Running Head: I AM A SCIENTIST

I am a Scientist:
Fostering Scientific Identity through Growth Mindset
Brianna Malone
University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education

I AM A SCIENTIST

Abstract
There is a negative stereotype that woman are bad at science. One of my major
concerns is that girls will enter a biology classroom having internalized this negative stereotype
into a fixed mind-set (Steele, 1997). I have designed my first week lesson plan to allow all
students to identify as scientists. By nurturing a growth mindset, I hope to inspire passion and
curiosity for science. Due to these goals my first week framework is appropriately titled, I am a
Scientist. In the first part of the week, I focus on the diversity of the scientific community and
during the later half of the week, students will explore how scientists think. I used the
methodology of Tomlinson and McTighe to create this weeks framework using backwards
design and differentiated instruction. Educational theories of Gardner, Dweck, Steele, and
Weinstein have helped shape the lesson plans differentiated design. In addition, observations
from Teaching and Learning and my fieldwork at Upward Bound Math and Science have
impacted the unit framework. I will be able to assess the successfulness of my first unit plan
during the week and throughout the semester as students confidently apply the skills of scientific
inquiry to new situations.

I AM A SCIENTIST

I am a Scientist: Fostering Scientific Identity through Growth Mindset

As a woman scientist, I defy the stereotype that woman are bad at science. One of my
major concerns is that girls will enter my classroom having internalized this negative stereotype
into a fixed mind-set. I have designed my first week lesson plan to allow all students to identify
as scientists. By nurturing a growth mindset, I hope to inspire passion and curiosity for science
(Dweck, 2010)(Steele, 1997). I would like my students forty years from now to not only identify
as scientists, but to use scientific inquiry to understand the world around them. Due to these
goals my first week framework is appropriately titled, I am a Scientist. In the first part of the
week, I focus on the diversity of the scientific community and during the later half of the week,
my students will explore how scientists think.
I used the methodology of Tomlinson and McTighe to create this week framework using
backwards design and differentiated instruction. The three stages to backwards design are to
identify desired results, determine acceptable evidence, and plan learning experiences and
instruction. Backwards design allows students to explore essential questionsto understand
important ideas contained in content standards (Tomlinson & McTighe, 2006, p. 27). To help
facilitate the learning of all students in the diverse community of Masterman, my placement
school, I have implemented differentiated instruction and assessment into my weekly plan to
serve multiple needs. I will be able to assess the successfulness of my first unit plan during the
week and throughout the semester as students confidently apply the skills of scientific inquiry to
new situations.
My first class, I begin with a constructivist method to address the question of who are
scientists and what do I have in common with scientists? I will begin with a hook: an image of a
funny cartoon of a mad scientist. I will have the students discuss what they think scientists look

I AM A SCIENTIST

like. Then, I will show students a slideshow of scientists with varying gender, age, race, and
ethnicity. I will make sure to include a picture of myself in the slideshow, as I am a woman
scientist. Then I will randomly assort students into groups of two to research a scientist. I will
give them a list of scientists that I have particularly selected to represent the diversity in the
scientific community. I have specifically chosen to put the students with a partner rather then to
individually complete the assignment because this is the first class. In Teaching and Learning,
we discussed that in the beginning of school, to create a comfortable environment, students
would prefer to work in groups. In addition, this will allow students to get to know one another.
While students research their scientist in class, I will have the opportunity to walk around and
interact with the students. As Weinstein (2011) points out in Middle and Secondary Classroom
Management, knowing your students is essential if you are to build an inclusive, caring
environment for learning (p.115). In addition, differentiated instruction suggests using varied
assessment methods. I will give students the option to present their scientist to the class using a
PowerPoint, a poster, a skit, or a song. Again, as it is the first week of school, students my not be
completely at ease with a completely free assessment style. Having specific options will provide
structure and comfort.
My first two days, I focus on exploring this diverse scientific community to allow the
students with varied culture to identify commonalities between themselves and scientists. Girls
in particular often feel a disconnect in science classes. This is due to what Claude Steele refers to
as stereotype threat. A negative stereotype exists that women are bad at science or cant do
science. The stereotype is often internalized in girls becoming part of their identity. The
outcomes of this fixed mindset can be deleterious to their performance in science class (Steele,
1997). Carol Dweck has suggested that a growth mindset can combat a fixed mindset. A growth

