Comments Regarding the Module's Adherence
To the National Science Education Standards

 Text which is black was taken directly from The National Science Education Standards [Copyright 1995, National Academy of Science]. Text which is in green contains comments made by the module developers.

These comments are oriented toward the use of technology in the classroom since the module itself is Internet based. The module developers believe strongly that interactive and technology-based instruction will greatly enhance learning. However, the comments are not meant to imply that other methods of instruction cannot meet the same level of adherence to the Standards.

  1. TEACHING STANDARDS

    1. Teachers of science plan an inquiry-based science program for their students. In doing this, teachers

        Develop a framework of year-long and short-term goals for students.

        The module contains activities, such as building a butterfly garden or setting up an insect zoo, which will be carried out over the entire school year. There are other short-term activities, including learning the classification taxonomy, collecting insects on a weekly basis according to specified criteria, or writing reports. Factors such as the season of the year, student interest, background, and geographical locale; and student achievement will influence the goals' structure.

        Select science content and adapt and design curricula to meet the interests, knowledge, and understanding, abilities, and experiences of students.

        Teachers will use the materials in the module and adapt them to their own curriculum needs as well as to their student population and environment. The materials included in this module are intended for use in grades 4-8. Both students and teachers can access the information on the Internet, particularly from sites which are hyperlinked to this module.

        Additionally, students can select from the wide range of activities based on their comprehension of the materials. The module will provide a means by which teachers can share ideas and activities for various grade levels/subject areas, and help those teachers evaluate and modify the content of their own class curriculum.

        Select teaching and assessment strategies that support the development of student understanding and nurture a community of science learners.

        Activities for assessment could include observing the students' use of the computer, evaluating search strategies employed by each student; allowing for oral presentations such as reports on specific topics; three-dimensional representations such as models; evaluating student log books and the scientific methods employed therein; evaluating the completion of assigned research projects; and evaluating students' adherence to standard scientific safety measures.

        Work together as colleagues within and across disciplines and grade levels.

        The module provides opportunities to learn from and work with scientists and other teaching colleagues throughout the world. Activities are cross-disciplinary in design, allowing for transfer of the scientific knowledge gained among disciplines.

    2. Teachers of science guide and facilitate learning. In doing this, teachers

        Focus and support inquiries while interacting with students.

        This module is designed to help the classroom teacher focus the students' inquiries within manageable limits of both time and materials. Teachers should become familiar with the materials before allowing students full access to the information, guiding their searches when and if necessary.

        Computer technology has proven to be a successful tool for engendering student/teacher interaction, often with the teacher learning as much from the student as the student learns from the teacher.

        Orchestrate discourse among students about scientific ideas.

        A major component of the module is the ability to link to other classrooms throughout the Internet community, allowing for electronic transfer of information not only among students within their classrooms but with students throughout the world.

        Challenge students to accept and share responsibility for their own learning.

        Use of the Internet as an educational tool affords students the opportunity to develop higher-order thinking skills and problem-solving techniques rather than just turning to a specified page in a textbook for a pre-determined answer. The use of technology encourages students to accept this challenge more willingly and to learn more readily.

        Recognize and respond to student diversity and encourage all students to participate fully in science learning.

        By its very nature, the Internet is an ideal tool for providing a means of addressing all the areas implied in the term "diversity." Computers respond to the commands of the user, not to gender, race, or any other discriminatory value. Technology-based learning activities also can be conducted by students with disabilities.

        Providing access to computers through the school setting insures equity in access for all students. Technology-based learning activities allow students to proceed at their own pace and follow their own interests. However, care must be taken to see that all students have ample classroom time to work on the computer in order to complete assignments.

        Peer tutoring and group assignments may expedite learning in some situations.

        Encourage and model the skills of scientific inquiry, as well as the curiosity, openness to new ideas and data, and skepticism that characterize science.

        Students' natural acceptance of computers enhances learning. Prior to making assignments, teachers need to instruct students in the methods of sound scientific inquiry as well as the methods for documenting authoritative sources of information in order for students' answers to be both informative and accurate.

    3. Teachers of science engage in ongoing assessment of their teaching and of student learning. In doing this, teachers

        Use multiple methods and systematically gather data about student understanding and ability.

        The suggested activities cover a wide range of information and assessment can be varied in nature. Structuring activities so that they can be carried out in the classroom and/or as a class precludes the possibility of the work being done by outside persons, i.e. parents.

