Unit 1.2: Introducing SEPs and CCCs

Natalie Bursztyn, University of Montana

Author Profile
Initial Publication Date: September 5, 2024

Summary

How is this class aligned in a way to help you with your future teaching? In this unit, we lay out the format of a class, how it aligns with NGSS (Next Generation Science Standards), and how students can use these materials in their own future teaching. An optional Bubbles lab asks students to engage in Science and Engineering Practices (SEP) as they discover the properties of soap bubbles.

Share your modifications and improvements to this activity through the Community Contribution Tool »

Learning Objectives

By the end of this unit, students will be able to:

  • Explore the NGSS's SEP (Science and Engineering Practices) and CCC (Cross-Cutting Concepts) in order to gain a common language of learning and to establish a foundation for future work in this course.
  • Apply the practice of science through making and documenting observations in order to ask questions that generate further ideas and questions.

Context for Use

The primary activity in this unit is designed to fit into a single class (~70 min) and is appropriate to use to introduce future teachers to the SEPs and CCCs that we will be utilizing all semester. It is suitable for any level and no prior knowledge about these topics is assumed.

The Bubbles Lab (extension activity, 70-110 min of class time) is potentially messy and requires table space for students to work in small groups.

This unit is especially relevant for future teachers, with the strong focus on NGSS. NGSS SEPs and CCCs will frame their future K-12 physical science teaching. These topics are included in many places throughout the course (most notably in the Lesson Plan Summative Assessments), so some modifications to later units will be needed if this material is skipped.

Description and Teaching Materials

Teaching Materials:

All Slides: Unit 1.2 All Slides v2 (PowerPoint 2007 (.pptx) 1.8MB Aug30 24)

Bubble Extension Lab materials:

  • Instructor Notes: Unit 1.2 Bubbles Lab - Instructor Copy v2 (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 525kB Aug30 24)
  • Sample Answers for Instructors:
  • Worksheet for Students (optional - use only if not following Science Journals Format. If following Science Journals format, then use slides in ppt file for this unit): U1.2 Bubbles Lab Worksheet.docx (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 70kB Jul8 24)
  • Materials needed: Bubble solution (8 oz warm water + 2 tbsp detergent + 1 tbsp sugar; +/- variations such as glycerine), Bubble wands (and/or pipe cleaners/wire to make bubble wands), Pipettes, Scissors, Smooth, flat surface (optional: plastic table cloths), Dry ice (optional), Plastic tubs, Cups, Water.

Reflection: "What do I do with Crosscutting Concepts?" Unit 1.2 reflection v2 (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 68kB Aug30 24)

Article to read: "What do I do with Crosscutting Concepts? U1.2 Crosscutting Concepts.pdf (Acrobat (PDF) 132kB Aug30 24)

Scientist Spotlight Full Resource (In this unit: Agnes Pockles): Scientist Spotlight Slides (PowerPoint 2007 (.pptx) 4.6MB Jul8 24)

Chat GPT access: - students will need to create accounts and have access to this AI website

Other materials: Projector. Print-offs of visionlearning handouts should be brought to class or students should have individual laptops or smartphones to read.

Pre-class Assignment(s):

  • Read Visionlearning's article Description in Scientific Research. We recommend formatting the following questions in LMS software so that students can reply before class starts to ensure that they have completed them.
    • What are different methods of description that are used in scientific research? What are drawbacks and advantages to these? Which do you feel most comfortable with?
  • Spend a few additional minutes online learning more about Scientist Spotlight: Agnes Pockles (if completing bubbles lab only). Be prepared to share something surprising or interesting that you learned about her.

