Sense-Making and Discourse           

                          


In the expert panel review of the MPRES Toolkit, it was emphasized that two of the over-arching goals of the current reform efforts in science education (Framework & NGSS) are teaching students sense-making and discourse.  Sense making is the process of making sense of whatever phenomenon students are experiencing. Think back on the activities you have experienced from the September workshop and online.  What processes did YOU go through to make sense of what you experienced?  If you made a list of those pieces, the list might include previous experience, trying to connect to something you've seen before, digging into learning from the past, drawing a picture, talking through the concept either in your head or with others, manipulating the materials, experimenting with the materials, asking questions, seeking answers, and more.  All of these are components of sense making.  Just like you needed to employ those skills in order to make sense of the phenomenon you experienced, your students need to employ the skills in their learning environments as well.  This has huge implications on the way science is traditionally being taught.  It means less breadth of concepts and more depth in fewer concepts.  It requires time for students to process and make sense of what they are learning.


In the book 5 Practices for Orchestrating Productive Mathematics Discussions, the authors suggest the following approach to helping teach students how to engage in discourse:

•  Anticipate likely student responses to challenging science concepts.  This means the teacher needs to know the science content and must anticipate what responses/explanations students might provide.
•  During group exploratory time, the teacher must monitor students' actual responses.  This means listening to groups as they discuss the material, work through the problems, ask questions, etc.
•  During the monitoring process, the teacher is purposely selecting particular students to present their scientific work during whole-class discussion, which follows group work time.
•  As the teacher is selecting students to present their ideas, she is also sequencing the student responses in a specific order to develop the concept in the most meaningful way.  Take care to not select students with completely wrong responses to share.
•  After the whole group discussion, the teacher must effectively connect the different student responses and the key scientific ideas for full sense making.


View this video on discourse and sense-making.


5 Practices for Orchestrating Productive Mathematics Discussions (2011).  Smith, M. & Stein, M. Corwin Press.

 

Conceptual Change and NGSS

Asking Questions in Science & Defining Problems in Engineering

Developing and Using Models

Planning & Carrying Out Investigations

Analyzing & Interpreting Data

Using Mathematics & Computational Thinking

Constructing Explanations & Designing Solutions

Engaging in Argument

Obtaining, Evaluating & Communicating

 

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The Toolkit was developed through the Montana Partnership with Regions for Excellence in STEM Grant.  The contents of this version of the Toolkit have been modified from the original.