I AM A SCIENTIST

mindset implies that with effort we can grow our intellectual ability (Dweck, 2010). My hope in
targeting this fixed mindset, that girls are bad at science, early on is so that girls will be able to
identify as scientists and see success in science class as tangible.
The second half of the week, I will address how scientists think. I will explore the
essential questions: how do scientists use methods of inquiry to understand the world and how
can you use the scientific inquiry to understand the world around you? I will begin this section
on scientific method by having students complete the following do now: describe a problem you
have encountered in your environment and how you solved or tried to solve it. This will lead into
a behaviorist lesson on the scientific inquiry. Students will need to know the steps to the
scientific method and the relevant experimental terminology such as hypothesis, positive and
negative control, independent variable, and dependent variable. This base knowledge will allow
them to build the skills necessary for inquiry as a scientist and to properly communicate within
the global scientific community. In my fieldwork with high school students in a summer STEM
program, I noticed students struggled with how to develop a hypothesis in labs. They found it
difficult to understand that a hypothesis does not need to be correct. In my lesson, I will
emphasis this by giving an example with a hypothesis that my data refutes. Lastly, to tie my
lesson on the scientific inquiry to steps of the scientific method that they may have already used
in inquiry, I will conclude the class by having the students identify in their do now steps of the
scientific method. By connecting new knowledge to old knowledge the students already possess,
they will have a greater understanding of inquiry and be able to connect scientific thinking as
their own.
The last two days of the week will allow students to explore the scientific method
through a gummy bear experiment. Students will develop the skills of inquiry: to form and test a

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hypothesis and to analyze quantitative results using statistical analysis. This two-day experiment
touches on Gardners theory of Multiple Intelligence. His theory includes eight distinct types of
intelligences: spatial, bodily kinesthetic, musical, linguistic, logical-mathematical, interpersonal,
intrapersonal, and naturalistic (Multiple Intelligences, 2015). While working with high school
students in lab, I have observed that the lab environment allows students diverse intelligences to
thrive. Someone with a strong bodily-kinesthetic intelligence will thrive in the hands-on active
lab environment. Someone with interpersonal intelligence will work well and efficiently with his
or her lab partner. Someone with visual/special will benefit from observational changes in
reactants. Someone with a naturalistic intelligence will enjoy exploring his or her environment
through scientific inquiry. Lastly someone with a logical-mathematical intelligence will excel at
data analysis.
In the gummy bear lab, students will use the scientific method to explore the affect of a
chosen liquid on the size of a gummy bear. I chose gummy bears because it is a fun, low stress
lab for their first exposure to the scientific method. I have added a component of competition to
the lab. In my summer fieldwork, I noticed that students enjoyed the competition of survival of
the fittest while completing a lab on evolution. In addition, the head of the science department at
Masterman, informed us at the Meet Your Mentor Night, that the students at Masterman are very
competitive and enjoy competing. I added a class competition to the gummy bear experiment.
The students will compete for the greatest increase and decrease in gummy bear size. Lastly,
while designing the lab, I created a clear and concise procedure because I found in my fieldwork
that students were lost and confused when the instructions were unclear.
After students have completed the lab, I designed a writing prompt to assess whether
students understand limitations of the scientific method and if they can translate scientific

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inquiry to other subjects. I found in my fieldwork when we presented photosynthesis to the high
school students, they were more comfortable contributing to questions that did not have a correct
answer. This prompt provides students with the opportunity to critical apply and critique the
limitations of the scientific method.
The culmination of this unit will be an I am a Scientist bulletin board that I will keep in
the classroom the entire year. As was mentioned in Teaching and Learning, students no matter
the age enjoy working with markers. I will have the students complete with marker and an index
card the phrase: I am a scientist because_________. I will then take a picture of each student
as a scientist. I will place the students picture and their sentence on the bulletin board. Lastly, as
closure, I will assess students comfort and enjoyment of scientific inquiry by conducting a brief
survey. This will help me reflect on the successfulness of the unit plan and where students may
be struggling.
As I have never conducted this lesson plan, I have some questions about its
implementation. My first concern is that the class periods at Masterman may not give me enough
time to fulfill all the content prepared in one week. Secondly, since the students are in high
school should I be more direct with them discussing the negative stereotype that women are bad
at science exists? Will students with special needs struggle with the experimental portion or
English language learners have difficulty with the scientific inquiry vocabulary? In addition,
have students had prior knowledge of the scientific method and will find the experiment too
easy? Lastly, if I have a student who is vegan will they be comfortable working with gummy
bears?

I AM A SCIENTIST

References
Dweck, C.S. (2010). Mind-Sets and Equitable Education. Principal Leadership, 10(5): 26-29
Multiple Intelligences Oasis (2015). Multiple Intelligences Oasis - Howard Gardner's Official
MI Site. Retrieved 12 August 2015, from http://multipleintelligencesoasis.org/
Steele, C.M. (1997) A Threat in the Air: How stereotypes shape intellectual identity and
performance. American Psychologist 52 (6), 613-629
Tomlinson, C. A., & McTighe, J. (2006). Integrating differentiated instruction & understanding
by design: Connecting content and kids. Alexandria, Va: Association for Supervision and
Curriculum Development.
Weinstein, C. S. (2011). Middle and secondary classroom management: Lessons from research
and practice (4th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.