Cause and Effect in Science Microcredential #3
Title: Planning, Implementing, and Reflecting on Science Instruction Related to Cause and Effect This microcredential is the third in the Cause and Effect in Science microcredential stack. This stack, when completed, meets Requirement Area #4 of the Elementary Science Endorsement. Through this microcredential applicants demonstrate understanding of how to prepare and enact three-dimensional science instruction that is based on authentic phenomena and problems and supports the development of students’ conceptual science understanding and scientific literacy.
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Utah Effective Teaching Standards > Standard 2: Instructional Design Clarity
Element 2: Learning Progression - Demonstrating a comprehensive understanding of where students have been, where they are now and where they are going using strategically sequenced learning experiences aligned within and across grade levels. -
Utah Effective Teaching Standards > Standard 2: Instructional Design Clarity
Element 3: Instructional Planning - Planning high quality, personalized instructional activities that are informed by student progress data, provide multiple opportunities for students to reflect upon and assess their own growth and allow multiple opportunities and means for demonstration of competency. -
Utah Effective Teaching Standards > Standard 2: Instructional Design Clarity
Element 4: Engagement - Designing lessons and activities that actively engage students in their learning and use a variety of effective tools and strategies. -
Utah Effective Teaching Standards > Standard 3: Instructional Practice
Element 1: Instructional Strategies - Using appropriate academic language and evidence-based strategies to stimulate higher-level thinking, discourse and problem solving and to scaffold learning experiences to meet the needs of all students.
To earn this microcredential you will need to collect and submit two sets of evidence demonstrating your effective and consistent use of appropriate science instructional strategies. You will also complete a short written or video reflective analysis.
This stack of microcredentials must be completed sequentially starting with Microcredential #1 in the Cause and Effect in Science stack.
This microcredential is not available for educators with a secondary certification.
This microcredential stack completes the competencies for one requirement area of the Elementary Science Endorsement. These competencies are the same regardless of the pathway the educator selects to complete, microcredential stack or university course. Also of note, these competencies are structured to lead the educator through a series of experiences. First, the educator analyzes the purpose of the Learning Intentions and demonstrates proficiency in them (This is typically the first and possibly the second microcredential in the stack). Then, the educator plans, implements, and reflects on instruction for the identified Learning Intentions. The last microcredential in the stack involves educators reaching out to support others in their school, district, state, or nation. This focuses on developing leadership skills and promotes building a professional network of support. Through these experiences, the educator demonstrates competency of the knowledge, skills, and dispositions for the specific requirement area of the educator endorsement.
Events have causes, sometimes simple, sometimes multifaceted. Deciphering causal relationships, and the mechanisms by which they are mediated, is a major activity of science and engineering.
System:A system is an organized group of related parts that make up a whole that can carry out functions that its individual parts cannot.
Research from A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas (National Research Council, 2012), states that “a major activity of science is investigating and explaining causal relationships and the mechanisms by which they are mediated. Such mechanisms can then be tested across given contexts and used to predict and explain events in new contexts” (p. 84). This document also asserts that “one goal of instruction about cause and effect is to encourage students to see events in the world as having understandable causes, even when these causes are beyond human control. The ability to distinguish between scientific causal claims and nonscientific causal claims is also an important goal” (p. 88). Additionally, this document is the foundational resource that informed the development of the current Utah Science with Engineering Education (SEEd) Standards (USBE, 2019). Within these standards, the concept of cause and effect is included as a crosscutting concept and the expectation is that elementary students should progress in their understanding of cause and effect within the science concepts that students encounter during science instruction.
This microcredential focuses on planning, implementing, and reflecting on the effectiveness of science instruction in Grades K-6.
References: National Research Council. (2012). A framework for K-12 science education: Practices, crosscutting concepts, and core ideas. Committee on a Conceptual Framework for New K-12 Science Education Standards. Board on Science Education, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
Category: Preparation and Planning
Submit the evidence listed below to demonstrate your effective and consistent preparation and planning for elementary science instruction.
