Pedagogical Issues in Science, Mathematics and Technology Education Volume 3

2008

Edited by Pamela Fraser-Abder and Robert J. Wallace

Sharing Our Success Special Papers Series Volume 3Published in 2008 byThe New York Consortium for Professional Development 7509 AntoinetteSchenectady, New York 12303-5253

Editors:Pamela Fraser-AbderRobert James Wallace

ReviewersBarbara BeyerbachCarol Blunt-WhiteMarcia BurrellElizabeth KoskySusan MarsaKaren NicholsonJohn OdackalJenny TutenValerie WashingtonElliot Weitz

Copyright 2008 by NYCPD

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be printed or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical or other means without permission in writing from the publisher.

ISBN 0-615-12634-0

Funded by a New York State TLQP Grant Title 11, No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, P.L.107-110

Table of ContentsPEDAGOGICAL ISSUES IN SCIENCEIntroduction 1

INFUSING TECHNOLOGY INTO PROJECT-BASED INQUIRY: A STUDY OF THE URBAN ACADEMY FOR MATH, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGYREGINA E. TOOLINFordham University 4

CREATIVE WRITING WITH STUDENTS FROM ONONDAGA NATION SCHOOLJENNIFER E. KAGANOswego, State University of New York 30

A REVIEW AND AN UPDATE ON USING CHILDREN’S LITERATURE TO TEACH MATHEMATICSJUNE LUNDY GASTÓNBorough of Manhattan Community College CUNY 48

INVESTIGATING MATHEMATICS CONCEPTS WITH POLYHEDRA DICEWLADINA ANTOINEFairleigh Dickinson University 58

FROM THE TRENCHES: SUCCESS IN URBAN SCHOOLSROBIN L. HARRIS, KATHALEEN R. BURKE AND MAURREN A. MILLIGANBuffalo State College, Buffalo, New York 66

KELLY A. BAUDO, CYNTHIA A. DEGNAN AND TANYA D. JOHNSONBuffalo Public Schools, Buffalo, New York 66

LEARNING SCIENCE IN A NEW YORK CITY SUSPENSIONMICRO, MESO, AND MACTO ENACTMENTS OF BIOLOGYED LEHNERThe Graduate Center, City University of New York 87

MAKING SENSE OF HIGH STAKES TESTINGCATHERINE MILNENew York University 125

JIM MAUniversity Neighborhood High School 125

USING A LEARNING CYCLE APPROACH FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN AN URBAN HIGH NEEDS SCHOOL: A SYNOPSISERIC A. OLSONOswego, State University of New YOrk 155

PEDAGOGICAL ISSUES IN SCIENCEINTRODUCTION

This book is a compilation of papers presented at the Sharing our Success conference hosted by The Steinhardt School of

Culture, Education, and Human Development at New York University. The authors are urban educators and university

professors from schools throughout New York State researching science, mathematics, and technology education in

public school settings. The following research is presented in this publication:

Regina Toolin discusses the co-development and implementation of a project-based, inquiry driven, middle

school unit on urban ecology. Toolin concludes that a full commitment from teachers and administrators is required for

the development of a project-based and inquiry driven curriculum. Furthermore, mentoring serves as a key

component to infusing both technology and inquiry based learning into curriculum designs for teachers new to the

model.

Jennifer Kagan, in narrative style, speaks to the power of

partnering students with self-identified writer specialist using the writer’s workshop model. In her research, she finds that

the partnership between M.F.A. students at Syracuse University and the student participants at the Onondaga

Nation School served both the writer specialist and the students. Kagan concludes that although pressure exists at

ONS to teach material relevant to national tests, the educational value of the writer’s workshop is a worthwhile

investment of student learning time.

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June Gaston discusses how literature with “layers of meaning” can be used to for mathematics lessons (Austin,

1998). Enumerating on different forms of literature that can be used to effectively engage students, Gaston discusses possible

ways to structure curriculum using this literature. Gaston emphasizes that an effective use of literature in math

curriculum can provide an access point for students and allow parents to help their children learn at home.

Wladina Antoine elaborates on how well structured games are an engaging method of teaching elementary students basic

math concepts. Using the example of a game with polyhedral dice, Antoine discusses classroom management strategies to

create a classroom environment conducive to learning through games.

Authors from Buffalo State College and Buffalo Public Schools provide data that shows the positive contributions of

the Buffalo Science Teacher’s Network (BSTN). BSTN has fostered a higher overall retention rate and deeper teacher

engagement in community programs such as N.U.R.T.U.R.E. The teachers within the network have increased their

involvement nationally in science education by hosting the New York Western Region Science Olympiad and developing

a density kit that will be distributed in partnership with Lab-aids, Inc.

Ed Lehner examines how students of color in a suspension center use cogenerative dialogue in ways that allowed them to

deploy their lifeworld capitol as starting points towards standards based discourse. Rooted in the context of a biology

classroom teachers and students develop classroom practices

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intended to grant students more latitude in demonstrating standards based biology content. Lehner concludes that

cogenerative dialogue can serve as a field to produce new learning culture and expand student roles.

Catherine Milne and Kim Ma investigate how the Regents chemistry connects to the New York State core curriculum and

with the world of the students taking the exam. Using quantitative and content analysis of the exam and

ethnographic analysis of the classroom, Milne and Ma critically evaluate specific items in the exam and to understand

students differential performance in terms of embedded practices and symbol systems. Milne and Ma find that

language, context, and question structure were all important factors for understanding students' success in the exam.

Eric Olson summarizes the collaborative efforts of university faculty and in-service teachers to resolve what teachers

considered to be the most significant problems that they faced. A learning cycle dialogue was used as a tool to disaggregate

high stakes testing data. Teachers discovered that large groups of students were missing whole blocks of concepts that had

been taught, while other students were held back due to a lack of comprehension. The effort resulted in a significant shift in

teacher attitudes and abilities to approach instruction in a more meaningful manner, focusing on individual student needs.

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INFUSING TECHNOLOGY INTO PROJECT-BASED INQUIRY: A STUDY OF THE URBAN ACADEMY FOR

MATH, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGYREGINA E. TOOLIN

FORDHAM UNIVERSITY

Abstract

This study examines the practices by which math and science teachers infuse technology into planning and teaching project-based inquiry in middle school math and science classrooms. The study was conducted over a six month period during the 2004-05 school year involving approximately 45 middle school students, a math and science teacher and two administrators. The researcher assumed the role of participant observer as she mentored, co-developed and researched the development and implementation of a project-based unit on urban ecology with middle school math and science teachers. Data was collected through qualitative methodologies including student achievement data, classroom observation notes, anecdotal notes, project/lesson plans, and student investigative journals and projects. Many factors influenced the infusion of technology into this school including prior knowledge and experience of project-based inquiry; influence of school vision, mission and philosophy; technological availability and ongoing one-on-one professional development.

Introduction

The National Science Education Standards (1996), the Principles and Standards for School Mathematics (2000) and

the New York State Learning Standards for Math, Science and Technology (1996) have consistently endorsed inquiry,

problem-based and project-based approaches as a means by which to bring about relevant, meaningful and integrated

learning in math and science. In fact, four of the seven New York State MST Learning Standards are dedicated to the

development of competencies and skills related to analysis, inquiry, technology integration and real-world problem

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solving. In particular, the seventh MST Learning Standard states that “students will apply the knowledge and thinking

skills of mathematics, science, and technology to address real-life problems and make informed decisions.” The rhetoric of

standards reform communicated in these documents delivers a convincing message about how math and science should be

taught. After nearly a decade of standards-based reform in New York, how are we doing? Simply stated, do teachers

regularly model the knowledge, skills and habits of mind of math, science and technology that are necessary for students to

engage in real-world problem-solving and decision-making in their math and science classes?

This study reports on teacher professional development as it relates to a math and a science teacher working collaboratively

to design and implement a sixth grade project-based unit on urban ecology at a small, public, urban academy for math,

science and technology. This study examines the practices by which math and science teachers infuse technology into

planning and teaching project-based inquiry in a middle school math and science classroom.

Literature ReviewThe history of doing “projects” can be traced to Dewey and other progressive educators and more recently to research

conducted by Blumenfeld et al., 1991; Krajcik et al. 2002; Krajcik, 2001; and Polman, 2000. The goal of project-based

inquiry is to investigate real-world, standards-based problems that are of interest, relevance, value, and worth to both

students and teachers (Krajcik, Czerniak & Berger, 2002). Grounded in the fundamental principles of inquiry, project-

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based teaching and learning supports the basic tenets of social constructivism (Rivet & Krajcik, 2004; Krajcik, Czerniak &

Berger, 2002). By engaging students in problem-posing, problem-revising, and problem-solving, students become

highly active in the construction of mathematical and scientific knowledge. It is through this active process of

“doing science” that students are collaboratively engaged in mathematical and scientific discourse and thinking, ultimately

leading to richer and more fruitful knowledge and experiences over time. Project-based inquiry (PBI) is a model of teaching

and learning that involves students’ understanding central concepts and principles of a discipline through self-directed

problem-solving culminating in realistic, student-generated projects (Thomas, et al., 1999). Project-based inquiry

supports student learning by engaging them in sustained inquiry about real-world problems while providing students

with opportunities to meaningfully integrate concepts through the use of technology (Rivet & Krajcik, 2004).

Teachers are generally enthusiastic, motivated, and successful in their quest to implement project-based learning in their

science classrooms (Rosenfield & Ben-Hur, 2001). The process by which teachers collaborated to develop a project-

based curriculum resulted in positive change in teachers’ understanding and practice of science and science teaching

(Blumfield, 1994). Toolin (2004) found that school culture and mission as well as teacher experience and prior knowledge of

inquiry and project-based methods played a significant role in the successful implementation of project-based teaching and

learning in secondary science classrooms. However, the quest to implement projects is not without its challenges as teachers

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design assessments, create new courses, or revise existing courses in support of project-based science (D’Amico, 1999).

Studies have found that student motivation and learning significantly increased in project-based science classrooms.

Student collaboration and the use of technology increased as teachers enacted several aspects of project-based science in

their teaching practice (Marx, 1994). Project-based science promoted positive change in students’ ideas, attitudes and

motivation for studying science (Stratford & Finkel, 1996). Underrepresented high school students’ interest in science and

science teaching increased as a result of engaging in a PBI summer program (Toolin, 2003). Other researchers found that

project-based teaching heightened student motivation and commitment to learning while developing ocean software

design projects (Yarnall & Kafai, 1996).

MethodsBackground and Demographics

The study was conducted in a public, urban academy (grades

6-12) that opened in the Fall of 2004. The Urban Academy, a “school-within-a-school”, is housed in a larger high school

building that is currently being phased out as smaller academies take residence in the building. This particular

school has an emphasis on math, science and technology education and has a projected total enrollment of

approximately 500 students. Upon opening its doors, three 6th grade classes and three 9th grade classes had an enrollment of

45 students in each grade.

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The school was created with a mission to serve the local area youth and to prepare them for the real world through a

curriculum that is project-based and technology-rich. A review of the Urban Academy website revealed the following mission

statement centered on project-based learning:

The school will be a model for technology-supported, project-

based learning in which the technology is seamlessly integrated into the culture of the school – linking students to

teachers, and school to the community.

Technology abounds at the Urban Academy. All middle

school teachers are equipped with a Dell Tablet for planning, teaching, research, communication and evaluation. There is a

1-to-1 student to laptop ratio and a technology consultant is on site two days a week to provide technology professional

development and classroom support for all technological instructional matters. In addition, Smartboards and portable

science labs are currently being introduced into the math and science classes.

The sixth grade math curriculum is defined by the Impact Math Curriculum, which was adopted citywide three years

ago. It is a standards-based, highly structured curriculum that emphasizes number sense, operations, geometry,

measurement, statistics and algebra based on a series of mathematical problem sets and investigations. Urban

Academy math teachers and those across the region have remarked that the curriculum is overwhelming for students in

scope and sequence and often requires many modifications and adaptations for teaching their low performing students.

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The 6th grade science curriculum focuses on life science, is less structured than Impact Math and allows more freedom for

open-ended inquiry, projects and field trips. The decision to design an ecology project based on the driving question “how

does the urban environment affect the growth and development of plants” was primarily based on the fact that

this was the final unit to be taught in the sixth grade science curriculum. This, in effect, allowed for ample time to plan for

the two-month project-based unit that was conducted between May and June 2005.

In this project, students designed and conducted investigations pertaining to urban air, soil, water, light and chemicals. The

process began with pre-investigative experiences and lessons in order to build content knowledge, science process skills and

habits of mind. The study commenced with group formation (student initiated) leading to; problem-posing, proposal

drafting and editing, setting up and carrying out the investigations, data collection and analysis, and final report

writing and presentation.

The students are primarily African American and Latino and

come from lower income families. Over 90% qualify for the free or reduced breakfast and lunch programs and over 65% of

the students score between a 1 and 2 (1 being the lowest score on a 4 point rubric scale) on the mandated New York City

assessments for math and ELA. Table 1 illustrates a comparison of 2005 ELA and Math City-wide test scores for

Urban Academy and Regional (district-wide) students.

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Table 1New York City Assessment – A Comparison of 2005

Mathematics and ELA Scores

# Students Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 L’s 3 & 4

E L A –

U r b a n

Acad.

43 11.6 55.8 27.9 4.7 32.6

E L A –

Region

3417 7.8 50.1 33.5 8.5 42

Math –

U r b a n

Acad.

44 43.2 34.1 18.2 4.5 22.7

Math -

Region

3799 24.3 42.5 24.6 8.6 33.2

Under the City’s School Choice Program, all 5th and 8th year

students city-wide apply to the middle school and high school of their “choice”. Given that the “Urban Academy for Math,

Science and Technology” is a new school, class enrollment is relatively low compared to the 25-30 student class size

average in most city classrooms. However, it is anticipated that class size will grow once the school gains a wider

reputation in the region. For this particular study, only the 6th grade math and science classes were examined as they were

engaged in project-based inquiry over the course of the Spring 2005 semester.

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Two sixth grade teachers, one math (Linda) and one science (Anita), participated in the study. Anita is a first-year science

teacher with elementary K-6 certification working towards a middle school extension in science. At the time of the study

she was enrolled in a Masters program in science and math education at CUNY. Linda is a third year teacher, who had

recently completed her Masters in elementary education through the New York City Teaching Fellows program. The

entire 6th grade team consisting of four teachers (one for each major subject area) collaborated on matters of scheduling,

curriculum, parent-teacher meetings, and the overall management and discipline of the 6th grade. Anita and Linda

occasionally collaborated on matters of curriculum and teaching however, they primarily taught their respective

science and math classes independent of one another.

Two administrators managed the day-to-day operation of the

school. The principal placed a great deal of trust and autonomy with his staff and served as more of a guide or

mentor in the academic matters of the school. He had a visual presence in the school often making informal visits to each of

the classes and was respected by students, parents and faculty. The Assistant Principal served more as the disciplinarian for

the 9th graders and a handful of 6th grade students. He was also responsible for ordering and maintaining the books and

supplies needed at the school

Study Design

The study consisted of an initial observation period of two

months (one day a week) followed by a more intensive four month phase that focused specifically on the development and

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implementation of project-based inquiry (two to three days a week). In the first phase of the study, the researcher observed

math and science classes and met with teachers, staff and administrators for the purpose of becoming more familiar with

school policies and practices and more informed of day-to-day curriculum and teaching practices as well as to develop a

rapport with teachers, students, staff and administrators. At times, this meant taking an active role in unit, project and

lesson planning; co-teaching with the math and science teachers; regularly meeting with administrators and attending

school functions and field trips.

The second phase of the study focused on curriculum/project

planning utilizing the backward design model (Wiggins and McTighe, 2001) and project planning template (Krajcik et al.,

2003). While the backward design model was a relatively new method of curriculum development for the teachers, project

planning was not. In fact, the Urban Academy school mission and philosophy was grounded in the notion that students learn

by active engagement in “hands-on” projects. To assist in achieving this goal, the school partnered with the Giovanni

Center for Design. Consultants visited the school one day a week to work on architecture projects with the students. The

concept of integrating long-term projects and technology into the “regular” math and science curriculum was new to the

teachers. The practices by which math and science teachers infuse technology into planning and teaching project-based

inquiry in their math and science classes became the focus of this paper.

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Data Collection and Analysis

Data in the form of achievement scores, observation notes, anecdotal notes, and artifacts such as curriculum maps, unit

plans, lesson plans, and other assessments were collected over the course of the study. Students and teachers were observed

during instructional time and non-structured time during the school day. Copies of student work in the form of projects,

investigative journals, Web Quests, Internet, PowerPoint and Excel assignments were utilized for analysis. Regular

meetings were scheduled with the teachers and school administrators to ascertain their vision, goals and support for

technology infused, project-based inquiry.

In this study, repeated reading and analysis of observation

notes, anecdotal notes and other study artifacts discussed previously resulted in an analytical coding scheme related to

research goals (Strauss, 1987). Themes were identified and external codes were assigned that related to the original

research questions and objectives. Internal codes were assigned to new concepts or themes that emerged during the

course of the study or introduced by the participants during classroom observations or informal discussions. A subsequent

step in this analysis process was to build connections among codes. These links or bridges were constructed by the use of

memos that were utilized to refine and expand on the codes and domains of the analyses. These codes and memos formed

the basis from which the analysis was constructed and generalizations and/or models were built.

Many themes emerged related to the research goal of studying the practices by which math and science teachers infuse

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technology into planning and teaching PBI. In this paper, the themes related to prior knowledge and experience of

technology-infused project-based inquiry, dissatisfaction as an impetus for change and PBI professional development are

further explored.

Infusing Technology Into Project-based CurriculumLinda and Anita were relatively comfortable with infusing

technology into all aspects of their curriculum and instruction. The “Tablet” became their primary resource for lesson

planning, research, grading and instruction. PowerPoint presentations were the normal mode of lesson delivery

developed through the use of the workshop model of planning and instruction. These lessons were typically initiated by a

“brain starter” (i.e. a discrepant event or problem-of-the-day) followed by a brief mini-lesson that functioned to model the

main concept, idea or problem of the lesson. Students were provided with ample opportunity to work in investigative

groups whereby they practiced the lesson concepts or skills or engaged in ongoing projects and investigations. This work

often required students to conduct an Internet search, engage in an ecology Web Quest or learn and apply the fundamentals

of Excel for data collection, analysis and representation. The lesson was concluded with an informal share-out and

summary. The lessons often included the use of manipulatives, calculators and laptop computers as part of the inquiry-based

group activities.

Table 2 illustrates a typical workshop model lesson plan co-

developed by Linda and Anita. The lesson focuses on the use of Excel spreadsheets for quantitative and qualitative data

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collection; an integral component of the projects that students engaged in over the course of the study. The plan illustrates

the teachers’ intended flow of the lesson including a brief assessment of the extent that the lesson goals were met.

Since one of the goals of the unit was for students to design and conduct an investigation about the effect of the urban

environment on plant growth and development, Linda and Anita believed it essential to teach the 6th grade students basic

skills and concepts of data collection and analysis as part of the urban ecology research project. Teaching the application of

Excel spreadsheets naturally fit into a project-based investigation that had at its core student-initiated research

projects conducted over an extended period of time. By the conclusion of the urban ecology unit, all sixth grade students

were skilled in the use of Excel spreadsheets, particularly the ability to create data tables, charts and graphs and conduct

simple statistical analyses (mean, median and mode) of the data they had collected about their urban ecology

investigations.

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TableGiovanni 2Sample of Workshop Model Lesson: Creating Excel Spreadsheets for Data Collection Part 1: Brain Starter 5 / 1 6 / 0 5

• W h a t types of quantitative and qualitative data will you measure? • W h a t tools will you use? What units will you use in measurement?

Mini-Lesson: How do we create a table to show both qualitative and quantitative data? • L e a r ning to use Excel to organize each form of data.

Investigative Group Work: Create table in Excel • A s s e s s: Do students understand the differences between qualitative/quantitative data, variable/control? • C o m p lete data tables for research proposal

Part 2: Brain Starter • W h a t materials do we need to continue background research? Computer, folder, paragraph worksheet

Investigative Group Work: Continue web research; writing important facts gathered from each website • Plan paragraph (back of worksheet). Begin draft on loose-leaf (skip lines). Final Draft in Word.

Homework: Complete paragraph draft on loose-leaf (skip lines) • Bring in materials needed for group Bottle Biology projects •

Dissatisfaction As An Impetus For ChangePrinciples of inquiry and project-based teaching and learning

were further reinforced through curriculum planning workshops that all teachers were required to attend during the

summer prior to the school’s initial opening. It is during these workshops that relationships were fostered with outside

partners such as the Giovanni Center for Design and the Putnam Environmental Center. In the case of the former, all

teachers in the 6th grade partnered with a Giovanni consultant for the purpose of integrating architectural design projects into

the overall sixth grade curriculum. For example, one of the projects consisted of students designing and building a scaled

model of their “dream house.”

The idea of “projects” in this instance, however, was

somewhat limited in terms of curricular relevance. Anita and Linda, in essence, relinquished their math and science classes

to the Giovanni consultants to work on design projects that were disconnected from the “regular” math and science

curriculum. As their role became more of an observer or assistant to the Giovanni team, Linda and Anita began to

recognize the gap between the goals of Giovanni with the

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goals of their classroom curricula. Gradually, both began to openly express dissatisfaction with the objectives of the design

projects and the time that it detracted from their teaching practice. While the students did appear genuinely engaged in

the dream house design projects, the teachers questioned the project’s worth and place within the context of the day-to-day

curriculum. This dissatisfaction became even more pronounced, particularly for Linda, the math teacher, as the

inevitability of standardized testing rapidly approached,.

As the researcher-coach, I encouraged Linda and Anita to

begin to envision projects that were more closely aligned with their math and science curricula. Validation of their

dissatisfaction led to sixth grade team meetings and ultimately to a discussion with the principal about their curricular

concerns. The outcome of meetings and discussions about the kinds of projects they wanted to integrate into the overall

school curriculum resulted in Linda and Anita regaining the class time originally slated for the Giovanni projects.

Giovanni, in turn, continued in an after school enrichment program capacity. These events set the stage for what would

become a four-month process that would ultimately lead to the creation of an urban ecology project based on the driving

question: How do local neighborhood environmental factors effect the growth and development of my plants?

Ongoing Professional Development For Technology-infused Project-based Inquiry

The researcher and teachers met on a weekly basis to plan for the urban ecology unit. This planning was driven by the team’s

need to create pre-project experiences that provided students

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with sufficient background in math and science content knowledge related to urban ecology issues balanced with

learning experiences that would heighten student ability and skills to engage in long-term, technology-infused projects. The

meetings were informal but highly focused on questions pertaining to content; inquiry; instructional planning; data

collection and analysis; scheduling; resource availability; math, science and technology integration; and the team’s

desire to relate local, urban environmental issues to bigger global environmental problems.

The curriculum development process began with a discussion of project goals. Through the backward design process

(Wiggins & McTighe, 2001), we considered the standards and enduring understandings that we had intended for students to

know and be able to do as result of the engaging in the long-term project and the ecology unit (See Appendix A).

Discussions ensued that naturally led to questions about assessment (What projects, investigations and assignments

will provide appropriate learning experiences and evidence that students are achieving the intended learning goals?),

content and skills (What do the students need to know about the plant cycle, photosynthesis, data collection and analysis,

statistics, technology skills, etc.?), resources (What math, science, and technology materials do we already have? What

do we need? How will we obtain them?), pedagogy (Who will teach? How and when will lessons be taught?), and

professional development (What do we need to know and research? Who will model lessons on problem-posing and

data collection? What do we need to know about teaching Excel to sixth grade students?).

