following research question guided our analysis: What are the affordances of a text designed to model scientific investigation and to support students’ sense making about a scientific phenomenon in planning and conducting their own investigation. Our findings suggest that the text and interactive guide supported second-hand investigation and the planning of a first-hand investigation (e.g. identifying variables, controlling variables, and conducting a fair test). The design of the text supported students to make intertextual connections among the narrative, their prior experiences with the balloon rocket phenomenon, and their design of an investigation/fair test to determine why the balloon rocket in the text did not move. The results are useful to informing the design - and use of - innovative texts that support teachers to: teach comprehension of science text in an inquiry mode, teach challenging scientific practices, such as designing fair tests, and engage in instruction that places scientific and language literacy in interplay.

Authors

• Miranda Fitzgerald, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

• Meredith Baker Marcum, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

• Kirsten D. Edwards, Michigan State University

• Annemarie S. Palincsar, University of Michigan