Submit lesson plan(s) that provides evidence of: ❏ Identifying attributes of an accepting and safe environment for learning that:
- Identifies and supports diverse cultures and experiences in scientific discourse
- Focuses on student sensemaking
- Maintains a safe physical environment ❏ Developing aspects of teaching with effective three-dimensional instruction that:
- Supports students’ use of the science and engineering practices, crosscutting concepts, and disciplinary core ideas to gather, reason, and communicate their understanding by
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- Using DCI(s) from the following list: LS1.A, LS3.A, LS3.B, PS2.A, PS2.B, ESS2.E, ESS3.B, ESS3.C
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- Using the SEPs planning and carrying out investigations and asking questions
- Integrates literacy skills that develop authentic science communication.
- Supports the development of students’ skills to gather information, reason from evidence, and communicate ideas to create useful and accurate scientific models, explanations, and arguments.
- Models and designs instruction (e.g., lessons/episodes/units/progressions/storylines) that demonstrates the progression of student sensemaking from experience to experience.
Cite appropriate sources for the science discipline that were used to inform lesson design. See the Resources section below for examples of sources to cite.
Category: Implementation
Submit the evidence listed below to demonstrate your effective and consistent implementation of appropriate pedagogical practices for elementary science instruction.
Submit assessments and student work samples (up to 5 for each of the first three bullet points) along with a written discussion that: ❏ Delineates the three dimensions of science instruction embedded within the instructional sequence. ❏ Demonstrates student sense-making using all three dimensions throughout the instructional sequence. ❏ Analyzes through student work sample and assessment evidence on the effectiveness of the instruction to support student sensemaking in all three dimensions. ❏ Provides possible ways to improve future instruction.
Review Criteria
Criterion 1: Evidence demonstrates educator plans instruction that includes attributes of accepting and safe environments.
Criterion 2: Evidence demonstrates educator develops effective three-dimensional instruction that integrates authentic literacy skills, develops through a gather, reason, and communicate framework, and supports student sensemaking.
Criterion 3: Evidence demonstrates educator accurately reflects upon (a) elements of three-dimensional instruction embedded in assessments, (b) experiences that scaffold student sensemaking of the disciplinary core ideas using the crosscutting concepts and science and engineering practices, (c) effectiveness of instruction in supporting student sensemaking, and (d) possibilities for improvement to instructional design for the future.
What are the strengths of your instructional plan as seen through your analysis of student work samples and assessments? Submit your response in approximately 150 words.
What were the challenges of your instructional plan as seen through your analysis of student work samples and assessments? Submit your response in approximately 150 words.
How will you gain the knowledge and or skills to support changes to instruction as identified by student work samples and assessments? Submit your response in approximately 150 words.
Review Criteria
Criterion 1: The reflective analysis indicates an awareness of the instructional design strengths as identified by student work samples and assessments.
Criterion 2: The reflective analysis indicates an awareness of the instructional design challenges as identified by student work samples and assessments.
Criterion 3: The reflective analysis indicates an awareness of where to gain additional knowledge or skills to improve instructional practice.
A teacher friendly research document that explains the three dimensions of science including science and engineering practices, crosscutting concepts, and disciplinary core ideas. Each dimension is explained in depth within its own chapter. The disciplinary core ideas are grouped into major disciplines (i.e., Physical Sciences; Life Sciences; Earth and Space Sciences; Engineering, Technology, and Applications of Science). Each discipline is explained in a separate chapter. The report also describes developmentally appropriate learning progressions.
SEEd Content Courses for Grades K-8
https://www.schools.utah.gov/curr/science?mid=1128&tid=4
These Grade K-8 courses are developed specifically for elementary educators and Grade 6-8 middle school science teachers. The purpose of these courses is to build and support teacher science conceptual knowledge of the disciplinary core ideas (DCIs) used within the SEEd Standards.These courses are free for participants and are self-paced. Educators may register at any time. Successful completion of each component within the course is worth between .5 and 1.0 USBE Credits.
Implementing the Utah Science with Engineering Education (SEEd) Standards K-12
https://www.schools.utah.gov/curr/science?mid=1128&tid=4
This Canvas-based course contains six modules: Introduction to the SEEd Standards, Science and Engineering Practices (SEPs), Crosscutting Concepts (CCCs), Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCIs), Engineering Design, and Using Phenomena. The course’s purpose is to support educators in understanding shifts to instruction that are required to effectively implement the Utah SEEd Standards The course is free for participants and is self-paced. K-12 educators may register at any point. Successful completion of the entire course is worth 2.0 USBE Credits. Credit will be assigned three times during the year.
Camie Simpson
250 East 500 South
Salt Lake City, UT 84111-3204
Phone: 801.538.7807