Using Phenomena to address NGSS and engage students

What are phenomena?

The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) define phenomena as observable events or occurrences that can be investigated scientifically. Phenomena serve as the foundation for engaging students in the process of scientific inquiry and understanding key scientific concepts. These phenomena can be natural or man-made and can range from simple to complex, spanning across various scientific disciplines. Middle school science teachers can use phenomena to increase engagement in middle school science!

Phenomena in NGSS are used in middle school science to anchor the learning experiences and provide a context for students to develop and apply their scientific knowledge and skills. By exploring phenomena, students are encouraged to ask questions, make observations, analyze data, construct explanations, and engage in argumentation based on evidence. Phenomena enable students to connect scientific concepts to real-world situations and foster a deeper understanding of the natural world.

How to use phenomena to increase engagement in middle school science

Anchoring an NGSS aligned lesson with a phenomenon can help engage students and help them make connections between observations and understanding. Phenomena used at the start of a lesson builds inquiry skills toward learning the science knowledge that explains it. Using phenomena makes learning more meaningful for your students.

But how do we use phenomena? Here are some ideas:

• Introduce Compelling Phenomena: Start the lesson with a captivating real-world event, puzzling observation, or intriguing question that sparks students’ curiosity. This can be done through videos, images, demonstrations, or interactive experiences.
• Do a demo or post an image or video of a relevant object or discrepant event and ask students to discuss, predict, or explain. Refer to the images throughout the lesson, building connections and strengthening understanding.
• Use images that build on familiar experiences to allow students more ownership of and connection to their learning.
• Connect to Students’ Prior Knowledge: Relate the phenomenon to students’ own experiences, interests, or familiar concepts. This helps them make connections and see the relevance of the phenomenon to their lives.
• Encourage Questions and Wondering: Prompt students to generate questions and express their wonderings about the phenomenon. This promotes active engagement and sets the stage for inquiry-based learning.
• Engage students in communication their ideas about the phenomenon through writing.
• Phenomenon that can be guessed, googled, or explained in only one class period may be too simplistic. Phenomenon should build knowledge in layers that strengthen connections.
• Provide Hands-On Investigations: Design activities and experiments that allow students to explore and investigate the phenomenon firsthand. This hands-on approach encourages active participation and deepens understanding.
• Collaborative Learning: Foster collaboration among students by assigning group projects or discussions centered around the phenomenon. This encourages peer-to-peer interactions, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills.
• Use Multimedia and Technology: Incorporate multimedia resources, simulations, virtual labs, and interactive online tools to enhance students’ engagement and provide additional avenues for exploration.
• Incorporate Crosscutting Concepts: Highlight the crosscutting concepts (such as patterns, cause and effect, systems, etc.) associated with the phenomenon. This helps students see connections across different scientific disciplines and strengthens their understanding of the underlying principles.

Where can I find phenomena to use in middle school science?

Since the adoption of the NGSS, many digital collections of phenomena have been developed. Two of my favorites are:

• Phenomena for NGSS – This collection appears endless to me, despite my hours invested in trying to see everything! Photos and gifs are searchable by topic. I couldn’t think of a topic that I couldn’t find an image for.
• The Wonder of Science – This site has collections of storylines, learning plans, images and videos for each standard with links to the evidence statements. A truly exhaustive collection.

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