2021年11月24日晚19:30-22:30,北京师范大学SSI-L项目小学组举行在线研讨会,研讨七所学校新开发的SSI-L议题的设计并给出建议。SSI-L项目组小学学段负责人、北京市通州区教研中心科学学科特级教师曹春浩老师主持本次会议。
首先,七所学校从标题与社会性科学议题、驱动性问题之间关系、跨学科学习框架、项目与课标的联系、项目学习目标和学习评价方案、项目活动计划等方面介绍议题设计。黑龙江省哈尔滨市继红小学校宋琳琳老师介绍“垃圾污染与降解”议题。该议题计划了场馆游览、收集和调查垃圾、垃圾处理实验等活动,希望能使学生多方面思考问题、了解垃圾污染的现状、提高环保意识。北京市东城区体育馆路小学孙文斌老师介绍“光盘行动”议题设计,该议题基于粮食增产和供需紧平衡的现实状况,联系治理“舌尖上的浪费”倡议,设计了玉米种植、影响玉米生长的要素系列实验、植物换盆-授粉-防治病虫害-果实保护的活动、食物浪费情况调查,以期让学生意识到一粥一饭来之不易,能够设计可行的计划节约粮食。北京市海淀区上地实验小学魏秋艳老师介绍“环球影城”议题,通过“如果你要建造一个主题公园,如何设计方案?”“如果你是项目投资者,你会如何经营一个主题公园?”的驱动性问题,提高学生的财经素养。人大附中亦庄新城学校赵蕊老师介绍“海绵城市”议题,以亦庄的区位优势为依托,使学生了解水循环原理、通过调研海绵城市项目理解可持续发展理念、对海绵城市建模参与城市建设问题,并以该校的“麒麟币”积分制度对接开展学习评价。陕西省西咸沣西第一小学姬雨老师介绍“无纸化社会”议题,安排学生参观PBL“书写材料演变史”项目成果展、收集资料展开辩论、最终对本校的纸数决策提出建议。首都师范大学附属育新学校李新伟老师介绍“生活中的噪音”议题,该议题涉及科学(声的产生与传播、噪音的定义、来源、分类和危害)、技术与工程(减少噪音污染的方式、减少噪音的建筑结构)、艺术(拍摄宣传片、公益表演)、数学(电子问卷、建模)、政策法规(环境噪声污染防治法、城市区域噪声标准、治安管理处罚法)五方面的内容,并通过构建学习共同体的方式展开自评、互评。四川省凉山州宁南县朝阳小学校张发文老师介绍“农药化肥”议题,围绕“我们是否应该全面发展有机种植,杜绝农药化肥?”的议题展开讨论,使学生认识到农药化肥的发明有助于发展现代农业、满足人类需求,但对区域生态系统存在威胁,辩证看待其利弊,基于证据阐述自己的观点。
山东省荣成市府新小学席爱军老师、山东省威海市千山路小学徐连超老师、浙江省温州道尔顿小学缪旭春老师组成联合评议小组,分析七个议题是否结构不良、是否有争议性、是否涉及自然科学、是否贴近学生生活,进而评价该活动方案是否符合社会性科学议题的标准,并给出修改意见,联合评议小组指出议题设计思路中存在一些共性问题,如跨学科学习框架没有涵盖议题实际涉及的内容或超出活动内容、框架的二级指标归类不合理、学习目标与驱动性问题不匹配、活动与评价结合不紧密、学习目标过于宽泛、评价指标难度偏大等。具体意见包括:
1. “垃圾污染与降解”需要在第一课时之前让学生对垃圾有切身的认知和体会,第二课时垃圾对生态环境影响的模拟实验需要详细设计好,可以让学生更详细地了解日本、德国、上海的垃圾分类制度并比较,垃圾降解活动建议比较塑料与纸巾的降解;
2. “光盘行动”中可以增加食物浪费的经济损失的活动,有关玉米的实践活动的前后顺序还需要再理顺,在评价环节中增加对先进同学的表彰环节;
3. “环球影城”的经济问题过于复杂、难度偏高,建议缩小为“环球影城中的小卖部”,对于培养什么财经素养需要进一步明确表述;
4. “海绵城市”议题先给出公园的案例,后续活动以建模为主体,在实地调研活动、技术讲解过程中不断迭代、完善模型,最终以设计方案的形式呈现成果,在其中应该引导学生思考“海绵城市会提高城市的宜居性吗?”增加道德推理判断;
5. “无纸化社会”聚焦于“废除纸质课本采用电子课本”,加强关于文化传承的考量,增加有关造纸、甲骨、竹简等实验活动;
6. “生活中的噪音”议题可以让学生扮演环保行政主管部门的角色,角色导向地设计活动和成果展示方案,与科学教材中相关单元结合起来设置科学探究实践活动;
7. “农药化肥”与生物多样性的逻辑联系在活动中没有凸显出来,缺少对农药化肥超标情况调查的环节,最后活动可以开放地让学生思考解决方案而不是二选一,对于粮食安全和经济社会成本的内容说明有所欠缺,还可以再拓展。
曹春浩老师提醒各位老师,在设计探究活动的时候,要注意是否可以收集到合适的证据、是否可以有效地论证研究假设,最终得到的结论是否能够有效解决现实问题。SSI-L项目负责人、中国基础教育质量监测协同创新中心科学提升部主任林静老师进一步指出,“环球影城”不是科技引发的SSI,“海绵城市”对于小学生来说议题太大,建议学校调整议题。“垃圾污染与降解”、“无纸化社会”、“光盘行动”、“生活中的噪音”、“农药化肥”等议题,都可进一步联系小学生的实际生活来创设SSI-L学习情境。其中,“垃圾污染与降解”中涉及的降解问题,以及“无纸化社会”的无纸化实现问题等,对小学生而言难度过大。“光盘行动”指向粮食问题,需要从中选择与学生相联系的社会问题。林静老师提醒各位老师,选择适宜议题是设计SSI-L的前提。议题应当是“科技引发的社会问题”,其目的在于创设情境促使学生跨学科学习从而整体性发展素养。所以议题学习的切入点应该聚焦学生能感知的议题,充分考虑学情基础,确保学生能够全面认识和解决这个议题。
From 19:30 to 22:30, 24th November, SSI-L project team from Beijing Normal University held an online seminar for elementary partner schools. Mr. Cao Chunhao, the principal of elementary school section of SSI-L project team and special-grade science teacher of Tongzhou District Teaching and Research Center of Beijing, hosted the meeting.
To begin with, seven schools introduced their project designs from aspects of the relationship between the title and the issues, the driven questions, interdisciplinary learning framework, the connection of the project and curriculum standards, the learning objectives and evaluation schemes, and activity plans. Song Linlin from Harbin Jihong Elementary School introduced their topic on “Garbage Pollution and Degradation”. Activities such as venue tours, garbage collection and investigation, garbage disposal