        Activities which require the student to systematically and scientifically log his or her findings teach much about scientific data gathering techniques. Activities which require the student to develop challenging questions as well as traditional methods of assessment provide multiple ways to assess the student's understanding of the material being covered.

        Analyze assessment data to guide teaching.

        Teachers should work through assigned activities in the module in order to guide students to successfully complete assignments. Sharing strategies and techniques with other teachers through the Teacher Feedback section incorporated in this module will enable teachers to benefit from others' successes and failures.

        Guide students in self-assessment.

        Students can readily learn what search techniques work and which do not work when using a computer. Valuable knowledge in search strategies will be gained even when a student is not successful in locating what he/she is seeking. Increased interaction between teacher and student and among students themselves will lead to greater understanding of the subject matter and the outcomes expected.

        Use student data, observations of teaching, and interactions with colleagues to reflect on and improve teaching practice.

        The Teacher Feedback section provides an excellent way for teachers to learn from and share with others which teaching methods, strategies, and activities work and which do not, and which work better with certain age groups. Interactions with colleagues worldwide has the potential for being limitless through the Internet.

        Use student data, observations of teaching, and interactions with colleagues to report student achievement and opportunities to learn to students, teachers, parents, policy makers, and the general public.

        Research shows that student learning increases when technology-based learning activities are utilized as a tool in the instructional process. Teachers should be able to document for parents, policy makers, and the general public the positive influence the use of this technology has for students.

        Pre-tests and post-tests could be used for documentation within a classroom setting, while comparisons with previous achievement test scores or other accepted standardized test might be feasible to show the positive influence technology has on student learning.

    4. Teachers of science design and manage learning environments that provide students with the time, space, and resources needed for learning science. In doing this, teachers

        1. Structure the time available so that students are able to engage in extended investigations;
        2. Create a setting for student work that is flexible and supportive of science inquiry;
        3. Ensure a safe working environment;
        4. Make the available science tools, materials, media, and technological resource accessible to students;
        5. Identify and use resources outside the school;
        6. Engage students in designing the learning environment.

      Within the framework of this module, students are free to "travel" wherever they wish, expanding or narrowing their searches to fit their projects. Because the Internet is a fluid learning environment, students have the potential for suggesting changes in the teacher-assigned projects when it becomes apparent there is a better and/or alternate project available on the Internet.

      Computer technologies provide the opportunity for students to conduct extended investigations; however, the students should be given sufficient time to do so. The classroom setting must be conducive to such investigations. Where computer access and/or time in the classroom is limited, access should be provided in the library or lab setting to enable all students equal opportunity for discovery.

      When using the technology-based activities provided in this module, the barriers of the classroom walls and the textbook covers are removed. This module addresses the standard of a safe working environment in that it teaches students to distinguish between arthropods that are potentially harmful to the students personally and those arthropods that are not. In this way, the students will learn to overcome their fear of arthropods in general while maintaining a healthy respect for arthropods that can be injurious to the students.

      Working through this module provides a "safe" way for students to encounter arthropods without the dangers associated with live specimens (e.g., allergic reactions to bee stings).

  2. Teachers of science develop communities of science learners that reflect the intellectual rigor of scientific inquiry and the attitudes and social values conducive to science learning. In doing this, teachers

      Display and demand respect for the diverse ideas, skills, and experiences of all students.

      Students bring different skills and backgrounds to the classroom setting. Engaging in collaborative efforts such as building a butterfly garden or setting up an insect zoo will be a team effort, where each student can share in and contribute to the experience.

      Enable students to have a significant voice in decisions about the content and context of their work and require students to take responsibility for the learning of all members of the community.

      Computers can be a medium for collaborative efforts among students. Those students who have knowledge gladly share it; those who need help welcome it.

      There is sufficient information contained in the module to allow students to decide what is significant for their particular study. For example, arthropod populations found in the local area could have more meaning than those found in other parts of the world. However, if students were studying a particular area of the world in a social studies class, they could research arthropods native to that region.

      Nurture collaboration among students.

      There are many ways that technology-based instruction nurtures collaboration among students. Not only could there be collaboration among students within a classroom, but, more importantly, there could be collaboration among classrooms in different regions of the world.

