This exploratory project, led by faculty at the University of Montana, Michigan State University, and the University of Arizona, collaborating with teachers from the Missoula, MT schools, builds on current learning progression research to study the effects of teaching Tools for Reasoning on development of middle school students' capacities to understand the Earth's hydrologic systems. The project applies a design-based research approach using iterative cycles of Tool design/revision, teacher workshops, and small-scale pilot tests of Tools through classroom experiments with teachers and students in Montana and Arizona.
The central research question being addressed is: How can learning progression-based Reasoning Tools support students in using models and representations to engage in principled reasoning about hydrologic systems? This question will be answered by analysis of data from assessments of student learning, student clinical interviews, teacher assessments, classroom observations, and teacher focus groups.
The Reasoning Tools project will contribute insight into the challenge of developing students' environmental science literacy and the reasoning skills needed to make informed citizenship decisions about 21st century water issues. Project outcomes will include materials for teaching middle school students to reason about hydrologic systems, theoretical and practical insights into the effects of teaching Tools for Reasoning, strategies for supporting students and teachers in use of the Tools, and refinements of a water systems learning progression framework.
project were to develop and pilot test instructional supports, called Reasoning Tools, and classroom formative assessments that middle school teachers could incorporate into their curricula to support students in learning about water and substances in water moving through environmental systems. We used the Water Systems Learning Progression, a framework for describing how students’ ideas become increasingly more sophisticated as they learn about a topic, as the basis for our work. In this learning progression, the upper level students are expected to achieve by the end of high school emphasizes using model-based reasoning to account for (predict and explain) water moving through systems. We define model-based reasoning in the domain of water systems as considering the driving forces that move water (such as gravity and pressure) and the constraining factors that limit or prevent water movement (such as permeability, temperature, and topography) when tracing where water goes and what is in water in a given situation. The reasoning tools we developed are designed to support students in developing model-based reasoning. Associated materials for teachers include suggestions for how to use the Reasoning Tools and include example lessons that incorporate the Reasoning Tools for various water topics (e.g., groundwater, surface water, substances in water). We produced the following Reasoning Tools, available on our project website (www.umt.edu/watertools/default.aspx). Scale Tool – Supports students in comparing relative scales from atomic-molecular through landscape scales when tracing water and substances in water. Pathways Tool – Supports students in tracing water through environmental systems. Drivers and Constraints Tool – Supports students in considering driving forces and constraining factor when tracing water through environmental systems. Tracing Mixtures with Water Tool – Supports students in tracing suspended and dissolved substances with water through environmental systems. The formative assessments are short tasks that teachers can administer in class and then use to assess students’ level of achievement on the learning progression. Associated materials for teachers include an explanation of the Water Systems Learning Progression, a key for assessing student responses, and suggested instructional moves based on student performance on the formative assessments. These assessments are intended to support teachers in targeting and rapidly adjusting instruction based on student progress. We produced the following Formative Assessments, available on our project website (www.umt.edu/watertools/default.aspx). Wash Trash– To assess student accounts about water flowing through surface systems. School Map – To assess student use of maps to account for water moving through surface systems. Underground Water (2 versions) – To assess student understanding about groundwater systems. What Happens Inside a Plant? – To assess student accounts of transpiration Where can Fertilizer Go? – To assess student accounts of substances dissolved in water moving through environmental systems. Where can Construction Site Dirt Go? – To assess student accounts of suspended substances moving with water through environmental systems. Findings from our research show that use of the reasoning tools and formative assessments in teaching has a small but statistically significant impact on student learning. More students in classes of teachers who used the reasoning tools and formative assessments showed progress on the learning progression than students in classes of teachers who did not use the tools and formative assessments. We also found that teachers used the reasoning tools and formative assessments in a variety of ways. Classes of teachers who used the reasoning tools and formative assessments in ways that aligned with teaching for model-based reasoning about the water cycle showed the most growth on the learning progression. In contrast, classes of teachers who assimilated the reasoning tools and formative assessments into their existing school science-based practice did not show significant growth on the learning progression.
