Chapter 1: Importance of Supporting Students in Scientific Explanation
1.1. The role of explanations in science
1.2. Scientific explanations in the classroom
1.3. Benefits of scientific explanations
1.4. Alignment with the national science standards
1.5. Student challenges with scientific explanations
1.6. Check Point
1.7. Study Group Questions
Chapter 2: Framework for Constructing Scientific Explanations
2.1. Students’ understandings of scientific explanations
2.2. Framework for constructing scientific explanations
2.3. Video Example – Introducing the instructional framework
2.4. Examples of scientific explanations
2.5. Increasing the complexity of the framework over time
2.6. Benefits of the framework for all learners
2.7. Check Point
2.8. Study Group Questions
Chapter 3: Designing Learning Tasks for Your Science Curriculum
3.1. Considerations for designing learning tasks
3.2. Step 1: Identify opportunities in the curriculum
3.3. Examples of learning tasks
3.4. Step 2: Design complexity of the learning task
3.5. Step 3: Create Classroom Support
3.6. Check Point
3.7. Study Group Questions
Chapter 4: Teaching Strategies to Integrate into Classroom Instruction
4.1. Teaching strategies
4.2. Supporting all learners
4.3. Check Point
4.4. Study Group Questions
Chapter 5: Developing Assessment Tasks and Rubrics
5.1. Overview of the development process
5.2. Step 1: Identify and unpack the content standard
5.3. Step 2: Select scientific explanation level of complexity
5.4. Step 3: Create learning performances
5.5. Step 4: Write the assessment task
5.6. Step 5: Review the assessment task
5.7. Step 6: Develop specific rubric
5.8. Check Point
5.9. Study Group Questions
Chapter 6: Using Rubrics and Student Data to Inform Instruction
6.1. Role of assessment in creating a supportive learning environment
6.2. Using rubrics to support student learning
6.3. Providing students with feedback
6.4. Check Point
6.5. Study Group Questions
Chapter 7: Supporting Learning Over Time
7.1. Developing a classroom culture
7.2. A learning progression for scientific explanation
7.3. Connecting to other content areas
7.4. Check Point
7.5. Study Group Questions
