College of Education professor lands science-teaching grant

PULLMAN, Wash. – Washington State University College of Education Professor Andy Cavagnetto has received a three-year, $541,000 grant from the state Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI).
 
The grant is intended to help Cavagnetto and his colleagues assist science teaching and learning in kindergarten through 8th grade through a program is called Enhancing Understanding of Concepts of Practices of Science (EUCAPS).
 
“I was pleased that the grant came in,” Cavagnetto. “As a new arrival to Pullman last fall, this was a nice way to begin building partnerships with local schools.”
 
EUCAPS is comprised of faculty from the COE’s Department of Teaching & Learning (including Cavagnetto), and the School of Biological Sciences.
 
Cavagnetto’s grant proposal included a proposed pedagogy to help teachers transition to the next generation of science standards. Cavagnetto said such standards will require a “rich understanding of scientific practice, content and principles, and the processes of and roadblocks to student learning. Further, teachers must design instruction in a way that brings these understandings together in a cohesive, engaging, and accessible manner.”
 
That hasn’t always been easy. As Cavagnetto points out, a number of reports suggest that effectively uniting scientific practice and principles is challenging.
 
But two school districts are willing to try: Pomeroy and Clarkston. They are joined by Holy Family Catholic School, in Clarkston.
 
 “We are really fortunate to be working with these school districts and Holy Family on argument-based inquiry” Cavagnetto said. “Administrators recognize the value of science and the need for integrating language arts as a learning tool. The teachers in these schools have been fantastic. They are very collaborative and enjoy engaging in the material. They have really taken the time to dig into the work and that fundamentally is why they are making considerable progress.”
 
While the program is still in its infancy, Cavagnetto said feedback thus far has been very positive.
 
“The project has given teachers the time and opportunities to really think critically about their role in the science classroom and the concepts they are required to target.
 
“We are pushing teachers to put more responsibility for thinking on to the students. Specifically, we want teachers to involve students in discussions and logical decision-making around which questions are important, how to find answers to questions, and how to interpret the observations that the students are making.”
 
 “Kids of all ages like this because, like adults, they like to feel like they are in control,” Cavagnetto said. “Further they have great ideas and great ideas need to be shared.”
Cavagnetto will present the first in COE’s brown bag lunch series on Sept. 18 at noon. His presentation will be called “Instigating Argument in Science Classrooms.” AMS locations have been scheduled in Pullman (Murrow 53), Spokane (SAC 401A), Tri-Cities (TCIC 125T), and Vancouver (VUB 311).
 
More EUCAPS information can be found at http://sbs.wsu.edu/EUCAPS. Cavagnetto’s program site can be found at http://public.wsu.edu/~andy.cavagnetto/.