Concord Consortium Inc

TO IGNITE LARGE-SCALE IMPROVEMENTS IN TEACHING AND LEARNING THROUGH TECHNOLOGY.

PRECIPITATING CHANGE WITH ALASKAN AND HAWAIIAN SCHOOLS: BRIDGING INDIGENOUS AND WESTERN SCIENCE WHILE MITIGATING COASTAL EROSION PROJECT - 2022 THE PRECIPITATING CHANGE PROJECT (HTTPS://CONCORD.ORG/PRECIPITATING-CHANGE-ALASKA-HAWAII/) AT THE CONCORD CONSORTIUM (CC) IS A MULTI-YEAR COLLABORATION WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA; UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI'I, MANOA; THE UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA AT ANCHORAGE APPLIED ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH CENTER (UAA-AERC); AND PARTNER MIDDLE SCHOOLS IN ALASKA AND HAWAI'I. THE PROJECT GOAL IS TO DESIGN AND TEST INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS AND TECHNOLOGIES TO PROMOTE MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS' CAPACITY TO BRIDGE BETWEEN INDIGENOUS AND WESTERN SCIENCE THROUGH A MULTI-PERSPECTIVE INSTRUCTIONAL APPROACH THAT INCLUDES AND VALUES INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE AND CULTURE AND ENGAGES STUDENTS WITH WESTERN SCIENCE WITHOUT ASKING THEM TO ABANDON OR DEVALUE THEIR HOME CULTURE PERSPECTIVE. THE PROJECT AIMS TO PROMOTE MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS' ABILITY TO APPLY INTEGRATED EARTH SCIENCE, MATHEMATICS, AND COMPUTATIONAL THINKING SKILLS IN THE CONTEXT OF COASTAL EROSION. THE INSTRUCTIONAL UNIT IS DESIGNED WITH UNIVERSAL DESIGN FOR LEARNING (UDL) PRINCIPLES, INCLUDING A MULTIPLE-REPRESENTATION GLOSSARY, TRANSLATIONS FOR INDIGENOUS LANGUAGES, AND SCAFFOLDING TO ASSIST STUDENTS IN UNDERSTANDING INDIGENOUS AND WESTERN SCIENCE TERMS. THE PRECIPITATING CHANGE: COASTAL EROSION INSTRUCTIONAL UNIT TARGETS THREE MAIN NGSS STANDARDS.INSTRUCTIONAL UNIT. THIS YEAR, EIGHT MIDDLE SCHOOL SCIENCE TEACHERS FROM EIGHT DIFFERENT SCHOOLS, FOUR IN ALASKA AND FOUR IN HAWAI'I, PARTICIPATED IN PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN HILO, HAWAI'I. CONSISTENT WITH A DESIGN-BASED IMPLEMENTATION RESEARCH APPROACH, UNIT DESIGN AND INSTRUCTION REFLECT COLLABORATION AMONG PARTNERS REPRESENTING DIVERSE AREAS OF EXPERTISE INCLUDING INDIGENOUS AND WESTERN SCIENCE, AND SCIENCE EDUCATION RESEARCH, DESIGN, AND PRACTICE. UNIT DESIGN AND INSTRUCTION ALSO REFLECT INTEGRATION AND ITERATIVE REFINEMENT OF MULTIPLE INSTRUCTIONAL ELEMENTS. IN THE FIVE-WEEK COASTAL EROSION UNIT, THESE ELEMENTS ARE INFUSED AND ORGANIZED INTO THE CREATIVE PROCESS INSTRUCTIONAL MODEL SEQUENCE. THERE IS A FOCUS ON STORIES, LEARNING WITH ELDERS, COMMUNITY PRACTICES AND ARTS FOR INDIGENOUS WAYS OF KNOWING THROUGHOUT THE LESSONS. WORKING WITH ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENTISTS AT UAA-AERC, WE CREATED COASTAL EROSION