Guest post: NYSSLS Transitions, by Jennifer Borowicz

A quick note from the 3D Cafe...

We've got a great post from guest blogger Jennifer Borowicz, a teacher that we've collaborated with several times in the past few years. Jennifer has some great thoughts and questions for us all about the NYSSLS transition. We'd love to have you post a comment or send her a direct email (jborowicz@wscschools.org) to share your reflections on how this works (or doesn't!) in your classroom. Thanks!! --Sarah and Cookie

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As a guest posting on the North Country 3D Science Café Blog I’m excited to have this opportunity to reach out to others who are incorporating 3D teaching into their classrooms as we transition to NYSSLS.  My name is Jennifer Borowicz and I teach various levels of Living Environment in a suburb of Buffalo.  

In trying to make more strides in transitioning to 3D teaching in my classroom I’m finding that I struggle with how to fully intertwine the science and engineering practices, the cross cutting concepts and the disciplinary core ideas.  At this stage I might be able to incorporate a science and engineering practice, but can’t seem to cohesively structure lessons to have students performing multiple practices to uncover the content for themselves. To try and climb over that stumbling block I have reached for the NYSSLS document for footholds along the way.  However, I’ve found that in trying to firmly plant my feet in those footholds I face larger questions that make the footholds slippery for me. Seeing as my footholds are currently slippery I’m looking to others for support to provide the harness to keep me climbing towards 3D teaching and not falling back down to the ground.  I’m wondering what others might have to offer regarding the following questions. 

1. How are you bridging the transition from our current standards to NYSSLS?  When I go to the NYSSLS document for support and guidance I sometimes find that content I have been teaching may no longer be at the high school level or the focus on the content might be slightly different in the connections the students are expected to make. This is contributing to my struggle in how to build and incorporate 3D lessons and I’m wondering how others are handling this situation.
2. How are you approaching content that you are accustomed to teaching that may now only be directly a DCI at a lower level?  This too is disrupting my thinking. I cannot currently omit testable content and even in the future some of that content would seem to require a place in my lessons for full understanding of the NYSSLS DCIs or simply to refresh prior content knowledge to build knowledge at the high school level.  I’m not sure how to approach transitioning with content changes.
3. How do you work towards incorporating multiple practices throughout a cohesive set of lessons?  I seem to incorporate one practice but then get stuck in how to plan lessons around multiple practices.  So, I have lessons with a practice injected in a place I seem to be able to make it fit. But, then I revert to providing students information.  I don’t have cohesive lessons with multiple practices. I have more traditional lessons with a practice inserted somewhere and I am hanging out in that spot on my climb.  I’m interested in how others have made it past that point.

I have high hopes for what can happen in my classroom and what my students are capable of doing as young scientists in my classroom.  I just need to keep climbing until I can get to a point to provide them the opportunities to be those young scientists in my classroom and I appreciate the support of others as I make that climb.  If you would like to reach me directly my email is jborowicz@wscschools.org.  Thanks for reading and any thoughts you may have as I hang on and keep climbing.

Drop it Like its Hot (a thermal energy transfer lesson)

This is very much a WORK IN PROGRESS! I identified some much needed areas of improvement, but I'd love to hear your suggestions/ feedback. If you try it out, let me know your experiences. A huge thank-you to Sarah Fink for the original idea. I ran with it.... we'll see where it lands.

Animal Behaviors that Increase Reproductive Success

It's Alive... or is it?

Biodiversity: Can science save an ecosystem from extinction?

Middle School Life Science: Matter and Energy in Organisms and Ecosystems

MS:LS 2-1 Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence for the effects of resource availability on organisms and populations of organisms in an ecosystem.

If you've never looked into the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's (HHMI) BioInteractive site, NOW would be a great time to do so. This free website is such a wealth of information, ranging from data sets to lesson plans to short videos to full-on inquiry-based explorations. Each resource specifically is linked to current scientific research and provides students with tremendous insight into what science really "looks like."

