Earth Science | Life Science | Physical Science |
1.About this Evaluation Report 2.Content Analysis 3.Instructional Analysis
Categories | |
I. | [Explanation] This category consists of criteria for determining whether the curriculum material attempts to make its purposes explicit and meaningful to students, either in the student text itself or through suggestions to the teacher. The sequence of lessons or activities is also important in accomplishing the stated purpose, since ideas often build on each other. |
II. | [Explanation] Fostering understanding in students requires taking time to attend to the ideas they already have, both ideas that are incorrect and ideas that can serve as a foundation for subsequent learning. This category consists of criteria for determining whether the curriculum material contains specific suggestions for identifying and addressing students’ ideas. |
III. | [Explanation] Much of the point of science is to explain phenomena in terms of a small number of principles or ideas. For students to appreciate this explanatory power, they need to have a sense of the range of phenomena that science can explain. The criteria in this category examine whether the curriculum material relates important scientific ideas to a range of relevant phenomena and provides either firsthand experiences with the phenomena or a vicarious sense of phenomena that are not presented firsthand. |
IV. | [Explanation] Science literacy requires that students understand the link between scientific ideas and the phenomena that they can explain. Furthermore, students should see the ideas as useful and become skillful at applying them. This category consists of criteria for determining whether the curriculum material expresses and develops the key ideas in ways that are accessible and intelligible to students, and that demonstrate the usefulness of the key ideas and provide practice in varied contexts. |
V. | [Explanation] Engaging students in experiences with phenomena (category III) and presenting them with scientific ideas (category IV) will not lead to effective learning unless students are given time, opportunities, and guidance to make sense of the experiences and ideas. This category consists of criteria for determining whether the curriculum material provides students with opportunities to express, think about, and reshape their ideas, as well as guidance on developing an understanding of what they experience. |
VI. | [Explanation] This category consists of criteria for evaluating whether the curriculum material includes a variety of aligned assessments that apply the key ideas taught in the material. |
VII. | [Explanation] The criteria in this category provide analysts with the opportunity to comment on features that enhance the use and implementation of the curriculum material by all students. |
References |
I. Providing a Sense of Purpose
Conveying
unit purpose (Rating = Poor) Another standard component, called Unit Focus, is intended to provide “interactive
suggestions for introducing students to the unit” (p. T27). However the
Unit Focus for this particular unit (unit 2) suggests that teachers use a discussion
of a classroom object such as a window to introduce the concept of particles
to students: As presented, this purpose is not likely to be comprehensible, interesting,
or motivating to students who have not studied particles before and do not know
what evidence is (see Endnotes, note 4). Also, this purpose is not entirely
consistent with the unit’s chapters, which, in addition to providing evidence
that matter is made of particles, address how temperature affects matter and
the structure of the atom. The first lesson in unit 2 (Chapter 4: More Than Observing, Lesson 1: A Search
for Explanations) presents an additional purpose for the unit that follows.
After students read about an imaginary trip from another galaxy to the Earth
during which smaller and smaller objects are detected, the text states: Although this purpose is more likely to be understandable and interesting to
middle school students, they are not asked to think about the purpose, nor does
the unit return to this stated purpose. Chapter introductions are somewhat different. Chapters begin with a one-page
collage of photographs, pictures, diagrams, and questions. No purpose is presented
other than the implication that the chapters will help students to answer the
questions.
Point to a window and ask:
From what kind of matter is the window made? (The
window is made from glass) From what is the glass
made? (Silica) From what is silica made? (Sand
that is weathered quartz, which is made of molecules
of SiO2) Continue asking similar questions
until students either identify particles, atoms,
or molecules or can no longer respond. Point
out that in this unit, students will examine evidence
that matter is made of particles. [p. 76t]
What is the limit for detecting smaller and smaller bits of
matter? Is there no limit to the size of objects that
can be detected? The answers to these questions are
important steps in the search for explanations about
why matter behaves the way it does. This unit will lead
you on a search for these explanations. [p. 79s]
Conveying lesson/activity
purpose (Rating = Fair)
Justifying lesson/activity
sequence (Rating = Fair)
II. Taking Account of Student Ideas
Attending to prerequisite
knowledge and skills (Rating = Poor) SciencePlus does not alert teachers to specific prerequisite ideas, nor does
it point explicitly to the earlier chapters in which prerequisites are addressed.
The material rarely makes specific connections between ideas and their prerequisites.
