Productive Uncertainty in Science Education: Engaging Students in Meaningful Science Practice - Paperback

by Eve Manz (Author)

Science is driven by the need to manage uncertainty--uncertainty about how to explain the world, but also how to represent the world in an investigation, what to measure, and how to convince peers to see what the scientist wants them to see. For children, uncertainty supports engagement with materials, more purposeful science practice, and deeper conceptual understanding, yet classroom investigations typically reflect little of the uncertainty that scientists grapple with. How can we move past cookbook science investigations and provide the support that teachers and students need for this more complex work? This book introduces a framework describing specific forms of science activity, shares stories of children engaging with uncertainty, and provides practical supports to help K-12 teachers deepen their science teaching practice. The text includes tools for building classroom norms, planning and adapting investigations, leading discussions, and designing student sheets and other forms of support. The framework, tools, and examples are drawn from research conducted in partnership with elementary teachers and instructional leaders and have been applied in secondary science classrooms as well.

Author Biography

Eve Manz is an associate professor of science education at Boston University Wheelock College of Education and Human Development. She has received the 2019 NARST Early Career Research Award and a National Science Foundation CAREER Award. Collaborators on the book include elementary teachers and coaches and doctoral researchers with expertise in language, classroom culture, and secondary school science teaching.