Category Archives: Research

Laura Zangori accepted to the 2013 Sandra K. Abell Institute for Doctoral Students

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Congratulations to MoHSES and PIESC3 project doctoral student Laura Zangori for being accepted to the 2013 Sandra K. Abell Institute for Doctoral Students. The institute will be held July 15 – 19, 2013 on the George Washington University campus and the offices of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Washington, DC. Laura’s current research, which is embedded in the MoHSES project, focuses on characterizing 3rd-grade students’ model-based scientific reasoning about hydrologic phenomena. The work is part of broader project efforts to foster effective elementary science learning environments that afford students iterative opportunities to construct, use, evaluate, and revise models, one of 8 scientific practices articulated in A Framework for K-12 Science Education, of the water cycle over time. Laura is currently wrapping up MoHSES project Year 1 data collection in 6 3rd-grade classrooms. The Abell Institute will provide Laura an exciting opportunity to benefit from others’ feedback on her work.

Article published in the International Journal of Science Education

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A new paper was published in the October issue of the International Journal of Science Education.

Biggers, M. & Forbes, C.T. (2012). Balancing teacher and student roles in elementary classrooms: Preservice elementary teachers’ ideas about the inquiry continuum. International Journal of Science Education, 34(14), 2205-2229.

This research are part of a larger study of preservice elementary teachers’ learning to use science curriculum materials to teach science as inquiry (Forbes, 2011; Forbes & Davis, 2010).  The findings presented in this article build upon these previous studies to illustrate how preservice elementary teachers conceptualize the continuum from more student-directed to teacher-directed inquiry and use it to make instructional decisions for science.

Schwarz co-presents NSTA Webinar on Developing and Using Models

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Christina Schwarz, MoHSES project Co-PI and Associate Professor of Science Education at Michigan State University, co-facilitated a webinar for the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), entitled ‘Preparing for the Next Generation Science Standards—Developing and Using Models’, on 9/25/2012. The webinar is part of a series sponsored by NSTA to highlight and begin discussions about the scientific practices articulated in A Framework for K-12 Science Education. These practices include developing and using models, the core scientific practice targeted in the MoHSES project. We’re excited for the opportunity to work with Dr. Schwarz and benefit from her expertise!

MoHSES project funded

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MoHSES logo TextOutlinesThe Modeling Hydrologic Systems in Elementary Science (MoHSES) project has been funded by the National Science Foundation. More information about the project can be found here. The MoHSES project is an exploratory project supported by a NSF Discovery Research K-12 grant and additional support from the UI Center for Global and Regional Environmental Research (CGRER). I am excited to be afforded the opportunity to build upon my past research and begin to investigate students’ learning alongside teachers and teaching.

2012 Forbes Group presentations

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We have been busy this past winter and spring presenting empirical research from the PIESC3 project at NARST, AERA, and two invited talks in Germany. Recent presentations include:

Biggers, M., Forbes, C.T., & Zangori, L. (2012, April). Elementary teachers’ curriculum design and pedagogical reasoning for supporting students’ comparison and evaluation of evidence-based explanations. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Vancouver, BC.

Forbes, C.T., Biggers, M., & Zangori, L. (2012, April). Investigating essential characteristics of scientific practices in elementary science learning environments: The Practices of Science Observation Protocol (P-SOP). Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Vancouver, BC, April 13-17.

Forbes, C.T., Biggers, M., & Zangori, L. (2012, April). Toward an empirically-based learning progression: Defining progress variables and measurable levels of elementary teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge for science. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Vancouver, BC.

Aguirre-Mendez, C., Promyod, N., Forbes, C.T., Biggers, M., & Zangori, L. (2012, March). Characteristics of scientifically-oriented questions and the nature of inquiry in elementary classrooms: A multiple-case study. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the National Association of Research in Science Teaching, Indianapolis, IN.

Biggers, M. & Forbes, C.T. (2012, March). Elementary teachers’ ideas about, planning for, and implementation of learner-guided and teacher-guided inquiry. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the National Association of Research in Science Teaching, Indianapolis, IN.

Biggers, M., Zangori, L., & Forbes, C.T., (2012, March). Exploring scientific explanations: Promoting students’ sense-making in elementary classrooms. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the National Association of Research in Science Teaching, Indianapolis, IN.

Forbes, C.T., Biggers, M., & Zangori, L. (2012, March). Elementary teachers’ enactment of science curriculum materials: Investigating early learners’ engagement in scientific practices. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the National Association of Research in Science Teaching, Indianapolis, IN.