For example, the discussion of what is matter is not an integral part of the
presentation of the key idea that all matter is made of particles (Idea a);
it precedes it, but it is not connected to it adequately. In addition, the discussion
of changes of state at a microscopic level in grade eight’s Unit 2: Particles,
is not connected to the earlier experiences with changes of state in grade six’s
Chapter 11: Meet Matter.
Alerting teachers to commonly
held student ideas (Rating = Poor)
Assisting teachers in identifying
their students’ ideas (Rating = Satisfactory)
Addressing commonly held
ideas (Rating = Poor)
III.
Engaging Students with Relevant Phenomena
Providing variety of phenomena
(Rating = Satisfactory) Sometimes the links that are made between phenomena
and key physical science ideas are not clear or even
valid. For example, students dilute a solution of food
coloring repeatedly until they see the color no longer.
It is not clear why the fact that “the food coloring
spreads throughout the water and can be divided into
smaller and smaller quantities” (Level Blue, p.
89t) supports the particulate nature of matter, as the
text claims. Phenomena in which the volume of the solution
of water mixed with another substance (e.g., alcohol)
is smaller than the separate volumes of water and the
solute are used frequently to support the idea that
matter is made up of particles. The material claims
that the volume of the solution is smaller because particles
of the solute fill the spaces between the water molecules.
But water is a very small molecule and most solutes
are substantially larger. In the liquid state, water
molecules are not spaced out nearly enough for alcohol
molecules, for example, to fit in between them.
Providing vivid experiences
(Rating = Satisfactory)
IV. Developing and Using Scientific Ideas
Introducing terms meaningfully
(Rating = Satisfactory)
Representing ideas effectively
(Rating = Poor) Another illustration shows little creatures that represent particles of solids
(the creatures sit at home), liquids (the creatures run and slide), and gases
(the creatures run and some of them try to exit their space) (Level Blue, p.
106s). The creatures that represent the molecules in the three states are the
same distance from one another and appear in different colors. This depiction
may lead to the incorrect notion that differences between the solid, liquid,
and gaseous states of a material are due to differences in the molecules themselves
and not to the different arrangement and motion of the molecules, as well as
the incorrect notion that the distances between the molecules in solids, liquids,
and gases are similar. Finally, the text accompanying the illustration describes
the particles in gases as “particles with claustrophobia.” This
phrase may lead students concluding that particles in gases fill out the space
available to them because they are “claustrophobic,” rather than
because of their constant random motion.
Demonstrating use of knowledge
(Rating = Poor)
Providing practice (Rating
= Satisfactory)
V. Promoting Students' Thinking about Phenomena, Experiences, and Knowledge
Encouraging students to
explain their ideas (Rating = Satisfactory)
Guiding student interpretation
and reasoning (Rating = Fair) Teachers are not advised about what to do if students do not respond in the
way that they are supposed to, nor are they urged to facilitate discussion among
students about different interpretations of the same observation. In some cases,
the teacher’s notes do not even provide the correct interpretation of
the observation(s) made. For example, in grade eight, students are to observe
that a syringe filled with air is easy to compress, whereas a syringe filled
with water is hard to compress; then they are asked to imagine what would happen
if they tried to compress a syringe filled with a solid (Level Blue, p. 103s).
From this setup, students are asked to infer what differences there are between
the particles of a solid and those of a liquid or a gas. The expected inference
(based on the teacher’s notes) is that the particles of a solid are locked
in place, whereas the particles of liquids and gases can move about (p. 103t).
This is not a valid inference. The differences in compressibility between solids,
liquids, and gases do not give credence to the idea that the particles of solids
are locked in place, while the particles of liquids and gases can move about.
A more reasonable inference from the difference in compressibility between a
liquid and a gas (which students are asked to make next) would be the difference
in distance between particles. Even then, the argument requires that students
make too big a leap. In addition, it is unreasonable to expect them to infer
the spacing of particles from the observation of a single instance of the macroscopic
behavior of substances.
