Productive Uncertainty in Science Education provides the support that teachers and students need for more complex science investigations.
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 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.
Book Features:
A new way of building engagement and supporting science practice through centering uncertainty, an essential human and scientific experience. Inspiring examples of students engaging in science practices, developed with teacher collaborators. A suite of tools to support the design, adaptation, and implementation of rich investigations for the science classroom. Sample classroom dialogue showing how teachers can facilitate student discussions that foster and build from uncertainty. A companion website with additional investigations, real classroom case studies, and helpful resources and tools (investigationsproject.org).
By:
Eve Manz
Imprint: Teachers' College Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions:
Height: 235mm,
Width: 162mm,
Spine: 15mm
Weight: 445g
ISBN: 9780807786857
ISBN 10: 0807786853
Pages: 224
Publication Date: 23 May 2025
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Contents Preface ix 1. The Power of Uncertainty in Classroom Science 1 Uncertainty Is Inherent to Scientists’ and Engineers’ Work 4 Uncertainty Supports Students’ Learning 5 Challenges to Incorporating Uncertainty in Science Learning 9 Our Approach to Incorporating Productive Uncertainty in Science Investigations 11 How the Book Will Help You Understand and Take Up This Approach 14 Summary and Getting Started 15 2. Uncertainty in Science Investigations 17 What Are Science Investigations? 17 The Investigations Framework 20 How Students Experience and Express Uncertainty 31 The Meeting Points of the Investigations Framework and Students’ Uncertainty 33 Summary 36 3. Conditions That Foster Productive Uncertainty 42 Moving Beyond an All-or-Nothing Approach: Principles for Working With Uncertainty in Investigations 42 Teacher Practice in a Moment of Uncertainty 50 Teacher Dispositions 51 Putting It Together: Returning to the Maple Seed 56 Summary 60 4. Developing a Caring and Collective Classroom Culture 61 With Annabel Stoler Uncertainty in Action 62 Classroom Culture 65 Classroom Norms That Support a Caring and Collective Classroom Culture 69 Introducing, Using, and Refining Norms to Support a Caring and Collective Classroom Culture 73 Summary 79 5. Helping Children Plan and Conduct Science Investigations 81 With Annabel Stoler Uncertainty in Action 82 Opportunities and Challenges in Planning and Conducting Investigations 84 Supporting Students Planning Science Investigations 87 Classroom Examples of Planning Investigations 94 Supporting Students Conducting Investigations 100 Summary 104 6. Working With Observations and Data 106 Uncertainty in Action 107 Opportunities and Challenges in Working With Observations and Data 110 Supporting Students Working With Observations, Measurements, and Data 113 Classroom Examples of Supporting Observations and Data 120 Making Claims in Light of Variability in Data 128 Summary 129 7. Making Sense of Evidence From Investigations 130 Uncertainty in Action 131 Opportunities and Challenges in Making Sense of Investigations 133 Supporting Students Making Sense of Evidence From an Investigation 136 A Classroom Example 147 Summary 156 8. Explanations and Resources for Explanation 158 Uncertainty in Action 158 Opportunities and Challenges in Developing Explanations 162 Supporting Students Developing Explanations of Phenomena 166 A Classroom Example: Explanation in the Conservation of Matter Investigation 177 Summary 184 9. Putting the Pieces Together 186 Learn to See and Value Uncertainty 186 Adapt an Investigation for Uncertainty 188 Learn With and From Students 194 Acknowledgments 197 References 199 Index 203 About the Author 209
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.
