NISE - Philosophy & Design

Bridging the gap between theory and practice

Fifteen teacher actions across three domains are the core of quality STEM instruction. Underpinned by student autonomy, constructivism, explicit/reflective methodology, and 21st century skill buidling, NISE’s philosophy is at the cutting edge of STEM pedagogy.

Core Guiding Question What is Excellent STEM Teaching?

In order to create a certification program for STEM teaching we began with two essential questions. The first of these is, “What is STEM?” We answer that question in three fundamental ways: the elements of STEM, how those elements interrelate, and how those elements relate to the learner and the world at large.

First, STEM is an acronym for four different fields, Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. These are the elements of STEM education and all teaching and learning in STEM is related to building capacity in these areas. Second is the interrelationship of these elements. While each one is something distinct, these fields are not treated as wholly separate entities. STEM education seeks to take advantage of the similarities and interplay of skills and knowledge among these fields to weave together a rich and meaningful learning environment. Lastly, STEM teaching is dedicated to engaging students in ways that other areas cannot, in order to develop unique cognitive skills, habits of mind, and attitudes that will benefit learners throughout their lives. STEM teaching also recognizes that a learner who masters the STEM curriculum is uniquely empowered to enter into the world of the 21st century.

The second question we need to answer when developing a STEM teaching program is, “What constitutes excellent STEM teaching?” Answering this question entails determining what excellent teaching in general is, as well as the ways in which excellent teaching in a STEM classroom might be different from a non-STEM classroom. The final list of teaching practices we developed show a clear progression from the general—those teacher actions that are effective in any classroom—to those teacher actions that are more specifically appropriate in the STEM classroom.

Our List of Teacher Actions

There are, of course, many factors that affect the learning that takes place inside the classroom. We focused on teacher actions for two important reasons. First, research indicates time and again that of all the factors that affect learning outcomes, the actions of the teachers have the greatest influence. Second, many of the factors that also affect learning outcomes are beyond our control. Teacher actions are one factor we can hope to change in a positive way.

The teacher actions we finally arrived at will seem familiar to anyone who is familiar with research into effective teacher practice. Our list is not exhaustive but reflects both our understanding of current research into teacher practice and many hours of reflective discussion by our team of experienced professionals.

Our goal was to develop a list of teacher actions that meet the following criteria:

Highly influential according to research
Generally effective but are dominated by actions most appropriate to a STEM classroom
Most susceptible to observation and coaching

Guiding Principles

In addition to the considerations discussed above, we had four key guiding principles that influenced our development of our list of teacher actions. The combined experience of our team members includes decades of classroom experience and teacher professional development. This experience has given us a perspective on teaching that, while diverse, also includes several points of consensus. These core principles, on which we all agree, guided the selection of and are infused into all the teacher actions selected for our list. They are as follows.

Student Autonomy

If we want our educational system to produce a skilled and capable citizenry, then among the most important skills we can impart are those that allow students to make informed decisions and select appropriate actions to solve problems. Sadly, students often get no opportunity to practice these skills because the teacher controls everything they do. We believe it is imperative that teachers provide opportunities for students, whenever appropriate, to make informed choices and evaluate the outcomes so that they develop this important skill set.

Constructivism

Our list of teacher actions also reflects our commitment to the philosophy of constructivism. We understand that students enter a classroom with a preexisting mental picture of how the world works and that the teacher’s job is not to try to impose the “correct” picture on the students, but rather to help students examine and challenge their ideas, discover where their ideas are flawed, then try out new conceptualizations and test them against empirical observations. This is not simply how the brain works: it’s how science works.

Explicit/Reflective Model of Instruction of the Nature of Science

When it comes to those teacher actions related directly to helping students understand the nature of science, our philosophy is firmly rooted in what is called the explicit/reflective model. There are certain basic ideas that describe how science works, the “nature of science.” These include ideas such as the idea that science demands evidence, or that scientific knowledge is open to change, etc. Approaches to teaching these ideas are divided into three big categories: didactic, implicit, and explicit/reflective.

In the didactic approach the teacher simply tells the students how science works. We reject this method as ineffectual and counter to our constructivist philosophy.

A teacher using the implicit approach would simply “do science” in the way that reflects these ideas with the belief that students will absorb these ideas, as if by osmosis.

We are convinced, however, that the most effective method is the explicit/reflective method, in which students are engaged in scientific activities that reflect the nature of science while the teacher points out, at every appropriate opportunity, what is happening and how it is an expression of one of the ideas of the nature of science. Students are asked to reflect on these connections so that they can construct a meaningful picture of the nature of science for themselves.