SCENARIOS FOR STUDENTS TO ENGAGE WITH USING HISTORICAL DATA. THUS, USING BOTH EMBEDDED PHENOMENA AND COMPUTATIONAL MODELS, STUDENTS EXPERIENCE EROSION EVENTS EVOLVING IN THE SAME WAY THAT THE ACTUAL EVENTS EVOLVED THROUGH INTERACTIONS AMONG VARIABLES SUCH AS SEA LEVEL, WAVE HEIGHT, SUBSTRATE MATERIAL, VEGETATION, PRECIPITATION, AND WIND SPEED. USING A VARIETY OF METHODS THAT BUILD FLEXIBILITY THAT CAN BE ADJUSTED FOR EVERY STUDENT'S STRENGTHS AND NEEDS, UDL PROVIDES ALL STUDENTS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY TO SUCCEED THROUGHOUT THE CURRICULUM. UDL FEATURES PROVIDE FLEXIBILITY IN INFORMATION PRESENTATION AND REDUCE BARRIERS IN INSTRUCTION. A KEY UDL PROJECT FEATURE IN THE COASTAL EROSION UNIT IS A MULTI-REPRESENTATIONAL GLOSSARY WHERE STUDENTS CAN VIEW INDIGENOUS AND WESTERN SCIENCE TERMS AND SYMBOLS HYPERLINKED, REPRESENTED, AND CONTEXTUALIZED THROUGH PICTURES, DIAGRAMS, AND A SHORT MOVIE. SUCH OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENTS TO USE THE GLOSSARY TO TOGGLE BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN ENGLISH AND THEIR NATIVE LANGUAGE ARE ESPECIALLY POWERFUL FOR PLACE-BASED AND CULTURALLY CONGRUENT INSTRUCTION WITH INDIGENOUS STUDENTS. TECHNOLOGY AND SOFTWARE. THREE TECHNOLOGICAL TOOLS WERE DEVELOPED FOR THE COASTAL EROSION UNIT-EMBEDDED PHENOMENA (EP), CLASSROOM WAVE TANK PHYSICAL MODEL, AND NETLOGO COMPUTATIONAL MODELS-TO HELP STUDENTS ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTION: "HOW DOES COASTAL EROSION AFFECT OUR LIVES AND WHAT, IF ANYTHING, SHOULD WE DO ABOUT IT?" DURING THE COASTAL EROSION INVESTIGATIONS STUDENTS STUDY THREE DRIVING QUESTIONS: 1. HAS THE SHORELINE CHANGED IN THE PAST AND IS IT CHANGING NOW? HOW AND WHY?; 2. IF THE SHORELINE KEEPS CHANGING THE WAY IT HAS BEEN, WHAT WILL IT BE LIKE IN THE FUTURE?; AND 3. WHAT COULD OR SHOULD BE DONE ABOUT THE CHANGING SHORELINE?THE EP SOFTWARE PROVIDES STUDENTS THE OPPORTUNITY TO EXPLORE A LARGE COMPLEX DATASET KINESTHETICALLY TO HELP THEM VISUALIZE A BEACH PROFILE USING THE EMERY METHOD. EACH CLASSROOM IS PROVIDED A LARGE WAVE TANK TO INVESTIGATE AND CONDUCT PHYSICAL TESTS OF HOW WATER HEIGHT AND WAVE ACTION IMPACT COASTS. USING THE WAVE TANK MODEL, STUDENTS CAN TEST DIFFERENT MITIGATION TREATMENTS INCLUDING SEAWALLS AND REVETMENTS OF DIFFERENT FORMS, ROCK ARMOR, AND BREAKWATERS TO EXAMINE THE RELATIVE EFFECTIVENESS OF THESE METHODS FOR MITIGATING EROSION. NETLOGO MODELS COMPLEMENT THE EP AND WAVE TANK EXPERIENCES BY PROVIDING STUDENTS WITH A TOOL THAT CAN HELP THEM DEVELOP AND TEST THE RULES THEY BUILD AROUND COASTAL EROSION. STUDENTS USE THIS MODEL TO MAKE SENSE OF LOCAL DATA REPRESENTED IN MAPS AND VISUALIZATIONS THAT EXTEND OVER TIME; IDENTIFY PATTERNS AND RELATIONSHIPS AMONG VARIABLES; AND MAKE PREDICTIONS