We are all Scientists

Did you know that you are a Scientist?  Everyday you are using the steps of the Scientific Method and you may not even realize it! I know that until this week I had not made the connection that what I am doing everyday can be correlated to the Scientific Method.  I was asked to read the book A Framework for Understanding Poverty by Ruby K. Payne, Ph.D. If you have a "to read" list, I would recommend this book for you. There is a wealth of information and insight that I have learned from reading this book, and making the connection to Science is what I took away from my reading this week. Let me show you how it relates!

Ask a Question:  Why are my benchmark scores ______ (so low, not what I expected, different from the other teacher...You choose what you think)

Background Research:  Looking at Data, researching the data, connecting the TEKS, lessons and content.

Hypothesis: I think my scores are low because I need to teach _____ and students need to know more about ____.

Experiment:  This is our reteaching, the changes we are making for instruction, small groups, interventions, and all those other awesome ideas you have for helping your students!  Are the "experiments" I have in place working? Do I need to try something different or are the students on the right track?



Record Data:  We know about data collection! How are your students responding to your instruction, the interventions and how can we keep track of that? How did they perform on the reassessment?

Analyzing Data and Drawing Conclusions:  What are we going to do with the information we collected? Nothing, the student is more successful, SST/RTI because the student is still struggling, or do we need to communicate with parents? How can we use this data to improve instruction and facilitate conversations during planning?

Communicate Results:  How can we share with others?  Can we call on our peers to help us in areas that our students are struggling?  Sometimes I need help with content knowledge or instructional strategies. Our campus is amazing at helping one another and I sometimes ask 3rd grade or 5th grade teachers for help.  Megan and Amy help me understand what they teach in 3rd grade that my students have been exposed to and Tracie and Courtney help me understand where students are headed and what is very important for students to know when they leave 4th grade. We have adjusted the amount of time we spend in some standards based on feedback from these other grade levels. I encourage you to talk the the grade levels you are next to and have those conversations about your "Data Results". Anytime we can collaborate with others we have an opportunity to learn something new.

Our job is so important and each day we are helping students build Cognitive Strategies that help them learn.  According to Ruby Payne, Ph.D., there are three stages to the learning process. Those are input, elaboration, and output. I have listed a few cognitive strategies that students need to build in each category below, but if you would like to see them all you can find that information on page 93 in her book.

• Input: Explore Data, Organize Data and be able to consider two sources of information at once.
• Elaboration: Build inferences, make a plan using the data, and use appropriate labels.
• Output: Communicate clearly the labels and process and visually transport data correctly.

If we can help build these strategies in students, then it helps them become better learners. We are already doing this when we ask students to make connections to prior knowledge, when we ask higher level questions, and when we ask students to compare and contrast information. Another way we are helping students build cognitive strategies is when we ask them to use the Scientific Method. If we can tie this method to our teaching practices, can we tie this method into all content areas? Can we change the way we look at instruction to facilitate cognitive growth within ourselves and our students?  Deep down we are all scientist and each one of you are doing amazing things in each part of this Scientific Process.

Share some ways you are using the Scientific Method for instruction in other content areas beyond Science.

-Blog post written by guest blogger Nicole Young