ANCHORED IN MULTIPLE AND VARIED PHENOMENA AND REPRESENTATIONS

The materials will allow students to have experiences with varied phenomena and representations. Science is about explaining phenomena. Without experiencing the phenomena either through first-hand experience when feasible or vicariously when not feasible, students just learn empty words. Students need to experience phenomena in order to have a concrete representation to tie the various explanations together. Students will experience the phenomena in the various investigations, anchoring events, staging events and benchmark lessons. The materials will provide learners with multiple and varied representations of the learning outcomes. Representations provide various ways for students to interpret and make sense of scientific ideas. The units will provide opportunities for students to see and investigate numerous phenomena and representations. For example, in our introductory unit on chemical reactions, students will experience reactions between substances that produce new substances different from the starting materials.