Design+Report+1

Science Measurements **  Project Description   ** Some of the science standards that are tested on the Virginia SOL are not included on the county provided science kits that cover most of the science curriculum that needs to be taught. The standards that are not covered in the science are either rushed through right before the test or overlooked. A prime example is measurement. Specific science measurements like volume or mass are not included in the kits. In addition, there are different SOL standards for measurement in science than in math so the skills don't always transfer over completely. Such as in math they use inches versus in science they are measuring in centimeters. The purpose of this project is to create a science unit to encompass the Third Grade Science measurement standards that are not focused on in the science kits. This project is taking place in Third grade classroom in Fairfax County Virginia. The project seeks to provide a scientific measurement unit to Third grade teachers to implement in their classrooms.  **  Learner Analysis   ** The target learners will be Third grade teachers and their students.  **  Primary Audience   ** • Third grade Teachers • Third grade students **  Secondary Audience   ** • Second Grade teachers • Second Grade students **  Potential Audience Concerns   ** Although, the children are all Third grade students, there are some economic differences between the children. Half are from upper middle class families and the other half are from very low socio-economic group. The main area of concern is that the students have different exposure to topics and opportunities at home. They come into the classroom with very different background knowledge. ** General Learner Characteristics  ** • There is a wide range of teachers within the school. Many are very experienced teachers and some are just starting their teaching careers. They have between 1 to 30 years experience. • The students are typical Third grade students, aged 8 to 9 years old.
 * Project Title  **

**  Needs Assessment   ** ** Phase I: Planning  ** – Few teachers are incorporating the scientific measurement standards of learning. There is a felt need to implement more learning experiences with these skills into the classroom. The classroom teachers expressed that they would like additional support in teaching these standards. Scientific Investigation, Reasoning, and Logic 3.1 – d) volume is measured to the nearest milliliter and liter;   3.1 – e) length is measured to the nearest centimeter; 3.1 – f) mass is measured to the nearest gram;   3.1 – h) temperature is measured to the nearest degree Celsius; 3.1 – i) time is measured to the nearest minute;   **  Phase II: Collecting the Data  ** – A survey was created asking 2nd and 3rd grade teachers what their felt and anticipated needs were for implementing each scientific measurement into their classroom. The second grade teacher was included because they are the grade before the Standards of Learning test that occurs in the third grade. The survey included which of the science centered measurements they would like additional resources in and which standards they felt most comfortable teaching, if there was additional supplies needed for a particular standard to have hands on activities.      1 - I have no skills in this area and require additional training. 2 - I know with these measurements but require support. 3 - I use this measurement in my classroom without the science kits and can teachers others adults how to implement it in their own classrooms. ** Phase III: Collecting the Data  ** – Four teachers (2 third grade teachers, 2 second grade teachers) were surveyed. 100% stated that they knew the particular measurements but required support in adding it to their already packed curriculum. 100% felt comfortable with temperature, time, and length. 75% wanted additional support in volume and mass ** Phase IV: Compiling a Final Report **– The data revealed that not all science measuring standards that are not covered in the science kits need additional support. The need and focus should be on the measurements of volume and mass. **  Goal Analysis   ** ** Aim: ** to develop a unit that incorporates both mass and volume measurement lessons and activities. ** Goals: **Identify activities that integrate mass and volume; Create lessons that build on measurement as a skill; Provide practice opportunities and manipulative for students. **  Performance Assessment   ** ** Lack of Knowledge or Skill:  ** Although the measurements are not included in the science kits, most teachers were actually comfortable with most of the measurements. Comfort with the subject matter was not transferring to the students. The teachers were still hesitant to teach the standards not in the science kits, mostly because of time and testing issues. The main gap occurred with mass and volume. ** Lack of motivation or incentive:  ** An additional factor is that science standards are not tested at each grade level and low in priority in comparison to English and Math standards. ** Environmental factors:  ** The English and Math scores are part of APY. Science is not part of a school passing their APY standards. These factors decreased the motivation for teachers to add additional measurement lessons that encompassed all the standards that are not found in the science kits. ** Management Factors:  ** The management puts more emphasis on the tests that are needed to pass APY. ** Interpersonal relations:  ** Overall the relations are good between the teachers. Many of the teachers realized the need for additional resources in science measurements. Although the biggest need was found in mass and volume, length and temperature should not be ignored since the math standards are in different units than the science ones. The math standards focus on the American system and the science ones focus on the metric system. Understanding and comparisons between these two systems and their measurements are still a factor to continue to look at. **  Goal Statement   ** After the project the teachers will have a unit that incorporates mass and volume into lessons, hands on activities, and an assessment. **  Entry Competencies   ** ** Teacher knowledge:  ** basic measurement skills in mass and volume. Understanding of the metric system units ** Teacher skills:  ** able to measure mass and volume in grams, milliliters, and liters respectively. ** Teacher attitudes:  ** Willingness to add a lesson to their curriculum. ** Student knowledge:  ** what it means to measure an item, example inches. ** Student skills:  ** able to read a scale, able to pour water, count numbers up to 100. ** Student attitudes:  ** ability to learn new skill. **  Learner Interview   ** Informal discussions with the teachers lead to the idea that they would appreciate more measurement applications and comparisons in the future. **  Description of Learners   ** The learners will be third grade teachers in an elementary school. The training will be a small group instruction. **  Performance Context and Implications for Instruction   ** ** Orienting Context:  ** The goal for the teacher is to be able to teach mass and volume measurements to their students. This will ultimately help the students score higher in the Standards of Learning test, which makes the teachers accountable for the content. ** Instructional Context:  ** The training will be held at the school library afterschool after staff meetings. The library is equipped with computers, projector, and many tables. There will be a need for access to water so that the teachers can practice measuring volume. There should be plenty of towels in case of spills. Supplies and equipment are needed for each teacher to measure mass and volume, graduated cylinders, scales, gram cubes, objects to measure. ** Transfer Context:  ** To transfer the skills learned in the training to the classroom, each teacher will practice with the supplies and equipment that will then go into their own classroom. Relevant current references ** Relevant current references  ** ** References reflecting a need for teacher training in Science  ** Riggs, I. M. and Enochs, L. G. (1990), Toward the development of an elementary teacher's science teaching efficacy belief instrument. Science Education, 74: 625–637. doi: 10.1002/sce.3730740605 Tilgner, P. J. (1990), Avoiding science in the elementary school. Science Education, 74: 421–431. doi: 10.1002/sce.3730740403 Raven, R. J. and Nelson, M. A. (1975), Evaluation of a cooperating teacher-training program. Science Education, 59: 505–515. doi: 10.1002/sce.3730590410 Tamir, P. (1989), Training Teachers to Teach Effectively in the Laboratory. Science Education, 73: 59–69. doi: 10.1002/sce.3730730106