21st Century Skill Building

Our current system of education remains virtually unchanged since it was established nearly two centuries ago. The problem with this is that the needs of students were very different when our nation was predominantly an agrarian economy and a major concern was simply the enculturation of a wave of immigrants. The 22st century has new challenges and requires skills that were not part of the original design of schools. We wish to focus teaching.

Overall Structure

The 15 teacher actions selected for our NISE Foundational STEM certificate are organized into three domains. These domains reflect three big ideas that we believe are essential for effective STEM teaching. They are Creating an Environment for Learning, Building Scientific Understanding, and Engaging Students in Science and Engineering Practices. The teacher actions reflect not only these three big ideas, but also the guiding principles outlined above. Further, these actions are themselves broken down into thirty-nine indicators that form the basic structure of the certificate program.

Certificate Overview

Domain 1: Creating an Environment for Learning

Creating a Positive Classroom Culture	Action-I
The Physical Space - Safe and Accessible	Indicator 1
The Physical Space - Student Interactions	Indicator 2
Classroom Routines and Procedures	Indicator 3
Student-Teacher Interactions	Indicator 4
Academic Focus	Indicator 5
Response to Failure and Intellectual Risk Taking	Indicator 6

Establishing Cooperative Learning	Action-II
Student to Student Interactions	Indicator 7
Student Interdependence	Indicator 8
Collaboration and Conflict Resolution	Indicator 9

Integrating Technology	Action-III
Technology Integration	Indicator 10
Enhancement of Learning with Technology	Indicator 11

Connecting Learning Outside the Classroom	Action-IV
Real-World Connections	Indicator 12

Domain 2 Building Scientific Understanding

Implementing Inquiry	Action-V
Student Contribution	Indicator 13
Lesson Sequence	Indicator 14

Addressing Student Misconceptions	Action-VI
Probing for Preconceptions	Indicator 15
Resolving Misconceptions	Indicator 16

Facilitating Questioning and Discourse	Action-VII
Processing Time Provided	Indicator 17
Levels of Cognition	Indicator 18
Equity of Responses	Indicator 19
Follow-up to Student Response	Indicator 20

Utilizing Assessment	Action-VIII
Checking for Understanding	Indicator 21
Utilizing Formative Assessment Data	Indicator 22

Building Scientific Literacy	Action-IX
Reading in Science	Indicator 23
Writing in Science	Indicator 24
Conceptual Understanding and Vocabulary	Indicator 25
Nonlinguistic Representations	Indicator 26
Presentation of Ideas and Listening to Others	Indicator 27

Domain 3 Engaging Students in Scientific and Engineering Practices

Cultivating Scientific Investigations	Action-X
Investigable Questions	Indicator 28
Investigative Design	Indicator 29

Developing Engineering Solutions	Action-XI
Identifying Engineering Problems	Indicator 30
Engineering Design Process	Indicator 31

Fostering Data Utilization	Action-XII
Organizing and Displaying Data	Indicator 32
Interpreting Data	Indicator 33

Implementing Project-Based Learning (PBL)	Action-XIII
Authenticity of Driving Question	Indicator 34
Student Autonomy	Indicator 35

Developing Scientific Explanations	Action-XIV
Development of Explanation	Indicator 36
Support of Explanation	Indicator 37

Promoting Scientific Argumentation	Action-XV
Analysis and Critique of Explanations	Indicator 38

The Three Domains & Actions of STEM Teaching

Domain 1 Creating an Environment for Learning

E-1 Creating a Positive Classroom Culture

The classroom environment must be a safe place for students, so that they feel comfortable taking risks and engaging in the learning experience. This teacher action includes all those practices that encourage a positive relationship between the teacher and the student, between students, and extends to the wider community.

E-2 Establishing Cooperative Learning

Cooperative learning is an essential component of a classroom that seeks to develop social and interpersonal skills in students. This teacher action includes the practices that infuse collaboration into the learning environment.

E-3 Integrating Technology

Technology is an unavoidable part of modern society. The ubiquity of technology requires a citizenry familiar with various forms of technology and the ability to select, evaluate and effectively apply them. This teacher action includes those practices in which the teacher does not replace instruction with technology, but rather leverages technology to enhance effective instruction.

E-4 Connecting Learning Outside the Classroom

One of the essential goals of education is to prepare students for the world outside the classroom. In addition to preparing students, making connections to the real world provides students with a framework for demonstrating the relevance of their learning. This teacher action includes those practices that encourage students to see the connection between the content of the classroom and the world outside the school.