Encouraging students to
think about what they have learned (Rating = Poor)
Aligning assessment to
goals (Rating = Very
good) SciencePlus includes many assessment tasks
that align with the key physical science ideas. For
the idea that all matter is made up of particles (Idea
a), students are asked, “What evidence is there
that matter is made up of particles?” (p. 138st,
item 3), and they have to name three observations that
support the particle model of matter (Unit 2, End-of-Unit
Assessment, p. 68, item 7). Additional questions related
to the particulate nature of matter require students
to know other physical science ideas. For example, they
are asked to explain why “many objects with the
same volume have different masses” (p. 138st,
question 9). Although they would need to understand
the idea that all matter is made of particles to answer
this question, they also would have to understand that
“[e]qual volumes of different substances usually
have different weights” (American
Association for the Advancement of Science, 1993,
p. 78). Similarly, students are asked to apply the particle
model of matter to explain the following situation:
“In five trials, 50 g of copper is allowed to
react with oxygen to form copper oxide. Each time, the
copper reacts with the same amount of oxygen”
(Chapter 5 Assessment, p. 55, item 4). But this question
involves the use of other ideas, such as the idea that
“[s]ubstances react chemically in characteristic
ways with other substances….” (National
Research Council, 1996, p. 154). Several items are provided to assess the idea that increased temperature means
greater molecular motion (Idea d). Students are asked to explain “the
effect of temperature changes on the particles making up matter” (p. 138st,
question 7), hypothesize what might have been done to a balloon with an initial
mass of 6.2 grams and volume of 2.3 liters to cause its volume to increase to
3.2 liters (p. 139st, item 3), describe the melting of stearic acid using the
words “particles,” “change of state,” “temperature,”
and “faster,” and explain why they “can smell apple pie just
taken out of the oven but can’t smell apple pie just taken out of the
refrigerator” (Chapter 6 Assessment, p. 58, items 1 and 3). They are told
that “[a] microwave oven works by heating water molecules inside a substance”
and then are required to explain why potatoes sometimes explode in the oven
(Chapter 6 Assessment, p. 59, item 5). Lastly, students have to explain “why
the mercury in a thermometer rises when the thermometer is placed in hot water”
(Unit 2, End-of-Unit Assessment, p. 69, item 10). The idea that there are differences in the arrangement and motion of particles
in solids, liquids, and gases (Idea e) is assessed in five tasks: Students are
required to design a model for water that represents what happens when liquid
turns into ice and into steam (p. 85st), and to complete a table listing words
that describe the motion of particles (such as wriggling and vibrating) by identifying
the state of matter that corresponds to each word and by suggesting everyday
events similar to the way in which particles move (for example, students wriggling
in their seats) (p. 105st, question 1). They are shown an illustration of particles
in a solid, liquid, and gas then and are asked to write a sentence to explain
to a fifth-grader what is happening in each picture (p. 105st, question 2).
They are shown another illustration representing particles in the three states
and are asked to identify which particular characteristic of the particles is
referred to in each illustration (p. 106st, question 3). Unfortunately, these
last two questions include illustrations that can be severely misleading to
students (for example, in the first illustration, the particles in a solid appear
static). A better use of these illustrations would be to ask students to critique
the illustrations based on what they know. At the end of the unit, students
are asked to explain how the particle model explains the properties of solids,
liquids, and gases (p. 138st, question 6) and also to explain observations based
on an illustration of a boat in an environment of sea, sun, clouds, and icebergs
using the particle model (Unit 2, End-of-Unit Assessment, p. 69, item 9). Students’ ability to explain changes of state at the molecular level
(Idea f) is assessed by the following items. Students
explain the melting of stearic acid and complete the
statement, a “substance that melts at 10°C
has greater force of attraction among its molecules
than a substance that melts at ___” (Chapter 6
Assessment, p. 58, items 1 and 2b). They provide molecular
explanations for the turning of butter to liquid when
heated and the disappearance of a puddle during the
day, and identify and explain observations based on
an illustration of a boat in an environment of sea,
sun, clouds, and icebergs (Unit 2, End-of-Unit Assessment,
p. 66, items 1a and 1c; p. 69, item 9). However, a few key ideas are not adequately assessed.
For example, the idea of molecular motion (Idea c) is
assessed in two tasks: Students are to explain how the
fragrant part of air fresheners gradually disappears
(p. 139st, item 4), and how “[m]othballs can be
smelled across the room from the clothes closet in which
they are located” (Unit 2, End-of-Unit Assessment,
p. 66, item 1b). However, these tasks may not require
that students realize that molecules are perpetually
in motion. No questions require the idea that molecules are extremely small (Idea b).
While students might use this idea in responding to the question below, they
could also respond without using the idea: They are to imagine that they have
been “shrunk to the size of a water molecule” and write a story
that describes an adventure they have while they are this size using one thing
they have learned about the particulate nature of matter (Unit 2, End-of-Unit
Assessment, p. 71, item 12).