My middle school class immediately dug into the citizen-science aspect of the WildCam Gorongosa activities. There's no better way to study an ecosystem than to immerse oneself in the trail-cam photos as if we were really there (since a field trip to Mozambique was out of the question)! I could see students at any level using the built in tools (as well as this Field Guide) to key out the different species they observed. As with any citizen-science program, the students felt pretty important when they learned that what they were doing would really be utilized by scientists studying the biodiversity of the area.

While we didn't complete the entire BioInteractive WildCam Lab, we did use several of the resources available (found in their entirety here) to look at how populations changed over time due to different habitat disturbances. It was a great way to not only introduce food chains/webs/pyramids, but to look at how these relationships were influenced when resource availability changed.

Link to Slides and Student Guide we used in class

Why do plants grow toward the sun?

Middle School Life Science Lesson:
Energy Transfer and Transformation in Photosynthesis

MS:LS 1-6: Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for the role of photosynthesis in the cycling of matter and flow of energy into and out of organisms.

Ultimately, we want students to have a deep understanding of how photosynthesis provides the connection between energy and matter in an ecosystem. Looking at this "Matter & Energy" graphic organizer, it's not going to be easy for students to truly explain this process (though I bet they all think they could!). 

From the set of Crosscutting Concepts Graphic Organizers in 11x17

Breaking the concept apart, however, allows student to focus on the individual components before putting it all together. I built this lesson so that students discover exactly what's going on inside the leaf when it absorbs sunlight. 

(A funny side-story that will serve as caution to you... I find a lot of great digital resources that we use in class. But sometimes this leads me down a path where I forget to do some traditional activities where students really can learn a lot by observing in class. In this case, I was looking for a way for students to see chloroplasts... and spent a half hour looking for the perfect pictures before I had the "Aha!" that we should just find them ourselves in spinach leaves by doing a microscope station! DON'T make the mistake of ignoring those tried and true experiences when you're writing 3D lessons!)

Link to full lesson slideshow with teacher notes

After completion of this lesson (it takes 2-3 class periods), students can begin to fill in the graphic organizer. They will have the inputs on the left and the beginning part of the process. To follow this lesson, students will next learn about glucose and how it's made, and about how carbon dioxide travels into the leaf to become a huge part of the "matter" involved in the process.

One phenomenon... two ways

Choosing a good phenomenon to have students explain is a critical step in designing 3D lessons. Fortunately, the best phenomena can be used to address multiple Performance Expectations; it just depends on how you want to use them. Great phenomena can anchor lessons for multiple grade levels and subject areas.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2267504/The-sealed-bottle-garden-thriving-40-years-fresh-air-water.html

I was inspired to think about a lesson that would use this phenomenon when Saranac Middle School's Rebecca Shuman posted on Instagram about her students making these really cool biosphere ecosystems. (Secretly I just wanted to fill my classroom with cool stuff like this.) What I didn't realize at the time was that Becky had developed an awesome lesson sequence (called "There is no Planet B") with the biospheres as the culminating experience. Becky's biosphere lesson incorporates MS:LS2-1 and 2-3 and serves to compare the model biospheres to the closed system of the Earth as a whole.

In my classroom, we used our miniature biospheres as a model for the larger human-designed ecosystems such as Biosphere 2 and the eventual (?) biospheres used to colonize Mars or other distant places. (MS:LS2-5) We plan to observe the biospheres throughout the course of the school year to monitor changes and to model the matter and energy flow in the system.

Link to the Ecosystems in Space lesson

Looking forward to the STANYS conference... less than a week away!

A lot of exciting things are happening at the 3D Science Cafe, and we hope you can join us in the work we are doing to connect teachers, schools, and NYSSLS standards across New York State.

Will we see you at the STANYS Conference this weekend?? 

--Hall of Sections (Saturday 3-4 pm) - come visit us at the North Country table and get one of our new 3D Science Cafe stickers!

Check out our new 3D Science Cafe stickers available at STANYS!