Domain 2 Building Scientific Understanding

U-1 Implementing Inquiry

A lifelong learner is one who is able to generate and answer their own questions. Creating this kind of learner requires experience with all aspects of inquiry. This teacher action includes those practices that de-emphasize the role of the teacher as a central repository of information and increase the role of the student as a participant in and architect of their own learning.

U-2 Addressing Student Misconceptions

It is impossible for students to integrate a new concept if it conflicts with an established mental construct. An important first step to learning is breaking down misconceptions. This teacher action includes those practices that assist students in identifying their misconceptions so that they can begin to construct a more accurate understanding.

U-3 Facilitating Questioning and Discourse

An essential aspect of facilitating student understanding is insight into student thinking. This insight is best provided by observing how students are able to communicate their understanding. This teacher action includes those practices related to effective questioning and meaningful communication that establish what students know and are able to do.

U-4 Utilizing Assessment

Assessment that informs instruction is essential if teachers are to select and implement learning experiences that lead to student understanding. This teacher action includes those practices that implement authentic assessment strategies allowing teachers to use data to improve learning opportunities.

U-5 Building Scientific Literacy

The field of science has its own set of skills and knowledge. As science continues to play a greater role in society, the need to be scientifically literate is increasingly important. This teacher action includes those practices that promote in students the skills of practicing scientists and scientifically literate citizens.

Domain 3 Engaging Students in Scientific and Engineering Practices

P-1 Cultivating Scientific Investigations

The skills inherent in designing and implementing a scientific investigation are applicable to many situations outside of the science classroom. Skills such as observing, asking questions, collecting and analyzing data and drawing and communicating reasonable conclusions are important to all individuals. This teacher action includes those practices that help students develop the skills associated with scientific investigation.

P-2 Developing Engineering Solutions

The skills used by engineers to identify and solve problems are useful well beyond the science classroom and an important part of being able to function in and contribute meaningfully to society. This teacher action includes those practices that immerse students in the iterative engineering design process.

P-3 Fostering Data Utilization

Within the science classroom, as well as in the real world, the ability to analyze and communicate the conclusions drawn from data is essential. This teacher action includes those practices that develop the mathematical and communication skills that allow students to qualitatively and quantitatively analyze data and explain its meaning.

P-4 Implementing Project-Based Learning (PBL)

Project-Based Learning (PBL) not only more accurately reflects the nature of how skills are applied in the real world, it also creates a learning environment more likely to engage students. This teacher action includes those practices related to the implementation of PBLs. A necessary characteristic of PBL is that it promotes mastery of the content and process standards using an integrated and holistic approach.

P-5 Developing Scientific Explanations

A fully literate person needs to be able to effectively state a claim, cite appropriate evidence, and connect the evidence to the claim using reason (Claim-Evidence-Reasoning, CER). In addition to representing an important group of skills, CER is an invaluable form of authentic assessment in the science classroom. This teacher action includes those practices that will develop in students the ability to use the CER method.

P-6 Promoting Scientific Argumentation

Scientific argumentation is essential not only to scientific thinking, but also to making sense of the world in general. In addition, when students engage in scientific argumentation, teachers gain unique insight into their understanding. This teacher action includes those practices that facilitate the mastery of skills associated with following a line of reasoning and identifying its strengths and weaknesses.

Core Guiding Question What is Excellent STEM Teaching?

Our List of Teacher Actions

Guiding Principles

Student Autonomy

Constructivism

Explicit/Reflective Model of Instruction of the Nature of Science

21st Century Skill Building

Overall Structure

Certificate Overview

Domain 1: Creating an Environment for Learning

Domain 2 Building Scientific Understanding

Domain 3 Engaging Students in Scientific and Engineering Practices

The Three Domains & Actions of STEM Teaching

Domain 1 Creating an Environment for Learning

E-1 Creating a Positive Classroom Culture

E-2 Establishing Cooperative Learning

E-3 Integrating Technology

E-4 Connecting Learning Outside the Classroom

Domain 2 Building Scientific Understanding

U-1 Implementing Inquiry

U-2 Addressing Student Misconceptions

U-3 Facilitating Questioning and Discourse

U-4 Utilizing Assessment

U-5 Building Scientific Literacy

Domain 3 Engaging Students in Scientific and Engineering Practices

P-1 Cultivating Scientific Investigations

P-2 Developing Engineering Solutions

P-3 Fostering Data Utilization

P-4 Implementing Project-Based Learning (PBL)

P-5 Developing Scientific Explanations

P-6 Promoting Scientific Argumentation

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