FOR IMPACTS OF SEA LEVEL RISE, STORM SURGE, AND COASTAL EROSION ON THEIR COMMUNITIES. RESEARCH: RESEARCH ON STUDENT LEARNING IS GUIDED BY THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:-DEVELOPING MULTI-PERSPECTIVE LEARNING PROGRESSION FRAMEWORKS: WHAT ARE DIFFERENT WAYS STUDENTS MAKE SENSE OF COASTAL EROSION? HOW DO STUDENTS' WAYS OF MAKING SENSE REFLECT PERSONAL AND CULTURAL (INCLUDING INDIGENOUS) FUNDS OF KNOWLEDGE AS WELL AS WESTERN STEM PERSPECTIVES REFLECTIVE OF NGSS- ALIGNED THREE-DIMENSIONAL SCIENCE KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICE?-EXAMINING LEARNING: HOW DO CULTURALLY CONGRUENT, MULTI-PERSPECTIVE LEARNING EXPERIENCES THAT VALUE BOTH STUDENTS' HOME CULTURE AND WESTERN SCIENCE PERSPECTIVES RELATE TO CHANGES IN STUDENTS' SCIENCE KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICES INTEGRATING COASTAL EROSION AND COMPUTATIONAL THINKING?-EXAMINING PREPARATION FOR FUTURE LEARNING: HOW DO MULTI-PERSPECTIVE LEARNING EXPERIENCES INFLUENCE THE APPROACHES TO LEARNING STUDENTS DESCRIBE WHEN THEY ENCOUNTER A NEW SOCIOSCIENTIFIC ISSUE? -STUDYING PARTNERSHIPS: WHAT THEMES ARISE FROM WHAT OUR PARTNERS HAVE SHARED REGARDING SCIENCE, SCIENCE EDUCATION, MULTIPLE PERSPECTIVES, AND INDIGENOUS CULTURAL INTEGRITY? HOW ARE THE IDEAS THAT ARE SHARED SIMILAR AND DISTINCT ACROSS DIFFERENT PARTNERS?

TECROCKS PROJECT - 2022IN THE SECOND YEAR OF THE GEOLOGICAL CONSTRUCTION OF ROCK ARRANGEMENTS FROM TECTONICS: SYSTEMS MODELING ACROSS SCALES (ALSO KNOWN AS THE TECROCKS PROJECT HTTPS://CONCORD.ORG/OUR-WORK/RESEARCH-PROJECTS/TECROCKS/), THE CONCORD CONSORTIUM (CC) COLLABORATED WITH PROJECT PARTNERS AT PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY TO ENACT THE GOALS OF THE PROJECT. THE FIRST GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DEVELOP AN EARTH SYSTEM SIMULATION AND CURRICULUM MODULE TO TRANSFORM HOW STUDENTS LEARN ABOUT THE CONNECTION BETWEEN PLATE TECTONIC PROCESSES AND ROCK FORMATION PROCESSES. THIS FIRST GOAL IS ACCOMPLISHED THROUGH MULTIPLE ITERATIVE DESIGN CYCLES. THE SECOND GOAL IS TO CONDUCT TARGETED RESEARCH ON TEACHING AND LEARNING WITH THESE MATERIALS. THIS YEAR, WE MADE SIGNIFICANT ADVANCES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE TECROCKS EXPLORER MODEL, A COMPUTATIONAL MODEL-BASED SIMULATION OF TECTONIC PLATES ON A THREE-DIMENSIONAL EARTH-LIKE PLANET. THIS SIMULATION ALLOWS STUDENTS TO SIMULTANEOUSLY VISUALIZE SURFACE AND SUBSURFACE TECTONIC INTERACTIONS AS WELL AS ROCK FORMATION AND TRANSFORMATION. ADDITIONALLY WE DESIGNED AND DEVELOPED THE EARTH ROCKS MAP, WHICH DISPLAYS A THREE-DIMENSIONAL, GENERALIZED REPRESENTATION OF EARTH'S GEOLOGY. UNLIKE TRADITIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAPS, WHICH ARE COMPLEX AND FOCUS ON GEOLOGIC ERAS, THIS