4662 Views (as of 05/2023)
  1. Adi Kidron
  2. Post-Doctoral Researcher
  3. Presenter’s NSFRESOURCECENTERS
  4. University of California Berkeley
  1. Allison Bradford
  2. Presenter’s NSFRESOURCECENTERS
  3. University of California Berkeley
  1. Libby Gerard
  2. https://wise-research.berkeley.edu/
  3. Presenter’s NSFRESOURCECENTERS
  4. University of California Berkeley
  1. Emily Harrison
  2. https://wise-research.berkeley.edu/eharrison/
  3. Graduate Student
  4. Presenter’s NSFRESOURCECENTERS
  5. University of California Berkeley
  1. Jennifer King Chen
  2. Postdoctoral Research Scholar
  3. Presenter’s NSFRESOURCECENTERS
  4. University of California Berkeley
  1. Jonathan Lim-Breitbart
  2. Designer and Developer
  3. Presenter’s NSFRESOURCECENTERS
  4. University of California Berkeley
  1. Marcia Linn
  2. http://wise-research.berkeley.edu/mclinn
  3. Professor
  4. Presenter’s NSFRESOURCECENTERS
  5. University of California Berkeley
  1. Korah Wiley
  2. Presenter’s NSFRESOURCECENTERS
  3. University of California Berkeley

Project Learning with Automated, Networked Support (PLANS)

NSF Awards: 1451604

2019 (see original presentation & discussion)

Grades 6-8

Project Learning with Automated, Networked Supports (PLANS) transforms science and engineering education by combining investigation and analytic technologies to guide students’ design projects. Powered by the open-source, Web-Based Inquiry Science Environment (wise.berkeley.edu), PLANS combines hands-on and simulation-based investigations. Aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards, PLANS promotes students’ abilities to combine science practices, disciplinary concepts, and crosscutting themes to choose dilemmas to investigate and create and test design solutions for contemporary problems. This video features two of the PLANS curriculum units: Musical Instruments, in which 8th grade students design and build a water xylophone while exploring the physics of sound waves; and Global Climate Change, in which 6th grade students create climate action plans while exploring the effects of different human activities on the rising global temperature.

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Discussion from the 2019 STEM for All Video Showcase (10 posts)
  • Icon for: Sally Crissman

    Sally Crissman

    Facilitator
    Senior Science Educator
    May 13, 2019 | 01:26 p.m.

    Choice is so powerful in motivating science learning! when I was a teacher, i found that the choices didn't need to be enormous, for example, the choices students make in the PLANS curricula: changing parameters for similuations, making prediction graphs, materials to use in designed artifacts. I assume the target age is middle school. Have you found teachers have to shift their pedagogy to facilitate these units? If there are challenges (for teachers) what are they? If any, how have you met them?

    Sally

     

  • Icon for: Jennifer King Chen

    Jennifer King Chen

    Co-Presenter
    Postdoctoral Research Scholar
    May 15, 2019 | 02:50 p.m.

    Hello Sally, thanks for your comment! We’ve observed teachers implement choice in their classrooms in different ways, with some teachers adapting their pedagogy to more explicitly promote student engagement with choice-making and other teachers using these units without necessarily modifying their usual instructional approach. One challenge is addressing teachers’ varying comfort levels with supporting student-led projects. In our continued work in this area we hope to better understand and develop ways for supporting teachers in implementing curriculum featuring student choice.

  • Icon for: DeLene Hoffner

    DeLene Hoffner

    Facilitator
    Lead Teacher
    May 14, 2019 | 04:33 a.m.

    I love the music module!  What other modules do you have? 

  • Icon for: Jennifer King Chen

    Jennifer King Chen

    Co-Presenter
    Postdoctoral Research Scholar
    May 15, 2019 | 02:51 p.m.

    Thanks, DeLene! We have NGSS-aligned modules for a variety of grade levels and disciplines, free and available online for all to use. You can find and view the Musical Instruments module and all of our other curriculum modules on the WISE website: https://wise.berkeley.edu/

  • Icon for: Acacia McKenna

    Acacia McKenna

    Facilitator
    Director, Science Education Competitions
    May 14, 2019 | 11:50 a.m.

    Musical instruments and global climate change are both interesting topics to engage students in science learning. In the video, it mentions that the PLANS curriculum and assessments can be customizable. Will you elaborate more on how the PLAN curriculum can be customized in various learning environments?

  • Icon for: Jonathan Lim-Breitbart

    Jonathan Lim-Breitbart

    Co-Presenter
    Designer and Developer
    May 16, 2019 | 04:17 p.m.

    Hi Acacia, thanks for your question! The PLANS curriculum units are built on the WISE platform, which includes a progress monitor and grading and feedback tools, as well as an authoring environment. Since WISE units are all free to use, teachers and curriculum authors can copy any of our library units and then edit them to match specific learning goals or local contexts. We've seen teachers add their own or other outside resources to the unit sequences as supplements based on needs they've identified by reviewing student progress. Other teachers have swapped out images, text, and other multimedia content to better reflect their local communities.

    In conjunction with some of our other research projects, we're also in the process of developing more accessible ways for teachers to customize units before, after, and during implementation. In our POWER project, we're working on a curriculum planning tool to better support teachers to integrate open education resources into their curricula. In the STRIDES project, we're working on improving the evidence teachers have to make customization decisions. We're generating automated data summaries that highlight students' progress on identified NGSS learning goals and providing research-based suggestions for customization.

  • Icon for: Kelsey Edwards

    Kelsey Edwards

    Researcher
    May 15, 2019 | 08:50 p.m.

    Great video! I love that you show a little bit of everything: what the online platform actually looks like, a teacher's voice, and students working on experiments. It makes me want to log in to your site and start exploring myself!

  • Icon for: Libby Gerard

    Libby Gerard

    Co-Presenter
    May 20, 2019 | 05:41 p.m.

    Thank you!

  • Icon for: DeLene Hoffner

    DeLene Hoffner

    Facilitator
    Lead Teacher
    May 16, 2019 | 01:07 a.m.

    What have you found is students' favorite areas to explore?

  • Icon for: Libby Gerard

    Libby Gerard

    Co-Presenter
    May 20, 2019 | 06:52 p.m.

    For Musical Instruments, it was definitely the xylophone building activity. Students really enjoyed testing their designs and even creating their own tunes to play.

  • Further posting is closed as the event has ended.