In Class Part 1: Introducing Science and Engineering Practices (SEPs) and Cross-Cutting Concepts (CCCs) (70 min)

  • (5 min): Examine the word list or word cloud made from the verb list in Unit 1.1 and ask the students "what patterns or trends do you see?" "Are there any outliers or words that don't fit?" This should be a brief "first pass" exercise, and you should try to lead the students to ask for more structure to facilitate how they define patterns and outliers.
  • (10 min): Introduce the Cross-Cutting Concepts and Science and Engineering Practices from NGSS (slides 3 & 4)
  • (30 min): Group students and assign groups one of the following Visionlearning modules:

Groups will use the NGSS annotation feature in Visionlearning and examine their article for the SEP & CCC. They will make note of which of these items are referred to in their article and be prepared to share out an example of how an SEP and a CCC is described within the context of their practice of science article

  • (25 min) Chat GPT storytelling
    • Now students should be more comfortable with the SEP & CCC language. Introduce the AI text generation tool Chat GPT for this next activity
    • Student groups will modify a provided prompt in Chat GPT to generate a story that integrates the NGSS +/- CCC +/- SEP
    • Students should experiment with regenerating the text; for example, regenerate without explicit mention of the terms NGSS, CCC, and SEP so that it reads more fluidly like a story.
    • Students should identify how their main character uses scientific practices in the story and be prepared to share out and engage with the class , looking for and discussing similar and contrasting findings. Which CCC or SEP was/were most common in the stories? The least? Why do they think this is? Do students predict that the practices prominent in their stories are also prominent in real scientific practice?

In Class Part 2: Introducing Science and Engineering Practices (SEPs) and Cross-Cutting Concepts (CCCs) (70-100 minutes):

  • (10 min): Students read about Agnes Pockels before class. Ask the class to share something surprising or interesting that they learned about her. Why do the students think they've been asked to learn about Agnes Pockels on a day that we're exploring bubbles?
  • (10 min): Discuss expectations for the Science/Lab Journals - pass out or share a link to this handout, which includes a rubric and a sample journal entry. These graded journals will be completed for every lab activity in the course. 
  • (40-70 min): Following the introduction to the SEP and CCC from NGSS, students practice these constructs with bubble activities through "guided exploration," practicing making and documenting observations as well as asking questions based on their observations. There are three bubble activities (see slides and worksheet) to guide your class through: shape, volume & color, density. This is not a lab exercise in which we want the students to "learn all about bubbles," but rather, we are using bubbles as a starting point to making observations and conducting scientific inquiry. 
  • (10 min): Summarize with a class discussion to connect back to NGSS and SEPs: which Science and Engineering Practices have the students engaged in through this activity?

Teaching Notes and Tips

The extension activity Bubbles Lab is an excellent add-on for classes with enough time or with a separate lab component. One thing that we are not doing in this lab is making quantitative measurements. However, you can point out to the students that this aspect could be added to a bubble lab for K-8 students. Ask your students what sort of elementary and middle school measurement skills could be taught using some of the bubble activities they did today.

  • E.g. Circle geometry (diameter, circumference, radius...)
  • Remind students that relative size is a form of measurement, so even kids who aren't measuring in cm can count how many beads fit around a bubble for example...

A student worksheet is provided as part of the resources for the bubbles lab. Instructors can choose to use this worksheet in lieu of the science journal format. Make a choice now: do you want to follow the science journal format, or do you want to continue with worksheets? If using the science journal format, then powerpoint slides are all that is needed (no worksheet). As the course goes on, we will occasionally but not always provide student worksheets. In classes with time constraints, worksheets can be faster but they do not ask your students to engage as deeply with the practices of science.


Assessment

In this unit, students complete the first of many Scientist Spotlights (Agnes Pockles). The goal of these is to showcase an array of scientists in fields relevant to the day's topics, some from long ago and others young and active today, together representing a diversity of people, interests, and abilities who all have a passion for science. Note: Agnes Pockles is relevant to this unit's materials only if you complete the bubbles extension lab.

Activity 1.2 (Introducing SEPs and CCCs) is an in-class activity and is a formative assessment to elicit student thinking and participation .

Lab 1.2 (Bubble Lab) is assessed through a "science journal." Students will complete a science journal for every lab throughout the course, and this is the first opportunity of the semester, so make sure to spend some extra time reviewing expectations and provide feedback/grades quickly.

This unit includes the first of many reflections in this course. Reflections are assigned at the conclusion of most units (typically every 1-1.5 weeks). Reflections ask students to demonstrate higher-order thinking by putting their learning in their own words and also to apply their knowledge in new and novel situations.

References and Resources