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The planning meetings were characterized by fits of excitement and enthusiasm mixed with feelings of fear and

trepidation. Anita was intrigued about teaching ecology through projects; however, she struggled with typical first year

teaching issues related to organization, discipline and deep knowledge of the subject matter. Linda’s trepidation was

primarily based on questions about where math fit into the urban ecology unit. Her fears became even more pronounced

upon the realization that the students’ needs and interests and the project itself would drive the curriculum forward rather

than the Impact Math curriculum. Both teachers were concerned with the logistics of time to plan and teach together.

In light of this, they eventually recognized the need to revise the entire sixth grade schedule in order to accommodate their

team-teaching requirements. In the end, this reality came to pass rather painlessly with full support from the principal and

the other 6th grade teachers.

Of the two teachers, Linda frequently wanted to openly

discuss her discomfort about co-planning and teaching. Early in the project planning process, it became evident that what

Linda was seeking was a desire to voice and gain reassurance about her fears of venturing into uncharted curriculum waters.

It wasn’t uncommon for Linda to frequently state: “Let me talk through it. I need to think out loud in order to make sense

of it.”

Ongoing professional development is key to successful

implementation of project-based inquiry, particularly for teachers implementing projects for the first time. In the

following email excerpt, Linda and Anita conveyed their

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anxiety and trepidation as they requested professional support and mentorship for initiating investigations for the first time.

We were wondering if you would be able to come on MONDAY instead of FRIDAY...Our plan for Friday is to work

on research of their environmental issue. We are having students write a paragraph about their issue to be used at the

end of the project. Students will also finish Page 2 of proposal and draft of their data tables. Monday, we want to build

[Bottle Biology columns] and we are NERVOUS.

Collaborative planning and teaching are still the exception to

the rule in most school districts, particularly secondary schools in large urban cities such as New York. It is this kind of

autonomy that exemplifies most of Linda’s and Anita’s initial teaching experiences as well. During a planning meeting,

Linda alludes to her prior experiences in a traditional middle school setting as she makes reference to the importance of

mentoring and support in project-based inquiry.

“I’m glad I have the support to do this. I never had this before.

This is exciting but it’s scary at the same time.”

DiscussionProject-based inquiry and teaching requires a full commitment

on the part of teachers, administrators and students. Teachers need to make a shift from thinking about isolated lesson plans

to a more flexible planning and teaching approach that is often driven by student needs, interests and abilities as they engage

in long-term projects. Project-based inquiry is more demanding of a teacher’s preparation time and instructional

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time as it requires a structure that is organized yet flexible and adaptable to the daily needs of the students and colleagues.

A variety of support mechanisms need to be in place in order for projects to be effectively integrated into the curriculum. In

the Urban Academy for Math, Science and Technology, project-based inquiry was a founding principle of the school

mission and philosophy that was embraced by faculty and administrators alike. The commitment to project-based inquiry

was clearly evident in artifacts such as lesson and project plans and discussions with teachers and administrators that

focused on curriculum, pedagogy and the overall development and progress of the urban ecology unit. This commitment to

project-based learning is also evident in the administrative and financial support for necessary supplies, flexible scheduling

for planning and teaching, and the plan to continue project-based inquiry in the 2005-06 school year.

Infusing technology into project-based inquiry occurs at many different levels and entry points. The availability of up-to-date

technology that is reliable and accessible to all students and teachers is essential to ensure research-based curriculum and

instruction that is highly organized, rigorous, and engaging and characterized by clear expectations and high standards. To

consider anything less for students would be falling short of the educational goals, standards and high expectations we

have set on a state and national level for mathematics and science education.

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ImplicationsThe goal of this study was to investigate the process by which project-based learning is conceptualized and implemented into

the 6th grade math and science curriculum and to examine the practices by which math and science teachers infuse

technology into planning and teaching project-based inquiry at the Urban Academy for the Math, Science and Technology.

This study contributes to the growing body of research pertaining to the positive impact that project-based curriculum

and instruction has on teacher professional development and on student learning and achievement in math and science. The

benefits to the teachers include increased experience and skill in planning and teaching a technology-infused, project-based

curriculum and deeper understanding of math, science, and technology pedagogical and content knowledge. Over time,

students benefit by engaging in content-rich and stimulating experiences that optimizes their learning and increases their

overall interest and achievement in math and science. For school administrators, the benefits include increased

understanding and awareness of project-based approaches to teaching and learning, a more competent and knowledgeable

faculty, and higher achieving students who are equipped to tackle complex problems now and in their future lives.

APPENDIX ATitle: Pride in our Place: Middle School Students use Math, Science and Technology to investigate urban ecosystemsI. Enduring understandings in math, science and technology:• Students understand and apply their knowledge of the interactions and interrelationships between the living and non-living components of various ecosystems

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• Students understand and apply their knowledge of the effects of human impact on various ecosystems.• Students use scientific and mathematical investigation to inform their knowledge of various ecosystems.• Students will access, generate, process, and transfer information regarding ecosystems and investigations using appropriate technologies.• Students will apply technological knowledge and skills to design, construct, use, and evaluate their bottle biology investigations.• Students use mathematical modeling and representation as a means of organizing, presenting, interpreting, communicating, and connecting their bottle biology data. • Students use English and metric measurements to describe and compare objects and data about ecosystems and their bottle biology investigations.• Students use ideas of uncertainty to illustrate how estimation is used when dealing with everyday situations and investigations.• Students use patterns, functions, formulas and symbols to explain mathematical relationships.• Students will develop a memoir unit that includes a reading and photography memoir about the negative and positive aspects of their neighborhoods.• Students develop critical thinking skills and analytical habits of mind to enable them to articulate their knowledge of ecosystems.

Key Ideas:Environmental Science:What are the key components of an ecosystem?What are the various kinds of ecosystems? (marine, forest, tundra and wetlands)

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What are food chains and food webs? How do energy and materials flow through an ecosystem?What are the parts and functions of a plant? What factors effect their growth and development? What is the relationship between photosynthesis and respiration?What is ecological balance? How may the ecological balance be disrupted?What is scientific investigation? How do we pose problems, set up investigations, gather and analyze data and draw conclusions from our bottle biology investigations?Mathematics:What forms of measurement (metric) and analytical tools and skills inform our knowledge of science, particularly of ecosystems?

• select appropriate standard and nonstandard measurement units and tools to measure to a desired degree of accuracy.• develop measurement skills and apply formulas in direct measurement activities. • develop critical judgment for the reasonableness of measurement.How do students use tables, charts and graphs represent scientific and real-world data?• use multiple representations (simulations, manipulative materials, pictures, and diagrams) as tools to explain the operation of everyday procedures.• use variables such as height, weight, and hand size to predict changes over time.• use statistical methods and measures of central tendencies to display, describe, and compare data.

• explore and produce graphic representations of data using calculators/computers.How do students use estimation to check the reasonableness of results obtained by computation, algorithms, or the use of technology?

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• use estimation to solve problems for which exact answers are inappropriate.• estimate the probability of events.How are variables and equations used in scientific investigation?• recognize, describe, and generalize a wide variety of patterns and functions.• describe and represent patterns and functional relationships using tables, charts and graphs, algebraic expressions, rules, and verbal descriptions.Technology:What technological knowledge and skills will students need to develop in order to design, construct, use, and evaluate MST projects related to urban ecology issues?

Students will apply the knowledge the knowledge and skills of the following software programs and web-based applications in their urban ecology project:PowerPoint, Word, ExcelWebquest, Web publishing, Internet research

Interactive instructional programsII. Assessments, Projects and Field Trips

Math Measurement ProjectsDesigning Math Word ProblemsBottle Biology Investigation

• Power Point Presentation of Bottle Biology Investigations• Sampling of data• Display board with the scientific method with pictures of their bottles

• Excel worksheet – For data tables, charts, graphs and statistical calculations of experimental results.Trips to the NY Botanical Garden (this Friday) and Bronx Zoo3-Day Trip to Clearpool - Agenda and objectives for field trip

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III. Learning Experiences: Week of May 2Week of May 9 - Scientific Investigation – Introduction to Bottle Biology• Establishing research groups

• Posing a question for investigation• Determining variables• Designing an experiment• Finding the resources and materials• Setting up the experiment

• Designing Data Tables and ChartsMonday: Students will read and evaluate research reports (bottle biology reports from elementary and graduate students).Students will discuss the various parts of the scientific method.Students will discuss controlled experiments and variablesStudents will observe models of bottle biology and discuss the projectStudents will form research groups and begin brainstorming research questions.Tuesday:Students will discuss roles of the group members.Students will continue to brainstorm research questions.Students will conduct background research on their question.

Students will begin working on their proposals.Students will make a supply list of materials needed for their BB investigations.Wednesday:Students will continue to work on their proposals.

Teachers will review and make suggestions on student proposals

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Students will bring necessary materials for their BB investigations.Thursday and Friday:Build Bottle Biology Columns

REFERENCESBlumenfeld, P., Fishman, B., Krajcik, J., Marx, R., &

Soloway, E. (2000). Creating usable innovations in systemic reform: Scaling up technology-embedded project-based science in urban schools. Educational Psychologist, 35, 149-164.

Blumenfeld, P., Soloway, E., Marx, R., Krajcik, J., Guzdial, M., & Palinesar, A. (1991). Motivating project-based learning: Sustaining the doing, supporting the learning. Educational Psychologist, 35, (3 & 4), 369-398.

Blumenfeld, P. (1994). Lessons learned: How collaboration helped middle grade science teachers learn project-based instruction. Elementary School Journal, 94: 539–551.

D’Amico, L. (1999, April). The implications of project-based pedagogy for the classroom assessment infrastructure of science teachers. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Educational Research Association, Montreal, Canada.

Krajcik, J. (2001). Supporting science learning in context: Project-based learning. In Tinker, R., and Krajcik, J. (Eds.), Portable Technologies. Science Learning in Context: Innovations in Science Education and Technology. MA: Kluwer Academic Publishers.

Krajcik, J., Czerniak, C., and Berger, C. (2002). Teaching Children Science: A Project-Based Approach. Boston: McGraw Hill College.

Krajcik, J; Marx, R., Blumenfeld, P., Soloway, E., & Fishman, B. (2000). Inquiry-based science supported by technology: Achievement among urban middle school students. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching, New Orleans, LA.

Marx, R. (1994). Enacting project-based science: Experiences of four middle grade teachers. Elementary School Journal, 94: 517–538.

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (2000). Principles and Standards for School Mathematics. National Research Council

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National Science Education Standards (1996). Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

Polman, J. (2000). Designing Project-Based Science: Connecting Learners Through Guided Inquiry. New York: Teachers College Press.

Rivet, A & Krajcik, J. (2002). Contextualizing instruction: Leveraging students’ prior knowledge and experiences to foster understanding of middle school science. In P. Bell, R. Stevens, & T. Satwicz (Eds.). Keeping Learning Complex: The proceedings of the Fifth International Conference for the Learning Sciences. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

Rivet, A & Krajcik, J. (2004). Achieving Standards in Urban Systemic Reform: An example of a sixth grade project-based science curriculum. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 41, 669-692.

Rosenfield, S., and Ben-Hur, Y. (2001). Project-based learning in science and technology: A case study of professional development. In Proceedings of the IOSTE Symposium in Southern Europe on Science and Technology Education: Preparing Future Citizens. Cyprus, Greece.

Stratford, S., and Finkel, E. (1996). The impact of ScienceWare and foundations on students’ attitudes towards science and science classes. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 5, 59–67.

Strauss, A. L. (1987). Qualitative Analysis for Social Scientists, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

Thomas, J.W., Mergendoller, J.R., and A. Michaelson (1999). Project-based Learning: A Handbook for Middle and High School Teachers. Buck Institute for Education (http:// ww.bie.org).

Toolin, R. (2004). Striking a balance between innovation and standards: A study of teachers implementing project-based approaches to science teaching. Journal of Science Education and Technology.13, 179-187.

Toolin, R. (2003). Learning what it takes to teach science: High school students as teachers for middle school students. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 12 (4), 457-469.

Wiggins, G. and McTighe (2001). Understanding by Design. Prentice Hall, Inc: Upper Saddle River, NJ.

Yarnall, L. and Kafai, Y. (1996, April). Issues in project-based science activities: Children’s constructions of Ocean Software Games. Paper presented at the annual meeting

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of the American Educational Research Association, New York, ERIC logo. ED395819.

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CREATIVE WRITING WITH STUDENTS FROM ONONDAGA NATION SCHOOL

JENNIFER E. KAGANOSWEGO, STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK

AbstractI have a passion for giving children opportunities to express themselves through the arts, specifically through writing. This article is a narrative about my experience of bringing writers (graduate students) from the M.F.A. writing program at Syracuse University to the Onondaga Nation School. The purpose of this article is to present a unique implementation of writers’ workshop. At the Nation School, students were able to meet people who identified themselves as writers, which provided these students with an authentic learning experience. The Onondaga Nation School provided the setting for a unique implementation of Writers’ Workshop. Indeed, the children became apprentices to these specialists, and this is consistent with the philosophy of traditional Native American education that values experiential learning (Bruchac, 1990).

Writers’ Workshop I first encountered readings about Writers’ Workshop many years ago when I was an undergraduate English education

major in the mid 1980’s. The idea of Writers’ Workshop was new to me, and I loved the concept. Two books by Kenneth

Koch, a well-known poet who taught writing (specifically poetry) in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s in the Manhattan

classrooms of Public School 61, were an inspiration to me. Koch’s books, Wishes, Lies and Dreams: Teaching Children to

Write Poetry, by Kenneth Koch and the Students of P.S. 61 in New York City, written in 1970, and Rose Where did you get

that Red? Teaching Great Poetry to Children, written in 1973, showed how a “real” poet could engage students, excite them,

and inspire them to write poetry. This was the apprentice model at its finest. Here was a poet, using noted adult poetry

rather than simple “written for children” poems as models for

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the children to emulate. Koch’s students wrote amazing poems. Coincidentally, one of the children who participated in

Koch’s writing program is now a reading teacher in the Lafayette School District, which is the school district of the

Onondaga Nation School (ONS). I discovered this through a

conversation I had with her about Writers’ Workshop at ONS.

There have been many books on Writers’ Workshop, but few

that have addressed the idea of apprenticeship with writers who are either in M.F.A. writing programs, or writers who

write for a living. There are many books on writers’ workshop that instruct teachers how to teach writing to kids, like Nancie

Atwell’s seminal work In the Middle: Understanding About Writing, Reading, and Learning (1987,1998); Writing

Workshop: The Essential Guide by Ralph Fletcher and JoAnn Portalupi (2001) and the classic The Art of Teaching Writing

by Lucy Calkins (1994). These books, exploring the “how to’s” of Writers’ Workshop, made a case against the skill-and-

drill curriculums in the 1980’s and 1990’s.

Writers’ Workshop with Native Americans

There is one article, “Writer Inspires Student Creativity at

Blackfeet” by Meg Kearney (2004), which does involve a “real” writer working at an Indian Reservation, doing Writers’

Workshop. Kearney tells the story of fiction writer Patricia Henley who was a writer-in-residence at the Blackfeet Indian

Reservation in northwest Montana. Henley gave writing workshops for college and high school students, faculty, and

members of the community. This outreach project was designed to promote reading and writing as a means of

preserving the culture of the Blackfeet tribe. Students wrote

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pieces about their homeland and this program generated student interest in a book club. It also inspired talk about

starting a traveling reading series in order for other tribal colleges to have venues to present their work (Kearney, 2004).

In the book Reclaiming the Vision: Past, Present, and Future Native Voices for the Eighth Generation (1996), Joseph

Bruchac describes writing workshops held in schools on reservations. Included in this text are actual lesson plans,

discussion themes and questions, as well as writing exercises. Lee Francis, co-editor of the book with Bruchac, describes an

innovative program of linking writing mentors with apprentices. Created out of these events was an anthology of

poems and short stories by student participants.

Connecting Native American Oral Traditions to Writing

When talking about American Indian culture, often the

tradition of storytelling comes into the conversation. In terms of Iroquois storytelling, Bruchac (1990) describes two major

functions of this oral tradition in his article, “The Unbroken Circle: Contemporary Iroquois Storytelling”. He states, “One

of those functions is to entertain. It is important that a story be entertaining, even entrancing, for a number of reasons. An

interesting story is easier to remember…. The second major function of storytelling is to instruct.”

Though there has been much written about the oral tradition of storytelling, there are few sources that connect oral

storytelling with written storytelling. One such source is the paper “The Place of Writing in Preserving an Oral

Language” (Bennett, Mattz, Jackson & Campbell, 1998).

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However, this paper mainly addresses how writing and the traditional story can preserve Native languages, and how

including writing can help students learn their Native language. The authors do talk about the research that shows

“ . . . writing is particularly useful to students with a visual learning style.” Because there is much emphasis on the arts in

Native American culture, and at the Onondaga Nation School, it makes sense to capitalize on the strengths of the students

and give them the opportunity to express themselves creatively.

Another source, “Finding the Balance: Learning to live in Two Worlds” by Westby and Roman (1995) speaks to the fact

that often the structure of Native American stories is nonlinear. Although the authors were mainly concerned with oral

narratives, they did note a study where instructors who taught basic English were able to identify essays that were written by

Navajo students solely based on the rhetorical differences (Gregory, 1993). “Benally (personal communication, 1989), a

Navajo educator, described the Navajo narratives as ‘like Indian fry bread’ with ‘an idea bubbling up here, another idea

bubbling up over there’” (Westby & Roman, 1995). This was sometimes the case in the stories that the Nation School kids

wrote. At times the stories were circular, they kind of “came back around” to the beginning. This is interesting in a way,

because the notion of the circle is important “... as a philosophical and structural concept in Native American

narratives” (Lutz, 1989).

The story I am about to tell connects to the works reviewed

above and demonstrates a unique implementation of Writers’

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Workshop. Certainly, the culture of the school and the children’s Onondaga heritage affected what the students wrote

about and how Writers’ Workshop was taught.

How it all began: Meeting the Poets

At about 7 p.m. on a Wednesday evening, I was minding my

own business at my usual spot at the local DeWitt Barnes and Noble, having my usual tall Sumatra dark roast Starbucks

coffee and grading papers for my graduate class at SUNY Oswego. The folders that I was reviewing contained several

reading response entries. I was methodically checking each for content, style and mechanics. One by one: content, style and

mechanics. Boring. Everyone in the class was saying the same thing. G-d. It was a slow, torturous process. I was really

determined to finish all of my folders, and get home to my husband and cats at a reasonable hour. But for now, I was in

“grading zone.”

Suddenly, I felt a light tap on her shoulder and looked up

abruptly. Sitting at the table next to me were two young people: a woman with really short black hair and horn rimmed

glasses who looked about twenty- five, and I guessed that the man with gelled hair was twenty-seven. The woman spoke

first. “Are you a teacher?” she said. I said yes, that I was a professor at SUNY Oswego, and I was evaluating papers. The

woman smiled and explained that they were enrolled in the M.F.A. program in creative writing at Syracuse University,

and they had to teach freshman composition as part of their assistantship. They also had to grade a lot of papers, so we all

commiserated on how time consuming it all was. Both

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commented on how organized I was (which I am not) and we all continued talking about teaching, students, and grading.

There was a bit of an awkward silence. Smiling, I said nervously, “Can I sit with you?” It was a bit like asking if you

could sit down at the “cool” table in grade school. They said, “Sure.” I’m usually a bit reserved, but when I get excited, I get

really excited! I sat with them and we chatted for quite a while. We were talking, laughing, and talking some more.

Elissa has a beautiful throaty laugh, and she laughs often. Gerry has this dry ha, ha, ha laugh and I giggle. Talking,

laughing ha, ha, ha, giggle, talking some more. I mentioned in passing that I also worked as a staff developer at the

Onondaga Nation School, a Native American school in Nedrow, New York, as part of a grant funded project called

Project SMART through SUNY Oswego. I explained that I went to ONS once a week to help the faculty with their

teaching, and I also ran an inquiry group where the teachers came together after school to read and review professional

literature. Elissa thought that this was really cool. Gerry also commented on how neat it must be to be working at the

Onondaga Nation School.

Silence. Then eureka!

Writers’ Workshop with the Poets

One of my strengths is that I am a networker extraordinaire who comes from a long line of “yentas,” which means

matchmakers in Yiddish. Oy Vay! I saw a great potential opportunity for the children and these two M.F.A. students. I

asked Elissa and Gerry if they would be interested in coming

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to the Nation School to do writers’ workshop with the children. They were supremely excited about the idea. I began

talking really fast and displayed heartfelt enthusiasm at the thought of matching real writers with the children. “Jeez, this

could be great!” I thought.

“I go to ONS every Thursday and I could check into getting

you into some classes” I said. I had to get the o.k. from some of the teachers who would possibly let the writers work with

their students. I talked to the writers some more and found out that Elissa was writing a young adult novel for her thesis and

was planning to get another master’s degree in teaching at Brooklyn College after she finished the M.F.A. program.

Gerry was a poet who had written a poem entitled, “Cat Puke.” I just knew after talking with them at length that these

writers would be awesome with the children.

So, the next day, I spoke to the fifth grade teacher, the sixth

grade teacher and the seventh and eighth grade teacher. Gerry and Elissa had a preference of working with the older students,

and the teachers in the upper grades were very receptive to the idea of having writers come and help the students with their

writing. We decided that the writers should come on Thursdays, when I would also be there. The teachers were

going to have Elissa and Gerry come in during the English Language Arts (ELA) block, and combine the fifth and sixth

grade classes, and then Gerry and Elissa would switch rooms to meet with the seventh grade and the eighth grade students.

So we were going to have writers’ workshop day! Hooray!

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Developing the Writers’ Workshops:

Gerry and Elissa wanted to meet with me prior to meeting with the students and teachers in order to go over what they

were going to do with the children. They wanted to make sure that they were on the right track, and were not going to offend

or embarrass anyone. So, we met again at Barnes and Noble and they informed me of their writing prompts. I thought the

prompts were interesting and fun, and I felt that the children would utilize their creativity with the story starters.

One prompt was to create a character sketch of someone. Elissa presented some questions in a line-by-line format like:

What is the character’s name? Where does the character live? Does the character have sisters or brothers? Does the character

have pets? If so, what are their names? What is the character’s secret? After all of the questions were answered, then the

students could write a story about their character.

Another prompt was a black and white photograph that looked

like it was taken in the 1950’s of a person who was standing in front of a window. It wasn’t clear who this person was, or why

the person was standing there. Students had to write a story based on the picture.

Another prompt was a sentence that started a story, and the children had to think about what the next lines would be in the

story, and they had to complete the story.

There was an exercise about describing yourself as a fruit with

vivid language. Elissa had written a wonderful poem as an example of this that she would share with the students. Gerry

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and Elissa really thought these prompts through, and I felt that they were engaging, fun and would elicit some great responses

from the students.

So, I got the o.k. from the teachers at ONS and plans were

made so that Elissa and Gerry could visit on a Thursday morning. The teachers seemed very receptive to writers’

workshop, and it was agreed that they would come that one day during the teachers E.L.A. block.

Gerry and Elissa arrived early on the initial Thursday that they were to teach and chatted with me before they were to work

with the children. I introduced them to the principal, as well as Roz and Steve. The two writers were a bit nervous to meet

with the children and wanted to share with me a lesson plan that they had made up to structure the morning. It looked

great. I was a bit nervous as well. Would the children write? How would Elissa and Gerry be received? Would it work?

