1. Teaching Standards
Standard A
Teachers of Science plan an inquiry based science program for their students. In doing this they
- Develop a framework of yearlong and short-term goals for students.
The hydroponics kit includes a 9-unit curriculum for a flexible time study of hydroponics. The units can be used individually or selected for illustration of other scientific studies addressing both short term and yearlong goals.
Select science content, adapt, and design curricula to meet the interests, knowledge understanding, abilities and experiences of students.
The hydroponic experiments can be adapted for diverse populations in the types of seeds used, or materials used for containers or media. As an example, in an African village, bamboo is used for containers and local seeds are used for experiments.
Select teaching and assessment strategies that support the development of student understanding and nurture a community of science learners.
A community of students can judge percentages of seed germination and predict future germination rates rather then each student assigned a specific plant. Understanding can be developed through mutual discussion of experiment results.
Work together as colleagues within and across disciplines and grade levels
The website global survival garden project provides an opportunity to directly communicate to colleagues around the world. NASA and many collaborators are researching hydroponics in space.
Standard B
Teachers of Science guide and facilitate learning. In doing this, teachers
- Focus and support inquiries while interacting with students.
Units 5 through 9 are designed for students to work together to design and create models. This allows the teacher to assist groups and interact with individual students in the groups.
Orchestrate discourse among students about scientific ideas.
Students work together on the experiments and models. During modeling students naturally compare ideas and concepts in building their designs.
Challenge students to accept and share responsibility for their own learning.
Students can be encouraged to research questions asked during experiments and activities.
Recognize and respond to student diversity and encourage all students to participate fully in science learning.
The basis for recording is a lab notebook, with both art and data collection used to record information and ideas. Comments, thoughts and suggestions are included throughout the notebook. This format encourages a broader base of students, and more learning styles.
The nature of model building allows the teacher to interact with individuals, to encourage and validate the efforts of students who might otherwise be left out.
Encourage and model the skills of scientific inquiry, as well as the curiosity, openness to new ideas, data, and skepticism that characterize science.
The curriculum is designed to build on curiosity. Question posed by the students encourage discourse, the use of controls and graduated examples of tested variables.
Standard E
Teachers of Science develop communities of science learners that reflect the intellectual rigor of scientific inquiry and attitudes and social values conducive to science learning. In doing this teachers
- Display and demand respect for the diverse ideas, skills and experiences of all students.
A student more engaged in art can use their notebook to illustrate the differences in plants and broaden their powers of observation as well as illustration.
Students from other cultures can experiment with foods, technology or values common to their cultures.
Enable students to have a significant voice to decisions about the context of their work and require students to take responsibility for the learning of all members of the community.
In model making the students direct the form of the creation, and can decide on the concept to model. As a model progresses, the creation becomes a collaborative effort, including a variety of skills and talent.
Nurture collaboration among students
In working on lab notebooks, which combine illustration, data, math, research and interpretation, teamwork is very likely. The students often display a variety of abilities and strengths. For example, a tactile learner, often not recognized or comfortable in a verbal exchange can play an essential role in the modeling process.
Structure and facilitate ongoing formal and informal discussion based on a shared understanding of rules of scientific discourse.
The students can work together to originate ideas and suggestions for ongoing study. In communicating with children throughout the world, they can learn new ways of exchanging ideas that provide a wider field of investigation than exclusively western science.
Model and emphasize the skills, attitudes and values of scientific inquiry.
Skills and values of scientific inquiry are introduced throughout experiments in units 2 through 4. Unit 1 introduces great scientists and artists. One part of Unit 1 introduces Rene DesCartes and brings the scientific method into context. Darwin’s studies of ants and aphids bring scientific inquiry alive and interesting.
3. Content Standards grades 5-8.
Standard A
Science as Inquiry
As a result of activities in grades 5-8 all students should develop
Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry
- Identify questions that can be answered through scientific investigation
The hydroponics curriculum supports three experiments to address the testing of single variables, and then exercises that ask students to pose their own questions
Design and conduct a scientific experiment.
Experiments in Units 2 and 3 are designed for the student to examine an aspect of hydroponics. They then design experiments to test predicted answers to questions.
Use appropriate tools and techniques to gather, analyze and interpret data.
The experiments are designed to require very few tools. Rulers and liquid measuring devices such as graduated cylinders can be used to gather most data. Data is recorded in graphs and tables and used to predict other plant growth.
Develop descriptions, explanations, predictions, and models using evidence.
The lab notebooks include data collection, illustrations and comments about each experiment. Models are a fundamental part of the hydroponics curriculum, and used to illustrate experimental evidence.
Think critically and logically to make the relationships between evidence and explanations.
Units 2 and 3 encourage understanding of the requirements of plants grown in hydroponics culture. The data collected is used to lead to an understanding of processes such as plant growth
Recognize and analyze alternative explanations and predictions.
When an experiment does not work, or seeds germinate poorly, the results can be examined to discover what might be wrong or potential solutions (light, temperature, nutrients, etc).
Communicate scientific procedures and explanations
Each experiment and design activity includes recording results. Descriptions can be shared in a classroom setting, or published on the Internet.
Use mathematics in all aspects of scientific inquiry.
A fundamental math concept is introduced in each of the first three experiments. These tools can be used in student designed experiments. Math concepts are introduced gradually in a format that should aid student understanding.