      Structure and facilitate ongoing formal and informal discussion based on a shared understanding of rules of scientific discourse.

      Sharing the information and the methods employed for finding that information will allow students to assess both their own and their classmates' methods of scientific discovery. Using the Internet is not a linear activity and often a student can lose sight of the intended goal. To lend structure to the activities and avoid problems, discussion either through formal reporting or informal brainstorming will allow students to learn from each other how to carry out their investigations

      Model and emphasize the skills, attitudes, and values of scientific inquiry.

      Care should be taken to emphasize that the source material must have valid authoring in order to be scientifically sound. This module has been prepared under the guidance of scientists at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural Science and Mississippi State University's Department of Entomology and by teacher educators and certified teachers. Authoritative external sources have also been hyperlinked to the module.

  • STANDARDS FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

      Individual professional development standards are not addressed because this module is not designed for professional development per se. However, there are several ways in which the term "professional development" has relevance to the module:

      Individual teachers who use the module will grow professionally.

      Individual teachers could share the information and expertise gained from working with the module in a staff development format.

      Professional development programs could use the module as a resource.

      The module allows for growth in these areas:

      1. Interactive investigations

      2. Topics of interest and significance to participants

      3. Technological resources that can expand knowledge

      4. Science through inquiry

      5. Collaborative efforts

      6. Addressing teachers' needs as lifelong learners

      7. Opportunities for feedback about teaching methods, activities, etc.

      8. Access to existing research

    1. Professional development for teachers of science requires learning essential science content through the perspectives and methods of inquiry. Science learning experiences for teachers must

        Involve teachers in actively investigating phenomena that can be studied scientifically, interpreting results, and making sense of findings consistent with currently accepted scientific understanding.

        Address issues, events, problems, or topics significant in science and of interest to participants.

        Introduce teachers to scientific literature, media, and technological resources that expand their science knowledge and their ability to access further knowledge.

        Build on the teacher's current science understanding, ability, and attitudes.

        Incorporate ongoing reflection on the process and outcomes of understanding science through inquiry.

        Encourage and support teachers in efforts to collaborate.

    2. Professional development for teachers of science requires integrating knowledge of science, learning, pedagogy, and students; it also requires applying that knowledge to science teaching. Learning experiences for teachers of science must

        Connect and integrate all pertinent aspects of science and science education.

        Occur in a variety of places where effective science teaching can be illustrated and modeled, permitting teachers to struggle with real situations and expand their knowledge and skills in appropriate contexts.

        Address teachers' needs as learners and build on their current knowledge of science content, teaching, and learning.

        Use inquiry reflection, interpretation of research, modeling, and guided practice to build understanding and skill in science teaching.

    3. Professional development for teachers of science requires building understanding and ability for lifelong learning. Professional development activities must

        Provide regular, frequent opportunities for individual and collegial examination and reflection on classroom and institutional practice.

        Provide opportunities for teachers to receive feedback about their teaching and to understand, analyze, and apply that feedback to improve their practice.

        Provide opportunities for teachers to learn and use various tools and techniques for self-reflection and collegial reflection, such as peer coaching, portfolios, and journals.

        Support the sharing of teacher expertise by preparing and using mentors, teacher advisers, coaches, lead teachers, and resource teachers to provide professional development opportunities.

        Provide opportunities to know and have access to existing research and experiential knowledge.

        Provide opportunities to learn and use the skills of research to generate new knowledge about science and the teaching and learning of science.

    4. Professional development programs for teachers of science must be coherent and integrated. Quality pre-service and in-service programs are characterized by

        Clear, shared goals based on a vision of science learning, teaching, and teacher development congruent with the National Science Education Standards.

        Integration and coordination of the program components so that understanding and ability can be built over time, reinforced continuously, and practiced in a variety of situations.

        Options that recognize the developmental nature of teacher professional growth and individual and group interests, as well as the needs of teachers who have varying degrees of experience, professional expertise, and proficiency.

        Collaboration among the people involved in programs, including teachers, teacher educators, teacher unions, scientists, administrators, policy makers, members of professional and scientific organizations, parents, and business people, with clear respect for the perspectives and expertise of each.

        Recognition of the history, culture, and organization of the school environment.

        Continuous program assessment that captures the perspectives of all those involved, uses a variety of strategies, focuses on the process and effects of the program, and feeds directly into program improvement and evaluation.