Implementing the Writers’ Workshop:

Roz introduced Gerry and Elissa to the group of students as writers who were going to help them with their writing.

Initially, the students didn’t seem too excited about the prospect. Elissa introduced herself, and told the children that

she was a student at Syracuse University who writing a young adult novel. Gerry said that he was a poet who wrote a poem

entitled, “Cat Puke.” He read this poem to the children. The students laughed and obviously got a kick out of this. Elissa

and Gerry then explained that they would not be evaluating student work, but they would be giving ideas on what to write

about. They told the children that they always had the option

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of writing about anything they wanted to. They asked if the students had any questions. No one raised his or her hands.

That particular morning, Gerry and Elissa introduced the character sketch prompt, and the mysterious picture, to the

students and the children started writing! For the most part, every child in the class was composing a piece, even some

students who had previously shut down during writing time. The sixth grade teacher, Steve, wasn’t sure if one of the

students, Albert, would shut down like he sometimes did. I actually held my breath as Gerry approached him. He was a

really good student, but when he was confronted with a task that he didn’t want to do, he would not do it regardless of the

cajoling, pushing, or even if he was given consequences for his actions. How would this student react? During the

character sketch, Albert put his pencil down, and this was a sure sign to me that he wasn’t going to write. Gerry chatted

with him softly, crouching down at eye level with him and Albert started writing! Wow.

The time that Gerry and Elissa spent with these kids was magical. Reluctant writers were writing, and those who

enjoyed writing were writing tons. In my role as staff developer, I thought I hit on something really real.

The teachers said that they would love to have the writers come again. So we decided that Gerry and Elissa would return

every Thursday. They also worked with some of the children Monday during an after school program. Who would have

thought that from the day I met the writers at Barnes and

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Noble, such a program would have developed? I guess I was lucky enough to be open to the possibilities.

During the time that the writers were there, there were many adults in the classroom helping the children. Besides Gerry

and Elissa, I was there, as was Roz and Steve, the fifth and sixth grade teachers respectively; Pat, a teaching assistant who

worked one- on-one with one of the students who had extreme difficulty with reading and writing, and at times Alison, a

special education teacher worked with the fifth and sixth graders. This may seem like a lot of adults in the classroom all

at once, but we really tried not to overwhelm the children with our presence. Gerry and Elissa were the primary teachers, and

because the students responded so well to them, we decided that they would give the instructions for the writing prompts,

and then they would walk around the classroom to motivate and help the kids with their writing. We sat back and observed

mostly, but as students were engaged in their writing, we walked around and helped them.

Onondaga Nation Students Engage

Children who were typically quiet expressed interest in the first prompt: the character sketch. At first, the entire class

would complete this character sketch. Initially, the students were shouting out answers to the different aspects of this

character. It was a bit chaotic. Then Elissa and Gerry decided it would be best if the students raised their hands to contribute.

The contributions were very funny, kind of typical for these Native American students. Often people in the school and

community talk about the humor that permeates the “rez”. I’ve noticed that the Onondagas often joke, and poke fun good-

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naturedly. I learned quickly at the school not to take myself so seriously, and roll with it. Bruchac (1990) states “Joking and

teasing might be used to remind someone of their place in societies . . .” I’ve been chidingly called “pest junior” by the

secretary, who is Onondaga. Case closed.

After the group character sketch, students were asked to work

with the prompt and create their own character. While they were working on this, Gerry and Elissa were circulating

around the room helping students who were stuck. Some students asked spellings of words. Often, Gerry and Elissa

would tell the children to try their best at the spelling, and not be concerned with it at this point. After they did their sloppy

copy, then they could focus on spelling. What seemed to amaze all of the teachers in the room was the fact that these

children trusted Gerry and Elissa to help them with their writing, instantaneously. It seems that the writers were

accepted immediately perhaps due to the fact that they were outsiders, and not their teachers. I also think that Gerry and

Elissa established that they were not going to judge the writing pieces. They made it clear in the beginning that they were not

going to evaluate the writing, and they didn’t write on the childrens’ work.

Gerry and Elissa had the “cool” factor going for them. They were different from anyone at the school, and possibly anyone

that the children usually came in contact with. They were also quite a bit younger than the rest of us, and looked it. Elissa

with her very short hair and horn-rimmed glasses wore red high top sneakers and khaki pants, while Gerry was typically

wearing jeans and a soccer sweatshirt that he got from a thrift

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shop that had the logo of a local high school. They also had disarming laughs and a great sense of humor, which again, the

students really appreciated. Reluctant writers would accept Gerry and Elissa’s help, due to the fact that they would talk to

them with respect, crouch down so they were at eye level with the children, and they gave them possibilities for where they

could take their writing based on the conversations that they had with them. Sometimes Gerry and Elissa would have the

kids quietly read the pieces aloud to them during the class, and they actively listened.

There was one student who worked with Pat, the teaching assistant. He was in sixth grade and had difficulty decoding

first and second grade texts. It was difficult finding him interesting age-appropriate reading material at his level of

reading ability. It was also extremely frustrating for him to write. So Pat would write down Joe’s story as he dictated it.

They did this quietly and kids never questioned or made fun of Joe.

Often after the children would create their stories, Gerry and Elissa had them take turns reading them out loud in order to

share with the rest of the class what they wrote. It was really interesting how different the pieces were in terms of style,

voice, details, and word choice. Each one had a different “take” on the assignment. Pat would read Joe’s story aloud so

that the students would be able to hear it, and it was clear that everyone accepted this.

Gerry and Elissa came back Thursday after Thursday, and this was a highlight of the students’ day. When they would see me

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at the school, many of them would ask if the writers would be coming that day. What was so exciting was that Gerry and

Elissa created this community of writers who gained confidence in their writing, and weren’t afraid to express

themselves. Often the children’s pieces contained autobiographical elements, about life on the reservation, going

to the local mall, riding their four wheelers, and the Native American game of lacrosse. Sometimes their pieces were pure

fantasy, about dragons, zombies, and ghosts.

Integrating Writers’ Workshop into the School’s Literacy Program:

Although they didn’t ask for it, Carol Erb, the principal at

ONS, wanted to compensate Gerry and Elissa for their work with the children. Carol was actually receiving calls from

parents asking what the writing program was at the school because the children were writing at home, and they were very

enthusiastic about their pieces. Ted, the counselor who works with many Nation students, said that the children often talked

to him about the writing program and he wanted to see it continue based on the feedback that he received.

I would have to say that I think the program was so successful due to Gerry and Elissa’s commitment to come every

Thursday, their caring and belief that the students were indeed writers with something important to say, and their non-

intrusive way of guiding the students through their creative pieces without dictating what they should be writing. The next

year I invited Jack and Misha, other M.F.A. writers from Syracuse University to come and work with the children, and

this was also quite successful. They also created an anthology

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for the kids that every child got to keep. This is my third year facilitating this program, and I have recently been in touch

with a creative writing professor from the M.F.A. program, in order to continue the ONS writers’ workshop. Because the

fifth and sixth grade teachers are busy with a new reading series, they would like the writers to come a little later in the

year, perhaps January. I, however, think it’s too important to delay starting the program. So, I decided to contact the after-

school programs in the district, and we are going to begin the program after school with various grades (perhaps the seventh

and eighth graders, or third and fourth grade students). Jack would like to come back after participating in the program last

year, and there is a man Santee, whose wife is Onondaga, and their child goes to kindergarten at ONS, who is excited to help

teach writing to the children.

Challenges to Authentic Learning in these times

Who would have ever guessed that that fateful meeting at

Barnes and Noble would result in such a well-received, successful program? I am determined to continue this program

while I am working at the Onondaga Nation School in which I hope will be for a very, very long time.

Although determined to continue the program, I am coming up against some roadblocks that may get in the way of continuing

writers’ workshop at the Onondaga Nation School; one is the fear of high-stakes testing. Teachers worry that it takes time

away from test preparation. I feel this is such a shame, due to the fact that the program was so successful, leading to more

writing and more confidence that in turn might produce higher test results. A recent article featured in the Syracuse Post-

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Standard described the Onondaga Nation School as a school struggling with the issue of these standardized tests. Spiritual

leader Tadodaho Sid Hill was quoted as saying, “The district controls how the school is run. We’d like to see even more

language and culture in the school. And we don’t like all the testing. It grades the school, instead of the kids” (Doran,

2006).

High-stakes tests “ . . . often require students to compose in

isolation to an unknown audience on a predetermined topic. These conditions are contested by current research on writing

that illuminates the social nature of writing and argues for the value of students drawing on their knowledge of personal and

popular culture for topic choice and text structure, and for the benefits of writing for an authentic audience” (Shelton, Fu, &

Smith, 2004). There are studies by Newkirk (2002), Larson & Maier (2000) and Wollman-Bonilla (2000), which support

writing workshop. Test-driven curriculum does not take into consideration creativity, use of popular culture, humor,

individuality or authentic writing. It is pretty lifeless. I feel there has to be, at the very least, a compromise.

In the article, “Creating Space for Teaching Writing and for Test Preparation” (Shelton, Fu, & Smith, 2004) Nancy, the

teacher referred to in the article, chose to do both test prep and writers’ workshop. She had pressure from administration to

address high-stakes testing in her lesson, but also tried to fit in writers’ workshop. The last section of the article is particularly

poignant. “Can we count ‘scoring high’ as ‘success’ even though the students were nearly suffocated as writers and

45

learners, and a teacher was alienated from her own beliefs about teaching?” (Shelton, Fu, & Smith, 2004).

This, unfortunately, is the reality of what is happening at the Onondaga Nation School. It is my hope that through programs

such as writers’ workshop we will see the importance of maintaining a love of learning and enthusiasm for writing,

rather than what Nancy in the previous article stated, “Now my classroom seems like a boot camp where the ‘soldiers’

were training for real battles” (Shelton, Fu & Smith, 2004). Boot camp, soldiers, battles. The war may not be over yet, but

bringing local writers to a school is a way to end the strife, to beat the swords into plowshares, and restore peace and

authentic learning.

ReferencesAtwell, N. (1998). In the middle: New understandings about

writing, reading, and learning (2nd ed.). Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook.

Bennett, R., Mattz, R., Jackson, S., & Campbell, H. (1998, May). The place of writing in preserving an oral language. Paper presented at the Annual Stabilizing Indigenous Languages Symposium, Louisville, KY.

Bruchac, J. (1990). The unbroken circle: Contemporary Iroquois storytelling. Northeast Indian Quarterly, 7(4), 13-16.

Calkins, L.M.(1994). The Art of Teaching Writing. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Doran, E. (2006, November 13). Spiritual leader sees importance of Onondaga Nation School. The Post-Standard, p. A6.

Fletcher, R., Portalupi, J. (2001). Writing Workshop: The Essential Guide. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Francis, L.,Bruchac, J (Eds). Reclaiming the vision: Past, present, and future native voices for the eighth generation. Greenfield Center, NY: Greenfield Review Press.

Gregory, G.A. (1993). The texture of essays written by basic writers: Dine and Anglo. Unpublished doctoral

46

dissertation, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM.

Kearney, M. (2004). Writer inspires student creativity at Blackfeet Tribal College. Tribal College. 15(4) p. 31.

Koch, K. (1970). Wishes, lies, dreams; teaching children to write poetry, by Kenneth Koch and the students of P.S. 61 in New York City. New York: Chelsea House Publishers.

Koch, K. (1973). Rose where did you get that red? Teaching great poetry to children. New York: Random House.

Larson, J., & Maier, M. (2000). Co-Authoring classroom texts: Shifting participant roles in writing activity. Research in the Teaching of English. 34, 468-497.

Lutz, H. (1989). The circle as philosophical and structural concept in Native American fiction today. In L. Coltelli (Ed.), Native American literatures. Servizio Editoriale Universitario.

Newkirk, T, (2002). Misreading masculinity: Boys, literacy and popular culture. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Shelton, N.R., Fu, D., & Smith, K. (2004). Creating space for teaching writing and for test preparation. Language Arts. 82(2), 120-129.

Westby, C.E., Roman, R. (1995). Finding the balance: Learning to live in two worlds. Topics in Language Disorders. 15(4) 68-88.

Wollman-Bonilla, J. (2000). Teaching science writing to first graders: Genre learning and recontextualization. Research in the Teaching of English. 35, 35-65.

47

A REVIEW AND AN UPDATE ON USING CHILDREN’S LITERATURE TO TEACH MATHEMATICS

JUNE LUNDY GASTÓNBOROUGH OF MANHATTAN COMMUNITY COLLEGE

CUNY

AbstractThis paper will discuss why and how children's literature should be used to teach mathematics, the variety of children's literature that can be considered, and how lessons can integrate technology that enhances both language literacy and mathematics literacy. Such information is helpful, not only for educators, but also for parents and caregivers who want to understand how to appropriately utilize interdisciplinary connections to facilitate or improve both teaching and learning.

Children must develop reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills because those skills are required for success in

any discipline (Jacobs, 2006). Consequently, in their mathematical development students need to be able to read,

write, speak and listen in mathematical terms. Communication is an essential part of mathematics education (NCTM, 2000).

Research indicates that children’s literature provides a means to promote such communication about mathematical ideas.

Investigations examine why and how children's literature can be used to teach mathematics, the variety of children's

literature that can be considered, and how lessons can also integrate technology that enhances both language literacy and

mathematics literacy. Such information is important, not only for educators, but for parents and caregivers who want to

appropriately utilize interdisciplinary connections to facilitate or improve both teaching and learning.

48

Educational research has shown that students taught mathematics via connections to children's literature become

more interested (Welchman-Tischler, 1992) and motivated (Usnick & McCarthy, 1998); become better critical thinkers

(Murphy, 2000) and problem solvers (Jacobs & Rak, 1997; Melser & Leitze, 1999); are better able to connect

mathematical ideas to personal experiences (Murphy, 2000); and can appreciate mathematics as a tool that can be used in

real life (Hebert & Furner, 1997).

Parents, caregivers and educators can also benefit from the

mathematics and literature connection. The recommendations that parents and caregivers become more active in the

education of their children include reading mathematics-based children's literature during story time. Parents and caregivers

may also more easily participate in an effective homework program involving mathematical activities linked to such

literature (Hartog & Brosnan, 2003).

Marilyn Burns, well-known author and mathematics educator,

noted that teachers who are not comfortable with mathematics typically prefer teaching reading and language arts. Such

teachers are attracted to beautifully illustrated children's books and good literature that generates children's interest and

inspires their imaginations. By integrating literature in their mathematics lessons, such teachers can find more comfort and

pleasure in teaching the material, and convey a positive attitude along with the content of the lessons (Bafile, 2001).

49

Although the curriculum may be preset, Welchman-Tischler (1992) has explored seven ways that teachers can incorporate

children's literature in different types of mathematics lessons:

1. To provide a context or model for an activity with

mathematical content.

2. To introduce manipulatives that will be used in varied ways

(not necessarily as in the story).

3. To inspire a creative mathematical experience for children.

4. To pose an interesting problem.

5. To prepare for a mathematics concept or skill.

6. To develop or explain a mathematics concept or skill.

7. To review a mathematics concept or skill.

Later publications expand upon these ways, providing helpful details that link grade levels, mathematics strands, and lesson

objectives with appropriate children's literature (Braddon et al, 1993; Evans et al, 2001; Thiessen et al, 2004). Dr. E. Young

of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, currently provides a very concise

version of the information on her website, http://sci.tamucc.edu/~eyoung/literature.html. Whitin's work

(Whitin & Wilde, 1992 and 1995; Whitin & Whitin, 2004) includes discussions about the classroom experiences of both

teachers and their students.

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To further assist and encourage teachers seeking ways to utilize literature, the National Council of Teachers of

Mathematics provides five model lessons on its Illuminations website (http://illuminations.nctm.org/LessonDetail.aspx?

ID=U83). Each lesson integrates appropriate children's literature and mathematics, including directions and

downloadable worksheets that can readily be duplicated for assignments. A similarly helpful site, S.M.A.R.T.Books

(http://www.k-state.edu/smartbooks), has a broad selection of over 200 lesson plans contributed by teachers.

Upon closer examination of children's literature used in such lessons, Lachance (2002) discussed the difference between

"math concept books" and "math-related books." "Math concept books," such as those in the MathStart series, are

written specifically for teaching certain mathematical ideas. Stuart Murphy has authored more than sixty MathStart books

for grades PreK-4. The books are organized into three groups with overlapping grade levels PreK-1, 1-3 and 2-4. Popular

titles from each of three levels include Just Enough Carrots (1997) for comparing quantities, Give Me Half! (1996) for

understanding the concept of halves, and The Penny Pot (1998) for counting money.

"Math related books" may be used to introduce mathematical concepts or launch explorations. Pat Hutchins has written

several popular math-related books, including The Doorbell Rang (1986) for division, Clocks and More Clocks (1994) for

time and Shrinking Mouse (1997) for perspective. Useful bibliographies like The Wonderful World of Mathematics: A

Critically Annotated List of Children’s Books in Mathematics

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(Thiessen, Matthias, & Smith, 1998), contain many "math related books." Some of these books, such as The King's

Chessboard (Birch, 1988), One Grain of Rice (Demi, 1997), and Grandfather Tang's Story (Tompert, 1997) have

multicultural themes that invite further integration with other curricular areas.

Even non-mathematical literature can be used to teach or review mathematical concepts and skills. For example,

Vlaming (2000) devised story cards to help fifth graders practice their mental mathematics skills. The cards were

developed by embellishing the story of Three Little Pigs (Golden Books, 2004) with mathematical details that were

organized into a string of word problems. For example, the first card in the deck indicates the age of each of the pigs and

requires finding the average age. Subsequent cards include details and related problems concerning the time, cost and

materials for building the pigs' houses.

Clearly familiarity with the story facilitates the activity. A

simple preliminary assignment might involve researching several versions of this classic fable, most of which are

available at no cost on the Internet. After a Story Cards activity, children can make up additional problems for the

given deck. Additional research may sometimes be necessary to provide useful details for such an assignment. For the Three

Little Pigs, such research may involve examining the wolf's version of the story or its symbolism and psychological

aspects. Students can also be assigned to write math problems based on more contemporary, popular stories or books such as

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Working alone or in

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groups, students can create math story cards for one or more decks and exchange them for extra practice and review.

It is apparent that once a teacher's preference, interests and instructional needs are identified, a variety of children’s

literature can be used to teach and explore specific mathematical ideas. Whether the books are math-based or not,

it is important to pinpoint good children's literature to incorporate in selected class work and homework activities.

Austin (1998) suggests that in trying to find such literature, the story should be closely examined. It should have "layers of

meaning," facilitate mathematical connections, promote mathematical inquiry, and really enthuse and engage the

reader. The Math Curse (Scieszka, 1995) is an example. The story begins with a teacher, Mrs. Fibonacci, telling a class that

they can think of everything as a mathematics problem. One of her students, the main character of the book, is thus "cursed"

with an awareness that suddenly fills her days with mathematical challenges. Those challenges can be resources

for a variety of lessons and projects, from simply finding more examples of different types of mathematics problems (and

solving them) to more closely examining math difficulties or math anxiety and documenting personal experiences. Thus

good literature used in teaching mathematics can promote language literacy and mathematics literacy, both of which

facilitate the completion of assignments involving mathematics-related research and writing.

To further assist students in completing such assignments and projects, many teachers integrate literature and mathematics

lessons with a technology component. For example, the

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Multigenre Mapper, the ReadWriteThink Printing Press and the Stapleless Book can facilitate mathematics-related writing

and story-telling skills. The three are among the user-friendly student tools available on a website (http://

www.readwritethink.org/student_mat/index.asp) jointly sponsored by the International Reading Association, the

National Council of Teachers of English and the MarcoPolo Professional Development Program. There are also examples

of lessons and student projects that utilize these tools. For example, Renee Goularte's K-2 lesson "Draw a Math Story:

From the Concrete to the Symbolic" begins with a teacher's choice of children's literature involving addition and

subtraction. Toward the end of four sessions that include a focus on story-telling, addition and subtraction concepts, and

mathematics vocabulary and notation, children are introduced to writing tools (Shapebooks, Stapleless Book Planning Sheet

and Stapleless Book) to help them document their own mathematics-related stories.

Other technological tools such as those in the MacIntosh iLife suite (iPhoto, iMovie, iTunes, and iDVD) are used in many

digital classrooms. The online Apple Learning Interchange (http://ali.apple.com/ali_sites/ali/li.php) highlights learning in

these classrooms. Lessons and projects are arranged by levels: Primary, Intermediate, Middle School and High School. Thus

the diverse mathematics-related listing features technologically-enhanced lessons and products from primary-

level counting books to high-school-level speed and projectile explorations integrating mathematics and science.

54

Teachers can find many effective ways of unleashing the potential of literature in the mathematics classroom. The

search begins with knowledge of the mathematics curriculum and their personal literary preferences. The search is modified

by the needs of the students. The search is continuous because the ways of linking literature and mathematics are endless

ReferencesAustin, P. (1998). Math books as literature: Which ones

measure up? New Advocate, 11(2), 119-133. [EJ 606 322], Retrieved 4/19/06 from http://ed.uno.edu/faculty/SI/PAustin/articles/math.htm

Bafile, C. (2001). Math and literature – A match made in the classroom! Retrieved 4 / 1 9 / 0 6 f r o m h t t p : / /www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr249.shtml

Birch, D. (1988). The king's chessboard. New York: Penguin.Braddon, K., Hall, N.J., & Taylor, D. (1993). Math through

children's literature. Greenwood Village, CO: Teachers Ideas Press.

Demi. (1997). One grain of rice: A mathematical folktale. New York: Scholastic. Golden Books. (2004). Three little pigs. NY: Golden/Disney.

Hartog, M.D. & Brosnan, P.A. (2003). Doing mathematics with your child. [ED372967], (Originally published 1 9 9 4 ) . R e t r i e v e d 5 / 1 8 / 0 6 f r o m h t t p : / /villainyinc.thinkport.org/families/do.asp

Evans, C.W., Leija, A.J., and Falkner, T.R. (2001). Math links: teaching the NCTM 2000 Standards through children's lit. Englewood, CO: Teachers Ideas Press.

Hebert, T. & Furner, J. (1997). High ability students overcome math anxiety through bibliotherapy. Journal of Secondary Gifted Education, 8 (4), 164-78.

Hutchins, P. (1986). The doorbell rang. New York: Greenwillow.

Hutchins, P. (1994). Clocks and more clocks. New York: Aladdin.

Hutchins, P. (1997). Shrinking mouse. New York: Greenwillow.

Jacobs, A. & Rak, S. (1997). Mathematics and literature — A winning combination. Teaching Children Mathematics, 4 (3), 156-57.

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Jacobs, H.H. (2006). Active literacy across the curriculum: Strategies for reading, writing, speaking and listening. Larchmont, NY: Eye on Education, Inc.

Lachance, A. (2002). Connecting children's literature and mathematics: An overview of ideas, sources and resources. Language and Literacy Spectrum, 12, 13-22.

Retrieved 4/19/06 from http://education.cortland.edu/facu l ty / l achance /Reappoin tment%20Webfo l io /literacyspectrum.htm

Melser, N. & Leitze, A. (1999). Connecting Language Arts and Mathematical Problem Solving in the Middle Grades. Middle School Journal, 31 (1), 48-54.

Murphy, S. J. (1996). Give me half! New York: HarperTrophy. Murphy, S. J. (1997). Just enough carrots. New York:

HarperTrophy. Murphy, S. J. (1998). The penny pot. New York:

HarperTrophy. Murphy, S. J. (2000). Children's books about math: Trade

books that teach. New Advocate, 13 (4), 365-74.National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. (2000).