NEW MAP IS DESIGNED FOR STUDENTS AND IS FOCUSED PRIMARILY ON THE DISTRIBUTION OF IGNEOUS, METAMORPHIC, AND SEDIMENTARY ROCKS ON EARTH'S SURFACE.TO CAPTURE THE COMPLEX REASONING THAT INTEGRATES TECTONIC PROCESSES AND ROCK FORMATION, WE DEVELOPED THE TECROCKS REASONING FLOW THAT FRAMES THE SENSEMAKING PROCESS NEEDED TO ARTICULATE THE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN THESE PROCESSES. WE USED THIS FRAMEWORK TO GUIDE THE DEVELOPMENT OF A WEEK-LONG ONLINE CURRICULUM MODULE, THE ROCKS & TECTONICS MODULE, WHICH INCLUDES FIVE ACTIVITIES. EMBEDDED ASSESSMENTS ARE INCLUDED IN THE MODULE. WE ALSO DEVELOPED PRE- AND POST-ASSESSMENTS.DURING SPRING 2022 WE PILOTED A FIRST DRAFT OF THE CURRICULUM MODULE WITH 178 NINTH GRADE EARTH SCIENCE STUDENTS IN COLORADO AND KENTUCKY. BASED ON THE FEEDBACK FROM TEACHERS, AND ANALYSIS OF STUDENT RESPONSES, WE REVISED THE MODULE AND COMPLETED THE REVISION IN SEPTEMBER OF 2022. WE RECRUITED 15 TEACHERS TO ATTEND A 4-DAY IN-PERSON PROFESSIONAL LEARNING WORKSHOP AT PSU THAT TOOK PLACE IN JULY OF 2022. WE ALSO BEGAN RECRUITING TEACHERS TO PILOT THE UPDATED CURRICULUM MODULE AND ASSESSMENTS IN THE 2022-23 SCHOOL YEAR. WE HONED OUR THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK AND REVISED OUR RESEARCH PLAN. IN THE 2022-23 SCHOOL YEAR, WE WILL RUN TWO CYCLES OF CLASSROOM IMPLEMENTATIONS. EACH WILL INCLUDE AN ONLINE WORKSHOP FOR TEACHERS, A POST-IMPLEMENTATION SURVEY FOR TEACHERS, AND POST-IMPLEMENTATION FOCUS GROUPS. WE ALSO PLAN TO OBSERVE CLASSROOM IMPLEMENTATIONS OF THE MODULE, COLLECT SCREENCASTS OF STUDENT WORK, AND ANALYZE STUDENT RESPONSES. ALL THESE DATA WILL BE USED TO REFINE THE STUDENT AND TEACHER MATERIALS FOR THE 2023-24 SCHOOL YEAR.

INQUIRYSPACE 2 2022 THE MAJOR GOAL OF THE INQUIRYSPACE 2 PROJECT (HTTPS://CONCORD.ORG/INQUIRYSPACE) AT THE CONCORD CONSORTIUM (CC) IS TO MAKE IT POSSIBLE FOR ANY SCHOOL TO OFFER STUDENTS THE CHANCE TO EXPERIENCE THE EXCITING PRACTICE OF SCIENCE AS AN INTEGRAL PART OF SCIENCE LEARNING. THE PROJECT SET THREE GOALS TO (1) REDUCE BARRIERS TO IMPLEMENTATION AND INCREASE EQUITABLE PARTICIPATION IN SCIENCE BY DEVELOPING TECHNOLOGIES THAT SUPPORT ENGAGEMENT IN EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN, DATA COLLECTION, AND ANALYSIS IN HIGH SCHOOL BIOLOGY, PHYSICS, AND CHEMISTRY CLASSES, (2) DEVELOP CURRICULAR MATERIALS THAT COHERENTLY SCAFFOLD STUDENTS IN DEVELOPING THE NECESSARY KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES TO EXPLORE NATURAL PHENOMENA, AND (3) DEVELOP TEACHER MATERIALS TO SUPPORT A PEDAGOGICAL APPROACH THAT FACILITATES STUDENT LEARNING THROUGH INDEPENDENT EXPERIMENTATION. SIGNIFICANT EFFORT HAS BEEN DEDICATED TOWARD CURRICULUM, RESEARCH, AND DRAFTING PUBLICATIONS DURING THE SIXTH PROJECT YEAR BY CC IN COLLABORATION