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Papers by Vanashri Nargund-Joshi

The Science Teacher, 2017

International Journal of Science Education, Jan 2014

This study explored third-grade elementary students' conceptions of nature of science (NOS) over ... more This study explored third-grade elementary students' conceptions of nature of science (NOS) over the course of an entire school year as they participated in explicit-reflective science instruction. The Views of NOS-D (VNOS-D) was administered pre instruction, during mid-school year, and at the end of the school year to track growth in understanding over time. The Young Children's Views of Science was used to describe how students conversed about NOS among themselves. All science lessons were videotaped, student work collected, and a researcher log was maintained. Data were analyzed by a team of researchers who sorted the students into low-, medium-, and high-achieving levels of NOS understandings based on VNOS-D scores and classwork. Three representative students were selected as case studies to provide an in-depth picture of how instruction worked differentially and how understandings changed for the three levels of students. Three different learning trajectories were developed from the data describing the differences among understandings for the low-, medium-, and high-achieving students. The low-achieving student could discuss NOS ideas, the medium-achieving student discussed and wrote about NOS ideas, the high-achieving student discussed, wrote, and raised questions about NOS ideas.

In 2005 India introduced a new National Curriculum Framework aimed at providing a more construct... more In 2005 India introduced a new National Curriculum Framework aimed at providing a
more constructivist approach to learning for all subjects. Previous research on the impact of curriculum
reform in other countries (e.g., United States) concluded that for reform to be successful teachers’
orientations toward teaching and learning must be considered early on. The purpose of our study was to
heed this advice and initiate an exploration into Indian secondary science teachers’ science teaching
orientations by examining the orientations of two secondary science teachers and how they are reflected
in their practice. Three questions guided our study: (1) What are the two Indian Secondary Science
teachers’ orientations toward teaching and learning of science? (2) To what extent are their orientations
consistent with their practice? (3) In what ways, if at all, do their orientations and practice align with
the goals of reform outlined in India’s National Curriculum Framework? Data sources included semistructured
interviews, classroom observations, and various artifacts. We found the teachers’ orientations
aligned with the goals of reform, but their classroom practice did not align with their orientations or the
goals of reform, perhaps as a result of the many external constraints the teachers’ felt were placed on
them. From these findings we discuss implications for professional development that consider alignment
for all three components while taking into account possible culture specific hindrances.

The National Research Council (NRC), the National Academy of Sciences, American Association for A... more The National Research Council (NRC), the National Academy of Sciences, American Association for Advancement of Science (AAAS) and Achieve has recently introduced a Framework for K-12 Science Education and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGGS). This new reform calls for integrated approach of teaching in the classroom with focus on science and engineering practices. With this article we address an issue of solid waste management using interdisciplinary inquiry approach. We make teachers and students aware about how all disciplines live symbiotically in the natural world, but we teach subjects separately in schools. Not much assistance is given to how teachers can incorporate scientific inquiry with multiple disciplines. This presentation will show how teachers can use mathematics and science concepts in their classrooms and make children active citizens in their community. Through the waste management unit students will realize the problem of solid waste production and its impact on nature using scientific concepts such as depletion of natural resources, ecological crisis, and the role human beings play. Mathematical concepts such as area and volume measurement of consumables, proportional reasoning, and graphing will be addressed through this unit. The final product of the unit is to make an active difference in the community by having children write a letter to the principal, school board, or policy makers. This activity will also give teachers an opportunity to make mathematical concepts explicit and thus create similar interdisciplinary projects for their own classrooms.

"This study explored third-grade elementary students’ conceptions of nature of science (NOS) over... more "This study explored third-grade elementary students’ conceptions of nature of science (NOS) over the course of an entire school year as they participated in explicit-reflective science instruction. The Views of NOS-D (VNOS-D) was administered pre instruction, during mid-school year, and at the end of the school year to track growth in understanding over time. The Young Children’s Views of
Science was used to describe how students conversed about NOS among themselves. All science lessons were videotaped, student work collected, and a researcher log was maintained. Data were
analyzed by a team of researchers who sorted the students into low-, medium-, and highachieving levels of NOS understandings based on VNOS-D scores and classwork. Three
representative students were selected as case studies to provide an in-depth picture of how instruction worked differentially and how understandings changed for the three levels of students.
Three different learning trajectories were developed from the data describing the differences among understandings for the low-, medium-, and high-achieving students. The low-achieving
student could discuss NOS ideas, the medium-achieving student discussed and wrote about NOS ideas, the high-achieving student discussed, wrote, and raised questions about NOS ideas."

usc.edu

Many models of the solar system often portray the planets as being equal distances from the sun. ... more Many models of the solar system often portray the planets as being equal distances from the sun. This often causes students to hold misconceptions about what the solar system really looks like. Therefore, conceptual change to student’s mental model of the solar system is needed. Through this activity, that has been constructed using a 5-E learning cycle approach, students get to discuss and debate about solar system models, predict what the distance between the planets looks like with a sentence strip, and then finally get to create an accurate sentence strip model of the solar system. Collaboration throughout the activity is encouraged and various formative assessment strategies are utilized to understand student’s thinking and reasoning about the solar system.

