Recipient Organization
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY
PO BOX 2275A
BROOKINGS,SD 57007
Performing Department
College of Education & Human Sciences
Non Technical Summary
The use of notebooks in the field of science and science education is not a new concept. Using notebooks allows scientists to record observations, data, and reflections in real time. Interactive science notebooks allow students to follow a similar process of personalizing their learning and observations (Marcarelli, 2010; Waldman & Crippen, 2009). Research indicates interactive science notebooks are successful at developing higher order thinking skills in students (Baxter, Bass, & Glaser, 2001).A greater number of agriculture teachers in South Dakota are beginning to integrate interactive science notebooks into their classrooms. While research exists supporting the benefits of interactive science notebooks, data exploring the process of the teacher perspective is very limited (Butler & Nesbit, 2008; Huerta, et al., 2016).This study seeks to explore the best practices related to the use of interactive science notebooks in the high school setting. After determining and disseminating best practices related to interactive science notebooks, that information will be used to create high impact STEM learning experiences. Using input from South Dakota agriculture teachers to prioritize STEM topics, agriculture and science teachers will work together to develop those high impact learning experiences. Once the experiences have been developed, they will be vetted by classroom teachers. After a final round of revisions, all learning experiences will be stored on a publicly accessible website and distributed to South Dakota agriculture and science teachers.This study has several impacts and benefits for agricultural education teachers. Aligning key agricultural concepts/topics with state and national standards will allow teachers to easily identify and emphasize STEM topics embedded within their existing curriculum. While research has established the student benefits of interactive science notebooks, a gap exists regarding effective teacher usage of interactive notebooks. This study will begin to fill in the knowledge gap surrounding instructional practices of interactive science notebooks. When teachers can follow best practice guidelines, it improves their self-efficacy, increases their ability to engage students in hands-on learning, and decreases their instructional frustrations. Additionally, having high impact learning experiences integrating STEM concepts and aligned with state and national standards benefits teachers looking to enhance their current curriculum.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
100%
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
1. Facilitate the adoption of an agriscience curriculum framework that is grounded in the concepts and approach of the Next Generation Science Standards. a. Identify practices and cross-cutting concepts from the Next Generation Science Standards to be included in a secondary school agriscience program.
b. Disseminate the curriculum framework to secondary agriculture teachers and teacher educators.
2. Identify teaching methods, resources (facilities, equipment, materials, etc), and techniques currently utilized by exemplary teachers.
3. Develop an innovation configuration for implementing an agriscience program
Project Methods
Goal 1. Identify practices, cross-cutting concepts, and disciplinary core ideas to be included in a secondary school agriscience programDuring the first year of the project, a census survey will be administered to South Dakota Association of Agricultural Educators' (SDAAE) membership population (approximately 100 teachers) to identify and prioritize STEM related agriculture topics/concepts. The data will be compiled and aligned with the National Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources (AFNR) Standards, South Dakota Science Standards, and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Each topic identified will first be aligned with the corresponding South Dakota AFNR standard. This process will be done using the AFNR standards available on the DoE website. After the topic has been identified, the researcher will use the standards document to identify closely aligned standards. Once identified, topic and corresponding standards will be entered into a spreadsheet. For example, if the topic of soil health was selected by the participants it would align with the South Dakota AFNR standards of Fundamental Horticulture Standard 4.0 "Analyze soil, environment, and fertility properties as they affect plant growth," and Advanced Natural Resources Standard 1.0 "Explore soil composition and soil management." The same audit process would occur with the National AFNR Standards, South Dakota Science Standards, and Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). To ensure trustworthiness of the findings, a second researcher will also complete the same process. In areas where the assigned standards differ by more than two, peer debrief (Creswell, 2013) will be used to determine the best fit.Goal 2. Identify teaching methods, resources (facilities, equipment, materials, etc.), and techniques currently utilized by exemplary teachersThe PI will work with the South Dakota Department of Education (SDDoE) and SDAAE to identify agriculture and science teachers who successfully use interactive notebooks. After 10-15 teachers have agreed to participate, data will be collected to identify best practices associated with integration and use of interactive notebooks. Data collection, taking place in years 2 and 3, will include interviews, field observations, and artifact analysis. The participant interviews will use a semi-structured format and will be recorded and transcribed to aid in data analysis. Additionally, field notes will be taken during the field observation stage of data collection. Data analysis will be approached with a constructivist lens (Creswell, 2013). Line by line coding will be used to identify categories and themes of the experience. The interviews and field notes will serve as primary data sources. The lesson plans, teacher examples, assignments, and notebooks will be used as secondary data sources. To ensure trustworthiness, researchers will use triangulation, member checking, peer debrief, and an audit trail (Creswell, 2013; Stake, 1995).Goal 3. Develop an innovation configuration for implementing an agriscience programFor the final phase (phase III), occurring in years 4 and 5, the PI will invite a select group of 30 agriculture and science teachers who use interactive notebooks and individuals who are exemplary teachers, but do not use interactive notebooks to a curriculum development retreat. During the retreat, the participants will be broken into teams to develop high impact learning experiences on previously identified agriculture/STEM topics. The high impact learning experiences for each topic will be interactive, aligned with state and national science standards, and include interactive science notebook materials. Each high impact learning experience will be aligned with the corresponding South Dakota AFNR standards, National AFNR standards, South Dakota Science Standards and NGSS. Each member of the curriculum team will independently conduct the standards audit process as described in objective 1. The team will then use peer debrief (Creswell, 2013) to identify the standards that best fit each activity. The standards audit and peer debrief will be facilitated by the primary researcher. Before activities are sent out to be vetted by 10-15 in-service teachers, they must align with one standard from each of standard set. Activities that do not will be redesigned. Feedback will be used to make updates before distributing the materials to SDAAE members through workshops and other professional development activities. All materials created will be housed on a publicly available website. If time allows, a small-scale pilot study using 2-3 schools will be conducted to determine the effectiveness of the newly developed high impact learning experiences.