experiments were planned. Hopefully, through those activities, students could think from multiple aspects, understand the current situation of garbage pollution, and improve the awareness of environmental protection. Sun Wenbin from Beijing Dongcheng Tiyuguan Road Elementary School explained their topic of “Clear your Plate Campaign”. Under the background of food mass-production and tight balance between supply and demand, considering the initiative of halting food waste, the team designed a series of activities on a life cycle of the corn. Through experiments, students could know what kind of things could influence the growth of the corn, the whole process of planting the corn including changing basin, pollination, prevention and control of insects, fruit protection, and the current situation of food waste. Those activities aim to raise students’ awareness on controlling food waste and design feasible plans to save food. Wei Qiuyan from Beijing Haidian Shangdi Experimental Elementary School, introduced their topic of “Universal Studio”. The team designed two driven questions to improve students’ financial literacy. Those are 1) What’s your plan on building a theme part? 2) If you were a project investor, how would you run a theme park? Zhao Rui from RDFZ Yizhuang Xincheng School shared their topic of “Sponge City”. Taking the location advantage of Yizhuang, the team designed a series of activities such as researching and modeling to make students know the theory of the water cycle, the concept of sustainable development, and finally engage in city construction. The outcome will be evaluated through “Kirin Coin”. Ji Yu from Shaanxi Xixian Fengxi No.1 Elementary School, introduced the topic of “Paperless Society”. Students visited the exhibition of the PBL project “History of Writing Materials”, collected data to debate, and finally suggested on the paper number. Li Xinwei from Capital Normal University Yuxin School summarized their SSI-L project “Noise in Life”. The topic was divided into 5 aspects which were Science (noise generation and propagation, the definition, source, classification, and the harm), technology and engineering (ways and structures to reduce noise pollution), art (video shooting, welfare performance), mathematics (questionnaire, modeling), policies and regulations (Law of Prevention and Control of Pollution from Environmental Noise, Standard of Noise of Urban Area, Law on Public Security Administration Punishments). In addition, self-evaluation and mutual evaluation will be carried out by constructing study groups. Zhang Fawen from Ningnan Chaoyang Elementary School, Liangshan, Sichuan introduced their SSI-L topic of “Pesticides and Fertilizers” and the driven question is “Should we develop organic farming in an all-round way and eliminate pesticides and fertilizers?” After the discussion, students will realize that the invention of pesticides and fertilizers can contribute to the development of modern agriculture and meet human needs, while at the same time may threaten the ecosystem. Students will see two sides of a coin and elaborate their opinions based on evidence.
