ABSTRACT
A thoughtfully sequenced Earth and space science demonstration can be fundamental to helping students formulate, revise, and develop ideas to promote long-lasting understanding. We have success teaching sixth-grade students using an exploration-before-explanation instructional sequence called the PSOE model that consists of the following phases: predict, share, observe, and explain (Haysom and Bowen 2010; Stepans 1996). The PSOE instructional sequence is a useful tool for designing science lessons because it helps teachers focus on essential concepts and highlights that students learn best when they are actively engaged in thinking and doing and have the chance to build new ideas before teacher explanations (Bybee 1997).
