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Private Universe Project in Science
Background Information
 
History of A Private Universe
In 1985, Matthew H. Schneps and Philip M. Sadler of the Science EducationDepartment at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics created APrivate Universe, a video program for science teachers. The program openswith a segment in which newly minted Harvard graduates, dressed in capsand gowns, discuss their theories for the causes of the seasons. The Harvardgrads, intelligent and articulate, speak eloquently about their ideas, whichare, for the most part, erroneous. Through interviews with high schoolstudents and teachers, and scenes of classroom activities, A Private Universedemonstrates how a student's preconceived ideas and beliefs can posecritical barriers to learning science, whether the learning environment is apublic school or a prestigious private college.Encouraged by the success of the original video, the Harvard-SmithsonianCenter for Astrophysics continued the work of A Private Universe by creatingthe Private Universe Project. Funded by the National Science Foundation, theAnnenberg Media Math and Science Project, and the Smithsonian Institution,the Private Universe Project has produced a series of interactiveteleconferences for teachers, an instructional television series, and a publicbroadcast series, all of which examine current research on how childrenlearn science and the implications of that research for the classroom.
Origin of the Private Universe Project in Science Workshop
 The nine sessions of the Private Universe Project in Science are the editedversions of the nine interactive teleconferences broadcast in the fall of 1994. These teleconferences reached thousands of teachers at sites across theUnited States, in the United Kingdom, Canada, and Costa Rica. Theteleconferences were created to accomplish the following:
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 To gather feedback from K-12 classroom teachers on the videomaterials and to extrapolate ideas and suggestions from the feedbackto use for a future public television broadcast series on scienceeducation;
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 To introduce current educational research on how children learnscience, including a learning theory applicable to all ages;
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 To share classroom strategies that teachers are using in response tothis research. The remote site participants were asked to fax, telephone, E-mail, and mailin comments; to send examples of their students' work; and to answer
 
specific questions regarding the content of each teleconference. We receivedthousands of responses, many of which have been incorporated in thewritten materials as well as in the final version of the broadcast series onscience education.
NOTE:
Because the workshop tapes are edited versions of live, on-airinteractive teleconferences that took place in the fall of 1994, it is importantto note that the audiobridge (telephone connection to the studio from thesites around the country) no longer exists and feedback is no longer beinggathered. 
Format of the Workshops
 The teleconferences have been adapted for use as professional developmentworkshops, which can be viewed independently or in sequence. Someelements of the live, on-air teleconferences (i.e., studio site discussions andtelephone calls from remote sites), have been retained in the workshoptapes when they are relevant to the topic being discussed. All discussionsare built around rare and difficult-to-obtain footage of students discussingtheir ideas and the question of how students assimilate science concepts.Each program is structured as an experiment that investigates how astudent's ideas change or do not change in response to a given teachingstrategy.1. Each workshop focuses on an educational theme:
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Workshop One: How can teachers learn to elicit student ideas?
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Workshop Two: How can teachers map the scope of student ideas?
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Workshop Three: What are the differences between hands-on andminds-on science education?
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Workshop Four: When should students be expected to learn abstractfundamental concepts?
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Workshop Five: How can we teach a science concept that contradictspersonal experience?
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Workshop Six: How might a teacher create a constructivist lesson plan?
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Workshop Seven: What are the risks and classroom issues in trying outthis "new" teaching strategy?
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Workshop Eight: How can teachers identify and implement realisticstrategies for science education?
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Workshop Nine: How can we enlist the help of education leaders toencourage constructivist approaches in the classroom? 2. Each workshop explores the themes listed above by showing examplesfrom a specific grade level and posing a broad question within a specificscience discipline. However, K-12 science teachers should benefit from eachof these programs.
 
Workshop OneSubject: Astronomy Age: Grade 9 & CollegeQuestion: What causes the changing seasons?Workshop TwoSubject: Photosynthesis Age: Grade 7 & CollegeQuestion: Where does the weight of drywood come from?Workshop ThreeSubject: Electricity Age: Grades 11, 12 & CollegeQuestion: Can a light bulb be lit with a battery and wire(s)?Workshop FourSubject: Chemistry Age: Grades 3, 6, 8, & 10Questions: What is air made of? What is between the particles of air?Workshop FiveSubject: Vision & Light Age: Grades 5, 8 & CollegeQuestion: If a mirror is mounted flat against the wall, how long must it be foryou to see your whole body in it?Workshop SixSubject: Gravity & Friction Age: Grade 7Question: Can a machine be built that will operate forever?Workshop SevenSubject: Environmental Science Age: Grade 4Question: What causes an apple to rot? 3. Each workshop consists of the following components:
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Video clips of interviews with students and teachers as well asexamples of classroom teaching that illustrate the science educationissues being discussed;
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Presentation of current science education research;
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Activity discussion: Studio and remote site discussions of the scienceeducation issues raised in the video clips with a STOP TAPE ANDDISCUSS instruction for the viewing workshop audiences;
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Phone calls (via audiobridge) from remote sites;
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Explanations of the specific science concept being explored;
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Examples of feedback from previous workshops;
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Activities to be completed either during or prior to a workshop.
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