8th grade is certainly an interesting grade to teach science to. Students are 13-14 years old, and all over the spectrum in maturity, interest in dating, desire to have friends, self control and in their comfort level in being themselves. 8th grade is also a highly state tested grade where all students have assessments in PSSA English Language Arts, PSSA Math, PSSA Science, and some also get a Keystone Algebra assessment. Their performance on these tests will ultimately determine their courses in the 9th grade. Course options stay open with advanced and proficient scores, and options dwindle with basic or below basic scores as the need for remediation classes arises. Where some may see this as a recipe for a highly stressful year, I see as an opportunity to make sure science is fun, hands on, and inquiry in nature.
I have taught 8th Grade Science for 9 years at Greenwood Middle/High School in Perry County. I teach science to all 8th graders in the district and have been using the approach listed below for four years. As a Physics teacher in the high school I have the perspective of where the 8th graders need to progress. The Physics teacher in me learned a long time ago that complex science needs to be inquiry and investigative in nature in order to reach the greatest percentage of students. In the 8th grade, I apply this approach by focusing on the Nature of Science and modeling how to Think Like a Scientist. The Nature of Science features the development of skills in five general areas: graphing, data tables, measurements, diagrams, and scientific method. I model how to "think like a scientist" and point out to my students each time I catch them thinking like a scientist. Through the Nature of Science Approach and stressing how to think like a scientist my students have been able exceed the state average passing levels for the 8th Grade Science PSSA by 15-30% annually.
GWMS and PA State for % Advanced and Proficient, 8th Grade Science PSSA, all students
2015: 90% GWMS, 58.8% PA
2016: 73% GWMS, 57.6% PA
2017: 72% GWMS, 52.7% PA
2018: 80% GWMS, 53.9% PA
2019: 80% GWMS, PA not released yet
PSSA statistics acquired from the PSSA Results Page at education.pa.gov
Four key strategies I use to teach the Nature of Science and model Thinking Like a Scientist:
1. I conduct about 20-25 lab experiments per year in 8th grade. The lab experiments always emphasize the scientific method. The analysis features graphs, data tables and calculations. They must always write a proper conclusion where evaluation and evidence is needed to accept or reject the hypothesis. Proper investigations are rarely completed in one day. Most of the labs take 2-3 days to complete. The lab component of the course takes about 60 days per year.
2. Content is mostly delivered through discussion and debate. I do not want my students wasting time taking a lot of notes. I provide a Google Doc on Schoology with all the necessary notes and give the students the opportunity to write as many or as little notes as they want in digital or paper form. I find this approach gives us a lot of time to discuss and debate the application of the science content. In review times I ask my students to find pictures, diagrams, or graphical evidence online for each of topics. This visual component helps solidify the content.
3. I ask my students to write nearly every day. Writing takes the form of scientific conclusions, graph analysis, essential answers to essential questions, and evaluations of the science applied in scenarios. The writing purposes are diverse, frequent, and short (about a paragraph). I believe this makes the student comfortable in thinking like a scientist.
4. Once a month from September to January the students spend 1 day to take a Nature of Science practice test. I make the test 24 questions long and multiple choice. The questions always follow the same pattern which is made clear to the students: 1-4 graphs, 5-8 data tables, 9-12 measurements, 3-16 diagrams, and 17-24 scientific method. I then track the stats and progress of each student. This data then helps me to determine areas of strengths and weakness to focus on for each student. February, March and April each feature about 20 minutes a week differentiated review. In March/April I also run after school tutoring program once or twice a week for students interested in additional practice. Total class time preparing for the Science PSSA 8-10 days. That is about as many as I can stomach. At least it leaves my students with 170 days to think and act like a scientist.
PSSA Test Preparation resources:
PA Assessment Builder: Allows you to build a science test with released items. Login required.
PA Department of Education: Features released test items for PSSA Science.
VA Department of Education: Features practice tests for the VA middle school science test.
MD Measured Practice: Features practices tests for the MD middle school science test.
Note I find MD and VA middle school science assessments to be similar to PA. I use questions from the other states to add variety to my Nature of Science practice tests.
In conclusion I am pleased with the Nature of Science and Thinking Like a Scientist approach to teaching 8th grade science. The approach is inquiry in nature and gets to the heart of conducting real science. What I am most proud of is the effect this approach has had on my PVASS statistics. The chart below shows the growth my students have in 8th grade science from 2014-2017. I routinely maintain a dark blue rating for 3 year growth. This shows that irrelevant of the scores on the PSSA, my approach progresses students forward in science to a high degree.
Please respond this post with your tales of success in a PSSA class or with questions on any of the strategies or details presented in this blog.
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