Web site Overview
Research reveals that students have difficulty achieving deep understanding of many science concepts. They often structure their explanations in simple, linear ways that distort the concepts students are attempting to learn. This website supports middle school teachers in helping their students to develop a deeper understanding in science and to learn the causal patterns embedded in scientific explanations.
The site is made possible with funding from the National Science Foundation.
It is the result of over ten years of research and development by the Understandings of Consequence Project of Project Zero at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
The site has four main sections. The first section defines and explains a set of Causal Patterns that, as part of the curriculum, can help students in their science learning and beyond. It offers real world examples, as well as the rationale behind this distinct approach to learning.
The next section, called "RECAST Activities," explains and shows specific examples of activities designed to teach the causal patterns in the context of the science concepts.
The last two sections, "Assessing Understanding" and "The Classroom," offer assessments designed to reveal how students are structuring their explanations as well as materials and tips for making this approach work well in the classroom.
The science examples on the site have two strands, ecosystems and density, to illustrate the approach with an in-depth example from biology and another from physics. There are also examples from across the sciences. This approach can be applied in the sciences and beyond.
We hope that you find this website helpful in supporting the learning of your students!
Technical Help
Some of the information on the Web site is provided in the Portable Document Format (PDF). A free PDF reader can be downloaded from the Adobe Web site.
The videos are provided for download in the Quicktime format. A free Quicktime Player can be downloaded for Windows and Mac. WARNING! The downloadable videos display larger than those that appear on the Web pages. Depending on your connection speed, they may take a long time to download.