Principles and standards for school mathematics. Reston, VA: Author. Retrieved 5/18/06 from http://standards.nctm.org

New York City Department of Education Family Literacy Guide. (2005). Opening the door to learning, literacy is a family affair. NY: New Visions for Public Schools. Retrieved 4/19/06 from http://www.nycenet.edu/Parents/NewsInformation/FamilyLitGuide.htm Rowling, J. K. (2005). Harry Potter and the half-blood prince. New York: Scholastic Books.

Scieszka, J. & Smith, L. (1995). The math curse. New York: Viking.

Thiessen, D., Matthias, M., & Smith, J. (1998). The wonderful world of mathematics: A critically annotated list of children's books in mathematics. 2nd Edition. Reston, VA: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.

Thiessen, Diane (Ed). (2004). Exploring mathematics through literature: Articles and lessons for prekindergarten through grade 8. Reston, VA: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.

Tompert, A. (1997). Grandfather Tang's story. New York: Crown.

Usnick, V. & McCarthy, J. (1998). Turning adolescents onto mathematics through literature. Middle School Journal, 29 (4), 50-54.

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Welchman-Tischler, R. (1992). How to use children's literature to teach mathematics. Reston, VA: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.

Whitin, D. J. & Wilde, S. (1992). Read any good math lately? Children's books for mathematical learning, K-6. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Whitin, D. J. & Wilde, S. (1995). It's the story that counts: More children's books for mathematical learning, K-6. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Whitin, D. J. & Whitin, P. (2004). New visions for linking literature and mathematics. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English, Reston, VA: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.

Vlaming, L. (2000). Mental Math: Using literature for story problems. Naperville, IL:

North Central Regional Educational Laboratory. Retrieved 4/19/06 from http://www.ncrel.org/mands/docs/6-11.htm

57

INVESTIGATING MATHEMATICS CONCEPTS WITH POLYHEDRA DICE

WLADINA ANTOINEFAIRLEIGH DICKINSON UNIVERSITY

AbstractStudents learn and understand basic arithmetic concepts when games with polyhedra dice are used to help them problem solve, communicate, reason and make connections. The goal is to have students create their own knowledge, and be interested in the process of learning and comprehending mathematics.

IntroductionElementary school students are continuously asked to learn many basic arithmetic facts, rules and procedures from

kindergarten to 8th grade. My interest in integrating probability with basic arithmetic concepts started after doing

interviews with elementary school teachers. They complained that rote learning, memorization of number facts, is prevalent

because of pressures to prepare and pass state and city tests, especially in the Tri – State area. Thus, the mathematics

curricula are usually based on testing items found in state or city exams. The challenge of doing mathematics actively with

such students is to include a fun activity that tricks them into believing that they are playing a game while they are creating

their own knowledge. When the right activity is used to reinforced learned concepts, students do not feel as if they are

learning or memorizing more unnecessary mathematics. This paper discusses the learning and understanding of

mathematics, classroom environment and management needed for mathematical investigations and an example of an

investigation with polyhedra dice to reinforce arithmetic concepts such as adding, subtracting, multiplying and

dividing.

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Learning And Understanding MathematicsTraditional learning of mathematics is based on transmission or absorption. Students “absorb” mathematical concepts

created by others. Clements and Battista (1990) suggest that the constructivist approach is a possible way of improving

learning and understanding of mathematics. What are some advantages of this teaching approach? This approach

motivates the child to create his knowledge actively by reflecting on his/her physical and mental action. One

important lesson students learn is that there are multiple realities –that solutions are not unique. Thus learning

mathematics becomes a social process.

For the past twenty-five years, many mathematics educators

and researchers have written and researched about the complexities of learning and understanding mathematical

concepts and problem solving. Polya (1957) recognized that the understanding of mathematics involves analyzing problem

solving strategies used by students. It is through this process that teachers can assess how students make connections

between ideas, facts and procedures. Other resources such as The Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School

Mathematics (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 1989) recommends that the mathematics curricula emphasize

not only problem solving and making connections but also communicating and reasoning mathematically.

The monotony of rote learning of number facts can foster boredom in the classroom. Therefore, having students solve

problems through hands on activities helps increase their ability to problem solve, reason and communicate

59

mathematically. Effective problem solving involves asking questions such as “Why?” and “What if?” Repetition of the

games serves as a means of helping the development of strategies. As reasoning ability increases, the students begin to

understand the notion that there are multiple solutions for any given problem, and that they comfortably communicate their

results.

Classroom Environment and ManagementWhen doing investigations in the classroom, students are

clearly told exactly what they need to do (rules). The materials needed for the activities are listed and provided. During a

previous class, the students would have been introduced to various polyhedra such as hexahedron (six sided die),

octahedron (eight- sided die) and decahedron (ten-sided die). The expectations of working collaboratively and the sharing

solutions in small groups as well as with the entire classroom are clearly explained to students. Students are made to feel

that all solutions are valid and should be discussed. Urging students to solve problems in small groups of two or three

promotes mathematical discussions and exposes students to different reasoning and strategies that lead to a solution. As

students’ comfort level increases, they become confident in sharing their solution not only to with group but also with their

class.

The emphasis on classroom discussion promotes students’

ability to communicate mathematically. When students communicate with each other strategies for solving a problem,

they are clarifying their ideas and increasing their reasoning ability. Since the investigations are student centered, the role

60

of the mathematics instructor is to facilitate student discussions throughout the activities being investigated. The

discussions between students not only occur within their individual groups but also with the whole class. At first

students discuss their ideas within the group to clarify their approaches to solve. The protocol for answering questions

would be to give all students 10 to 15 minutes to write down a few notes before responding to a question. This time

allotment encourages the whole class the opportunity to participate. When students respond, they must complete what

they are saying without interruptions from the teacher or fellow classmates. In the event more clarification is needed or

part of the class did not hear a response, the student speaking should explain his/her ideas in his own words. These

processes not only validate students’ communicating mathematically but also build on their problem solving

abilities. Hence, the amount of time and the complexities of group and class discussion cultivate the learning of

mathematics.

Polyhedra ActivitiesMany mathematics educators are familiar with using dice to

illustrate probability experiments, but few are aware that activities can be created to reinforce arithmetic concepts

involving the basic four operations. Before doing the games with a class, it is crucial for teachers to spend time preparing

the polyhedra activities. In addition, this ensures that the materials needed are available and the rules are clear. I have

tried many activities from Exploring Math with Polyhedra Dice (Jane, 2001) such as 1) Number Roll, 2) Position Power

61

and 3) Place your Decimals. At first students are skeptical about the activity but, eventually all of them are on task.

My favorite activity, Number Roll, is ideal for assessing students’ abilities to do sums, differences, products, and

quotients and to estimate combination of operations with whole numbers. The students will be able to 1) investigate the

notions of highest sum, difference, product and lowest quotient with 1 decahedron and 1 playing board, 2) work

together to discuss strategies of each game, 3) be able to determine the best answer and compare results with other

groups in the classroom and 4) practice arithmetic algorithms.

The rules state that the team closest to the goal for that game

wins, and that the games must be played at least twice. In order to give clarity to students the activity worksheet contains

the following systematic instructions:

1. Choose a game.

2. Roll the decahedron. Each team uses this number.

3. Write the number in one of the boxes.

4. Once you write the number in a box, you cannot move it.

5. You have one discard per game. Write this number in the

discard box.

6. Take turns rolling the decahedron until all boxes are

filled.

7. Find the answer.

8. Repeat steps 2 – 7 for each of the other games.

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Play each game at least twice

Added to the worksheet are examples of sample turns explaining how to achieve a maximum sum. Students are

shown how two teams would fill in their worksheets if the first roll is 5 and the second roll is 1. For example, team 1 may

choose to fill in the result of their rolls such that the number 5 is the second digit of the first number while the number 1 is

the third digit of the second number. The rolls will continue until all six boxes are filled in and the sum is calculated.

Team 2 may have rolled the same two numbers, but they would place the results of their rolls such that on the first toss the number 5 would be placed in the third digit of the first number while for the second toss the number 1 would be placed in the third digit of the second number.

The teachers’ role is to facilitate discussion by asking thought provoking questions such as a) “If you rolled a 0, where would

63

you put it? Why?” b) “How would you position your rolls to obtain a maximum sum?” Once the activity is understood,

each group would determine the best possible solution by rearranging the numbers for each game. These games motivate

students to use polyhedra dice, to do experiments, to organize the information and results of their experiment to explore

knowledge about adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing, and estimating numbers. Classroom observations of these

hands – on activities show that the learning is happening throughout the communication. These activities are not limited

to using decahedrons; a teacher may substitute hexahedrons, tetrahedrons, and octahedrons and explore the highest sum,

difference, product and quotient.

ConclusionMany suggestions have been made by mathematics educators

about how to best teach mathematical concepts in arithmetic. Baroody (1987) suggest that arithmetic facts be presented in

form of games. Ginsburg (1989) discusses how rote memory represents one way to learn arithmetic concepts. He suggests

teaching arithmetic concepts in a meaningful way that emphasizes reasoning. Therefore, arithmetic students cannot

be taught mathematics in a rote manner, but rather they construct their knowledge of mathematics by communicating,

problem solving and playing structured games in the classroom. Ferrandino (2004) states that math is everywhere.

It is for this reason that students at the elementary school must be exposed to many interesting and challenging hands-on

activities that involve finding solutions to practical problems. Teachers can no longer continue to plan instruction and

lessons by avoiding broad learning. They need to encourage

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students to make connections between math learning and their own meaning.

ReferencesBaroody A. J. (1987). Children’s mathematical thinking. New

York: Teachers College PressClements, D. H., & Battista, M. T. (1990). Constructivisits

learning and teaching. The Arithmetic Teacher, 38(1), 34-37.

Ferrandino, V. L. (2004). Doing the math: Its more than numbers. Principal, 84(2), 64.

Ginsburg, H.P.(1989). Children's arithmetic: How they learn it and how you teach it. Austin, TX: PRO-ED.

Janes, N. C. (2001). Exploring math with polyhedra dice. Vernon Hills, IL: Learning Resources, Inc.

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. (1989). Curriculum and evaluation standards for school mathematics. Reston, VA: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.

Polya, G. (1957). How to solve it (2nd ed.). Garden City, NY: Doubleday Anchor Books.

65

FROM THE TRENCHES: SUCCESS IN URBAN SCHOOLSROBIN L. HARRIS, KATHALEEN R. BURKE AND

MAURREN A. MILLIGAN BUFFALO STATE COLLEGE, BUFFALO, NEW YORK

KELLY A. BAUDO, CYNTHIA A. DEGNAN AND TANYA D. JOHNSON

BUFFALO PUBLIC SCHOOLS, BUFFALO, NEW YORK

AbstractEvidence presented shows that the professional development efforts of the Buffalo Science Teachers’ Network have contributed to a significantly higher retention rate among middle school science teachers in the Buffalo Public School district. This has led to teachers being involved with an increasing number of leadership and outreach activities, and involved in discussions of how multiculturalism and equity are addressed to support these activities.

Retaining & Developing LeadersIntroduction

Recent data and information about the progress of the program entitled, Buffalo Science Teachers’ Network (BSTN) will be

presented. This teacher-driven professional development project has completed seven years of activity. BSTN is a New

York State Education Department, Teacher/Leader Quality Partnership (TLQP) funded grant project, which works out of

the Department of Earth Sciences and Science Education at Buffalo State College.

We have found that as a result of the high retention level in our project, the teachers pursue and take advantage of an

increasing number of leadership opportunities within the project, in their schools, and in the district. This increased

leadership capacity has led to a greater presence of our project teachers in the community, working on outreach activities and

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working actively on science education projects outside of their classrooms.

The purpose of this year-round teacher preparation and professional development project is to prepare and support

educators to help all students achieve high standards of learning and development in middle school science. Current

research (National Science Foundation, 1997) and data (including student achievement) guide our goal setting and all

activities. The project works in cooperation with Buffalo Public Schools (BPS) Science Department, Buffalo State

College (BSC), the Center for Excellence in Urban and Rural Education at BSC, the Buffalo Museum of Science, Science

Education for Public Understanding (SEPUP), the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and

Lab-aids, Inc., as well as other organizations supporting improved science education. BPS is an urban, high-need

district in Buffalo, New York, serving about 46,000 students.

The project goals include: Provide content and pedagogical

instructional activities for pre-service and in-service teachers; infuse New York State Math, Science, and Technology

(NYSMST) standards and assessments in all activities; Incorporate principles of effective professional development;

and; Coordinate efforts to meet the induction and/or professional development needs of the collaborating district.

The project provides, at minimum, 56 hours per year of intensive professional development for Buffalo Public School

middle level science, special education and fifth and sixth grade teachers. These teachers range from first-year teachers

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to teachers with over ten years of experience. During the first two years of the project, sixteen teachers participated each

year. Along with an increase in the project’s funding during the third year, ten additional teachers and one BPS school

administrator were brought into the project as participants (Nine teachers have been involved in the project since its

inception.)

The teachers have been involved from the very beginning in

goal setting and planning the activities. These activities include the Summer Institute (a series of professional

development activities, occurring over a one-week period in the summer), the Fall/Winter Weekend (a series of

professional development activities, occurring over a weekend in the Fall or Winter), presenting and attending national and

state-wide professional conferences, working with BSC pre-service science teachers in various capacities, and other

professional development activities.

Buffalo State College undergraduates studying science

education methods, theory, and techniques are also active participants. Embedded in their college classes are exposure

to the BPS curriculum, equity training, and issues involving the unique aspects of urban science education. The idea is to

give ample opportunities for potential science teachers to have experiences in an urban setting. They are participating as

student teachers, observers and assistants, teaching lessons in various Buffalo Public School middle school and high school

classrooms.

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The project is being thoroughly documented. All major planning and discussions are video taped and the proceedings

are transcribed. The project will serve as a model for other school districts to involve their teachers, local teacher

preparation institutions, community organizations, and private industry in working together to meet the needs of our middle

school and high school students in the twenty first century.

Project DataRetention

BPS middle-school science teachers

Common sense and education research (Shen, 1997) show that

retention of teachers in a district or school building is the ideal situation to enhance a teacher’s abilities as a professional and

ultimately to enhance student achievement. Lower turnover is a great strength to build on for continuity and enhancement of

teachers’ and students’ skills (Whitener, Gruber, Lynch, Tingos and Fondelier, 1997). We have evidence to show that BSTN

project teachers stay in the district teaching science in a significant number over non-BSTN science teachers. Table 1

summarizes this data, showing that the retention rate was raised by 23% after teachers participated in BSTN.

Survey of BSTN teachers.

In January 2003 and 2005, teacher participants designed and distributed a survey for all project teacher participants to

gauge several areas where BSTN may be a positive influence. The three major areas covered in the survey were; retention,

competence/empowerment, and support. The questions from the survey and the scoring values used for the survey can be

found in the Appendix. Data of the responses received are

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found in Tables 2 and 3 and Figure 1 shows a graph of the results. The two questions that deal with retention (questions

1 and 2) show that each year, at least 80% of the respondents indicate that participation in BSTN has had a positive effect on

retaining them as teachers in the BPS school district. Responses to question 5 regarding support, shows that BSTN

as reported by its members provides the support needed to stay in an urban setting.

LeadershipBSTN mentoring pre-service teachers

All experienced project teachers welcome and mentor BSC pre-service teachers as observers, participating observers and

participants. Tenured project teachers act as cooperating teachers for student teachers.

As is shown in Table 4, the average hours that pre-service teachers spend in BSTN classrooms has steadily increased

each year the project has been active. Note that the number of participating pre-service teachers dropped significantly in

2003-2004, bringing the total hours down slightly, but the average increased significantly from 52.2 to 96.6 hours per

pre-service teacher. The 2004-2005 data shows a dramatic decrease in the average number of hours pre-service teachers

spent in classrooms. This may be due to residual effects of the 2003-2004 significant decrease in the number of pre-service

teachers, therefore effecting the number of classroom teachers participating the 2004-2005 period.

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Summer Institute Facilitators

Since the conception of BSTN, it has been our goal to have our teachers develop and lead workshops and programs that

they felt were appropriate and worthy. Table 5 shows the percentage of project teachers that acted as Summer Institute

facilitators. At the beginning, BSTN consisted of 16 teachers. During the first year, only five teachers or 31% of the group

felt comfortable leading workshops. By the second year, seven of the sixteen or 44% of our teachers led workshops.

During our third year, we added eight new teachers for a total of twenty four. Out of those twenty four, twelve or 50% of

our population was willing to lead seminars for their colleagues. For the fourth year, fourteen out of twenty four or

58% of our teachers led seminars. The format of the Summer Institute was changed beginning in 2004 at the request of the

teacher participants. During the 2004 Summer Institute, for a majority of the time, teachers worked in groups developing

kits for use in the classroom. Therefore, all but two of the participants acted in leadership roles to facilitate the planning

and work involved in the kit development---bringing participation up to 92%. During the 2005 Summer Institute,

teachers scheduled the kit development activities to last about one hour per day, again giving all participants (100%) a

chance to take on leadership responsibilities. This data leads us to conclude that professional development is more useful

when developed from within the teacher group.

Year-end Survey

Every year, the project provides BSTN teacher participants

with many opportunities to gain extensive training and information to drive their professional development. The

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project provides these opportunities and each year we survey the group to see which opportunities they used in their

teaching activities. This “Year-end Survey” tracks several activities including “Collaboration/Leadership Opportunities.”

Figure 2 contains the 2004 – 2005 data that shows the percentage of respondents that took advantage/participated in

each of these activities. Of the 22 leadership opportunities offered, all were utilized by a range of 5% to 55% of

participants.

Density Kit Development

The development of the density kit exemplifies the goals of

the BSTN. It is a data-driven project to solve a curriculum problem identified by teachers. Teachers determined an area

of student need, based on the New York State Intermediate Level Science Performance Test student scores. They added

more time and materials to the area of density, a physical science core concept that is an integral part of the middle

school curriculum.

When further data showed no significant change for the

students, the teachers began the development of their own kit. They charged the BSTN District Coordinator with researching

the latest developments and creating a package for them to field test and provide feedback (Thier and Daviss, 2001,

2002). After four field tests, the kit is now in its final stages of development. During the development of this curricular

material, SEPUP and Lab-aids, Inc. were consulted. These two organizations use research-based elements that adhere to and

are often cited as exemplary in inquiry-based, relevant and effective science education (Ertel & Koker, 2002, 2001). This

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is a classic example of responding to the professional concerns of teachers and using their insights to provide leadership that

benefits students and other teachers.

The kits will be ready to be piloted in several Buffalo Public

Schools in September 2006. BSTN has made an agreement with the manufacture (Lab-aids, Inc.) that the project will

receive materials as royalties (including materials and support) from the sales generated when the kits are released to the

general public. This is an example of a professional development partnership with a business that has involved

teachers, the district, and students and can potentially generate funding for continued projects similar to this one.

OutreachScience Olympiad

The outreach component of BSTN is growing. One of the more successful programs has been Science Olympiad. The

Buffalo City School District has acted as host for Science Olympiad for the past four years due to the fact that a BSTN

teacher took over the role as the Coordinator of the Western Region of the New York Science Olympiad in 2002. Buffalo

entered two schools in the competition the first and second years, four schools the third year, and three schools this past

year. BSTN also provides judges and set up/clean up help for the day of the event. A group of BSTN teachers planned and

developed kits to help BPS students train for this event.

The volunteers for Science Olympiad include both pre-service

and BSTN teachers, with over 40 volunteers resulting in hundreds of volunteer hours. This outreach program will

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continue with the hope that additional city schools participate every year. See Tables 6 and 7 for data on Science Olympiad

participation.

N.U.R.T.U.R.E.

Two winters ago, a new partnership was established between BSTN and a community organization in Buffalo, the

Community Action Organization (CAO). One of the organizers of the CAO approached one of our project teachers

about a grant project they were initiating entitled, Neighborhoods United for Restoration, Teaching, Upliftment,

Recreation and Education (N.U.R.T.U.R.E.). The program provides after school tutoring and enrichment for Buffalo

Public School students in small groups and in community centers throughout the city.

Teachers involved with BSTN saw this as an opportunity to provide science education to students in a more informal

setting. This program provides opportunities for project teachers and pre-service teachers to interact with students in a

setting that is much more personal; working with students in the community centers in their neighborhoods. It also

provides a positive environment for all since students would be attending on a voluntary basis.

The initial planning and documentation was developed jointly by the BSTN Project Director, several BSTN teachers and the

BSTN Project Coordinator and BSTN BPS District Coordinator. A BSTN teacher is acting as the liaison between

BSTN and CAO and one BSTN teacher and the BSTN Project

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Coordinator actively participated the first year. The second year, ten BSTN teachers and two BSC pre-service teachers

participated. The following is a quote from feedback that we received from a BSC pre-service teacher who participated for

18 hours, assisting various BSTN teachers in the NURTURE program:

I just wanted to let you know what a positive experience the N.U.R.T.U.R.E program has been for me. I have very much

enjoyed working one-on-one with the children. Because I have never had much experience interacting with or teaching

African-American children and because I am a former flower child, I was very worried that these children would not want to

interact with me because I am Caucasian. Much to my surprise, there is no such problem. Kids are kids. Now I am

much more comfortable with multiculturalism and my anxieties have been laid to rest. Thank you very much for this

opportunity. I think this experience or experiences like it should be mandatory for preservice teachers.

In 2005, nine BSTN teachers participated, along with two BSC pre-service teachers. We plan to continue to recruit more

BSTN, BPS and BSC pre-service teachers to participate when the program resumes in the Fall of 2006.

Lab-aids, Inc

BSTN has had a memorandum of agreement with a science kit publisher, Lab-aids. This year, Lab-aids support will evolve

into a publishing partnership. The Density kit that was developed by BSTN will be published by Lab-aids for national

distribution. As mentioned previously, BSTN will have

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designated royalties that will provide teachers with more kits and materials for their classroom.

Location/Community

One of the projects that the BSTN organization is involved with is community outreach. Many of our teachers are trained

within the communities and are involved in community programs. The Buffalo Science Teachers’ Network holds two

annual meetings, one in summer that is 5 days long and one in winter that is 3 days long. During the summer institutes,

members have participated in training at Tifft Nature Reserve, Woodlawn Beach, and at the Gross Anatomy Lab at

D’Youville College. Teachers also have hiked the Niagara Gorge to learn about the history from Fort Niagara to Niagara

Falls. BSTN participants have been provided the opportunity to go on a half-day field trip to American Axle &

Manufacturing’s Tonawanda Forge Facility, in Tonawanda, New York.

Every year BSTN sends members to conferences such as American Association for the Advancement of Science

(AAAS), National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), Science Teachers Association of New York State (STANYS),

National Middle School Association (NMSA) and Sharing Our Success summer conference-New York University. Multiple

members attending conferences benefits the host organization. Once members return, new material and information are

distributed to all members.

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ConclusionThe Buffalo Science Teachers’ Network has demonstrated significant contributions in retaining middle school science

teachers in our urban high-need district. This successful retention has allowed our project teachers to seek out and

participate in a great variety of leadership opportunities, which has led to a significant community presence of BSTN teachers

and activities. Since we are in the seventh year of the project, we hope to begin to show how these achievements will effect

student achievement—since it takes five years for reform to show results in student achievement (according to Michael

Fullan in a presentation to the California Science Implementation Project participants, summer 1994). This is

the next step, and we anticipate some hopeful and significant results in the coming years for our project teachers and their

students.