Pinney, B., Suh, J-K., Tseng, C-M., Forbes, C.T., Biggers, M., & Zangori, L. (2012, March). Dichotomous inquiry practices: Characterizing teaching practice based on essential features of inquiry. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the National Association of Research in Science Teaching, Indianapolis, IN.

Zangori, L. & Forbes, C.T., (2012, March). Learning to support elementary students’ scientific reasoning: Preservice elementary teachers and the evidence-explanation continuum. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the National Association of Research in Science Teaching, Indianapolis, IN.

Forbes, C.T. (2012, February). Fostering sense-making in K-8 science learning environments through curriculum and instruction: An evolving research agenda. Invited presentation at the University of Münster (WWU-Münster), Münster, Germany. Sponsored by the German Research Foundation (DFG).

Forbes, C.T. (2012, January). Fostering sense-making in K-8 science learning environments through curriculum and instruction: An evolving research agenda. Invited presentation at the University of Essen (NWU-Essen), Essen, Germany. Sponsored by the German Research Foundation (DFG).

RAES-Iowa project funded

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RAESlogoThe Reflective Assessment for Elementary Science in Iowa (RAES-Iowa) project has been funded. More information about the project can be found here. I am thrilled to be working with an amazing group of project partners from the University of Iowa and CGRER, GWAEA and the VAST Center, FOSS at the Lawrence Hall of Science, and elementary teachers from the Iowa City Community School District (ICCSD), Washington Community Schools (WCSD), Clear Creek Amana Community School District (CCACSD), Highland Community School District (HCSD), and St. James School on this project. The first workshops for teachers begin June 13 in Iowa City!

Germany 2012

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014From January 27 – February 4, I traveled to Germany as part my work on the PIESC3 project. Through generous support from the German Research Foundation (DFG), I was invited by the Teaching and Learning of Science Research Group to give invited talks at both NWU-Essen and WWU-Münster. I spent most of the week working with colleagues in Professor Kornelia Möller’s workgroup at the University of Münster. We spent two days working to train PLUS project research team members on an observation protocol we developed and pilot-tested during the past year as part of the PIESC3 project. In the next year, we will be conducting a comparative study of students’ engagement in inquiry and scientific practices in U.S. and German elementary classrooms. The PIESC3 team is excited to host PLUS graduate student, Mira Laux, as a visiting scholar for two months this spring at the University of Iowa. It was wonderful to meet and spend time with Nicola, Ina, Marco, Lena, Judith, and Katharina. A special thanks the Kim Lange for originally suggesting the visit and making it happen!

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Article published in Science Education

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A manuscript from my dissertation study has been published in the September issue of Science Education. This article extends previous published findings from a larger study of preservice elementary teachers‘ adaptation of science curriculum materials. I report findings that explore explore preservice teachers’ reasoning about the use of science curriculum materials to engage early learners in science-as-inquiry.

Forbes, C.T. (2011). Preservice elementary teachers’ adaptation of science curriculum materials for inquiry-based elementary science. Science Education, 95(5), 927-955.

ESERA 2011 Conference

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photo3_croppedI recently returned from Lyon, France, where I attended the 2011 biannual meeting of the European Science Education Research Association (ESERA). I presented two papers at the conference, one from past research and one from new PIESC3 project work. I was fortunate to see many colleagues, as well as meet some new ones.

forbes_esera_9_2011Forbes, C.T. (2011, September). Elementary teachers’ curriculum design and pedagogical design capacity for reform-based science: Research across the teacher professional continuum. Paper presented at the bi-annual meeting of the European Science Education Research Association, Lyon, France.

Forbes, C.T., Biggers, M., & Zangori, L. (2011, September). Promoting and investigating elementary teachers’ PCK for inquiry-based science. Paper presented at the bi-annual meeting of the European Science Education Research Association, Lyon, France.

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Article published in Teaching and Teacher Education

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A paper from the CASES group at the University of Michigan has just been published in the May issue of Teaching and Teacher Education. The study investigates how two elementary teachers develop narratives about their use and adaptation of science curriculum materials that can serve as educative supports for colleagues.

Davis, E.A., Beyer, C., Forbes, C.T., & Stevens, S. (2011). Understanding pedagogical design capacity through teachers’ narratives. Teaching and Teacher Education, 27(4), 797-810.