MSITE Science educator, Tammy Lee, has authored an article, Close Encounters of the Amphibious Kind: Frog Calls across Ponds and across Disciplines. This article has been published this month (February) in Science and Children. The articles details a half-day 5E lesson integrating two of the disciplinary core ideas (DCI) from the Next Generation of Science Standards (NGSS): physical science (PS4-A) and life science (LS2.D) within an informal science environment (summer science camp). These two DCIs were integrated to demonstrate how science disciplines work together within the natural world. In the real world, science disciplines do not exist in isolation (NRC, 2012). The integration of science concepts was demonstrated by exploring how animals use sound to communicate messages (life science), with students using vibrating materials (physical science) to mimic these animal calls (sounds). Then as an extension, students played a game (non-laboratory experience) to illustrate how “being a part of group helps animals obtain food, defend themselves, and cope with changes” (NGSS,2013).