Xi Aijun, Xu Lianchao and Miao Xuchun from Rongcehng Fuxin Elementary School, Weihai Qianshan Road Elementary School and Wenzhou Dalton Elementary school respectively, were appointed as review team members and commented on previous projects. They evaluated projects by considering whether the structure was clear, whether the issue is controversial and scientific, and whether the topic is close to students’ lives. They also pointed out some common questions existing in the design and gave suggestions. For example, they mentioned that the interdisciplinary study framework issues were not covered in the main content of the project or that was far beyond the activity content; the second classification was not clear; study goals were too vague to match driven questions, and the difficulty on evaluation. To solve those questions, they listed 7 suggestions:
1)Garbage Pollution and Degradation. Students need to have a basic knowledge and experience of garbage pollution before the first class. The simulation experiment of the impact of garbage on the ecological environment should be designed with details. Teachers can guide students to compare the garbage classification system between Japan, German, and Shanghai. For the activity of waste degradation, it would be a good idea to compare differences in the degradation process between plastic and paper.
2) ”Clear the plate campaign”. They suggested the team add more activities regarding the economic loss of food waste, straighten out the activity order of the session “a life cycle for a corn” and praise outstanding students.
3)Universal Studio. The financial situation of Universal Studios is too complicated and difficult for students, so it is suggested to change the research object to a small shop in Universal. The team will also need to further clarify what aspect of financial literacy to cultivate.
4)Sponge City. The team first presented the case of the park, and modeling would be the main body in the follow-up activities. By doing field study and technical explanation, the model would improve constantly, and the result would be presented in the form of a design plan. The project needs to include more moral reasoning judgment and aims to guide students thinking about the question “will sponge city improve the livable of the city?”
5)”Paperless Society”. This project focuses on “replacing paper textbooks with electronic textbooks”, strengthens consideration of cultural heritage, and increases experimental activities related to papermaking, oracle bone and bamboo slips.
6)”Noise in Life”. This project allows students to do role play, acting as administrators from the environmental protection department. Activities and final presentations were designed according to different roles. The team also sets up scientific practices in the project considering relevant units in science textbooks.
7)Pesticides and Fertilizers. The logical link between pesticides and fertilizers and biodiversity was not highlighted in the activities, and there was a lack of investigation on the situation of excessive pesticides and fertilizers. In the last section, teachers can encourage students to think about the open solution instead of choosing one or the other. The content of food security and economic and social costs was not explained enough, so this part can be expanded.
Cao Chunhao reminded teachers that when designing activities, we should pay attention to whether we could collect enough evidence, whether research hypotheses can be effectively demonstrated, and whether the conclusions can effectively solve problems.
Dr. Lin Jing, the SSI-L project leader and the Director of the Science Improvement Department of China Collaborative Innovation Center of Assessment for Basic Education Quality further pointed out that the topic of “Universal Studios” is not a social-scientific issue, and “Sponge City” is too big for elementary school students, so she suggested schools to reconsider topics. Topics like “Garbage Pollution and Degradation”, “Paperless Society”, “Clear your Plate Campaign”, “Noise in Life”, “Pesticides and Fertilizers” can be further linked to the actual life of elementary school students and create SSI-L learning scenarios. Among them, “Garbage Pollution and Degradation” and “paperless society” are too difficult for elementary school students since the first one requires knowledge about degradation, while the second one needs practicality. “Clear your Plate Campaign” relates to food issues, and teachers need to dig out social issues which are close to students. Dr. Lin Jing reminded all teachers that selecting appropriate issue is the premise of designing SSI-L project. The topic of issue should be “social issues arising from science and technology”. It aims to create a context for students to learn across disciplines and develop their literacy as a whole. Therefore, teachers should first fully consider what students have learned before, choose a point that they can perceive as the starting point of issue learning, and ensure that students can comprehensively understand and solve the problem.