ReferencesErtel, L. (2002, Winter). Out of the classroom and into the real

world. The Link, 1–2.Koker, M. (2001). What research says about SEPUP.

Ronkonkoma, NY: Lab-Aids, Inc. National Science Foundation. (1997) Review of Instructional Materials for Middle School Science. Directorate for Educational and Human Resources, Division of Elementary, Secondary, and Informal Education.

Shen, Jianping (1997). Teacher retention and attrition in public schools: Evidence from SASS91. Journal of Educational Research, 91(2), 81-88.

Thier, H.D. & Daviss, B. (2001). Developing inquiry-based science materials: A guide for educators. Teachers College Press. New York, NY.

Thier, M. & Daviss, B. (2002). The new science literacy: Using language skills to help students learn science. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Whitener, S. D., Gruber, K., Lynch, H., Tingos, K., & Fondelier, S. (1997). Characteristics of stayers, movers,

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and leavers: Results from the teacher followup survey 1994-95 (NCES 97-450). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics.

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BSTN Teacher Survey, January 2003 & 2005

Survey Questions:

Retention:

1. Has being involved with BSTN affected your decision to

remain teaching in BPS?

2. Has being involved with BSTN affected your decision to

remain teaching middle school in BPS?

Competence/Empowerment:

3. Has being involved with BSTN affected your quality of teaching and confidence as a teacher?

4. Has being involved with BSTN affected your willingness in sharing your skills and knowledge with others?

Support:

5. Has being involved with BSTN made you fill more

supported as a teacher in BPS?

Scoring Values

1= BSTN has had a great negative effect on this

2= BSTN has had some negative effect on this

3= BSTN has had no effect on this

4= BSTN has had some positive effect on this

5= BSTN has had a great positive effect on this

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Figure 1:Survey on retention, competence/empowerment and support.

Figure 2. 2004-2005 BSTN year-end survey of collaboration/

leadership.

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1. BSTN Session facilitator

2. Sharing our Success

3. Density Kit Piloting

4. SALI/SEPUP field testing

5. BSC student observers

6. BSC student lab helpers

7. BSC student teachers

8. GESA facilitator training

9. GESA observations

10. Professional Conference/s

11. Presented at Professional Conference/s

12. Curricular training

13. Grant-Writing

14. Presented to other teachers, NON BSTN

activities 15. Classroom visits to other BPS science

teachers

16. Science Olympiad Judge

or Coach

17. Science Olympiad –

helped out during events

18. NURTURE program

19. Family Science Program

20. Vertical Mentoring

21. GESA observations

22. NYS testing results analysis w/ other teachers

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81

Table 1

1999-2005 Retention Data for BPS Middle School Science

Teachers

__________________________________________________

Raw Data BSTN Non-BSTN Overall

Total 37 71 108

Retained as BPS

Teachers 31 43 74

Retained in BPS

system* 32 ── ──

__________________________________________________

Percent

Retained BSTN Non-BSTN Overall

Retained as BPS

Teachers 84 61 69

Retained in BPS

system* 86 ── ──

__________________________________________________

Percent

Turnover BSTN Non-BSTN Overall

Retained as BPS

Teachers 16 39 31

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Retained in BPS

system* 14 ── ──

Note. One former BSTN teacher is now an administrator; it was not possible to track if the non-BSTN teachers were still

working in the BPS system, not as teachers; we only know whether they were BPS science teachers.

Table 2

Response values from BSTN Teacher Survey, January 2003(n=20)

__________________________________________________

Response

Values 1 2 3 4 5

Question No. Percentage n

1 0.0 0.0 20.0 15.0 65.0

2 0.0 0.0 15.0 25.0 60.0

3 0.0 0.0 0.0 35.0 65.0

4 0.0 0.0 0.0 35.0 65.0

5 0.0 0.0 5.0 20.0 75.0

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Table 3

Response values from BSTN Teacher Survey, January 2005

(n=20)

__________________________________________________

Response

Values 1 2 3 4 5

Question No. Percentage n

1 0.0 0.0 15.0 15.0 70.0

2 0.0 0.0 10.0 30.0 60.0

3 0.0 0.0 5.0 15.0 80.0

4 0.0 0.0 0.0 15.0 85.0

5 0.0 0.0 5.0 5.0 90.0

Table 4

Buffalo Science Teachers' Network Pre-service Teachers in

Urban Classrooms Professional Development Hours

__________________________________________________

Fiscal Year .

1999- 2000- 2001- 2002- 2003- 2004-

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 Total .

Total

Hours 1604.5 5060 5264 7044 6566 3014 25539

Number

Pre-service Teachers

69 109 116 130 68 74 492

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Average Hours

per Pre-service Teacher

23.3 46.4 45.4 54.2 96.6 40.7 51.9

Table 5

BSTN Teachers Leading Summer Institute Sessions

__________________________________________________

Fiscal Year of Total Teachers

Project Teachers Leading Percent

1999-2000 16 5 31%

2000-2001 16 7 44%

2001-2002 24 12 50%

2002-2003 24 14 58%

2003-2004 24 22 92%

2004-2005 22 22 100%

Table 6

Science Olympiad Professional Development Hours for

Buffalo Science Teachers’ Network

__________________________________________________

BSTN TOTAL Average

Teachers Professional Hours

Year Participating Development Hours Participation

2003 16 306 19

2004 22 729 33

2005 16 496 31

85

2006 17 457 27

Table 7

Science Olympiad Professional Development Hours for BSC

Pre-service Teachers

__________________________________________________

Pre-service TOTAL Average

Teachers Professional Hours

Year Participating Development H o u r s

Participation

2003 27 109 4

2004 12 60 5

2005 5 26 6

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LEARNING SCIENCE IN A NEW YORK CITY SUSPENSION

MICRO, MESO, AND MACTO ENACTMENTS OF BIOLOGY

ED LEHNER THE GRADUATE CENTER, CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW

YORK

AbstractThis study examines how students of color in a suspension center used cogenerative dialogue in ways that allowed them to deploy their lifeworld capital as starting points towards standards based discourse. Working with these students in a New York City Suspension Center, this research supports the creation of classroom structures and practices that afford students with numerous entry points into the biology curriculum that sanctions and legitimates the use of their lifeworld skills. Rooted in the context of a biology classroom, this research centered on how teachers and students can develop classroom practices intended to grant students more latitude in demonstrating standards based biology content. These newfound structures and practices often enabled students of color to employ their cultural capital as they hybridize their discourse with the standards based biology curriculum. Utilizing student strengths, this article expounds upon the ways cogenerative dialogue can serve as a field to produce new learning culture and expand student roles. This research challenges educational researchers and communities of teachers to further consider ways that students’ cultural capital can benefit classroom practices and transform urban teaching.

IntroductionIn the summer of 1988, Tracy Chapman’s debut album held listeners spellbound with her folksy songs about heartbreak

and broken dreams. This self-titled album presented a contemplative song entitled “revolution” where Chapman

weaves a story about the disenchanted poor resisting their economic oppression. Chapman wistfully coons, “Don't you

know, they’re talkin' about a revolution…it sounds like whisper.” Her lyrics are melancholically ironic because the

87

voice of a raucous revolution is a whisper. Her well-crafted words intentionally ring hollow and the audience understands

that there is no “whisper revolution.” In “revolution,” Chapman subtly presents a world where the economic and

social compositions are so strong that people can not resist the power of such structures. “Revolution” depicts people as

powerless pawns whose lives are predestined by power structures over which they have no control.

It may be hard to imagine that a folk singer’s lyrics overlap with the state of educational research, but coincidentally, both

can occasionally articulate a strongly deterministic view of social life. In such a strongly proscribed world, individuals

have little effect on the powerful structures that shape human existence. Artists are not the only ones who are aware of the

overarching social structures that control ones future; indeed, it is a philosophical position that dictates the focus of much of

the current educational research. This type of educational research is often informed by the philosophical underpinnings

of structuralism. From within the framework of structuralism, people are not in control of their lives but are, instead, deeply

shaped by the political, linguistic and psychological forces in society. Structuralism outlines that there are forces in society

which control and shape nearly every aspect of a person’s life. These forces are so influential that people can exert little

power to determine their lives’ direction; individuals are predetermined to live based on rules of societal forces, and

personal effort has little bearing on the outcome because the social and political configuration outweighs individual effort.

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Applying structural tenets to current educational research, students are viewed as powerless and precluded from making

decisions that would affect the quality of their learning. Current educational policy researcher Jean Anyon typifies a

generation of educational researchers who have been deeply affected by determinism and bring a deficit perspective of

their participants to their work. According to Anyon, educators and government bureaucrats must eliminate racial

disenfranchisement and ghetto culture in order to eradicate problems in the schools. In “Race, social class and educational

reform in the inner-city school” (1995), Anyon metaphorically throws her hands in the air, and leaves the solution to urban

schooling problems to the school boards, governments, or a higher power:

Thus, I think the only solution to educational resignation and failure in the inner city is the ultimate elimination of

poverty and racial degradation. The solution to educational failure in the ghetto is elimination of the

ghetto. This prescription seems extremely difficult to implement (1995, p. 21).

The excerpt encapsulates the thinking of a cohort of educational researchers who view urban students as less

empowered and less capable than their suburban peers. Anyon, and others like her, view students as possessing little self-

determination and too limited skills to advance their learning and their futures. From Anyon’s viewpoint, the way to make

change is to first destroy the ghetto in order for “true reform” to then be able to emerge. This elitist understanding of the

urban world is starkly contrasted to that of rapper Tupac

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Shakur’s conception of the ghetto. At the height of his fame in 1995, Shakur, also known as 2Pac, sang “I wonder if heaven’s

got a ghetto.” To Shakur the ghetto is not a toxic slum that drains its inhabitants, but rather as a dynamic environment that

possess collective agency and massive power. Shakur’s ghetto exudes a strength-focused perspective that is vibrant and

hopeful, and which radiates towards a positive vision in spite of the overwhelming injustices which urban minority

communities have experienced.

Taking the phrase “elimination of the ghetto,” and reflecting

on its meaning, I am reminded of how many of the students in this research take pride in where they are from and what their

neighborhoods mean to them. However, in the context of talking about urban schools that service students of color, this

statement is accepted, embraced and valued by teachers and administrators as a statement that makes sense. The notion that

urban schools are ghettos and hold no real value in society has somehow become fused with many researchers general

perceptions of schools. This perspective is often rooted in a biased/deficit view of African-American students that is

socially constructed and has been so repetitively reinforced by peers, colleagues, and media sources that it has become fused

with general assumptions about the dispositions of students of color. In particular, there is a growing notion that students of

color are underachieving in science and that this issue can addressed by advocating for more standards based

interventions.

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Mind the gap: focusing on deficits can lead to invisibility

Using canonical based standards as the only evidence of science learning often negates the skill set and social capital of

many urban students. Addressing this point by coining the phrase “discourse of invisibility,” Alberto Rodriguez (1997)

wrote that the National Research Council’s science education standards do not explicitly address the issues of ethnicity, race,

gender, or socio-economic status and the fact that each respective group has unique needs in the learning of science.

In fact, when student deficits become the focal point of research many students of color become fully disadvantaged

because students often operate under the assumption that they are following all the rules and are underachieving due only to

their lack of effort. And, while it may be true that some students are underachieving because they may only do the

minimum amount required, there has been no explicit school discussion centering on their need to learn and thrive in

science courses. Many students at Liberty function under the belief that all potential professions, science careers included,

are open to them and all they need to do to attain these careers is to fully apply themselves. Unbeknownst to many of them,

due to poor science-related attainment, many students may be precluded from upper-level high school courses, college

preparation tracks and, inevitably, a science-related career. They are not able to complete with other peers who are

already preparing and acquiring the needed skill-sets, basic science understandings, and rudimentary coursework to groom

them for futures in science.

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Moving away from the deficit model

In the often deficit focused world of educational research, a field where researchers often claim that the world is constantly

impinged upon by macro structures, urban students are considered to lack resilience. Some researchers readily argue

that student agency and enacted curricula have little power to improve learning because political structures and racial

injustices overwhelmingly truncate any student, teacher, or community agency. According to this deficit perspective,

policies and social powers always trump individual or collective action. Like in Chapman’s world, the social and

economic powers are just too entrenched for agency to have a meaningful impact.

This type of deficit perspective research, which almost solely focuses on urban students’ weaknesses, has become standard

practice in some circles of educational research. Long before current researchers articulated this scarcity-centered

understanding of the urban student, the annals recording the history of the American school system told a similar story.

Concentrating on weaknesses and perceived inabilities, the history of the American school is filled with racism, hubris,

and a narrow understanding of urban students’ needs (Tyack, 1991; Tyack & Cuban, 2001). Now, over one hundred years

after the implementation of compulsory schooling, American schools and American educational researchers are still

struggling with how to interpret urban students and their home life from a standpoint of strength.

The ideological underpinnings of the deficit perspective needs be exposed and challenged in a new generation of educational

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research. This paper addresses this scarcity perspective by seeking to understand the complex factors that influence the

quality of learning and teaching in urban high schools. By focusing on student strengths, this work challenges researchers

like Anyon and disputes the type of research which perpetuates a highly deterministic and an inaccurate view of

urban students, which often produces/reproduces education in-opportunity.

Researchers focusing on the insufficiencies of urban students and their schools often create more problems than they solve.

For example, the insufficiency perception stunts the growth of professional development by misleading teacher education

practices and in-field teacher training. This misinformation leaves educators improperly prepared for the realties of urban

education where, although it may be difficult, teachers can have a tangible impact on schooling. Additionally, beyond just

misinforming in-field practices, this deficit centered research paralyzes teachers by advancing a “macro-solution” that will

supposedly remedy all the ills of the education system. Regardless of whether the macro solution encourages

government control or more rigorous testing standards, this type of large scale solution rarely addresses the problems of

the classroom. Contrasted to a comprehensive systemic solution, a classroom science teacher’s work is on a relatively

small scale. A teacher’s work is developing a small class for a specific academic period, and encouraging these students to

become co-laborers in the classroom’s teaching and learning.

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The focus of this work

This paper focuses on cogenerative dialogue and its influence on student roles and science learning in a New York City

Suspension Center. Research on cogenerative dialogue has explored how new culture can be created that assists learning

(Roth & Tobin, 2002). Researchers have utilized this practice in many science classrooms though few researchers have

examined how this newly created culture can then be consistently enacted in the classroom. I define newly created

learning culture as previously undemonstrated student behaviors exhibited in either the cogenerative dialogue or the

classroom. These student behaviors can manifest themselves in smaller or larger enactments, or behaviors. In the following

pages, I will relate demonstrations of how new culture can be enactments of legitimate science participation. Additionally,

some enactments of new culture can be seen as demonstrations of biology knowledge.

Understanding micro, meso, and macro enactments of biology

Learning biology is an intellectually rigorous and intensely social event where students are expected to interact with the

curriculum, classmates, and the teacher. In order for a student to effectively learn, she must either know or learn culture that

is specific to the context and content. Responding to a peer’s comment, answering a teacher’s question, or articulating the

fine points of a lesson are all central aspects of science culture. Learning biology also has secondary behaviors that include

smaller or micro enactments that lead to the participation in fundamental aspects of the culture. These micro acts are

numerous. Micro-level acts include but are not limited to showing interest in the class, affording peers and teacher a

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level of respect, attending class, following the details of the lesson, and responding appropriately to peers and the teacher.

Micro-level biological displays are also behaviors that are purposeful learning actions but contain little or no science.

Other examples consist of participating in lessons, attending classes, taking notes, and showing respect to teachers and

fellow students.

Meso-level demonstrations of science learning are actions that

take place in real time as social life occurs. With micro, meso and macro enactments of biology, I see a sequential

progression towards fully engaging in science. Such acts include an impetus to achieve and a focused intent geared

toward educational accomplishment. Meso-level displays are actions that are conducive to creating an engaging learning

environment and demonstrate a commitment to learning the biological discourse. Occurrences of meso-level biological

performances include student initiated learning strategies, suggestions to improve learning and teaching, or attempts to

use standard science discourse that is conjoined with vernacular speech. For instance, meso-level acts include

diligent seated classroom work, attentive note taking, applying oneself in lab, or completing the daily homework.

Lastly, macro demonstrations are standards based forms of high school biology such as passing a test or articulating the

intricate points of a lesson. A macro-level enactment of scientific knowledge is the culmination of many micro and

meso-level actions. Passing a unit test, successfully presenting a project at a science fair, or doing well on the Living

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Environment Regents are all macro-level enactments of scientific learning.

In order to analyze the cultural production of micro, meso, and macro-level enactments of Biological knowledge, I use

William Sewell’s (1992) conception of agency to examine how students access resources. Sewell’s notion that agency “is

the actor’s capacity to reinterpret and mobilize an array of resources in terms of cultural schemas other than those that

initially constituted the array,” (1992, p. 19) provides a framework to examine a student’s inter-field agency. Using

this theoretical perspective enabled me to examine a student’s actions in one field and see how these actions are reproduced

as enacted learned culture in another field. This framework allowed me to study peer interactions for their affect on a

student’s ability to enact learned culture. Lastly, this framework allowed me to study demonstrations of micro-level

culture, and with the passage of time, how these small actions lead to enactments of macro-level biology learning culture.

Although broadly defined, yet microscopically, mesoscopically, and macroscopically researched, my inquiry

examined the enactments of biological knowledge in both cogenerative dialogue and the classroom. My position is that

biological knowledge, whether evidenced as micro, meso, or macro behaviors, can be positively influenced by cogenerative

dialogue. Specifically, this study focused on how cogenerative dialogue influenced the expansion of learning behaviors in a

Living Environment classroom which is the required biology course for New York State high school students. Conceptually,

this research suggests that the quality of teaching and learning

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can increase as student learning behaviors are expanded. Additionally, this research posits that cogenerative dialogue

serves as a field where students can acquire new learning behaviors and expand their repertoire of classroom skills to

enhance their learning. Finally, I forward the notion that cogenerative dialogue creates a social space where students

can effectively communicate across racial, social, and other symbolic boundaries which may improve the quality of their

educations.

Research and theoretical perspectives

Wolf-Michael Roth and Ken Tobin (2004) first began to use

cogenerative dialogue in 1999, and the practice became an integral part of their research on classroom teaching. Based on

Roth and Tobin’s studies, other researchers have examined the impact cogenerative dialogue has on science and math

classrooms (Elmesky, 2001; LaVan, 2004; Martin, 2005; Olitsky, 2005 & Seiler, 2001). Building on previous research

on cogenerative dialogue, this research examines the influence this practice had on classroom teaching and learning with

students in a New York City Suspension Center. Additionally, this study is one of the first to examine cogenerative

dialogue’s impact on the learning in a high school biology classroom. This work investigates the usefulness of

cogenerative dialogue as a field where new culture is learned, appropriated, and reproduced. This investigation defines this

new culture as science learning that can take place on various levels, both in and out of the classroom.

A cogenerative dialogue is a conversation participants have about a shared experience (Tobin, 2005). Although an added

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benefit for participants is that they can reflect on the shared experience (Shorn, 1983; Zeichner & Liston, 1987), the

purpose of the cogenerative dialogue is for members to take collective responsibility for the results in the class. It is this

collective responsibility that is the hallmark of cogenerative dialogue. Students take responsibility by candidly reflecting

on current classroom practices and their results. In this way, students and teachers can discuss the quality and effectiveness

of classroom learning. Plus, student responses provide valuable feedback to the teachers of the class by commenting

about current classes in real time.

A second and equally powerful way cooperative responsibility

is demonstrated in cogenerative dialogue is through collective action. It is collective action which demarcates cogenerative

dialogue from reflective practice. Instead of simply reflecting on a previous class as Donald Shorn (1983) described, in

cogenerative dialogue teachers and students actively engage in changing the learning structures. One way is by enacting a set

of behaviors aimed at improving learning in the next class. Before ending a cogenerative dialogue, participants “co-

generate” a plan of individual actions geared toward improving classroom teaching and learning. Students and

teachers collectively changed the input and outcomes in classes by implementing cogenerative dialogue.

Cogenerative dialogue’s combination of reflection and collective actions allow students and teachers to structure their

learning environments. Participants of cogenerative dialogue are structured by the field as much as they concurrently

structure the field (Schwartz, 1997). In other words, student or

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teacher actions focused on improving classroom learning change the way structure impacts the learning. Since these

actions affect the field’s structures, individual action can afford other students more access to resources and expanded

classroom agency. It is this dialectal relationship between a field’s structuring nature and an individual’s opportunity to

structure that makes cogenerative dialogue such an important area of research. Since a field structures individual learning as

much as an individual structures the field, research may uncover unique practices to expand student agency and

enlarges learning opportunities.

In this research, cogenerative dialogue and the biology

classroom are conceptualized as fields. A field is a weakly bounded social space where culture gets enacted in the form of

schema and practices. In this study, culture is defined as demonstrations of biological knowledge, manifested in micro,

meso, or macro enactments. Like William Sewell’s (1992) notion of the forces which comprise culture, classroom

biology learning culture is also enacted in the form of schema and practices. Fields, such as cogenerative dialogue or a

classroom, are also weakly bounded social spaces where participants possess and enact social, cultural, and symbolic

capital. Participants’ uses of their social, cultural, or symbolic capital influence the classroom and its practices. Lastly, given

the porous nature of a field’s boundaries, culture enacted in one field can be enacted in another field. Cogenerative

dialogue is a field that possesses the potential to create and transform culture, and not simply reproduce it.

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Randall Collins (2004) understands the role that emotions play in shaping social life and his recent work detailing the

sociology of emotions has important ramifications for educational research. Collins posits that small successful

personal connections work together creating larger “interaction ritual chains” which produce group membership,

mutual trust, and bountiful enthusiasm. According to Collin’s theoretical framework, high-quality personal interactions are

usually filled with positive emotional energy resulting in beneficial outcomes for all participants. Additionally,

participants are drawn to settings where emotional energy is high and often positively charged environments strengthen

each member’s level of commitment to the group.

In classroom life, small successful interactions between

students and teachers can constructively contribute to the quality of the learning environment. Successful classroom

interactions are interconnected with the build-up of positive emotional energy and a series of consecutive, high-energy

interactions create “pockets of solidarity” (Collins, 2004, pg. 15). Over a period of time, as a result of successful

interactions, individuals begin to feel a stronger sense of solidity with other group members to the point of envisioning

“common group” goals. Collins argues that once high levels of positive emotional energy are present in the group, this energy

emboldens members with feelings of exhilaration which in turn tends to solidify group membership and behavior. Over a

short period of time, the group establishes a code of behavior which becomes sacred, needing to be defended and reinforced

by other members.

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Applying Collins’ model to schools, classroom students are more prone to engage in interactions that are successful,

yielding positive emotional energy and interconnectedness. Successful interactions also tend to produce synchronous

behaviors between students and teachers in the classroom. For instance, a student explaining the fine points of the day’s

lesson may experience synchronous behavior from both teachers and students in the form of head nods, smiles, and

encouraging affirmations. Additionally, a teacher may see synchronous behavior from his students by their expressions

of diligence in completed homework, preparedness for class, or other forms of student enacted rigor. Extended synchronous

classroom behaviors lead to group entrainment and eventually to group exhilaration, which Collins calls “collective

effervescence.” Collective effervescence is essentially group euphoria experienced when individual and group achievement

merges, resulting in ever higher levels of group solidarity and a renewed sense of collective purpose.