  • ASSESSMENT STANDARDS

      Learning journeys and virtual field trips via the Internet level the playing field for all students no matter their socio-economic, ethnic, or geographical background. In order to develop an assessment plan related to this module, it is imperative that the teacher first ascertain what information is available through the module and how that information relates to his or her teaching objectives. Assessment plans developed to meet the Assessment Standards should:

      Insure that all students have equal time to practice the skills needed to complete computer searches and other research activities efficiently and accurately.

      Be consistent with the activities assigned to and conducted by students when working through the module

      Allow for different learning styles

      Offer alternative methods for students to demonstrate mastery of skills (e.g., reports, models, computer searches, traditional question-and-answer testing methods)

    1. Assessments must be consistent with the decisions they are designed to inform.

        Assessments are deliberately designed.

        Assessments have explicitly stated purposes.

        The relationship between the decisions and the data is clear.

        Assessment procedures are internally consistent.

    2. Achievement and opportunity to learn science must be assessed.

        Achievement data collected focus on the science content that is most important for students to learn.

        Opportunity-to-learn data collected focus on the most powerful indicators.

        Equal attention must be given to the assessment of the opportunity to learn and to the assessment of student achievement.

    3. The technical quality of the data collected is well matched to the decisions and actions taken on the basis of their interpretation.

        The feature that is claimed to be measured is actually measured.

        Assessment tasks are authentic.

        An individual student's performance is similar on two or more tasks that claim to measure the same aspect of student achievement.

        Students have adequate opportunity to demonstrate their achievements.

        Assessment tasks and methods of presenting them provide data that are sufficiently stable to lead to the same decisions if used at different times.

    4. Assessment practices must be fair.

        Assessment tasks must be reviewed for the use of stereotypes, for assumptions that reflect the perspectives or experiences of a particular group, for language that might be offensive to a particular group, and for other features that might distract students from the intended task.

        Large-scale assessments must use statistical techniques to identify potential bias among subgroups.

        Assessment tasks must be appropriately modified to accommodate the needs of students with physical disabilities, learning disabilities, or limited English proficiency.

        Assessment tasks must be set in a variety of contexts, be engaging to students with different interests and experiences, and must not assume the perspective or experience of a particular gender, racial, or ethnic group.

    5. The inferences made from assessments about student achievement and opportunity to learn must be sound.

        When making inferences from assessment data about students achievement and opportunity to learn science, explicit reference needs to be made to the assumptions on which the references are based

  • SCIENCE CONTENT STANDARDS

    1. The eight categories of content standards are:

        Unifying concepts and processes in science

        The classification taxonomy and specific facts about arthropod orders and arthropods in general included in this module provide students the basic concepts for understanding arthropods and their relationship to the natural world.

        Science as inquiry

        The module serves as a platform for independent and collaborative scientific research.

        Physical science

        Life science

        Arthropods are part of the natural world. In studying arthropods, students focus on all aspects of the life sciences.

        Earth and space science

        Arthropods have a direct relationship to the physical composition of the earth.

        Science and technology

        This technology-based instructional module allows students to exercise their abilities to seek, sort, analyze, evaluate, and share information.

        Science in personal and social perspectives

        The module aids in the development of healthy attitudes toward arthropods and aids in understanding the concept that arthropods can be both beneficial and harmful to individuals and to the environment.

        History and nature of science

        Arthropods are the dominant life form on earth and represent the largest number of individual species. Their life cycles, their adaptations, their survival for 200,000,000 years, and their influence on man and the environment help students see the relationship between history and the nature of science.

  • SCIENCE EDUCATION PROGRAM STANDARDS

    1. All elements of the K-12 science program must be consistent with the other National Science Education Standards and with one another and developed within and across grade levels to meet a clearly stated set of goals.

        In an effective science program, a set of clear goals and expectations for students must be used to guide the design, implementation, and assessment of all elements of the science program.

        Curriculum frameworks should be used to guide the selection and development of units and courses of study.

        Teaching practices need to be consistent with the goals and curriculum frameworks.

        Assessment policies and practices should be aligned with the goals, student expectations, and curriculum frameworks.

        Support systems and formal and informal expectations of teachers must be aligned with the goals, student expectations and curriculum frameworks.

        Responsibility needs to be clearly defined for determining, supporting, maintaining, and upgrading all elements of the science program.