Testing for understanding
(Rating = Satisfactory)
Using assessment to inform
instruction (Rating = Poor)
Providing teacher content
support (Minimal
to Some support is provided.) The material provides some sufficiently detailed answers
to questions in the student text for teachers to understand
and interpret various student responses. While the material
usually provides correct, well-developed answers to
questions, little additional information is provided
for teachers on how to field potential student questions
or difficulties (e.g., Level Green, p. 230t, Answer
to Solid or Liquid?; Level Green, p. 236t,
Answers to Fifteen Hypotheses). In addition,
some answers are brief and require further explanation
(for example, “Accept all reasonable responses”
[Level Green, p. 237t, Teaching Strategies]). The material provides minimal support in recommending
resources for improving the teacher’s understanding
of key ideas. While the material presents lists of references
(including books, films, videotapes, software, and other
media with addresses for ordering) that could help teachers
improve their understanding of key ideas (e.g., “Stwertka,
Albert. The World of Atoms and Quarks. New
York City, NY: Twenty-First Century Books, 1995”
[Level Blue, p. 75A]), the lists lack annotations about
what kinds of information the references provide or
how they may be helpful.
Encouraging curiosity
and questioning (Some support is provided.) The material provides many suggestions for how to respect and value students’
ideas. Introductory teacher’s notes about concept mapping respect and
value students’ ideas by stating that “there is no single ‘correct’
concept map” (p. T39), but also give teachers some guidance about general
characteristics of good maps. In addition, students and their ideas are highlighted
throughout the text. For example, photographs and dialogue balloons present
students discussing scientific ideas to be studied (e.g., Level Blue, p. 96s).
Students are specifically referenced in some student tasks (e.g., Level Green,
p. 231s, item 2). In addition, the material explicitly elicits and values students’
ideas in some text passages (e.g., Level Blue, p. 91s) and many tasks. For example,
an introductory task for a chapter about particles asks students to speculate
about the smallest particle that could be identified by breaking a rock into
smaller and smaller pieces. Teacher’s notes respect and value students’
ideas by stating, “Assure students that there are no right or wrong answers
to this exercise,” and suggesting that teachers use students’ work
to identify their misconceptions and areas of interest in the topic (Level Blue,
p. 87t, Prior Knowledge and Misconceptions). The material provides a few suggestions for how to raise questions, such as,
“How do we know? What is the evidence?” and “Are there alternative
explanations or other ways of solving the problem that could be better?”
However, it does not encourage students to pose such questions themselves. Specifically,
the material includes a few tasks that ask students how they know something
or to provide evidence in their responses (e.g., Level Green, p. 231st, At-Home
Investigation, item 3; Level Blue, p. 90st, Drawing Conclusions). The material provides many suggestions for how to avoid
dogmatism. Introductory teacher’s notes provide
suggestions for avoiding dogmatism through the use of
guiding principles such as, “Anyone can learn
science” and “Science is a natural endeavor”
(p. T17). Introductory teacher’s notes also explain
the STS (science, technology, and society) approach
of the material that “teaches science from the
context of the human experience and in so doing leads
students to think of science as a social endeavor”
and “emphasizes personal involvement in science”
(p. T35). In accordance with the introductory guiding
principles, the student text portrays the nature of
science as a human activity in which students participate
(e.g., Level Green, pp. 237–238s), and it describes
changes over time in scientific thinking (e.g., Level
Blue, pp. 127–135s). In addition, the material
includes some text passages and special features illustrating
the work of particular, practicing scientists (e.g.,
Level Blue, pp. 92–93s) and highlighting the contributions
of specific cultural groups (e.g., Level Blue, p. 117t,
Multicultural Extension). The material does not provide examples of classroom interactions (e.g., dialogue
boxes, vignettes, or video clips) that illustrate appropriate ways to respond
to student questions or ideas. However, some sense of desirable student interactions
may be gained from student dialogues about the scientific ideas studied (e.g.,
Level Blue, p. 96s) and procedural directions and descriptions of student roles
in cooperative group activities (e.g., Level Green, p. 234t, Cooperative Learning:
Exploration 1; Level Blue, p. 97t, Cooperative Learning: Even More Models; pp.
T41–T46, Cooperative Learning).
Supporting all students
(Considerable support is provided.) The material provides some illustrations of the contributions of women and
minorities to science and as role models. Most of the contributions of female
and minority scientists, however, appear in a few special features at the end
of each unit. For example, one Science in Action feature focuses on the work
of Melissa Franklin, a female experimental physicist who studies some of the
smallest particles of matter, quarks, and contributed to the discovery of the
top quark using a large instrument called a particle accelerator (Level Green,
p. 246st). In addition, Multicultural Extension teacher’s notes within
chapters highlight specific cultural contributions related to chapter topics
(e.g., Level Green, p. 243t). All of these sections highlighting cultural contributions
are interesting and informative but may not be seen by students as central to
the material because they are presented in sidebars and teacher notes. The material suggests multiple formats for students
to express their ideas during instruction, including
individual ScienceLog writing (e.g., Level Blue, p.
