In this blog we will take a look at what phenomena are and how they relate to the Next Generation Science Standards. In addition, it is crucial to understand the nature of the science and engineering cycle as well as the traditional versus the next generation models of science instruction.
Phenomena as Observable Events
In order to put phenomena to work for you in your classroom, you need to understand what they are. So just what are phenomena?
A phenomenon is the context that motivates the work of a scientist or an engineer, the events, circumstances or framework that defines what they do, the knowledge they’re looking for and the problems they’re trying to solve. In plain language, a scientist or an engineer doesn't go to work to remember facts or previously learned knowledge. That's not what drives their work.
Instead, scientists and engineers use investigative processes with what they know to generate new ideas and build new knowledge. Scientists are focused on using their knowledge to test hypothetical answers to questions about observable events. Engineers identify problems and similarly use investigative processes to solve those problems with evidence based technology.
What Are Phenomena in Science?
In the scientific context, phenomena are observable events. They provide the motivation for the work of scientists and engineers every day. A phenomenon can range from a seasonal event (i.e. the changing of the seasons), to weather patterns (i.e. drought conditions).
Examples of Phenomena in Science
When students ask questions about phenomena in the classroom, they have a chance to learn more about the world around them, bring their own knowledge into the conversation, and lead their own science and engineering investigations. Examples of phenomena from the K-12 science curricula include:
- Photosynthesis: The process by which plants convert sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide into oxygen and energy-rich organic compounds. In the classroom, students can observe this process while testing the impact of placing growing plants in different places in the room, where they receive varying amounts of light at different times of the day.
- Density: The ratio of an object's mass to its volume, or mass divided by volume (d=m/V). In the classroom, students can observe this phenomena while adding salt to a glass of water and detecting when an egg floats vs. sinks.
- Gravity: The force that pulls objects with mass toward each other. Will a rubber ball or a feather hit the ground quicker when dropped from the same height in the classroom?
While working as scientists and engineers in the classroom, students can tackle observable events like these by asking, testing, and answering their own questions about phenomena. In other words, they can develop a question about the phenomena – the observable event – and attempt to answer that question by testing their hypothesis.
Phenomena in Engineering
In the engineering context, a phenomenon presents a problem that engineers try to solve. Engineers often study phenomena that impact humans (i.e. floods, fires, building materials, earthquakes). For example:
- How can we minimize the impact of auto accidents with roadway enhancements and improved automotive design?
- How can we reduce the impact of natural events like hurricanes and earthquakes, on new buildings with changes to building codes?
How can we use technology to improve how people with vision impairments access resources online?
Examples of Phenomena in Engineering
In the classroom, students can observe and respond to phenomena just like engineers do in the real world. They can extend their understanding about science principles and learn more about the world around them by interacting with phenomena like these:
- Aerodynamic Lift: The force that allows an aircraft to rise in the air, resulting from the flow of air over its wings. How does the size of a paper airplane’s wings affect its flight? How much weight can an ‘egg crate plane’ carry before it will no longer fly? Can the aerodynamics of a roof be changed to prevent destruction during high winds?
- Signal Transmission: The process of establishing links between nodes in a network to transmit signals from one node to another. How can we reduce the impact of weather on signal quality? Does increasing the number of nodes or using different materials improve signal transmission?
Scientific Phenomena vs Engineering Phenomena
Scientists take their observations of events and ask questions about them, then test hypotheses related to those questions, to create new evidence-based knowledge.
Engineers expand on their observed knowledge by solving problems observed in the world around us through prototyping – designing solutions then testing them until they find something that works, and typically, continuing to improve these solutions over time.How Do
Phenomena Relate to NGSS Standards?
The NGSS standards expect students to develop and perform an understanding of the DCI, CCC, and SEP elements of each standard. When investigating phenomena, students are building a better understanding about the world around them and making personal connections to the study of science. They are also deepening their understanding of DCIs, CCCs, and SEPs.
In an NGSS designed classroom there are many roles for phenomena:
- Anchor for Learning: Phenomena are used as real-world examples or events that anchor student learning, sparking curiosity and driving the exploration of scientific concepts.
- Context for Inquiry: They provide context for students to engage in inquiry-based learning, where students investigate and explain phenomena, thus developing a deeper understanding of scientific principles.
- Crosscutting Concepts: Phenomena help in illustrating crosscutting concepts like patterns, cause and effect, and systems and system models, which are integral to understanding science across various disciplines.
- Science and Engineering Practices: Investigating phenomena allows students to engage in science and engineering practices, such as asking questions, developing and using models, planning and carrying out investigations, and analyzing and interpreting data.
- Integrating Disciplinary Core Ideas: Phenomena provide a way to integrate disciplinary core ideas from life sciences, physical sciences, earth and space sciences, and engineering, technology, and applications of science.
- Performance Expectations: NGSS's performance expectations are often centered around explaining or predicting phenomena, demonstrating how understanding science concepts is applied in real-world contexts.
- Encourages Exploration and Discovery: Phenomena-based learning encourages students to observe, question, and explore, leading to a more active and discovery-based learning process.
- Cultivates Critical Thinking: By engaging with phenomena, students develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills as they apply scientific principles to explain the world around them.
- Relevance to Students' Lives: Using phenomena that are relevant and interesting to students helps in making science education more engaging and meaningful.
- Facilitates Understanding of Complex Concepts: Complex scientific concepts become more accessible and understandable when tied to observable phenomena that students can relate to.
Conclusion
Inquiry-based learning is the basis of implementing NGSS standards. When we focus on phenomena in the classroom, students are using their funds of knowledge to build an understanding of complex concepts. When done well, students are challenged to extend their own knowledge and lead their own investigations. They are asking questions and answering them with investigative phenomena from hands-on science and engineering experiments. Giving students a chance to use classroom learning to understand real-world phenomena makes student’s hard work relevant and rewarding.
Rather than promoting rote memorization, the NGSS standards require students to authentically explain, predict, demonstrate, and apply knowledge. This requires the use of high level critical thinking skills and gives students the opportunity to practice 21st century career skills as they question what they know, work together to find solutions, and respond to the results shared by their peers. Rather than a one-way street, phenomena and the NGSS standards teach students that scientific inquiry requires a diverse group of people looking at a complex problem in many different ways to find the best solution, and to keep improving on that knowledge and technology.