Standard C
Life Science
As a result of these activities in grades 5-8, all students should develop understanding of
- Structure and function in living systems
Unit 2 experiments include germination of seeds and the development of four types of seedlings. As the seedlings grow differentiation of leaves can be explored, both for function and for effects of environmental influences.
Reproductivity and heredity
Seed germination experiment is an active example of the reproductive process that can be extended to the seed formation stage of plant life. Heredity can be examined through the similarity of plants to the variety of seeds planted.
Standard E
Science and technology
As a result of activities all students should develop
- Abilities of technological design
Units 7 and 8 feature creating models of modern hydroponic systems. The models are examples of utilizing technological design.
Understandings about science and technology
Designing hydroponic systems requires understanding of both science and technology. Scientific information such as calculation of solar energy, thermal conductivity and light transmission can be addressed in the design process.
Standard G
History and Nature of Science
As a result of activities all students develop an understanding of
Nature of science
The hydroponics curriculum is an ongoing investigation. In exploring how to design gardens for human food, many past scientific experiments and other school topics such as nutrition become very relevant.
History of science
Throughout the curriculum science history is used to guide the students, and to increase interest. The curriculum begins with designing a lab notebook following Da Vinci’s example.
4. Program Standards
Standard B
The program of study in science for all students should be developmentally appropriate, interesting, and relevant to the students lives. Emphasize student understanding through inquiry; and be connected with other school subjects.
- The program of study should include all of the content standards.
The Content standards A, C, E and G are directly addressed in the curriculum (see Content standards). The remaining four can be included in many ways. Chemistry can be studied in nutrient experiments, physics in studies of solar energy of solar energy or temperature. Earth and Space Science can be included through studies of the biosphere, and social sciences can be included with studies of other cultural practices or equity of resources issues.
Science content must be embedded in a variety of curriculum patterns that are developmentally appropriate, interesting, and relevant to students lives.
Many modeling activities are perceived as relevant. For example, the production of food is an important concern of students. This can be through personal preferences in food, an interest in the plants that produce familiar foods, and the resources required to grow food.
The design activities offer methods of growing food that introduce an alternative to some of the environmental problems and cultural inequities.
The program of study must emphasize student understanding through inquiry.
Each of the experiments and projects in the hydroponic curriculum is designed to be hands on learning. This lends itself to natural inquiry. It provides an opportunity to learn how to isolate a variable, to ask one question at a time, and to use a control to test new methods.
The program of study in science should connect to other school subjects.
The hydroponics curriculum includes within the units many connections to other school subjects. It virtually weaves a fabric for integrated study. The unit introducing Van Gogh and drawing plants is a natural link to art. Social studies come alive with questions about other cultures and their food production.
Standard C
The science program should be coordinated with the mathematical program to enhance student use and understanding of mathematics in the study of science and to improve student understanding of mathematics.
Several of the units utilize math in the assessment of data. For example, graphing is explored with students drawing plants at successive stages of growth and examine change in terms of a grid.
5. Assessment Standards
Standard C
The technical quality of the data collected is well matched to the decisions and actions taken on the basis of their interpretation.
- The feature that is claimed to be measured is actually measured.
Units 2 and 3 include multiple measurements such as plant growth and water use.
Assessment tasks are authentic.
Plant growth and water use is both authentic and relevant.
- An individual student’s performance is similar on two or more tasks that claim to measure the same aspect of student involvement.
The repeated measurements of plant height and water use take time, and allow for a relaxed setting for data analysis, and reflection on technique.
Students have adequate opportunity to demonstrate their achievements.
The time frame of plant growing experiments allows for drawings to be completed and a mathematical treatment of data to be understood. The lab notebooks can show the evolution of understanding for each student.
Assessment tasks and methods of presenting them provide data that are sufficiently stable to lead to the same decisions if used at different times.
Rates of plant germination and growth can vary over different times, often due to changed environmental conditions. However, the methods of germination and measurements are fundamentally the same and very stable.
Standard D
Assessment practices must be fair.
- Assessment tasks must be reviewed for the use of stereotypes, for assumptions that reflect the perspectives or experiences of a particular group, for language that might be offensive to a particular group, and for other features that might distract students from the intended task.
Curriculum includes units featuring individuals who have a disability. It also includes activities that encourage appreciation of diverse cultures. Experiments are designed to include a variety of learning styles. In the modeling activities, each student may model objects in their interest and comfort zone.
Large-scale assessments must use statistical techniques to identify potential bias among subgroups.
The hydroponic curriculum assessments are used to improve curriculum to be interesting and non-threatening experience for a variety of learning styles and diverse groups.
Assessment tasks must be appropriately modified to accommodate the needs of students with disabilities, learning disabilities, or limited proficiency of English.
Visual aids including animations are used in increase comprehension. Color is used as an aid for learning, and as a potential aid for some learning disabilities. The HTML in the web pages and CD-ROM is modified to support vision impaired reading software. There is an ongoing effort to provide more assess through audio alternatives and motion video for the curriculum.
Assessment tasks must be set in a variety of contexts, be engaging to students with different interests and experiences, and must not assume the perspectives or experience of a particular gender, racial or ethnic group.
The curriculum includes units on many cultures such as Inca and Ancient Egyptian. The perspective of the curriculum is global and it has a global student base over the Internet.
6. System Standards
Standard E
Science education policies must be equitable.
Several avenues of learning and explanation allow for a variety of learning styles. For example, the extended time frame of plant growth allow for students with a slower verbal response style to express themselves without speed dependent testing or task completion.
