After reading the Science & Literacy article and the Common Core Literacy standards, I feel pretty confident that I already teach to these standards and have always had these types of guidelines in place for my students. Students whine occasionally "this isn't English class! Why do I have to write so much!" My joking reply is, "the only reason you have English class, is so you can do science!" Ha! Anyway, one of the ways I support literacy is through the requirement of "Pre-labs" I call them tickets into the fun park because they're not allowed to do the "fun stuff" (the actual lab) with out them. These require that the students demonstrate that they have read the lab through completely (and comprehend it) and can articulate the purpose, the procedures they will use and any safety precautions that need to be taken. One way I have adapted this idea for my complex AP Bio labs, is to have the students draw or diagram the procedures with little numbered diagrams of each major step in the procedures. This is a quick way for me as the teacher to assess if they truly have read and understand the procedures for the lab.
As for the Common Core Literacy standards, I'm confident that my district will adopt these (if if our state does not) as we are already moving in this direction anyway with standards for literacy in all content areas. Once important reason for having these standards is to hold teachers accountable, as well as the students. Without a clear set of literacy standards, the type of educational experience a student has is simply luck of the draw, usually depending on the teacher they get. As a result, some teachers who have no idea how or what they should be doing simply flounder and just try this or that hoping that the students come away with something. Too often these teachers don't require any form of demonstration of the student's ability to process, analyze, and share information. They are simply taught at, through lecture, notes, videos, etc. and then required to take a multiple choice test on the information. Don't get me wrong, I use multiple choice questions and they definitely have a purpose, but it shouldn't be the sole form of assessing student learning or understanding. Students should be creating and communicating about their understanding of what they are learning about, not just regurgitating information. By having a clear set of guidelines based on career and college expectations, the students will have clear expectations to strive for and will develop a deeper understanding of the content using communication skills necessary for working and living in the 21st century.
My students say the same thing about writing in Science, saying they are not in English class.
ReplyDeleteI have used prelab quizzes to see if the students are ready to do the lab. I like your idea of having students do a little diagram of the steps involved in a lab to check if they have read and understood the procedure.
I love your ticket into the fun park idea, I'll have to try that one. Students whining about writing in science is definitely something I hear, too, especially if I try to collaborate with Language Arts and do a larger project.
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