--Workshop sessions offered by the Cafe's NYSSLS Transition Team and our collaborators (in order of appearance):

Physics Institute (X-26) Saturday 9:30 - 12:00... hosted by a great group of Physics teachers from around the state, including the North Country's Charlene Rydgren.
CTLE Approved: This institute will provide a strand of physics based professional development to help assist you in the transition to NYSSLS. Join us for “Science In Action” as all participants engage in a GRC, 3-D lesson centered on a phenomenon involving Hoops & Marbles. You will witness how science & engineering practices, along with cross-cutting concepts are used to teach core ideas for the performance expectation HS-PS2-1. From there, you will pick which one of three smaller groups you want to participate in. All groups will be following the same 3-D lesson template but will focus on different units. Your choices include: waves, energy or physics & engineering. Finally, we will reconvene as a whole group for a phenomena and resource share out. There will be discussion on what are good phenomena to incorporate into instruction planning, as well as what resources are accessible. Please bring any you are willing to share. Overall, teachers will collaborate to improve instruction, student achievement, content knowledge and to develop appropriate instructional strategies. You will see research based strategies that meet the needs of all learners and provides equitable learning environments. Use of student data & technology will be discussed. The Institute will run during Sessions A-26,27,28 and B-26,27,28.

Re-align Your Wheels (Don't Reinvent Them!) (D-12) Sunday 8:00 - 9:00... Cookie Barker NYSMT, SAR Biology Northeastern; Sarah Fink NYSMT, SAR Applied Sciences Northeastern
CTLE Approved: Making the leap to the NYSSLS means analyzing, adapting and extending current lessons in a manner consistent with 3-dimensional instruction. Participants will engage in a 3-D lesson showcasing the instructional strategy of gathering, reasoning, and communicating. Graphic organizers will help center the focus on crosscutting concepts, and the workshop will culminate in exploring phenomena by which to develop your own lesson performance expectations. Sound daunting? @3DScienceCafe will walk you through a way to organize this shift in instructional practice at any grade level or subject area.

Chemistry Institute: Practicing the Practices (Y-21) Sunday 9:30 - 12:00... this promising Chemistry institute includes the North Country's Sonal Patel-Dame.
CTLE Approved: Join us as we take a deeper look into the purposeful integration of the science and engineering practices into everyday instruction. Participants will be immersed in hands-on activities that could be used to address different phenomena and three-dimensional learning in their own classrooms. Time will be taken to reflect on how teachers could begin to or continue to integrate three-dimensional teaching this year and in the future. The Institute will run during Sessions E-21,22,23,24 and F-21,22,23,24.

Transform Your Phenomena into Phenomenal Lessons! (G-11) Sunday 1:45 - 2:45... Rebecca Shuman NYSMT, SAR Intermediate Northeastern
CTLE Approved: Don’t reinvent the wheel to drive your NYSSLS transition. Adapt existing phenomena to engage students in three dimensional science practices. In this workshop you will collaborate to improve instruction through the use of scientific phenomena. Participants will construct models, engage in arguments from evidence and identify cross-cutting concepts while increasing their understanding of the NYSSLS. Resources for adapting existing phenomena will be shared and examples from classroom experience will be provided.

Re-align Your Wheels...Part 2: From Realign to Storyline (H-12) Monday 8:00 - 9:00... Cookie Barker NYSMT, SAR Biology Northeastern; Sarah Fink NYSMT, SAR Applied Sciences Northeastern
CTLE Approved: So, you already have a few lessons aligned to NYSSLS; here’s your chance to work with @3DScienceCafe to create a cohesive unit. We’ll have you analyze a NYSSLS-aligned, three-dimensional unit (Energy Transfer and Transformation in Life Science) to model a storyline that can weave your lessons together into a cohesive unit. Strategies for organizing individual lessons with student handouts in 11 X 17 format will be shared. Participants will be given time, templates, and support to help create their own NYSSLS 3-D mini unit.

Please let us know if you've used the 3D Science Cafe's resources... it's great to get feedback to improve upon our ideas. We're getting excited to see you at STANYS!

How do leaves change color in the fall?

Middle School Life Science

MS:LS 1-6: Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for the role of photosynthesis in the cycling of matter and flow of energy into and out of organisms.

I've been looking for a good lesson to try out the Experimental Design & Report Sheet that Cookie Barker designed last year, and found it when thinking about the phenomenon of fall leaves. The series of lessons and investigations were really successful, and we stayed organized as a class for a whole week (due to an unfortunate series of fire drills interrupting class) thanks to Cookie's template.

Click here for a copy of the full lesson. 