87s, ScienceLog), cooperative group activities (e.g.,
Level Blue, p. 97st, Even More Models), laboratory investigations
(e.g., Level Blue, pp. 88–90st, Exploration 1),
whole class discussions (e.g., Level Green, p. 237t,
Getting Started), essay questions (e.g., Level Green,
p. 231st, item 3), concept mapping (e.g., Level Blue,
p. 96s, item 1), creative writing (e.g., Level Green,
p. 236t, Closure), role-playing (e.g., Level Green,
p. 229t, Teaching Strategies), visual projects (e.g.,
Level Green, p. 236t, Extension), and oral presentations
(Level Green, p. 241t, Extension). In addition, multiple
formats are suggested for assessment, including individual
ScienceLog revising (e.g., Level Green, p. 243st, ScienceLog),
oral discussion (e.g., Level Green, p. 241t, Assessment),
essay (e.g., Level Blue, p. 124st, item 1), performance
(e.g., Level Blue, p. 102t, Assessment), portfolio (e.g.,
Level Blue, p. 91t, Portfolio), and visual projects
(e.g., Level Blue, p. 98t, Assessment). In a few instances,
the material also provides a variety of alternative
formats for the same task (e.g., Level Blue,
p. 91t, Assessment). The material does not routinely include specific suggestions
about how teachers can modify activities for students
with special needs. However, the Annotated Teacher’s
Edition and supplemental resources (including review,
reinforcement, and enrichment work sheets and activities
with transparencies) provide additional activities
and resources for students and sometimes specify ability
levels. The Annotated Teacher’s Edition
includes a Meeting Individual Needs feature that provides
activities for students related to chapter topics and
specifically designated for gifted learners, second-language
learners, and learners having difficulties (e.g., Level
Green, p. 230t; Level Blue, p. 94t). For Spanish speakers,
there are English/Spanish audiocassettes, which preview
each unit in both languages. Also, in the Teacher’s
Resource Binder and Teaching Resources
there are Spanish unit summaries, work sheets, glossaries,
and English and Spanish Home Connection letters, which
introduce parents to each unit and provide related home
activities for students to do with parents. However,
the placement of supplemental resources in individual
booklets separate from the main text may discourage
their use, and the special needs codes within chapters
may discourage teachers from using those activities
with all students when appropriate. The material provides many strategies to validate students’ relevant
personal and social experiences with scientific ideas.
Some text sections relate specific, personal experiences
students may have had to the presented scientific concepts
(e.g., Level Blue, p. 116s). In addition, some tasks
ask students about particular, personal experiences
they may have had or suggest specific experiences they
could have. For example, following a classroom activity
where students observe changes of state, a question
asks them to identify three places in their own homes
where condensation occurs. The task then asks students
to “explain why the condensation occurred”
(Level Green, p. 235s, Think About It, item 3). For
a few tasks, however, the material does not adequately
link the specified personal experiences to the scientific
ideas being studied (e.g., Level Blue, p. 87t, Homework).
Endnotes 2. The suggested response in the teacher’s notes—“Because
the dissolved sugar particles occupy spaces between
the water molecules, the volume of the solution will
be less than that of the unmixed sugar and water”
(Level Red, p. 155t)—is incorrect, as pointed
out above in note 1. Water is a very small molecule
and most solutes are substantially larger. In the liquid
state, water molecules are not spaced out nearly enough
for the sugar molecules to fit in between them. 3. Before students are asked to add a statement to
the particle model of matter, they are asked to conclude
what differences there are between the particles of
a solid and those of a liquid or a gas. The suggested
response in the teacher notes—“The particles
of a gas can be compressed. The particles that make
up a liquid cannot be noticeably compressed. A piece
of chalk could not be compressed in the syringe. The
particles of a solid are locked in place, while the
particles of liquids and gases can move about”
(p. 103t)—is not a valid inference from these
observations. 4. The Unit Focus is accomplanied by a scanning tunneling
microscope image that has a rather confusing caption
about how the image was formed and its particulate interpretation.
This is also unlikely to attract the interest of students
because it is far removed from their experiential world
(Level Blue, pp. 76-77s). 5. Diffusion is slow. Observations about food coloring
mixing in water and mixing faster in warmer water, and
about perfume diffusing, are primarily to convection.