Yet, social life does not always play-out so neatly and often urban classrooms experience the negative side of chain

interaction rituals. In many urban schools, a teacher starting a lesson may simultaneously experience many asynchronous

behaviors from students. For example, students may talk over the teacher, disrespect the teacher during the lesson, not

participate during class, or exhibit countless other behaviors which are asynchronous, causing failed interactions. In time,

numerous failed interactions can lead to negative emotional energy and lack of interconnectedness. In this scenario,

building a collective environment where group learning is taking place is difficult because the build-up of negative

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emotional energy acts as an impediment to individual and group agency. In urban classrooms, these types of interactions

filled with negative emotional energy can rapidly deteriorate, affecting all students.

In this study, I conceptualize teaching biology as cultural enactment and therefore examine the dialectical relationship

between practices and schemas (Sewell, 1999). In viewing teaching from this vantage point, teaching practices will have

patterns of thin coherence and contradictions. Methodologically, studying the practices and schemas which

afford coherence is essential in examining teaching’s enactment. Beyond studying patterns of coherence, this

methodology also searches for contradictions to recognize the complex factors involved in cultural enactment (Tobin, 2005).

Noticing these contradictions, researchers are equipped to better understand how practices can be changed or amended to

better facilitate learning.

Understanding teaching as cultural enactment, learning

biology is conceived as an example of cultural production. In biology class, students are expected to produce the culture of

science by demonstrating behaviors which connote understanding. As mentioned above, these actions can be seen

as micro, meso, or macro enactments of culture. Equally important to understanding how students learn biology is the

agency│structure dialectic. In this dialectic, a student’s power to act is reliant on her ability to appropriate latent capital. A

student’s ability to appropriate this capital and effectively use it determines how successful she will be in the field. Wolff-

Michael Roth (2005) uses a Sheffer stroke ("│") to denote the

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recursive relationships that seemingly exist between radically different entities. This notion that opposing forces should be

viewed as recursively related rather than dialectical opposites equips researchers with a useful tool to make critical

distinctions about the nature of coteaching partnerships. By employing a sense of radical doubt to the nature of social

constructs, educational investigators come to see that the relationship between A or B is not a simple dichotomy of

either/or, but instead a more complex interweaving of both A and B, or A│B. Understanding Roth's use of the Sheffer stroke

helps conceptualize the complexity that is occurring as teaching is enacted in social life. Unfortunately, most social

actors understand life dualistically rather than recursively. The dilemma of dualism is encapsulated in the commonly accepted

wisdom of either A or B, or A is not B and B is not A.

Learning conceptualized: micro and meso demonstrations seen as legitimate participation

Having conceptually worked through teaching as cultural

enactment and learning as cultural production, understanding learning enactments is the next step to address in my research

paradigm. Beyond cultural production, learning is also conceptualized on a continuum, starting with behaviors on the

periphery, and in time, progressing to behaviors that are central to a specific learning community. The model by Jean

Lave and Etiene Wenger (1991) provides a starting point to view some of the learning enactments that occurred during this

study. However the biology learning in this study did not unfold in ways that simply followed the Lave and Wenger

model. For example, one student who may not have been involved during the lesson on food chains may become central

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to the unit on the cardio vascular system. Often students had resonant skills that would come to bear when covering new

units and cogenerative dialogue would often afford a social field where students and teachers could discuss and plan

accordingly.

This study examines two specific research questions. First, can

culture learned as schemas or practices in cogenerative dialogue be reproduced in another field? Secondly, how are

demonstrations of biological knowledge enacted in cogenerative dialogue or a classroom?

This study is part of a university collaboration researching the effects of cogenerative dialogue on teaching and science

learning in urban schools. Specifically, this critical ethnography will examine the learning of biology with

suspended urban high school students. Research took place at Liberty High School, a Suspension Center in New York City,

and data was collected from September 2005 to January 2006. The fictitiously named Liberty High School is located in the

East New York section of Brooklyn. Suspension Centers are alternative high schools where students attend classes after

receiving a suspension that precludes them from returning to their home school for an entire academic year. The New York

City Department of Education has approximately 12 Suspension Centers. Liberty High Schools students have been

suspended because they committed a violent offense against another student or staff. All Liberty High School students are

non-white minorities, with an age range of 14 to 19 years old, and 85% are males and 15 % are females. Liberty High

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School’s roster records the student population as 60% African American, 36% Hispanic, and 4% Asian.

At-risk students in at-risk environments

In order to contextualize the environment students are exposed to at Liberty High School, I find it important to point out the

surrounding neighborhood and the activities occurring in it. One central aspect of Liberty High School’s students is that

they are often exposed to dangerous situations. East New York, Brooklyn is a notoriously tough and dangerous

neighborhood that has one of the highest crime rates in the City. East New York also houses several “high impact”

schools. A high impact school is a school that has been recognized by the elevated incidents of gang activity and other

potentially criminal activities. Unfortunately, two high impact high schools are located nearby. One is located adjacent to

Liberty High School, and another is within five city blocks. With the presence of a high impact high school in the vicinity

of Liberty, students are continually exposed to many of the at-risks elements of school culture that influenced or precipitated

their suspensions. Gang activities and gang rivalries are common at both Liberty High School and the adjacent high

impact school.

Data sources and evidence

In this critical ethnography, I will use a number of data

collection resources during my research. Data resources include video and audio digital recordings, interviews, and

student shot video tapes. These resources will be used to help understand the complex factors that influence science

learning.

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Video taping was the most central aspect of data collection. Video tapes of cogenerative dialogue and biology classes are

at the heart of my data collection methods. When any videotaping occurred, especially after cogenerative dialogue or

a class, student-researchers and I reviewed the tapes in real time using Macintosh’s iMovie or QuickTime Pro. Upon close

review, we selected clips from different classes, cogenerative dialogues, and interviews and did frame-by-frame analysis

studying student learning and participating styles. We used the principle of selecting dialectical opposites (Guba & Lincoln,

1989) for selecting participants who are very different from each other to take part in the cogenerative dialogue. And for

this paper, we selected one student to be the focus of this discussion. Upon participant selection, we reviewed

videotapes in both fields (cogenerative dialogue and the biology classroom) and started a collection of vignettes

concerning participants’ behavior before and after joining the cogenerative dialogue.

Once the video was shot, student-researchers converted the media into a QuickTime Movie for further review. We used

QuickTime Pro to both store and study these video vignettes. This software allowed us to perform microanalysis on videos

from the classroom and cogenerative dialogue. Additionally, video archiving allowed access to previously filmed classes

and which often this video informed cogenerative dialogue sessions.

Findings

This study examined whether cogenerative dialogue can be used to impact the quality of learning in an urban science

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class. As suggested in previous literature on cogenerative dialogue, the practice can greatly affect the quality of teaching

and learning. This study intends to expand the practice into the field of biology teaching. This research also will explore if

students who learn new practices in the cogenerative dialogue can reproduce those behaviors in another field. A student’s

ability to reproduce learned culture from the cogenerative dialogue in the classroom may depend on her ability to access

the resources available in the classroom. Since this may be the case, considerable attention was given to this issue in both

video and personal interviews. Also, I found that cogenerative dialogue often supported a student’s agency in accessing

classroom resources, allowing her to reproduce learned culture in both fields. In addition, this study established that students

could reproduce that learned culture across field boundaries.

Anthony and our research resultsI began coteaching a biology course in September 2005 at

Liberty High School and started cogenerative dialogues within the first three weeks of classes with two students. As the

semester progressed, and the number of students in the class grew, the cogenerative dialogue grew in size to five that

consistently attended meetings. Anthony and Keon were the first two students to participate in cogenerative dialogue and

these students would remain group members until the end of the study. Later Cameron, Joel, and Carmillo would join the

cogenerative dialogue and the class size eventually grew to twenty. During the research, we videotaped cogenerative

dialogue on Tuesdays and on Thursdays of the same week we would videotape the class.

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Anthony’s Roles: Meeting One

The first vignette is taken from a cogenerative dialogue taped early in the research project when only Anthony and Keon

participated in this group. During this cogenerative dialogue, I started the session by formally stating the rules of

cogenerative dialogue: 1) show respect to other group members, 2) one person speaks at a time, and 3) we must “co-

generate” something that we collective bring to the class to improve learning. During this session, Anthony and Keon

were very engaged as we started to talk about what ways we could collectively improve the learning in our class. The

emotional energy was high throughout the sixteen minutes of our meeting as evidenced in the mutual focus, shared mood,

and detailed attention to the topic at hand. I remember thinking that the meeting had gone well when we finished

taping and thinking that Anthony’s input could be particularly helpful.

When reviewing the video a few days later, I watched this session on my Macintosh Powerbook G4 using iMovie. When

I first watched this videotape in real time, I realized the mutual focus and keen attention Anthony afforded to the issues

covered in the meeting. His non-verbal participation expressed his engagement in the process: Anthony’s posture was upright,

he leaned slightly forward, and his eyes were directly focused on the speaker. Also, Anthony acted as one of the main

speakers of the meeting by taking initiative to comment on raised topics and introduce new ones. Upon close review, I

additionally saw his enactment of multiple roles during the cogenerative dialogue including peer adviser as he imparted

important feedback on classroom practices and learning

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adviser, when he detailed how future classes could run. As I continued to replay the video at normal speed, I was taken by

the fluency with which he completed his tasks and how effortlessly he transitioned in and between the role of student

and cogenerative dialogue adviser.

Micro-analysis of Anthony’s non-verbal and verbal actions

Using iMovie, I reduced the speed of the video in order to

perform microanalysis of his non-verbal behaviors. From the video, I noticed that Anthony rarely fidgeted and that his eyes

had remained focused on the speaker throughout the meeting. From multiple viewings of this vignette, I realized that

Anthony eyes not only focused directly on the speaker but he also maintained eye-contact when he synchronously nodded in

approval of Keon’s or my comments. Also, he was incredibly alert and followed the changing directions of the conversation

by laughing appropriately or responding verbally. Upon close second by second micro examinations, it is clear that he made

good eye contact, wrote notes, or talked during the duration of the sixteen minute meeting.

Anthony’s focused interactions

In terms of responses, Anthony was avidly involved in the non-verbal aspects of the meeting. In my examination of the

video, I also saw how enthusiastically he verbally interacted with Keon and me during the entire session. Additionally,

Anthony actively participated in all aspects of the meeting. During many sections of the meeting, he was the main speaker

and often directed the flow of our conversation by introducing new, but related topics. He also responded fluently to

questions asked of him in a manner that was appropriate,

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timely, and relevant to the topic of conversation. I also analyzed this cogenerative dialogue by timing Anthony’s talk

times throughout the session. Anthony talked for a total of six minutes of the seventeen minute session, or just over 1/3 of

the meeting. In that time, he suggested three new classroom practices and an approach toward peer tutoring and feedback

to me, the teacher. Additionally, he initiated three new topics of conversation and took part in planning for the next class.

Peer Tutoring

Beyond this focused attention and potentially valuable classroom feedback, Anthony presented important details on

classroom learning processes and how to put into practice peer learning strategies. Below, a transcript details a conversation

where Anthony recommends an approach that could assist his peers in classroom learning.

Anthony: I think…I need to be more focused....ya know, I need more focus.

Ed Lehner: Is there anything we can do as a class to help that?

Anthony: Well, um, when one of the students is not like as

focused as the rest of the classmates, like/should like, we should pull him to the side. And we should tell him, like, “you

have to get this, you know, like finished, everyone else is done.”

Ed Lehner: Okay. So you mean someone who is not focused. You want someone to pull him to the side?

Anthony: Like-

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Ed Lehner (Motioning to Anthony) Go ahead….

Anthony: I am saying like, say I am talking and all you all is

like doin your work, and I am in my own world, and it is like time for the Regents and we have to start prep, it is prep time,

you all could be like this (tapping Keon on the shoulder). And say “come on son, it is time to do your work. (Motioning with

his hands)

Ed Lehner: Okay, so kind of a way to get him focused.

Anthony: Yeah, without disturbing the other students. Ya-all can get be back on track and ready for the test.

As evidenced from his remarks above, Anthony envisioned a peer executed plan to assist his classmates in helping them

meet academic goals. Anthony’s idea also broaches the concept of collective success by thinking about achievement

outside of the normal parameters of individual success. Much like the ideas that Wade Boykin (1986) outlined in his work on

the dimensions of African-America culture, Anthony communicated his proposal with dynamism and energy but

also with a clear sense of mutual responsibility for his peers. His comments indicated that his suggestion was, at least in

part, an act of communalism. Stating how the class could achieve collectively, Anthony advised both Keon and me of a

possible plan of action and a plain process to achieve this goal. After Anthony and I discussed the concept, Keon countered

animatedly because his concept of communal achievement seemed to coincide with Anthony’s idea. When asked about

the importance of collective achievement in a later

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cogenerative dialogue, Keon said “Ant is a smart dude. We can do this together. When the class works together and if we

learn together, it can help all of us. Every person in here!”

Our use of cogenerative dialogue was an important turning

point for our class. In the process of conversation, we were able to jointly realize how important collective achievement

was to the group. In particular, Anthony and Keon’s group orientation started to influence my planning and thinking

about our class. Prior to this conversation, I did not consider the importance that collective achievement played in his

schooling but this dialogue clearly placed that idea on my radar. Once this type of feedback was given in cogenerative

dialogue, Anthony, Keon, and I began to discuss ways to realize this goal. Although we did not have a formal plan at the

end of this meeting, we started to consider ways to inaugurate classroom guidelines which would mutually benefit all

participants. Also, before this session I was the only person planning for our lessons, yet after this conversation, I realized

the need to also incorporate the students into this process.

Focusing on the call to align classroom teaching and learning,

key strides were taken by focusing on student propositions and integrating these suggestions with curriculum standards. By

creating a social space outside of the classroom, cogenerative dialogue offered a field of opportunity where Anthony, Keon

and I could operate beyond the standard roles of school experience and reorganize our current ways of being. In this

setting, we purposefully suspended the standard classroom rules and goals, and in doing so, allowed for meaningful

conversation around learning practices. When Anthony

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broaches the need to employ collective measures to insure peer learning, his idea immediately garnered support. When

the group collective implemented a practice to follow-up on Anthony’s suggestion, possibilities for alignment were

occurring in real time by actors within the field.

Cogenerative dialogue affords a field where participants can

talk across the boundaries of classroom roles such as the ones typically enacted by students and teachers. By providing this

social space, students and teachers were released from their traditional roles to collaboratively restructure the learning

environment. As researchers and education administrators talk at length about classroom reform, our class quickly understood

that participant applied alignment trumps any other external influence for classroom change. In our collaborative meeting,

each social actor was fully engaged and was invested to find ways to suggest and implement change. With each member

fully part of this process, it took very little time to see those changes rapidly transpire. Considering all the potential

problems, including a difficult population, alignment effortlessly became a real classroom practice in spite of the

dramatic differences in race, age, and culture.

Group interaction rituals

Investigating beyond the alignment we cogenerated, I also

examined Anthony’s increased learning roles and how these actions seemed to occur simultaneously with the start of our

small group sessions. When I did frame-by-frame analysis in iMovie, I began to see how the cogenerative dialogue sessions

had produced for Anthony the required enacted practices to construct the positive emotional energy seen in ritual

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outcomes. As described in Randall Collins’ work, Anthony had become part of the ritual and built positive emotional

energy by being engaged in the ritual of cogenerative dialogue. When I closely examined the video, his mutual

focus, animated involvement, and elevated mood are a result of this process. This ritual process also corresponded with

Anthony’s amplified sense of group connection and elevated levels of solidarity with Keon and me.

The ritual ingredients started to come together when our group assembled at the same table and our mutual focus was shared

by discussing how to improve the learning in our class. In time, Anthony, Keon and I started to share a common sense of

purpose to change the outcomes in our class. Also, Anthony’s suggestion to keep peers on task and involved in the class

followed a pattern of collective dispositions (Boykin, 1986) but also a micro demonstration of merging his individual goals

with greater group goals (Collins, 2004).

Lastly in terms of ritual responses, Anthony’s demonstration

of how to keep students involved is a precursor to more action on his part. In that moment, although he is only showing what

he means, Anthony starts to envision what it would be like to keep his classmates engaged in the lesson. Anthony started

“member-checking” rituals (Collins, 2004) to keep group members on task and focused on group tasks. Later I saw this

practice enacted on a much larger scale.

Discussion and possible applications garnered from this research

At Liberty Suspension Center, student behavior seems to

change quickly, where students may behave very well but

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within minutes, can manifest inappropriate anti-learning behavior. Coinciding with seriously maladaptive behaviors

exhibited in some classes at Liberty Suspension Center, these same students were often very attentive and respectful of their

peers and certain teachers. These behaviors represented a serious contradiction between interaction styles. Often, when

students were with their peers and certain teachers, they could be very respectful and infrequently required supervision.

Conversely, these same students could demonstrate substantively different, even anti-social behaviors when they

were with some teachers or school administrators.

Anthony seemed to personify this type of contradiction. In my

class, he was the model student bringing in his homework and actively participating in all aspects of the class. In other

classes, Anthony was failing and often at odds with his teachers. This contradiction that was living itself out in

Anthony’s school life and seemed to highlight the asymmetries in students’ learning styles and teacher

approaches to classroom learning.

Transporting Culture From The Cogenerative DialogueAs part of the research, I started to study on the micro-level

the interactions Anthony had with his peers while he attempted to infuse ideas appropriated from cogenerative dialogue into

class. At the time I analyzed this vignette, Anthony’s enactments of his new roles were so new, that I was uncertain

as to the degree he would attempt to carry his new behaviors into the classroom. In fact, Anthony might not have tried

enacting any new behaviors, so that the cogenerative dialogue would have simply been an exercise in possibility. However,

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as evidenced in the larger class, Anthony did attempt to enact multiple behaviors that he engaged in during cogenerative

dialogue.

The first class vignette examined in this section took place just

two days after the cogenerative dialogue. Prior to ending cogenerative dialogue two days earlier, Anthony, Keon, and I

decided to divide specific parts of the lesson among us. Our lesson was focused on how the body’s different systems

interacted with one another. In terms of our responsibilities, Anthony would assist me in introducing the aim of the lesson

as soon as class started, and my role was to facilitate the class and try to involve as many students as possible.

As soon as class started, Anthony fulfilled his part by first orienting the students to the beginning of the class by telling

them to take their seats so that class could begin. Then, he would help me introduce the lesson by answering the focusing

question in the lesson. At this point in the class ten minutes had elapsed, and I quickly inaugurated the main part of the

lesson. After the class, I wrote “things went smoothly, better than I thought” (Personal Communication, 2005) and only

later did I perform an in-depth video analysis of the class.

In reviewing Anthony’s suggestion for aligning classroom

teaching and learning, important progress could be made by applying his proposition and squaring them with a teacher’s

need for classroom control. In this example, cogenerative dialogue became a field of potential where Anthony and Keon

were operating beyond the normal constraints of classroom life and were allowed to rethink their current practices and

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roles. In this field, where learning objectives were not pre-structured, Anthony awakened the groups’ sense of collective

by emphasizing the need to assure that all peers learned. As I considered how to put into practice such a suggestion,

Anthony’s idea occurred in real time.

In this instance, cogenerative dialogue afforded the space for

the role of teacher and student to be altered in order to mutually reorganize the classroom. In terms of classroom

operations, I saw the possibilities that student driven alignment would often succeed much better than my

suggestions. In this field where the teacher and students were fully concerned to change the classroom structures, the

stakeholders were quickly able to align our needs in order to change the classroom.

Group Interaction Rituals as a Forum of Classroom Management

Beyond the possible alignment created in cogenerative dialogue, I also studied Anthony’s expanded student roles and

the coexistence of our small group session. Upon close microanalysis, the cogenerative dialogue had produced for

Anthony the needed ingredients to build the positive emotional energy seen in ritual outcomes. To a great degree,

the ritual ingredients had entrained Anthony and resulted in his mutual focus, animated involvement, and elevated mood as a

result of this process. Additionally, the ritual process also coincided with Anthony’s increased sense of group

membership and higher degrees of solidarity with Keon.

The ritual ingredients started to come together when our group

assembled at the same table and our mutual focus was shared

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by discussing how to improve the learning in our class. In time, Anthony, Keon, and I seemed to share a collective sense

of purpose and common focus on ways to improve the learning outcomes in the classroom. Also, as described in

Boykin’s work (1986), Anthony’s suggestion to keep peers on task and involved in the class follow not only a pattern of

collective dispositions but also a micro demonstration of his individual goals merging with greater group goals.

Lastly in terms of ritual responses, Anthony’s demonstration of how to keep students involved is a precursor to more action

on his part. In that moment, although he is only showing what he means, Anthony starts to envision what it would be like to

keep his classmates engaged in the lesson. Anthony started “member-checking” rituals to keep group members on task

and focused on group tasks. Later, I saw this practice enacted on a much larger scale.

In many urban high schools, teachers often presuppose that controlling methods of management will serve the needs of

their students. Yet in spite of the dictates from administrators for teachers to control both the learning and disruptive

behaviors in the classroom, a teacher is in fact reliant on the students to co-implement such practices. For students, learning

behaviors that promote a sense of collective classroom management is an intellectually rigorous and intensely social

event. In order for students to share in the daily management of classroom learning, he must either know or learn

distributive classroom management culture that is specific to the classroom and peers. As we have demonstrated in this

study via Anthony’s devoted involvement, there are both

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micro and macro manifestations of distributive classroom management. Also as seen in Anthony’s example, responding

to a peer’s comment, answering a teacher’s question, suggesting classroom policies, redirecting peers, or filtering

out physical and socio-emotional distractions are all central aspects of macro-level distributed classroom management

culture. Learning distributed classroom management culture also has peripheral behaviors that include micro-level acts

that, in time, may lead to the participation in central aspects of the culture.

What we learned from Anthony

As seen in the examples and the framework used earlier, this research is rooted in a socio-cultural understanding of the

classroom where practices and schemas enacted by students and teachers are viewed as culture. As seen by Anthony’s

actions both in cogenerative dialogue and the classroom, he produces culture in one field and reproduces the same in

another field. By understanding culture in this manner, Anthony demonstrates that cogenerative dialogue can serve as

a field where culture can be produced, and if necessary, this same culture can be transported to other fields. This model of

study allows us to investigate the nature of the culture Anthony produced in cogenerative dialogue and later

reproduced/transformed in the classroom. In this example, Anthony’s creation of classroom culture is a function of the

skills and resources he brings to the classroom.

Viewing cogenerative dialogues as a field separate from the

classroom, our research sought to uncover how the emergence of distributed control and its consequent permanence as a

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functional element of the cogenerative dialogue culture could be transferred into the classroom field. Functioning under the

premise that the porous nature of fields’ boundaries facilitates this culture transfer, we sought to identify how a specific

culture enacted in one field can be enacted in another field. By placing particular responsibility on cogenerative dialogues and

their potential to create and transform culture, we saw that the nature of the porous boundaries of fields coupled with the

cultural productive and transformative nature of cogenerative dialogues created a seed for the development of distributed

control in the cogenerative dialogue field and acted as a seedbed for the production of new forms of distributed control

that would be particular to the classroom field. Understanding classroom management as cultural enactment, Anthony’s

actions should be seen as demonstrations of cultural production and transformation that can be replicated in other

urban schools form the benefit of transforming existent classroom management models for the benefit of all

stakeholders.

Discussion and SignificanceIn a New York City Suspension Center, cogenerative dialogue

may improve the quality of teaching and science learning with seriously at-risk students. This research showed that in some

cases cogenerative dialogue can serve to catalyze successful learning of biology concepts, starting with micro

demonstrations and leading to full fledge enactments. Cogenerative dialogue may also furnish a fertile environment

for students to experience new participant roles, which may expand their repertoire of practices to enact in the science

classroom. In these expanded roles, students may access

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classroom structures differently, affording them more agency and changing their learning environment. In a school where all

students committed a violent offense, many of whom have poor attendance and achievement records and limited

connections with adults and teachers, cogenerative dialogue possibly can help students learn new practices and enact them

across field boundaries.

