Place-Based Learning for Elementary Science at Scale (PeBLES2)

The Current Classroom Reality:

Science class, much like science itself, is constantly evolving to address new information. Gone are the days (we hope!) of reading a passage and answering questions. On any given day, a teacher from Oklahoma, Maine, or Washington might be studying the topic of weathering and erosion with a discussion of the Grand Canyon and then a table top activity  with students modeling the formation. A common lesson, easily found on open-source platforms, that invites teachers who might be hesitant to teach science concepts to an easy entry point. It is fun, a little messy, and clearly shows the power of water. 

The Persistent Problem:

While watching water wash away sand is good fun, and often offers meaningful sensemaking opportunities, there exists a quiet but persistent problem in many classrooms. In this example, perhaps, it is quite likely that none of the rural or urban students have ever seen the Grand Canyon. While we don’t need to see the Grand Canyon to understand erosion, teachers know that there is great power in their elementary students, seeing the impact under their own feet. But where is a classroom teacher supposed to begin to find local examples of phenomena? How will they know if their ideas have merit? Can they still be rigorous? Is water washing away the ditch at the edge of our playground the same as the Grand Canyon?

The Solution:

PeBLES2 – a project of MMSA and BSCS – proposes to design and investigate locally adaptable three-dimensional instructional materials and associated professional learning for elementary science  (grades 3-5 physical science, earth and space science, life science, and engineering) to support elementary educators in incorporating locally or culturally relevant place-based phenomena into their teaching. We will work with teachers, scientists, and researchers to co-design locally adaptable units of instruction and the professional learning to dig deeply into the sense ideas and localization process. Teachers will be able to confidently “choose-their-own adventure”, making small or big tweaks to base units to root the big science concepts into their “place”.