ABSTRACT
Grounded in empirical research, this book offers concrete pathways to direct attention towards elementary science teaching that privileges sensemaking, rather than isolated activities and vocabulary. Outlining a clear vision for this shift using research-backed tools, pedagogies, and practices to support teacher learning and development, this edited volume reveals how teachers can best engage in teaching that supports meaningful learning and understanding in elementary science classrooms.
Divided into three sections, this book demonstrates the skills, knowledge bases, and research-driven practices necessary to make a fundamental shift towards a focus on students’ ideas and reasoning, and covers topics such as:
- An introduction to sensemaking in elementary science;
- Positioning students at the center of sensemaking;
- Planning and enacting investigation-based science discussions;
- Designing a practice-based elementary teacher education program;
- Reflections on science teacher education and professional development for reform-based elementary science.
In line with current reform efforts, including the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), Sensemaking in Elementary Science is the perfect resource for graduate students and researchers in science education, elementary education, teacher education, and STEM education looking to explore effective practice, approaches, and development within the elementary science classroom.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
chapter |12 pages
Working Toward a Vision of Sensemaking in Elementary Science
section I|2 pages
Images of the Possible
chapter 2|15 pages
Portrait of a First-Grade Teacher
chapter 3|18 pages
Science, Engineering, Literacy, and Place-Based Education
chapter 5|9 pages
Response: Making Sense of Sensemaking in Elementary Education
section II|2 pages
Promising Practices, Tools, and Frameworks
chapter 8|16 pages
Planning and Enacting Investigation-based Science Discussions
chapter 9|16 pages
Scaffolding Beginning Teaching Practices
chapter 11|17 pages
A Framework for the Teaching Practice of Supporting Students to Construct Evidence-Based Claims Through Data Analysis
section III|2 pages
Supportive Contexts for Professional Learning