… Journal of Qualitative …, 2010

Spradley's developmental research sequence (DRS) has been used primarily for ethnographic studies... more Spradley's developmental research sequence (DRS) has been used primarily for ethnographic studies. However, this ethnographic tool has been employed in case studies without an examination of the merits of its modification. In this article the authors discuss how adapting analytical steps of DRS to case studies can be methodologically advantageous. They found that transforming Spradley's ethnographic approach rendered it useful for articulating implicit conceptualizations in case studies, one from science education and the other from mathematics education. Investigating this issue will necessarily involve looking closely at the substantive aspects of the case studies themselves. Findings from the case studies and results from the methodological investigation are reported along with suggestions for future research.

Journal of Science …, 2011

Though research has shown that students do not have adequate understandings of nature of science ... more Though research has shown that students do not have adequate understandings of nature of science (NOS) by the time they exit high school, there is also evidence that they have not received NOS instruction that would enable them to develop such understandings. How early is ''too early'' to teach and learn NOS? Are students, particularly young students, not capable of learning NOS due to developmental unreadiness? Or would young children be capable of learning about NOS through appropriate instruction? Young children (Kindergarten through third grade) were interviewed and taught about NOS in a variety of contexts (informal, suburban, and urban) using similar teaching strategies that have been found effective at teaching about NOS with older students. These teaching strategies included explicit decontextualized and contextualized NOS instruction, through the use of children's literature, debriefings of science lessons, embedded written NOS assessments, and guided inquiries. In each context the researchers interviewed students prior to and after instruction, videotaped science instruction and maintained researcher logs and field notes, collected lesson plans, and copies of student work. The researchers found that in each setting young children did improve their understandings of NOS. Across contexts there were similar understandings of NOS aspects prior to instruction, as well as after instruction. There were also several differences evident across contexts, and across grade levels. However, it is clear that students as young as kindergarten are developmentally capable of conceptualizing NOS when it is taught to them. The authors make recommendations for teaching NOS to young children, and for future studies that explore learning progressions of NOS aspects as students proceed through school.

The Science Teacher, 2017

International Journal of Science Education, Jan 2014

This study explored third-grade elementary students' conceptions of nature of science (NOS) over ... more This study explored third-grade elementary students' conceptions of nature of science (NOS) over the course of an entire school year as they participated in explicit-reflective science instruction. The Views of NOS-D (VNOS-D) was administered pre instruction, during mid-school year, and at the end of the school year to track growth in understanding over time. The Young Children's Views of Science was used to describe how students conversed about NOS among themselves. All science lessons were videotaped, student work collected, and a researcher log was maintained. Data were analyzed by a team of researchers who sorted the students into low-, medium-, and high-achieving levels of NOS understandings based on VNOS-D scores and classwork. Three representative students were selected as case studies to provide an in-depth picture of how instruction worked differentially and how understandings changed for the three levels of students. Three different learning trajectories were developed from the data describing the differences among understandings for the low-, medium-, and high-achieving students. The low-achieving student could discuss NOS ideas, the medium-achieving student discussed and wrote about NOS ideas, the high-achieving student discussed, wrote, and raised questions about NOS ideas.

In 2005 India introduced a new National Curriculum Framework aimed at providing a more construct... more In 2005 India introduced a new National Curriculum Framework aimed at providing a
more constructivist approach to learning for all subjects. Previous research on the impact of curriculum
reform in other countries (e.g., United States) concluded that for reform to be successful teachers’
orientations toward teaching and learning must be considered early on. The purpose of our study was to
heed this advice and initiate an exploration into Indian secondary science teachers’ science teaching
orientations by examining the orientations of two secondary science teachers and how they are reflected
in their practice. Three questions guided our study: (1) What are the two Indian Secondary Science
teachers’ orientations toward teaching and learning of science? (2) To what extent are their orientations
consistent with their practice? (3) In what ways, if at all, do their orientations and practice align with
the goals of reform outlined in India’s National Curriculum Framework? Data sources included semistructured
interviews, classroom observations, and various artifacts. We found the teachers’ orientations
aligned with the goals of reform, but their classroom practice did not align with their orientations or the
goals of reform, perhaps as a result of the many external constraints the teachers’ felt were placed on
them. From these findings we discuss implications for professional development that consider alignment
for all three components while taking into account possible culture specific hindrances.