ConclusionAt the end of this paper, I am inclined to return to Tracy

Chapman’s concept of a “whisper revolution.” In a field where many educational researchers subscribe to the doctrines of

devious but invisible structural forces controlling the universe, teachers know better and this research supports teacher and

student agency. Most high school teachers realize the sheer intellectual curiosities and abilities of their students. And

given the proclivities of this generation, if any revolution was to occur, it would probably occur on a reality television show

and not as a “whisper revolution.” Yet, researchers often confine and define the problems of educational research by

attributing macro status and macro solutions to schooling problems. With such macro diagnosis, ghettoes get destroyed,

student abilities get overlooked and livedworld knowledge gets ignored.

In this light, structuralism is deterministic and can impair student progress and development. Determinism is a

dangerous, often unconscious, theoretical foundation that has great bearing on the direction of educational research.

Educational researchers are often strongly influenced by deterministic philosophical and epistemological

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understandings of cities and urban students. Determinism and negative understandings of the urban world harmfully

converge to persuade many educational researchers to bring a deficit perspective to their studies of urban education.

Researchers combating this negative understanding of urban schooling are greatly needed.

In this work, via student/teacher research collaboration, Anthony and I take aim at determinism and the deficit lens of

brought to urban education research. By actively examining what urban students can do, Anthony fully participated not

only in this research but in learning in class and extending himself so that his peers would also learn. Anthony proves that

“ghettos” do not need to be destroyed; in fact, the mere suggestion highlights the absurd bourgeois vantage point that

often undermines urban education. And in comparison to Anyon’s prognosis of urban school improvement being

“extremely difficult to implement (1995, p. 21),” Anthony demonstrates that by focusing on students’ strengthens

achievement can come relatively easy.

AcknowledgmentsThe research in this paper is supported in part by the National

Science Foundation under Grant Numbers ESI-0412413 and DUE-0427570. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or

recommendations expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the

National Science Foundation.

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MAKING SENSE OF HIGH STAKES TESTINGCATHERINE MILNE

NEW YORK UNIVERSITY JIM MA

UNIVERSITY NEIGHBORHOOD HIGH SCHOOL

AbstractThis study is situated in an urban high school in New York State where chemistry students are expected to sit for the Regents chemistry exam at the end of their academic year. The experiences that we, teacher researcher and university researcher, and our students have had with the Regents Chemistry exam prompted us to investigate the exam in terms of how the exam connects with the Regents Chemistry core curriculum and with the world of the students taking the exam. Using quantitative and content analysis of the exam and ethnographic analysis of the classroom we seek to critically evaluate specific items on the exam and to understand students differential performance in terms of practices and symbol systems embedded in the exam and the classroom. We found that language, context, and question structure were all important factors for understanding students' success on the exam.

Introduction In New York State all students are required to successfully pass at least one Regents Exam in a science to graduate from

high school. Students desiring a Regents Diploma must successfully complete two Regents exams. For many students

this means studying Living Environment and then Chemistry. Accepting that exams are only one form of assessment

providing at best partial insight into the knowledge that students have about a science, they remain one of the forces

driving curriculum in New York State and as such should be a focus of study. In this work-in-progress we plan to examine

our understanding based on an ethnographic study of the learning of students as they participate in a Regents-based

chemistry course and the performance of students on their

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final Regents exam. Catherine is a university researcher and Jim a teacher-researcher and teacher of the classes upon which

this study is based. Jim writes about the exam:

June 22, 2005 The Physical Setting: Chemistry RegentsWith the state and the city emphasis on teacher accountability,

student performance on standardized exams is extremely important. If both the student and the teacher have done their

job, I do not see any reason for the Regents exam to be any challenge to the students. So the results of my students’

performance on the exam were disappointing. Out of the 58 students that participated in the exam, only 13 passed with a

65 or higher, with a total of 25 passing with a 55 and higher. My question was why, why didn’t the students do as well as I

expected they would do? Even the students that passed just barely did so. The majority of the passing grades were less

than 70. Jim, Reflections, June 2005

This is the question that framed our approach to this study.

Catherine wrote in her reflections after we met to discuss the performance of the students on the Regents exam.

Even people I expected to do well like Henry and the two girls who made me welcome when I first arrived (“Your girls” as

Jim calls them) achieved in the 70s and many students achieved between 55 and 65. I was surprised that students

hadn’t done better but the language of the first question was enough to put my teeth on edge, “wave-mechanical” model.

Cath, Reflections, June 2005

This study is framed around an ethnography of a chemistry

classroom in a large urban center. While the students come

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from diverse backgrounds the school draws its student population from mainly Hispanic (40%), African American

(10%), Asian (40%) and Caucasian (5%) communities and Jim’s classes reflect this diversity. Learning styles are as

diverse as the student population. A large number of the students in the school are classified with special needs that

include physical and learning disabilities. The school adopts an inclusion approach with students so that students with

special needs follow the same requirements, the same curriculum and attend the same classes as the rest of the

students. However, there was no escaping the fact that we expected the students Jim taught to do better on the exam than

they did. Our experiences in Jim’s classroom provided a sense of student engagement and questioning in the learning of

chemistry that seemed at odds with their achievement on this exam.

Framing the Study Our research is informed by the notion that culture is a weave of practice and symbol systems in which users of culture share

a semiotic field (Sewell, 1999). Thus in high school chemistry there are practices and symbol systems that are recognized as

associated with chemistry. You might assume that a shared understanding of symbol systems would result in a thickly

coherent culture. However, even actors who understand the symbol systems that help constitute a culture do not all use

these systems in the same way. What emerges is thin cultural coherence and contested boundaries (Sewell, 1999). "What are

taken as the certainties or truths of texts or discourse are in fact disputable and unstable" (Sewell 1999, p. 50).

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To the context of learning chemistry students bring resources, some of these resources they can use learning chemistry.

These resources can be human, material, or symbolic and the resources that participants bring determine the forms and

quantity of capital to which individuals or groups have access (Bourdieu, 1977). Bourdieu differentiates four categories of

capital: economic, social (ability to sustain relationships with significant others), cultural (legitimate knowledge), and

symbolic (reputation and distinction). Resources can include the forms of capital that students and teachers bring to the

classroom, how those resources are valued in the social systems of schools and the resources that are available in

schools and classrooms for use by students and teachers in the reproduction of structures. Important structures in this context

include the Regents exam for which students are prepared as part of their ongoing education in high school chemistry and

the New York State core curriculum in Physical Science - Chemistry.

Resources frame cultural structures upon which practices are enacted and which enact practices. Concurrently, the cultural

structures of school chemistry are composed of cultural schemas and resources. Cultural schemas represent rules for

group action, norms, beliefs and cultural practices that are enacted through space and time (Sewell, 1992). In chemistry

classrooms, cultural schema can represent expectations about appropriate methods for generating chemistry knowledge and

the types of behaviors that are valued. Seiler (2001) builds on Schwarz (1987) and Bourdieu (1977) when she talks of the

contexts of science learning and evaluation as fields where power relationships shape the practices and symbol systems

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that are enacted. Fields are sites at which agents such as students make use of resources to order meaning. A goal of

teaching and learning science is that students come to recognize and use specific practices and symbol systems as

science or scientific. Deciding which practices and symbol systems constitute school science is a political act determined

by powerful groups that seek to impose their ideas about scientific symbol systems and the practice of science in high

schools. In a Regents chemistry classroom the core curriculum and the Regents exam exert powerful influences on classroom

practices. When we speak with students they often tell us that their goal is to pass chemistry, which involves them

negotiating a score of 65 on the Regents exam.

Our knowledge of science makes us aware that because

symbol systems are continually being enacted by practice they are always open to transformation. Meaning comes from both

practice and narrative. Therefore in a different science classroom and in a different context the way students interpret

practices and symbol systems will be a little different even though consistencies exist and we expect they would be able

to understand the symbol systems and practices that are being used. The symbol systems that are important for being able to

make sense of the Regents chemistry exam will include those from chemistry and also those from other forms of discipline-

based understanding. One criterion of learning might be how students come to adopt the practices and symbol systems of

chemistry. How students react to these symbol systems is an area of interest to us.

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The Participants Jim was the chemistry teacher-researcher of the students that provided the focus for this study. This study took place in his

first year of teaching. However, he had a long prior association with the school. As his reflections indicate:

My experiences at (this school) have been some of the most important in helping shape my life goals as well as being some

of the most memorable experiences of my life. I am no longer a tutor there, but rather a teacher in a school that has changed

my entire life. As I have assumed the role of a teacher, I have also taken on the challenge of understanding how to teach

science effectively. Working at (the school) for four years prior to teaching was an extremely beneficial experience, which

helped to make transition from tutor to teacher much easier than if I hadn’t had such a prior experience. While the

transition was relatively smooth, the job is still an uphill battle, as I still encounter obstacles that I must find my way

around in order to teach chemistry in a meaningful way. (Jim, Reflections, December 2004)

He was interested in being part of an ethnographic study because of his desire to broaden his options as a chemistry

teacher and make a difference to the learning of the students he taught. He is a popular teacher and students gather in his

classroom during their lunch period to work on problems or just hang out. In order to help students to prepare specifically

for the Regents exam, Jim organized afternoon and Saturday morning tutoring sessions in the final month of the academic

year, the earliest he was available to run these sessions. A small number of students were able or willing to avail

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themselves of this structure, which involved students revising for the forthcoming Regents exam by working through past

Regents exams.

Catherine was a university-researcher who visited Jim’s

chemistry classes two or three times a week for an academic year. She constructed field notes and interacted with students

to gain an understanding of the sense students were making of chemistry. At the end of each class Catherine and Jim reflected

on the class and the observations they had made and discussed options for action. During lunch Catherine and Jim met with

students to talk about their understanding of the chemistry content. It was through these interactions that Jim and

Catherine gained an understanding of the chemistry learning of the students in Jim’s chemistry classes.

The students participated willingly and openly and one Deshawn, an African-American student, helped us to

understand the exam from a student perspective. Deshawn was a hard working student who maintained a high level of

achievement in his courses but found the exam to be a challenge as his comments indicated.

The Context Certain structures enacted in the school are not necessarily conducive to an integrated approach to learning chemistry. For

example within the school, scheduling of chemistry over a week is organized into five “lecture” periods of 44 minutes

and one “laboratory” period of 42 minutes during period 6. However for a specific student, the chemistry teacher who

teaches the student in the “lecture” periods might not teach

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them in the laboratory period. The student participation rate in the laboratory sessions was very variable. Sometimes the

laboratory would be filled to its capacity but for other laboratory classes it was almost empty. Students are required

to complete 30 hours of laboratory work to qualify to sit for the Regents exam. However, the laboratory sessions were

scheduled after lunch and a number of students found other activities to do at that time that were perhaps more attractive

than completing a laboratory activity. It was only towards the end of the year that there was a concerted effort on the part of

some students to complete the requisite laboratory hours so that they could sit for the exam. Also, Jim’s chemistry classes

were reasonably large. Two had over thirty students making movement through the classroom during class time to work

with specific students difficult. The data for this study comes from three chemistry classes.

Methodology and Data Sources

Our study is an ethnography accepting that fields can be sites of struggle where powerful interests seek to ensure that the

meaning they ascribe to practices and symbol systems is accepted by all. For example in the exam field, chemistry is

represented from a particular perspective that does not provide opportunities for other voices to be heard. Thus, chemistry can

be taught as a rhetoric of conclusions that leaves no space for students to practice inquiry or model building (Erduran, 1998).

Fusco (2001) describes school science as an individual endeavor of manipulating symbolic knowledge that is

abstracted from everyday life. We hope to show in our analysis this is currently the case in the Regents exam. In classrooms,

students should have opportunities to engage in active

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construction of science through practice. In high school chemistry, as practiced in schools that are required to prepare

their students to sit for a Regents exam, prior exams tend to constitute a dominant resource and they are resources that

support a power dynamic in which one set of practices and a restricted symbol system are enforced.

Critical ethnography (Barton, 2001) provided us with the tools for examining interactions involving practices and

symbol systems enacted at specific fields that included the classroom and the examination. In trying to make sense of

student achievement we discussed the cultural schema that in concert with resources informed the development of

“achievement” structures within the school. For example, Jim believed there was little incentive – external motivation – for

students to do well in the Regents exam. If students passed the Living Environment Regents exam, which is the science they

tend to study first in high school, they are not required to pass more Regents exams in science to achieve their high school

diploma. We asked if there were norms or cultural schema in the structure of school practice that implicitly communicated

the value of completing a first Regents exam in a science but did not place nearly as much value on completing a second

Regents science. Jim indicated that math teachers believed the school valued humanities and English above mathematics and

science. Their evidence was based on structures such as scheduling – in English and Social Science teachers are

scheduled in a block or double period – and on the variety of non-Regents courses available to students in the social

sciences but not in the sciences or mathematics.

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At the end of our discussion we agreed that we did not know enough about the actual exam to make any warranted

assertions about possible relationships between the exam, student learning, and teacher practice. We agreed that we

would conduct an item response analysis of the multiple-choice component of the exam. This would provide us with

information on the quality of the questions asked in the exam and on the thinking of the students as they responded to

specific exam questions (Sadler, 1998). We agreed that we would analyze and categorize the questions on the exam to

observe the relative emphasis placed on text-based and symbolic questions in comparison to other types of questions.

We would then compare our results. Our initial reading of the exam had already led us to identify some questions that we

thought were not questions of chemistry knowledge. For example, there were questions that asked students to identify

the positive ion of an Arrhenius acid or positron decay and we wondered at the importance for a general understanding of

chemistry for these components of chemistry knowledge.

ResultsWhat does the exam tell us?

The Regents exam is based on the New York State Physical

Setting/ Chemistry Core Curriculum and as such the questions are framed by the criteria of the Core Curriculum. For

chemistry, there are five standards that are mentioned in the curriculum including analysis, inquiry and design, Standard 1;

information systems, Standard 2; and interdisciplinary problem solving, Standard 7. However, not surprisingly, the

Standard that receives the most attention is Standard 4, the physical setting, which serves to constitute the “content” of a

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Regents-based chemistry course. Standard 4 consists of three Key Ideas, which are broken into 110 Major Understandings.

One Key Idea is that energy exists in many forms, and when these forms change energy is conserved. Within that Key Idea

an example of a Major Understanding is that each radioactive isotope has a specific mode and rate of decay (half-life).

Hopefully this brief introduction to the Core Curriculum provides you with a sense of the breadth of content knowledge

students need for the exam. The use of a standards-based curriculum implies a criterion-based exam in which the major

understandings form the basis of the knowledge students need to be successful on the exam. At least that is the theory.

Jim commented:

More than 75 percent of the students eligible to sit for the

exam actually sat for it. Were they all prepared? By June, I had to admit that not all 58 students that sat for exam were

prepared. But they did sit, and I believe that has something to do with the fact they were just trying to satisfy my demand of

them to be present. Much of what my students accomplished during that school year was to somehow satisfy my

requirement of them. “Mr. Ma, I did your homework!” When my students have accomplished something or completed a

task, they are very eager to point out to me that they had done so. For many of my students, I did not believe that they saw

the value of the work they had done in their own learning of chemistry.

The issue of students seeing themselves as science learners remains a focus of our thinking about learning chemistry. We

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mapped the scores of each student into a grouped frequency distribution, that is, the number of students who obtain a given

score range. This confirmed what we already learned: the students did not achieve the scores we expected (see Table 1).

Table 1

A frequency distribution of student scores in the multiple-

choice section of a Chemistry Regents Exam out of a maximum score of 50.

Grouped Scores Number of Students

46-50 *41-4536-40 *31-35 *************26-30 *****21-25 *************16-20 ****************11-15 *******6-10 **

This grouped frequency table indicated that students’ scores

were clumped in the lower two-thirds of the scoring range. Only 2 students scored above 35 out of 50 and one of those

had only recently arrived at the school from China. Information of student scores (see Table 1) led us to speculate

on the types of questions that were asked and to wonder about the questions that students found to be most problematic. We

decided to examine their responses in greater detail using item

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analysis. We hoped that this would tell us more about the choices that students made for specific questions, which would

provide a basis for our further analysis of the questions. We knew that the symbol systems used in exam questions

depended very much on the practices and symbol systems valued by the test writers. This suggested that an initial

qualitative analysis of questions presented to the students might provide some information on the types of questions that

were commonly used on the exam. We developed a classification scheme for questions based on the format of the

question and the expected response. This scheme included text-based, numeric/mathematical, symbolic, particulate, and

diagrammatic types of questions.

Text-based questions were almost entirely written in text and

the response was also presented as text (see Figure 1).

Figure 1. An example of a text-based question.

As we will examine later, this question (see Figure 1) was problematic for students in Jim’s classes.

Numeric/Mathematical questions required some form of calculation to be conducted (see Figure 2).

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Figure 2. An example of a numeric/mathematical question

Symbolic questions required the use of chemical symbols (see Figure 3).

Figure 3. An example of a symbolic question

Particulate questions use drawings of submicroscopic particles

(see Figure 4).

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Figure 4. An example of a particulate question

Diagrammatic questions are questions that use diagrams of

phenomenon from which questions are framed. There were two examples of this type of question in the constructed

response component of the exam but none in the multiple-choice component.

We used our classification system to identify the types of questions that were used in the Chemistry Regents exam of

June 2005 and to generate a count of each question type (see Table 2). This count was interesting because it provided us

with some sense of the relative emphasis placed on various aspects of chemistry communication in the exam. While

chemistry education researchers have argued for a de-emphasis on symbolic levels of representing chemistry in

chemistry education, this form of representation is emphasized in the exam either as written text or as chemical symbols. The

restricted emphasis in question types has implications for

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pedagogy because chemistry education research suggests that experience with phenomenon such as laboratory experiences

and with explanations involving particulate or submicroscopic entities is important if we want more effectively to support

students chemistry learning.

Table 2

Identification of question types on one Regents exam

Types of Questions

Text-Based N u m e r i c /

Mathematical

Symbolic Particulate Diagrammatic

Regents

Questio

ns

1, 2, 4, 6, 7,

8, 10, 11,

13, 14, 15,

16, 17, 18,

19, 20, 21,

25, 26, 36,

46

24, 29, 35,

39, 41, 42,

45

3, 5, 9, 12,

14, 22, 23,

27, 28, 30,

31, 32, 34,

37, 38, 40,

44, 47, 48,

49, 50

43

Total 21 7 21 1 0

The analysis of different question types (see Table 2)

provided a clearer picture of the relative emphasis in the exam on various question types for the item analysis. However, we

needed to tabulate individual student responses for each question because the Regents exam should be criterion-

referenced and we were interested in the proportion of student choices within each question (see Table 3). Organizing

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responses in this way allowed us to observe how students responded to the alternative choices offered for specific

questions and whether specific response choices were powerful distracters for the students as they responded to each

multiple-choice question. Combined with our classification scheme for the questions, we used this information to begin to

analyze student choices paying close attention to questions for which the proportion of correct responses was high or low.

This gave us a sense of which questions students seemed to find difficult or easy.

Table 3

Example of how we entered the data for each question based

on student responses.

Question 1

S t u d e n t

Number

Choice 1 Choice 2 Choice 3 Choice 4

1 0 1 0 0

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The proportions for each response are listed in Table 4. For questions where the correct response was not obvious because

there were two equal proportions of student responses, the correct answer is given beside the question number. The

questions in bold are the ones on which we would like to focus our analysis for this paper. Almost half the students answered

question 2 correctly and we were interested in finding out whether the language of this question might be a factor in

supporting the correct response. Only 14% of the students answered question 9 correctly, which made it of interest to us.

Finally, question 35 was of interest because 84% of the students answered this question correctly. We could have

chosen other questions on which to focus our analysis but these specific questions have a story to tell.

Table 4

Proportion of student responses

Question # Choice 1 Choice 2 Choice 3 Choice 4

Proportion Choos ing C o r r e c t Answer

1 0.09 0.3 0.88 0 0.882 0 0.45 0.09 0.47 0.473 0.57 0.26 0.07 0.12 0.574 0 0 0.31 0.69 0.695 0.04 0.2 0.66 0.11 0.666 0.33 0.24 0.12 0.31 0.317 0.6 0.12 0.22 0.05 0.68 0.12 0.41 0.24 0.22 0.229 0.14 0.34 0.34 0.17 0.1410 0.12 0.09 0.43 0.36 0.3611 0.45 0.34 0.09 0.12 0.4512 0.91 0.03 0.02 0.03 0.9113 0.25 0.33 0.23 0.19 0.33

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14 0.55 0.21 0.17 0.05 0.5515 0.14 0.52 0.26 0.07 0.5216 0.36 0.03 0.41 0.19 0.3617 0.41 0.33 0.19 0.05 0.3318 0.02 0.17 0.69 0.1 0.6919 0.05 0.32 0.11 0.53 0.3220 0.09 0.32 0.3 0.29 0.3221 0.74 0.12 0.07 0.07 0.7422 0.26 0.14 0.42 0.18 0.4223 0.19 0.6 0.09 0.12 0.624 0.26 0.39 0.26 0.09 0.2625 0.09 0.07 0.14 0.7 0.726 0.25 0.26 0.3 0.19 0.327 0.04 0.16 0.74 0.07 0.7428 0.81 0.11 0.05 0.04 0.8129 0.14 0.14 0.63 0.09 0.6330 0.11 0.33 0.35 0.21 0.3331 0.19 0.23 0.18 0.4 0.432 0.14 0.54 0.18 0.14 0.1833 0.05 0.93 0 0.02 0.9334(4) 0.28 0.18 0.26 0.28 0.2835 0.07 0.09 0.84 0 0.8436 0.37 0.3 0.14 0.19 0.3737 0.02 0.4 0.16 0.42 0.438 0.21 0.14 0.42 0.23 0.4239 0.23 0.51 0.04 0.23 0.5140 0.18 0.19 0.23 0.4 0.2341 0.12 0.11 0.63 0.14 0.1242 0.61 0.14 0.09 0.16 0.6143 0.3 0.16 0.42 0.14 0.4244 0.3 0.28 0.25 0.18 0.345 0.16 0.32 0.21 0.32 0.3246 0.39 0.25 0.19 0.18 0.3947 0.12 0.58 0.14 0.16 0.5848 0.07 0.28 0.16 0.49 0.4949(2) 0.29 0.29 0.25 0.18 0.2950 0.34 0.38 0.16 0.13 0.38

Note that we identified question 2 (see Figure 1) as a text-

based question. The question seemed relatively uncomplicated, asking students to identify a similarity and

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2 Compared to a proton, an electron has

(1) the same sign and a greater quantity of charge (2) the opposite sign and a greater quantity of

charge (3) the same sign and the same quantity of charge (4) the opposite sign and the same quantity of

charge

difference between subatomic particles; protons and electrons found in an atom. We expected a higher proportion of correct

responses. However, as Jim examined the question more thoroughly he noted a difference between the way this

question was framed and the way he framed this information in his conversations with students in class. For example, in

class he talked about “ positive charge” and “negative charge” rather than the quantity of charge and the sign. We speculate

that if the responses had been framed differently to emphasize charge before the size of the size of the charge the proportion

of correct responses might have been greater (see Figure 5).

