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Cassandra Saikin
Patterns of Change Reflection
Current Issues in Science Education
The “Big Ideas” in science are unifying concepts that help students understand concepts
about that natural world. “Patterns of change” is one such idea that relates directly to another big
idea: systems. Systems are organized in a particular way that is predictable and are always
striving toward a state of equilibrium. Analysis of the patterns of change within systems allows
students and scientists to understand a phenomenon and to make predictions about what change
will bring to that system. These patterns of change manifest in different forms, including steady
trends (e.g. the falling of a rock), cyclic patterns (e.g. the water cycle), and irregular/chaotic
patterns and can occur at micro- and macroscopic scales.
As students get older, their understanding of change gets more complex. Benchmarks for
learning and applying patterns of change concepts can be found in the New Hampshire
Curriculum Framework for science. In elementary school, they move from learning to compare
and contrast objects and make observations (such as color, weight, height, etc.) through simple
measurements. In middle school, students understand that systems or objects can change in
steady, repetitive, or irregular ways and that the use of visual tools (tables, graphs, models, etc.)
can be used to record their observations. High school students learn that as systems get more
complex, the parts of the system become more sensitive to changes and the behavior of these
effects of change aren’t always predictable (Rogers, 2000). Graphic, mathematical and
technological tools in the classroom allow students to actively analyze change in the parts of a
system and predict its consequence. Students gain an understanding of the complexity of a
system and also have another opportunity to act like scientists in the classroom.
Evolution is also a key topic with regards to change in the science community. Although
it is a controversial topic in many schools around the country, it is a prime example of change
over time. When studying evolution, students come to learn that the present form and function
of objects (such as organisms) arose from either a gradual or sporadic change in equilibrium over
time (Sally Ride Science, 2011). As students begin to understand these theories in the science
world, they can learn to apply them in more broad fields, such as music, literature, technology,
language, etc. (Project2061, 1990).
Patterns of change are concepts that are also associated with the current science focus on
climate change. Global warming may be a concept that students can relate to because it is
widely discussed in the media. However, because the students aren’t immersed in it like some in
Cassandra Saikin
Patterns of Change Reflection
Current Issues in Science Education
higher education or in the field, it may be a difficult concept to grasp. Therefore, exposing the
students to climate change and global warming in the classroom may be a valuable experience.
It is important for students to know that many organisms and other systems (including
ecosystems) are sensitive to temperature changes and that some populations survive in some
locations better than others due to temperature parameters. Students need to be able to analyze
and predict what temperature changes do to particular ecosystems – How are plant and animal
life affected? What will happen to the food web if a temperature change persists? Many
students have misconceptions about these concepts, and with proper instruction, students can
begin to understand the true nature of how change affects ecosystems (ScienceNetLinks.com,
2010). An example of a lesson plan encompassing these concepts is called “Grasslands and
Climate Change,” and is included here. (ScienceNetLinks.com, 2010).
The Jason Project Mission Center is a good source of materials for students and teachers
in presenting information on patterns of change. One digital lab activity, called “The Secret Life
of the Bayou,” is part of an ecology unit that allows students to walk in the shoes of an organism
(for example, a sandpiper or an oyster) in the Louisiana bayou and find the optimal habitat for
that organism. By doing this activity, students will come to understand that some animals are
better adapted to certain environmental conditions than others, and that changes in their habitat
could result in death for the organism. Students could discuss environmental change and what
happens to the bayou ecosystem if one factor is changed. This activity could also spark
discussion about how organisms in the bayou could evolve to live in other sub-habitats.
The Jason Project website also has numerous articles referring to ecological change. One
such article is on the effect of global warming on Antarctica, and how this causes melting of the
glaciers, causing a change in ocean salinity and subsequently altering the oceanic current system.
These changes can impact the ecosystem of Antarctica by interfering with migration, mating
seasons, vegetation growth, foraging, etc. Articles like this would be very beneficial for students
because it allows them to think of change in a real-world scenario. Both of these activities are
examples that I would like to incorporate into the ecology unit that I developed in my science
methods course.
Cassandra Saikin
Patterns of Change Reflection
Current Issues in Science Education
When studying systems and conducting research in a science classroom, students should
be able to observe patterns of change in their observations. Questions to ask while conducting
their investigation include:

What did you observe that stayed the same during your investigation?

What changed during your investigation?

What caused the change?

How long did it take for the changes to occur?

What could be done to make the changes faster or slower?
Asking these questions in conjunction with the use of visual tools, such as graphs and tables,
should be emphasized while students are conducting investigations and studying systems. Visual
tools are important because they give students a picture of how an object or system changes from
one point to the next. These questions and visual tools get students to analyze the complexity of
phenomena, observe patterns and make predictions and conclusions about how the system
functions, and also that this is how scientists analyze patterns of change. In the plant growth
research activity in the middle school ecology unit that I developed, students are required to
develop their own experimental procedure to understand the effect of a biotic or abiotic factor in
the growth of plants. By emphasizing or requiring students to answer the above questions in
their investigations, students will learn that altering different variables brings about change. For
example, students studying the effect of water on plant growth could use different amounts of
water in several planters to see which promotes faster growth. .In this manner, students could
make predictions as to which seeds will sprout and grow faster based on the amount of water
used. Then, the use of visual tools (graphs, models, etc.) will allow students to record and
present the changes they observed.
References
Project 2061. “Chapter 11: Common Themes.” Science for All Americans online. 1990.
http://www.project2061.org/publications/sfaa/online/chap11.htm
This chapter discusses the four common themes in science – systems, models, constancy and change, and
scale. The section on systems was useful in relaying the importance of teaching systems in science and
important concepts to know for students.
Rogers, Dr. Stearns W. “The Use of Themes in Science.” 2000. McNeese State University, Louisiana.
http://www.eduplace.com/science/profdev/articles/rogers.html
Cassandra Saikin
Patterns of Change Reflection
Current Issues in Science Education
This website also discusses the four common themes in science – systems, models, constancy and change,
and scale. It discussed what a scientifically literate individual should know about systems and explains a
lot of the same material as Project2061.
Sally Ride Science.“National Education Standards.”NASA.2011.
https://earthkam.ucsd.edu/educators/science_standards.
Discusses the National Science Standards for education while also conferring about topics such as Earth
and Space Science Education, Scientific Inquiry, the unifying concepts and processes, and science in
personal and social perspectives.
ScienceNetLinks.“Grasslands and Climate Change.”AAAS. 5/2010.
http://www.sciencenetlinks.com/lessons.php?BenchmarkID=5&DocID=544.
This lesson plan brings discusses the importance of climate change and its impact on grassland
ecosystems. It also addresses the misconceptions that students have about the affect of temperature on
ecosystems.