WITH OUR PARTNER AT PHYSICS FRONT IN SANTA CRUZ, CA. ALL PARTICIPATING SCHOOLS WERE MEETING BACK IN PERSON DURING THE 2021-22 SCHOOL YEAR. WHILE STILL SUPPORTING TEACHERS REMOTELY, THE INQUIRYSPACE 2 TEAM WAS LESS INVOLVED IN HELPING TEACHERS PLAN THE DAY-TO-DAY IMPLEMENTATION OF PROJECT-DEVELOPED CURRICULUM. WE ALSO RECRUITED A SET OF TEACHERS NEW TO INQUIRYSPACE TO PARTICIPATE. IN THIS WAY THE CLASSROOM IMPLEMENTATION WAS CLOSER TO WHAT THE TYPICAL IMPLEMENTATION MIGHT LOOK LIKE MOVING FORWARD AFTER THE PROJECT IS OVER. THE 2021 SUMMER PD BROUGHT NEW AND RETURNING TEACHERS TOGETHER TO SHARE PEDAGOGICAL AND CURRICULAR PATHS FOR SCAFFOLDING EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN, DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS, AND SCIENTIFIC EXPLANATION. IN PARALLEL, RESEARCH ACTIVITIES CONTINUED, BUT MOSTLY THROUGH DATA THAT COULD BE COLLECTED REMOTELY, AS WELL AS CONTINUED ANALYSIS OF THE PRIOR YEAR'S DATA. AS THE IMPLEMENTATIONS WERE COMPLETED DURING THE SCHOOL YEAR, FINAL REVISIONS WERE MADE TO THE CURRICULAR MATERIALS AND THE AVAILABLE TEACHER RESOURCES.CURRICULUM. WE RAN A FIVE-DAY IN PERSON TEACHER TRAINING IN JULY 2021 FOR 22 TEACHERS. IN THIS LAST YEAR OF THE PROJECT, CURRICULAR REVISIONS WERE COMPLETED FOR ALL INVESTIGATIONS ACROSS EACH OF THREE DISCIPLINES: PHYSICS, CHEMISTRY, AND BIOLOGY. THE CURRICULAR MATERIALS AND TEACHER RESOURCES ARE ALL AVAILABLE AT: HTTPS://LEARN.CONCORD.ORG/INQUIRYSPACE RESEARCH AND PUBLICATIONS. DURING YEAR 6, THERE WAS A STRONG FOCUS ON DISSEMINATION THROUGH PUBLICATIONS. WE DRAFTED A TOTAL OF 10 PAPERS, INCLUDING 8 JURIED PUBLICATIONS OR CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS. PAPERS WERE PUBLISHED IN THE FOLLOWING TOPICS: INQUIRY AND SIMULATION, PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND BUILDING A SUCCESSFUL PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITY, INQUIRY AS A PROCESS AT MULTIPLE SCALES AND ITERATIONS, AND THE CHALLENGES OF USING GRAPHS AND PUSHING THE LIMITS OF SENSOR RESOLUTION IN OPEN INQUIRY EXPLORATION.

THE CONCORD CONSORTIUM PRODUCED TECHNOLOGY-BASED CURRICULUM MATERIALS FOR SCIENCE, MATH, AND ENGINEERING FOR STUDENTS IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL THROUGH COLLEGE. OUR MAJOR PROGRAMS PRODUCED DOZENS OF CURRICULAR UNITS AND ACTIVITIES SUPPORTING LEARNING IN PHYSICS, PHYSICAL SCIENCE, EARTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE, CHEMISTRY, BIOLOGY, MATHEMATICS, DATA SCIENCE, AND ENGINEERING. ASIDE FROM OUR MAJOR PROGRAMS, WE GATHERED AND INVESTIGATED RESEARCH DATA FROM 40 ADDITIONAL PROGRAMS THAT INFORM THE DEVELOPMENT AND REFINEMENT OF CURRICULUM MATERIALS, AND BENEFIT OTHER RESEARCHERS AND ORGANIZATIONS DEVELOPING EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY.