MESA - Math, Engineering and Science Achievement program
MESA -- Math, Engineering and Science Achievement program
Formed in 1970, MESA is a statewide program in California, which exists to encourage, disadvantaged students and students of color to enter math, science and engineering fields. Open to students from middle school through college, MESA runs academic competitions, educates younger students on college preparation, assists with employment opportunities at the college level as well as giving academic assistance to students at all levels. For more information, contact: MESA, c/o University of California, 300 Lakeside Drive, Seventh Floor, Oakland, California 94612-3550, phone: (510) 987-9337.
Created in 1977 by Susan Sprague for the Mesa Unified School District, outside of Phoenix, Arizona. This kit-based program provides hands-on science experiences for students in grades K-8. Extensive teacher in-services are provided, because teachers are required to work as facilitators rather than directors. The kits are considered teacher-friendly since they do not assume science experience on the part of the teacher. The program in Mesa is considered a model for science education reform and is now a site for visitation and observation by science educators from across the nation (Begley, 1993).
Developed by Barbara Becker in 1996 with a grant from the National Science Foundation, and inspired by Leo Klopfer's History of Science Case Studies, MindWorks is a science curriculum project that includes six units of study in physical science for students in grades 8-10. This curriculum is designed to increase science literacy and motivate students who have shown little interest in science, as well as build greater understanding in both teachers and students of the process and culture of scientific activity. The MindWorks approach is very strong in the historical perspective as well as the nature of science, inquiry investigations and relating science to the students' experiences. MindWorks is aligned with the National Science Education Standards and Benchmarks for Science Literacy. Each unit is intended to be woven in with the regular physical science content material and can be completed in one week. Each module is built around a 10 minute video dramatization of actors portraying scientists in their time period who have made contributions to the "big idea" being featured. The video's intent is to capture some element of science content while leaving the outcome hanging, so that stimulation of student questions and inquires will occur. The lessons are very creative, open-ended, scientifically rich and based upon the students' real world. According to Becker (1997), "By integrating well-chosen historic episodes into traditional content-centered science units, the MindWorks modules have helped teachers establish a classroom atmosphere that stimulates productive discussion and nurtures students' critical thinking about the meaning of scientific activity." Following a successful pilot, MindWorks is being published by Kendell-Hunt Publishing, 4050 Westmark Drive, Dubuque, Iowa 52002 and will be available in the Fall of 1999.
A misconception is an incorrect understanding about some concept in science. It usually goes undetected because it is not readily written or spoken. Many misconceptions are formulated at an early age by a child before he or she enters school. Children do not question why things occur. They base misconceptions on their prior knowledge. They form misconceptions by applying their prior knowledge to the situation to make sense out of it through the misunderstanding of experiences in school or incorrect information from literature or educators. A majority of misconceptions are contradictory to accepted science theory. Once it is formed, it is hard to expel. The key to changing the misconception is the discovery of concrete and unquestionable evidence experienced by the individual. This discovery must be made because existing misconceptions must be extinguished before new science concepts can be accommodated.
For example, when some children observe sugar dissolving in water, many believe the sugar is no longer present in the liquid. This is a misconception used to explain the disintegration of the sugar. In reality, the sugar is still in the water, but it has dissolved because it is soluble (Neuman, 1993 and Phillips, 1991).
The Learning Cycle is a model for designing lessons that foster positive experiences for students. In the 1960's Atkins and Karplus developed a three-stage model that was incorporated into the Science Curriculum Improvement Study (SCIS). The SCIS learning cycle were exploration, invention, and discovery. This Learning Cycle has been modified by many science educators. The Biological Science Curriculum Study, headed by Roger Bybee, uses a five-step learning cycle called the 5-E model, consisting of engagement, exploration, explanation, elaboration, and evaluation.
The 7-E Model is the most recent modification of the learning cycle. It is one model for teaching inquiry science teaching and should be used in a differentiated classroom. The sevenstep learning cycle consists of: elicit, engage, explore, explain, elaborate, evaluate, and extend (Bently, 2007).
Bently, M. E. (2007). Teaching Constructivist Science: Nurturin Natural Investigators in the StandardsBased Classroom. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.