Original Question Revised Question

Figure 5. Reframing the question

This thesis will be tested with the group of current chemistry

students. The students’ responses to question 9 (see Figure 6) indicate that students found this question to be the most

challenging in the multiple-choice component of the exam. Only 14% of students, 8 from a group of 58, submitted the

correct answer. This question asks students to change the chemical name of an ionic compound into its chemical

formula. We know from our experience over two years with students that they find this to be a very difficult task.

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Question 9

Question

Choice 1

Question

Choice 2

Question

Choice 3

Question

Choice 4N Valid 58 58 58 58 Missing 0 0 0 0Mean .14* 0.34 0.34 0.17Sum 8 20 20 10

Figure 6. Examining students’ responses for Question 9

Our analysis suggests why students might find the type of question, illustrated by Question 9, difficult. The answer

requires five steps. First, students have to use their reference tables and find the periodic table which they can use to

identify the chemical symbols for both titanium and oxide: titanium is Ti and oxide is O. Second, they have to know what

(II) means: Ti2+. For many students their prior experiences of Roman notation tend to be more typical everyday experience,

such as the Super Bowl, where Roman numerals are used for counting rather than for identifying specific characteristics of

an element such as its oxidation number. This commonly results in students using the numerals to count down the

oxidation numbers listed for an element in the periodic and selecting the second listed oxidation number, which could be

4, or 5, or 6 rather than recognizing that the II means an

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oxidation number of 2. Third, they have to use their periodic table to identify the electric charge on the oxide ion: O2-.

Fourth, they have to know how to combine this information to form the formula. With Jim the students learned to do this by

“criss-crossing”:

Finally, they have to realize that the empirical formula for an ionic compound must be represented using the lowest

common denominator, that is, TiO rather than Ti2O2. Jim noted that if Ti2O2 was also a choice for this question the

number of correct responses might have been further reduced.

Working out chemical formula is a complex skill and this year

Jim worked with students for a longer period on this skill than he did last year. However, considering that students are

expected to know over 100 major understandings for an 85 question exam and there were two questions, including this

one, that asked students to demonstrate an understanding of chemical formulas of ionic compounds, Jim negotiates a fine

line between working with the students on naming of inorganic compounds and assisting them to develop other

resources that will be as useful to them as chemistry learners and when they sit for the Regents chemistry exam.

Finally, we examined question 35, which was answered correctly by 84% of the students (see Figure 7). We wanted to

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understand if we could identify an aspect of this question that would help us to understand the high positive response rate

and perhaps use this understanding to assist students to feel more confident when they sat for the exam.

Figure 7. Question 35

A close examination of Question 35 indicated that this

question did not require any chemistry understanding to be answered correctly. Additionally, we noted only one possible

choice in the responses fell between 141 and 171 and that was the correct answer. We assume the examiners’ goal with this

question was to address the major understanding: The succession of elements within the same group demonstrates

characteristic trends: differences in atomic radius, ionic radius, electronegativity, first ionization energy, metallic/nonmetallic

properties. However, we would argue that this question did not achieve that goal.

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In the following academic year Deshawn agreed to speak with us about his experience of the exam. Catherine had come to

know him and his colleague, Bill, during the academic year as she occasionally worked with them in Jim’s class. Deshawn

was a hard working student but his weekend job at a casual dining restaurant meant that he was not able to attend the

Saturday review sessions. He was keen to be a member of the Honor society and complained to Jim when he thought his

grade for chemistry would prevent him from maintaining his membership. He commented that his strategy for preparing for

the exam was to try and memorize all the material he had written in his chemistry notebook. He felt that sometimes in

class, “we spent more time on stuff” than its role in the exam warranted. He commented that quizzes did not really prepare

him for the exam because they tended to be based on chemistry content that they had just studied. Consequently, it

was fresh in his mind. He commented the quizzes, “tested on what we just learned.” He learned that “in the process of

moving on and learning new things” it was important not to forget the “old things.” Finally, when he was in the exam he

did not feel that he had ever seen the understandings before and his strategy of trying to remember what they “had learned

that day” did not really help him to answer the questions on the examination paper.

When Catherine went through the exam with Deshawn he indicated there were certain terms such as “trend” which he

did not understand was used in a four-point constructed response question. This term is used explicitly in the core

curriculum for chemistry in Standard 1 – analysis, inquiry, and design not the content focused Standard 4 indicating to Jim the

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need to make sure that he uses such terms with students in his chemistry classes. Deshawn’s comments indicated that in

terms of his classroom experiences, he did not feel unprepared for the exam. However, it was clear that he thought of

chemistry as a mass of unconnected facts that he had to try to memorize.

Making Some Changes With his first Regents exam completed, Jim has implemented some changes to the chemistry curriculum. In the following

sections he outlines some of those changes.

Jim:

The June 2005 regents greatly affected the way that I teach chemistry in my second year of teaching.

Reorganizing the Chemistry Curriculum

This past fall, I was determined to rethink my course of action in teaching chemistry. Clearly, there were

many elements that were confusing to the students, as even the usual high performing students were

stumped by many of the questions. I decided to reorganize the curriculum and devote a different

amount of time to certain topics. I am forced to stick to the limits of the core curriculum. For example, last

year I spent a fair amount of time on stoichiometric calculations. I would often cover material that was

not required based on the core curriculum, but rather calculations that I felt were crucial to their

understanding of stoichiometry. I have decided to

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follow the core curriculum more religiously on this area, and devote less time to this topic and more in

other areas such as atomic structure. I have realized that ten months (nine actually) is much too little time

to cover all the material outlined in the core curriculum, let alone a more ‘advanced’ curriculum

with extra material.

Using Regents Questions Explicitly

Another major change that I have implemented is the

use of Regent’s questions explicitly from the very first unit. I have used the June 2005 Regents

extensively this term in an effort to familiarize current students with the language, style, and context

of the questions. It still puzzles me how many students had difficulty on certain questions that I had

did not expect they would. In class, they were able to answer my questions and based on my initial

assessment of the students’ understanding, these questions would not have posed a problem to them.

As we discussed earlier in the paper, a possibility is the difference between the language I used in class

and that used on the exam. By introducing Regents questions earlier in the academic year, I hope that

students will have more time with the course to familiarize themselves with the language and nature

of the questions they are expected to answer. We both remember when one of the students presented with a

prior Regents exam question commented, “I don’t understand this. It’s not even in English!” When the

problem was rephrased and explained, the student

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proceeded to complete correctly the task asked of him.

Making Space for Students to be Challenged

My exams and quizzes are currently comprised mostly of Regents questions. These exams are not

easy for the students. While students find these exams and the questions quite difficult, I need to

constantly encourage them to try initially to work out the questions by themselves. “Try these on your own

first, and then we will go over them.” Students are very quick to call “I need help!” I do try to assist

students to know how to “interpret” the questions, in hopes that they will not be daunted by similar

questions on the actual exam. We work on strategies that they can use to begin to work on specific

chemistry problems. Of course, there is a fine line between challenge and dispiritedness and it is a line I

am still negotiating in the classroom!

Achieving a Balance?

In the past five months or so, I have done more

Regents specific instruction than I had done during all of last year. At times I wonder if the class has

become too “test prep.” I wonder if I have focused too much on the exam. The purpose of the exam is to

measure student performance and understanding of the material. The exam itself does not take into

account the learning environment in which the material is presented. Its goal is not for students to be

life long learners of science, nor truly appreciate the

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material. Just look at the number of text-based factual questions that are present in the exam. There is little

room to measure student reasoning of the material. As a result, I am forced to try and combine my desire

to make chemistry as enjoyable as possible, while at the same time preparing them for a very high stakes

exam. I often wonder, am I preparing my students to be better exam takers or better science learners?

ConclusionOur experience of working with students and observing their struggles with the Regents exam has encouraged us to

investigate this issue further by examining whether the changes that Jim has introduced make a difference. However,

there are some issues related to the structure of the exam and the core curriculum that are not currently the purview of

individual chemistry teachers.

The structure of the core curriculum, of over 100 major

understandings, presents a splintered representation of chemistry knowledge. The structure of the exam, Part A

consisting of 33 multiple-choice questions; Part B-1, 17 multiple-choice questions; Part B-2, 15 constructed response

questions; and Part C, 20 constructed response questions reinforces this representation. This leads us to ask if the

current exam structure provides students with the best way of demonstrating their knowledge of chemistry. As far as we

could ascertain there is a consistency between the language of the core curriculum and the language of the exam but the

emphasis on text-based questions reinforces the complexity of the language involved. Such an emphasis imposes a particular

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structure on how chemistry knowledge is represented and deprives students of an opportunity to communicate in their

own words their understanding of chemistry. The lack of any connection in the multiple-choice section of the exam and the

experiential world ensure that the knowledge represented, while consistent with the core curriculum, remains

disconnected from the world of the students who are completing the exam. We wonder if the examiners would be

wary of restructuring the exam so that it makes more connections to the experiential world of students because that

might actually make the exam more difficult for students. In its current from, the interaction between the chemistry of the

core curriculum and the chemistry of our everyday world seems marginal at best.

ReferencesBarton, A. C. (2001). Science education in urban settings:

Seeking new ways of praxis through critical ethnography. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 38, 899-917.

Bourdieu, P. (1977). An outline of a theory of practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Erduran, S. (1998). Modeling chemistry as cultural practice: A theoretical framework with implications for chemistry education. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Diego, CA., April 13-17, 1998.

Fusco, D. (2001). Creating relevant science through urban planning and gardening. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 38, 860-877.

Sadler, P.M. (1998). Psychometric models of student conceptions in science: Reconciling qualitative studies and distracter-driven assessment instruments. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 35, 265-296.

Seiler, G. (2001). Understanding social reproduction: The recursive nature of coherence and contradiction within a science class. Unpublished dissertation. University of Pennsylvania.

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Sewell, W. H. (1992). A theory of structure: Duality, agency and transformation. American Journal of Sociology, 98, 1-29

Sewell, W. H. (1999). The concept(s) of culture. In V. E. Bonnell and L. Hunt (Eds.) Beyond the cultural turn: New directions in the study of society and culture (pp. 35-61). Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

Swartz, D. (1997). Culture and power: The sociology of Pierre Bourdieu. Chicago: Chicago University Press.

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USING A LEARNING CYCLE APPROACH FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN AN URBAN HIGH

NEEDS SCHOOL: A SYNOPSISERIC A. OLSON

OSWEGO, STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK

AbstractThis paper is a synopsis of activities for a group of urban high-needs science teachers in a long-term professional development effort. Collaboration between university faculty and in-service teachers formed a powerful model to discuss teacher development in an authentic manner. Inquiry topics and tasks were resolved through an ongoing dialogue that focused primarily on what teachers considered to be the most significant problems that they faced. Beginning with concrete investigations into effective curricular design, brain-based learning and using literature as a tool in science teaching, group participants developed critical insights into effective science teaching. This foundation was then used as a tool to disaggregate high stakes testing data towards enhancing teaching performance. Results indicated a significant shift in teacher attitudes and abilities to approach instruction in a more meaningful manner, focusing on individual student needs.

IntroductionThe phrase “urban high needs school” can convey a variety of images. To someone who has never been in such a school, the

picture might be one of a ruined building, disinterested students and despondent teachers. Such is the picture

commonly conveyed by the media in focusing on city schools. However, anyone taking the time to explore an urban high

needs school in an authentic way will find, even in the worst situations, interested students that are eager to learn and

intelligent teachers willing to guide. There certainly are significant daily challenges teachers face that are unheard of in

more privileged settings. The story of this professional

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development with a group of engaged science teachers shows positive possibilities of hope and growth.

It is important in beginning a learning cycle to listen to a learner’s ideas first. This was a tremendously important tact

to take with these teachers. Initial conversations with them would show the disjointed and disempowering nature of

previous efforts at professional development that they had experienced. By volunteering and listening I was able to

generate a rapport with the teachers that was based on mutual respect and trust.

Superficially, the school showed few of the signs that a news magazine version of a high needs city school had made

popular. The school was by and large clean and seemed to be in good repair. As an “art focused” school, student generated

murals were displayed prominently and proudly. In the science wing a saltwater aquarium and indoor greenhouse

showed that there was a commitment to learning and student engagement. Beneath the surface there were the problems that

one would see in any urban school. A few students achieve at the highest level, going on to Ivy League schools. A much

larger yet vocal minority were highly disengaged and willfully ignorant, striving to disrupt classes and the learning process in

increasingly extreme ways. Most students were caught somewhere in the middle. Taking the Shakespearian adage that

“all the world is a stage”, the actors that got the most attention were those putting on the show of being disruptive. The “bad”

actors served as role models to the majority of students, rather than the “good.” In practical terms this means that teachers

spend an inordinate amount of time dealing with misbehavior and student inattention. This is, I’m sure, a common

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experience for many teachers in a wide variety of settings, but is quite a bit more extreme in urban high needs schools.

A major conclusion I drew from this experience is that teachers in a high needs school that are required to teach to a

closed ended high stakes curriculum are doubly cursed. Not only were they dealing with disengaged students, but the

lesson they were required to teach lent themselves to a closed ended, fact based exploration of content and allowed little

opportunity for students to engage in the exploration of their own ideas and questions.

Engagement

After spending time in this school it became obvious that there

were some significant needs that could be addressed in a meaningful dialog within an inquiry group. Teachers by and

large lacked a support structure within the school building and there was no formal means to have them work on issues in any

significant way. The concrete thing I had to offer these teachers was a stipend of $800 in exchange for 40 hours of

work each school year in an inquiry group outside of their contract day. After listening to the teachers concerns and

conducting a preliminary assessment, several themes emerged that the teachers chose to focus on to improve their practice.

This was the start of what would become a six-year effort to work with a small group of teachers and collaborate on a

professional development effort using a learning cycle approach.

It was critical that the issues emerged out of the teacher’s own ideas. It is a fundamental aspect of constructivist teaching

practice that instruction is based on a learner’s own ideas

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(Piaget 1967, Brooks and Brooks, 1999). As a science educator, it was only natural for me to adapt this model to my

work as a professional developer. Initially, the teachers wanted to examine the new (to them) structure of block

scheduling and to do research into “brain-based” learning. My role, as is common to constructivist practice, was to serve as

facilitator and guide.

Our first year spent looking into these topics was a joyful

experience. The group would engage during our meeting with a robust conversation about what research showed about

effective instruction. They were at times critical, at other instances enthusiastic as they strove to incorporate the topics

of study into their teaching practice. There emerged a significant disconnection, discrepancy if you will, between

what research indicated was the most appropriate means to engage students in learning and what they were actually able

to do in their classrooms.

The trust that I had built up previously to these conversations

was crucial. I was able to gently challenge and critique without coming across as judgmental and harsh. Teachers met

significant daily challenges with their students and the last thing I wanted to do was to have a meeting that added to their

misery. Working with these teachers that had a science background, it was natural to examine research in a

dispassionate and rational manner. Posing the question, “What is the best way to shape the time spent with students?”

when looking at block scheduling and “How does the mind work to develop cognition?” in response to brain based

learning, proved to be tremendously powerful and an open ended way of looking at teaching.

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The key to the success of this effort was that in this project I had the time to treat the teachers as I hope that they treat their

own students. Serious and powerful scientific organizations admonish science education to eschew a curriculum that is a

“mile wide and an inch deep” and to delve meaningfully into real topics of significant importance (AAAS, 1981; National

Academy of Science, 2006). It makes sense therefore that professional development efforts that want to help teachers

make the most of their work with students be patterned along these same lines.

The following year, again at the suggestion of the teachers we wrapped up some loose ends remaining from the previous

sessions, but the main emphasis was to examine how to implement a dimension of reading literature into science

instruction. The text we used as a foundation for this year’s work was the then newly published Bill Bryson text “A short

history of nearly everything” (Bryson, 2004). This is an outstanding example of a book that tells the stories of science

from a personal perspective. The conversations we had during this year amounted to some of the best and most engaging

explorations of science topics I’ve ever had.

ExplanationA learning cycle starts with students’ own ideas, a teacher in

collaboration with the learner, then embarks on an initial concrete problem solving investigation that generates a first

iteration of understanding. Looking back at this process it is clear that our focusing question was, “What is good

teaching?” As is almost always the case in completing a learning cycle, many more questions are asked than are ever

answered. This is in keeping with the nature of science as an

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at times chaotic exploration of ideas (Feyerabend, 1981). In answering our focus question, the inquiry group began to

resolve other more abstract questions regarding, “What does it mean to teach science with a constructivist approach?” Brain-

based learning and effective curricular design are particularly robust lenses to look through in exploring this topic. Rather

than attributing this to the luck of the draw I see it as testimony to the sincere desire that these teachers had to

examine their own teaching. If allowed the opportunity, students will ask significant and important questions (Yager,

2000). The format of the inquiry group allowed this group of teachers to give voice to their concerns and address them in an

authentic way.

In an urban high needs school, there are many complexities

that hide and squelch the great insight that is possible in a fully engaged student body. Any professional developer

taking a top down approach to working with teachers may see a group of educators that seem similarly disengaged and

disinterested (Borko, 2004). Truth be told, they are probably just being polite. If given free reign to voice their frustrations,

you would hear an earful that would make you think twice about deciding what you thought was best for someone else to

learn.

By examining their own questions, this group of teachers had

built a solid foundation upon which to reflect on their practice. In working with pre-service teachers I often mention that their

best teacher is not going to be me, but it is going to be their future students. A reflective practitioner will come to

understand themselves much better once they are able to generate and ponder upon student work. Likewise, by

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examining the fundamental basis for instruction and cognition the teachers in this inquiry group had asked and answered

their own questions. There can be no more authentic basis for instruction.

Elaboration Science education at the high school level in New York State is framed by the high stakes test of the Regents’ Exam.

Student performance on this exam judges whether or not they will get a fully credentialed diploma, or a diploma that

amounts to a certificate of attendance. The curriculum that accompanies the exam guides what topics students will

explore during the school year. Teachers by and large depend on it as a crucial reference in deciding what and how to teach.

The teachers in the inquiry group viewed the Regents curriculum as both a blessing and a curse. It is a blessing in

that it provides some level of structure and accountability and, at least at a superficial level, raises the status of instruction in

the eyes of the general public. It is a curse in that it provides a lowest common denominator and severely limits how students

can be taught.

As the inquiry group efforts continued, the focus of the

teachers became centered on the test as a practical way of applying their newfound insight into instruction. The research

that they had examined over the previous years had provided a comprehensive insight into how students learn and gave the

group a good vocabulary with which to entertain new structures for teaching. Within the context of their teaching,

these educators were fairly limited in the amount of changes they could make to instruction. The test still loomed at the end

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of the year and they needed to teach the content to give students a chance of passing.

The inquiry group, however, provided a novel structure upon which to gain insight into their teaching. We could use our

time to turn the test back onto itself. For years, teachers had administered the test at the end of the year, tabulated student

results and locked the test away in a box. They had never taken the time to disaggregate the data to see how it could

inform their teaching. Our group allowed them the opportunity to do this in a supportive climate. What emerged

was both a verification of what we had previously studied and a challenge to how to improve instruction. Examining the data

showed that large groups of students were missing whole blocks of concepts that had been taught. Teachers saw the test

for the first time from the student perspective of how questions could be misleading and how literacy, attitude and

critical thinking skills were as important aspects of success as was content knowledge. Teachers saw insights that a large

group was near to completing the test at the mastery level, but were held back by their lack of abilities to interpret the test.

Another large group was either failing the test outright, or were not able to take the test due to lack of attendance and

motivation. Turning the test into a meta-cognitive tool that provided insight into their teaching proved to be a powerful

transformative experience for the teachers. Previously they had little sense of agency with regard to the test, by making

curricular decisions in light of the test the teachers were feeling like they had a greater sense of purpose in deciding

what and how to teach. It is fundamental to constructivist practice that basing development on a learner’s own ideas is

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what we want our teachers to do with their own students. It was reassuring that taking a similar approach to professional

development provided for significant participant growth.

One challenging aspect of the work in this inquiry group was

to continue to probe into the dimension of how aspects of social justice correspond to science teaching. Looking at the

test data from a student’s perspective enabled teachers to see how they could advocate for students from a more individual

perspective. Thinking about the personalities that make up a class brought the conversation into aspect of social inequity

and lack of resources, which students brought into instruction. The group of teachers have little opportunity to effect real

changes to their students’ lives in terms of socio-economic levels, adolescent culture and home life, but they did become

more sensitive to how those parts of students’ lives play into instruction.

Evaluation In reflecting on the years I spent with the teachers, the most robust evidence for documenting how this effort has changed

teachers’ lives comes from their own voices. The group was unanimous in stating the opinion that this process has helped

them to see themselves as more fully engaged professionals. They now think about teaching from an evaluative and

reflective level and have become more fully actualized as educators. In opinion surveys their students hold them in

higher regard compared to their peers. They are more fully engaged as professional, with three having this past year

sought national board certification. They have formed a group that can now work together on the daunting problems that the

school still faces. After six years of work, there is now a

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support structure in place that will allow them to go on learning from each other how to be the best teachers they can

be. Approaching this professional development effort through a learning cycle has help to transform a group of urban science

teachers into a cohesive group that can approach problems together and depend on each other. In that regard, the

resources put into this effort have been well spent.

ReferencesAmerican Association for the Advancement of Science

(AAAS). Project 2061 (1994) Benchmarks for Science Literacy New York: Oxford University Press

Borko, Hilda (2004) Professional Development and teacher learning: Mapping the terrain. Educational Researcher, 33(8), 3-15.

Bryson, Bill (2004) A short history of nearly everything New York: Broadway Books

Brooks, Jacqueline Grennon and Martin G. Brooks (1999) In Search of Understanding. The Case for Constructivist Classrooms, Columbus, Ohio, Merrill Prentice Hall

Burbank, M. D., and Kauchak, D. (2003) An alternative model for professional development: Investigations into effective collaboration. Teaching and Teacher Education 19(5), 499-514.

Feyerabend, Paul (1981) Realism, Rationalism and Scientific Method: Philosophical papers, Volume 1, Cambridge, England Cambridge University Press.

Goodnough, Karen (2005) Fostering teacher collaborative learning through collaborative inquiry, Clearing House, 79(2), 88-92.

Kimble, Larry, Robert Yager and Stuart Yager (2006) Success of a Professional-Development Model in Assisting Teachers to Change Their Teaching to Match the More Emphasis Conditions Urged in the National Science Education Standards. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 17(3), 309-322

Lincoln, Yvonna and Egon Guba (1985) Naturalistic Inquiry, London, Sage Publications.

Long, Stephen, (2004) Commentary: Taking responsibility for professional development, The Science Teacher, 71(10), 10.

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Loucks-Horsley, S., Hewson, P., Love, N., & Stiles, K. (1998). Designing professional development for teacher of science and mathematics, Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Loucks-Horsley, S., &Matsumoto, C. (1999) Research on professional development for teacher of mathematics and science: The state of the scene. School Science and Mathematics, 99(5), 258-271.

National Academy of Sciences, (2006) Taking science to school: Learning and teaching science in grades K-8, Washington D.C. National Academy Press.

Piaget, Jean (1967) The child’s conception of the world, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press.

Smith, Martin H., Trexler, Cary J., (2006) A university-school partnership model: Providing stakeholders with benefits to enhance school science literacy, Action in teacher education, 27(4), 23-34.

Sutherland, Peter (1997) Experiential Learning and Constructivism: Potential for a Mutually Beneficial Synthesis, in Peter Sutherland (Ed.), Adult Learning: A Reader. Sterling, Va, Kogan Page Ltd.

Vygotsky, Lev S. (1978) Mind in Society: Development of Higher Psychological Processes, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press.

Yager, Robert E. (2000) The constructivist learning model, Science Teacher, 67(1), 44-6.

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