The National Research Council (NRC), the National Academy of Sciences, American Association for A... more The National Research Council (NRC), the National Academy of Sciences, American Association for Advancement of Science (AAAS) and Achieve has recently introduced a Framework for K-12 Science Education and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGGS). This new reform calls for integrated approach of teaching in the classroom with focus on science and engineering practices. With this article we address an issue of solid waste management using interdisciplinary inquiry approach. We make teachers and students aware about how all disciplines live symbiotically in the natural world, but we teach subjects separately in schools. Not much assistance is given to how teachers can incorporate scientific inquiry with multiple disciplines. This presentation will show how teachers can use mathematics and science concepts in their classrooms and make children active citizens in their community. Through the waste management unit students will realize the problem of solid waste production and its impact on nature using scientific concepts such as depletion of natural resources, ecological crisis, and the role human beings play. Mathematical concepts such as area and volume measurement of consumables, proportional reasoning, and graphing will be addressed through this unit. The final product of the unit is to make an active difference in the community by having children write a letter to the principal, school board, or policy makers. This activity will also give teachers an opportunity to make mathematical concepts explicit and thus create similar interdisciplinary projects for their own classrooms.

"This study explored third-grade elementary students’ conceptions of nature of science (NOS) over... more "This study explored third-grade elementary students’ conceptions of nature of science (NOS) over the course of an entire school year as they participated in explicit-reflective science instruction. The Views of NOS-D (VNOS-D) was administered pre instruction, during mid-school year, and at the end of the school year to track growth in understanding over time. The Young Children’s Views of
Science was used to describe how students conversed about NOS among themselves. All science lessons were videotaped, student work collected, and a researcher log was maintained. Data were
analyzed by a team of researchers who sorted the students into low-, medium-, and highachieving levels of NOS understandings based on VNOS-D scores and classwork. Three
representative students were selected as case studies to provide an in-depth picture of how instruction worked differentially and how understandings changed for the three levels of students.
Three different learning trajectories were developed from the data describing the differences among understandings for the low-, medium-, and high-achieving students. The low-achieving
student could discuss NOS ideas, the medium-achieving student discussed and wrote about NOS ideas, the high-achieving student discussed, wrote, and raised questions about NOS ideas."

usc.edu

Many models of the solar system often portray the planets as being equal distances from the sun. ... more Many models of the solar system often portray the planets as being equal distances from the sun. This often causes students to hold misconceptions about what the solar system really looks like. Therefore, conceptual change to student’s mental model of the solar system is needed. Through this activity, that has been constructed using a 5-E learning cycle approach, students get to discuss and debate about solar system models, predict what the distance between the planets looks like with a sentence strip, and then finally get to create an accurate sentence strip model of the solar system. Collaboration throughout the activity is encouraged and various formative assessment strategies are utilized to understand student’s thinking and reasoning about the solar system.

… Journal of Qualitative …, 2010

Spradley's developmental research sequence (DRS) has been used primarily for ethnographic studies... more Spradley's developmental research sequence (DRS) has been used primarily for ethnographic studies. However, this ethnographic tool has been employed in case studies without an examination of the merits of its modification. In this article the authors discuss how adapting analytical steps of DRS to case studies can be methodologically advantageous. They found that transforming Spradley's ethnographic approach rendered it useful for articulating implicit conceptualizations in case studies, one from science education and the other from mathematics education. Investigating this issue will necessarily involve looking closely at the substantive aspects of the case studies themselves. Findings from the case studies and results from the methodological investigation are reported along with suggestions for future research.

Journal of Science …, 2011

Though research has shown that students do not have adequate understandings of nature of science ... more Though research has shown that students do not have adequate understandings of nature of science (NOS) by the time they exit high school, there is also evidence that they have not received NOS instruction that would enable them to develop such understandings. How early is ''too early'' to teach and learn NOS? Are students, particularly young students, not capable of learning NOS due to developmental unreadiness? Or would young children be capable of learning about NOS through appropriate instruction? Young children (Kindergarten through third grade) were interviewed and taught about NOS in a variety of contexts (informal, suburban, and urban) using similar teaching strategies that have been found effective at teaching about NOS with older students. These teaching strategies included explicit decontextualized and contextualized NOS instruction, through the use of children's literature, debriefings of science lessons, embedded written NOS assessments, and guided inquiries. In each context the researchers interviewed students prior to and after instruction, videotaped science instruction and maintained researcher logs and field notes, collected lesson plans, and copies of student work. The researchers found that in each setting young children did improve their understandings of NOS. Across contexts there were similar understandings of NOS aspects prior to instruction, as well as after instruction. There were also several differences evident across contexts, and across grade levels. However, it is clear that students as young as kindergarten are developmentally capable of conceptualizing NOS when it is taught to them. The authors make recommendations for teaching NOS to young children, and for future studies that explore learning progressions of NOS aspects as students proceed through school.