        The above areas must be designed and implemented at the local and/or classroom level.

    2. The program of study in science for all students should be developmentally appropriate, interesting, and relevant to students' lives; emphasize student understanding through inquiry; and be connected with other school subjects.

        The program of study should include all the content standards.

        Science content must be embedded in a variety of curriculum patterns that are developmentally appropriate, interesting, and relevant to students' lives.

        The program of study must emphasize student understanding through inquiry.

        Students can select their own path through the module and solve problems or answer the questions. Shared responses will enable other students to learn from what their peers were able to discover. In many cases, responses can be focused on the local environment, providing the required relevance to the students' lives. Students will realize there will be more than one way to solve a problem.

        The program of study in science should connect to other school subjects.

        This module was designed to specifically incorporate activities which cross curriculum lines. Through the Teacher Feedback section, the list of activities will grow and enable users to have a bank of activities and assignments from which to draw in the future.

    3. The science program should be coordinated with the mathematics program to enhance student use and understanding of mathematics in the study of science and to improve student understanding of mathematics.

        Sample activities provided give a basis for generating similar mathematical questions based on the information found in the module and/or outside links. There are unlimited possibilities for linking the information found here to mathematical situations in the real world.

    4. The K-12 science program must give students access to appropriate and sufficient resources, including quality teachers, time, materials and equipment, adequate and safe space, and the community.

        The most important resource is professional teachers.

        In addition to the local teacher who is demonstrating a desire for using new and innovative teaching techniques through the use of this teaching module, the student will encounter scientists from the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History and Mississippi State University's Department of Entomology as well as other innovative teachers throughout the world who respond to the Teacher Feedback section.

        Time is a major resource in a science program.

        Schedules must be arranged so that all students have adequate time to work through the module.

        Conducting scientific inquiry requires that students have easy, equitable, and frequent opportunities to use a wide range of equipment, materials, supplies, and other resources for experimentation and direct investigation of phenomena.

        Collaborative inquiry requires adequate and safe space.

        The module serves as a virtual field trip in which the students can choose to view the arthropods up close through images available on the Internet without having to leave the classroom. In this way, the students can view even arthropods that sting or bite without physical contact with those arthropods.

        Good science programs require access to the world beyond the classroom.

        Obviously the module meets this criteria.

    5. All students in the K-12 science program must have equitable access to the opportunities to achieve the National Science Education Standards.

        Schools must work as communities that encourage, support, and sustain teachers as they implement an effective science program.

        Schools must explicitly support reform efforts in an atmosphere of openness and trust that encourages collegiality.

        Regular time needs to be provided and teachers encouraged to discuss, reflect, and conduct research around science education reform.

        Teachers must be supported in creating and being members of networks of reform.

        An effective leadership structure that includes teachers must be in place.

        In order to best utilize Internet-based modules, teachers need to have access to technology, time to learn to use the technology, technical support to maintain the technology, and time to learn a module's contents so as to be able to answer students' questions and/or guide and direct them as they work to complete assignments through the modules.

        Schools must recognize that there is value in taking virtual trips, especially for students who will never financially be able to take actual trips such as these. There is also value in sharing ideas and information with students and teachers in other places, expanding the students' horizons beyond their own communities and schools.

  • SCIENCE EDUCATION SYSTEM STANDARDS

    1. Policies that influence the practice of science education must be congruent with the program, teaching, professional development, assessment, and content standards while allowing for adaptation to local circumstances.

    2. Policies that influence science education should be coordinated within and across agencies, institutions, and organizations.

    3. Policies need to be sustained over sufficient time to provide the continuity necessary to bring about the changes required by the Standards.

    4. Policies must be supported with resources.

    5. Science education policies must be equitable.

    6. All policy instruments must be reviewed for possible unintended effects on the classroom practice of science education.

    7. Responsible individuals must take the opportunity afforded by the standards-based reform movement to achieve the new vision of science education portrayed in the Standards.

        Teachers who elect to use this module in particular, and computer technology in general, need to aggressively work to demonstrate the value such programs have for their students. The possibilities are limitless if teachers are willing to utilize technology-based educational tools now available and create a demand for more such efforts in the future. Careful record-keeping measures that reflect increased student achievement will go a long way in making a convincing statement regarding the use of this module and others like it in the classroom.

    • © Copyright 1997 Mississippi State University