How often have you thought, "If I only had the time..."?

We consistently hear (and echo the same sentiments) that the #1 barrier to the NYSSLS transition / implementation process is TIME! Teachers need the time to practice lesson planning, to unpack the standards, and to build a professional network of colleagues.

Guess what?? The 3D Science Cafe team is going to help you find that TIME!

Register for the workshop | See other Fall 2018 offerings from the NCTRC

3-D Science Cafe - NYSSLS Work Session In Collaboration with the SUNY Plattsburgh Master Teacher Program Join experienced NYSSLS facilitators and teachers for a day exploring and extending your knowledge of 3- Dimensional teaching and learning. The day will include time for teachers to experience a 3-D lesson, receive guidance in lesson planning and have the opportunities to work with others to generate materials compatible with NYSSLS. Please feel free to bring lesson ideas and questions. This workshop is open to all science teachers in the North Country. Open to: All teachers of science Prerequisite: None Instructors: New York State Master Teachers Date: Saturday, November 17 Times: 9:30am - 3:30pm Place: North Country Teacher Resource Center Cost: $135 (includes cost of lunch) Register by: November 9 6 CTLE hours Class limit: None

Unpacking Performance Expectations

It's nice to see that materials we've developed really DO work!

Have you tried any of our templates or resources yet? PLEASE mention us @3DScienceCafe or leave a comment below to give us some feedback.

Frayer-type 3D Lesson Planning Template for unpacking performance expectations:

3D Earth and Space Science - HS ESS 2-5... using the blog and template = planning success!

How Fast do Dominoes Fall?

Students explore the relationship between speed, distance and time by studying how how distance impacts the speed at which dominoes fall.

3D Unit Planning - Where to start?

One of the most often questions we get asked during professional development workshops... "How do I get started?" Collaboratively, we've probably tried out a dozen different lesson and unit planning templates, but they all tried to fit a new type of instruction into a pre-existing planning framework. The NYSSLS "standards" begin at the level of the Performance Expectations; figuring out how to bring these alive in the classroom is not all that simple.

Thanks to some great elementary colleagues, I was introduced to the Frayer Model for vocabulary acquisition. This immediately sparked an idea, and with a few adjustments I think we finally have a useful tool for getting started with planning out how to tackle a Performance Expectation.

Help us pilot this planning tool! Let us know if you try it out, and share your thoughts about whether or not it was useful.

Make a copy of the original file so you can print (11x17) or edit.

Is DNA in our Food?

This slide show takes you through a 3D lesson where students plan an investigation to determine if food is a living thing.

How does cell structure and function impact an organism?

This post includes resources/ materials that comprise the cell organelle structure/ function part of the cell biology unit. This slide show covers two weeks of class lessons with an emphasis on differentiated instruction. It is very much a "work in progress"- some aspects are very 3D in their instructional style, and others have a ways to go.

Plant Tropism

Exploring plant tropism through pea plants.

Seed Dispersal

We explored mechanisms of seed dispersal with the 7th grade science students.

3D Earth and Space Science - Mapping Earthquakes and Volcanoes

Earth and Space Science 5E Lesson: ENGAGE
What do students know about plate boundaries and their interactions?
HS-ESS2.B Plate Tectonics and Large Scale System Interactions

I really like the work being done by the New Visions for Public Schools curriculum project. Their updates for 2016-17 give us a meaningful look at how to transition from NY's MST standards to the NYSSLS. The project is a work in progress, but what's great about it is that teachers can truly observe the shift in thinking from traditional instruction to 3-dimensional instruction. Judging by the improvements I've seen over the past three school years, this project seems to be a potentially valuable resource for science educators (as it has already proven to be in other subjects).

This lesson comes from the second Earth Science unit: Plate Boundaries and Surface Features. There is a nice 5E structure to the unit, but I found that this first lesson needed some support. Once again, a Crosscutting Concept graphic organizer comes to the rescue. After engaging in this activity, Earth Science students are immediately able to jump into using the ESRT p. 5 map and can begin modeling the landforms found at different plate boundaries.

Link to Lesson Slides

Fall Phenomena

Applied Measurement- Fish Tank Design Challenge