Tag Archives: KLEWS

KLEWS

In the article KLEWS to Explanation-Building in Science, we learned about a specific procedure to follow when teaching science. The procedure, called KLEWS, allows students to track their learning throughout an investigation, building up to the understanding of a scientific principle. We start with K- What do we think we know? This step extracts students’ prior knowledge and gives the teacher an idea of what each student brings to the table (whether it’s correct or not). The next step is L- What are we learning? Students would fill out this column while investigating with different claims they have to answer the guiding questions. Simultaneously, students fill out E- What is our evidence? In this step, students list their observations that they feel substantiate their claims. Next, the students come up with ideas for further investigation or subsequent questions that came up throughout the investigation in the W- What do we still wonder about? column. Last is S- What scientific principles/ vocabulary help explain the phenomena? This step is the last of the investigation, once students have already made claims and listed their observations. In this step, the teacher explains the concept behind what they learned. It is crucial that this is the last step because students can make connections to a general concept from their own, personal experience in the investigation. It also brings the class together at the conclusion of an experiment. It allows the teacher to consolidate students’ knowledge in a concise manner. Students should be the ones to dictate the scientific definitions and vocabulary because if it is in their own words, that demonstrates that they are working with their own knowledge and applying it, rather than just repeating a concept from a book.

The KLEWS chart moves through all the steps involved in scientific reasoning: CER. C stands for Claims, which we make in the L section of KLEWS. Then, E stands for Evidence just as it does in KLEWS. And last, R stands for Reasoning. In the KLEWS chart, it is the S section that involves scientific reasoning. Throughout an investigation, students list their observations and claims to answer a guiding question from their observations. Then, at the end, they learn science definitions which they re-construct to explain specifically how their investigation works because of a scientific principle. In CER, the Reasoning portion means connecting the evidence to the claim and explaining why the evidence supports the claim. One must use scientific ideas in the reasoning portion. The R- and S-aspects boil down to the same thing.

KLEWS and CER help facilitate science learning because it moves students from hands-on activity to minds-on activity. It directs an investigation to build on what the children know until they hit a scientific proof. The students actively participate from the start and even in the last step, the scientific principle that explains their claims and evidence must be constructed from their own thoughts and words. Because KLEWS builds on students’ prior knowledge and involves their input at every step, it makes the final concept much more tangible for them. They truly will understand the concept, not just memorize a definition of the concept. In addition, KLEWS and CER require students to reflect on and verbalize their learning at every step in the scientific process. This metacognition is powerful for learners because it will pinpoint any holes in their logic, allowing students to focus their attention on the problem, rather than have an overall hazy understanding because of a misconception or flawed reasoning. Overall, the use of KLEWS and CER in a science investigation promote a more objective, clarified, and thorough understanding of science.