Ted Willard 
Table of Contents
Look around! Phenomena—observable events in the universe—are happening all around you. Some phenomena happen at massive scales, such as the collision of two galaxies. Others happen at microscopic scales, such as photosynthesis inside a plant’s cell. Some are spectacular, such as a bolt of lightning hitting a tree, while others are mundane, such as how a ball bounces on the floor when it rolls off a table. But regardless of how spectacular or mundane a phenomenon may seem, phenomena are central to science and scientific learning.
At the heart of science is the quest to understand, explain, and predict phenomena. Students observe phenomena and ask questions about them. They carry out investigations and analyze data about phenomena. They construct explanations and models about phenomena and make predictions.
Making Phenomena Part of Scientific Learning
Since phenomena are so central to science, they should be equally central to science education. But all too frequently, phenomena have not been used effectively in science classrooms. In traditional instruction, teachers and textbooks often tell students science ideas and then have them consider a phenomenon. They do not provide students with any reason to learn. For instance, when learning about gravity and other forces, a teacher could tell students about the force of gravity and the force of air resistance and then explain to students that the reason a feather floats to the ground is that the pull of gravity on the feather is countered by the force of air resistance on the feather.
While this might at first seem like an effective approach, it often has had some negative consequences because it hands students answers before they have asked any questions. Thus, students really do not have an intrinsic reason to deeply learn scientific ideas. Instead, they frequently learn to play the “game” of school, where they figure out what to say or do to get a good grade but retain little actual knowledge. Or they disengage because they have little reason to care. There are decades of evidence that this approach has not worked.
Developing Strategies
In recent years, much more effective strategies have been developed. The key is a shift from having students focus on just learning science ideas to figuring out how or why a phenomenon takes place. This leads students to ask their own questions about the phenomenon and then taps into their curiosity to give them a reason to develop a deep understanding of the scientific ideas. As long as students consider the phenomenon relevant, the process of making sense of the phenomenon can drive student learning. In addition, the last decade has also shown an increased use of educational technology in the classroom, from something as simple as an engaging video to elaborate interactives and other high-quality digital content.
So now consider a different approach to learning about gravity—one that starts with a phenomenon of the feather falling and then lets students take the lead in figuring it out. Students could be shown a feather, and a steel block dropped two times in a chamber. In the first instance, there is air in the chamber, and the block falls quickly while the feather slowly floats to the bottom of the chamber. However, in the second instance, the air has been pumped out of the chamber, and this time, both objects fall quickly to the bottom of the chamber.
Students are asked to make observations and ask questions, just the way a scientist would. They now wonder why the feather fell so quickly in one case and not the other. Rather than the teacher just telling the students why it happened, students now need to figure it out for themselves.
The Role Questions Play
It is important to notice the role that questions play in this process. Ordinarily, we think of questions as something teachers ask students. But in the scenario described above, students are the ones producing the questions. Thus, the process is student-centered. In addition, asking questions about phenomena is one of the primary activities of scientists. So, when students do this, they are learning about the universe in the same way that scientists do.
With their questions in hand, students now have a reason to plan and carry out investigations of how gravity pulls on objects and how objects move when forces are applied to them. Digital resources are a tremendous tool for these types of explorations. Not every classroom has a vacuum chamber to conduct this experiment, but students can observe a video of the feather falling. Other digital tools can allow students to conduct virtual interactive investigations where forces can be easier to visualize with vectors superimposed on diagrams.
These investigations will produce data that needs to be organized and interpreted. Students may also analyze information about force and motion. Phenomena play a key role here, too, as they provide evidence that students can answer their questions and justify their explanations. Here too, digital tools can facilitate the process of collecting and making sense of the evidence.
This work will lead students to construct their own explanation for why the feather fell slowly when there was air in the chamber and quickly when there was no air. And as they construct that explanation, they will develop their own understanding of the laws of gravity and of motion. But this understanding will be much more meaningful to them because they will have worked for it.
Creating Lightbulb Moments in Scientific Learning
One of the greatest experiences for a scientist or an engineer is that moment when the light bulb goes off over their heads as they figure something out. By putting phenomena front and center during instruction and letting students ask their own questions and develop their own explanations of those phenomena, we give them the opportunity to have those “lightbulb” moments. Consider the wonder that young children have about the world. The use of phenomena and questions in the science classroom is the key to fostering that sense of wonder throughout students’ entire K-12 experience.
