The five lessons in this module are designed to
Setting, Students role-play behavioral scientists
be taught in sequence for approximately eight
in a hospital scenario to investigate the
days as a replacement for a part of the standard
relationships between behavior and health.
curriculum in middle school life science. The
They also develop a behavioral modification
following pages offer general suggestions about
plan to help a fictitious character lower his risk
using these materials in the classroom; you
of heart disease.
will find specific suggestions in the procedures
provided for each lesson.
The final lesson, Behavior Specialists in the
Healthcare Setting ... Again, allows students to
What Are the Goals of the Module?
consider what they have learned in previous
The Science of Healthy Behaviors is designed
lessons. They investigate in detail the many
to help students reach these major goals
influences on a person’s behavior and relate
associated with scientific literacy:
this to the reasons underlying behaviors. The
• to understand a set of basic scientific principles
following two tables illustrate the science
related to the study of behavior and the
content and conceptual flow of the classroom
relationships of behavior to human health;
lessons and activities.
• to experience the process of scientific
inquiry and develop an enhanced
Science Content of the Lessons
understanding of the nature and methods of
science; and
Lesson
Science Content
• to recognize the role of science in society
Lesson 1
What is behavior?; observation
and the relationship between basic science
as a scientific tool
and human health.
Lesson 2
Influences on behavior
Lesson 3
Using a survey as a scientific
What Are the Science Concepts and How
tool
Are They Connected?
The lessons are organized into a conceptual
Lesson 4
Relationship of behavior to
framework that allows students to move from
health; changing behaviors
what they already know about behavior, some of
Lesson 5
Pulling it together: changing
which may be incorrect, to a scientific perspective
behavior as it relates to
on behavior and its importance to science and
influences on and reasons for
to their lives. Students begin by developing their
behavior
own definition of behavior through observations
of human and animal behavior ( Defining
How Does the Module Correlate with the
Behavior). Students then explore the relationship
National Science Education Standards?
between influences on behavior and reasons for
The Science of Healthy Behaviors supports
behavior ( Influences on Behavior).
teachers in their efforts to reform science
education in the spirit of the National Research
An investigation of factors influencing physical
Council’s 1996 National Science Education
activity introduces students to the survey
Standards ( NSES).19 The content of the module
as a tool of behavioral scientists ( Tools of
is explicitly standards based. The chart on
Social and Behavioral Science: The Survey). In
pages 7–9 lists the specific content standards
Behavioral Specialists at Work: The Healthcare
that this module addresses.
5
The Science of Healthy Behaviors
Conceptual Flow of the Lessons
Lesson
Learning Focus*
Major Concepts
Lesson 1
Engage
Behavior is any activity in which an organism engages,
Defining Behavior
Explore
and it can be innate or learned. Behavior is studied by
Explain
behavioral and social scientists. Scientists use a variety
of tools to study behaviors, including observation and
animal models. Some studies occur in the laboratory
while others take place in natural settings. Some studies
examine behavior in individuals while others collect
information about behavior of groups. Understanding
behavior is important because many behaviors have
long- and short-term impacts on health. Improving
health requires an understanding of what behaviors
people engage in, why they engage in them, and what
the health consequences of those behaviors are.
Lesson 2
Explore
Individuals behave in certain ways. Reasons for
Influences on
Explain
behavior originate in various influences. These
Behavior
influences can be classified into general categories,
such as biological, personal, social, or environmental.
Individuals can modify some, but not all, of these
influences.
Lesson 3
Explore
Surveys are important tools for social and behavioral
Tools of Social and
Explain
scientists. Surveys provide quantifiable information
Behavioral Science:
about behaviors and behavior trends and allow
The Survey
scientists to study the relationships among different
influences and behaviors. Survey questions must
be designed carefully to ask very specific questions.
Sample size and a representative sample are critical
to generating useful data from a survey. Different
influences can affect a person’s physical activity levels.
Lesson 4
Elaborate
Health is influenced by factors, some of which we
Behavioral
cannot modify (such as genetics) and some of which
Specialists at Work:
we can control (such as behaviors). Behaviors have
The Healthcare
both positive and negative outcomes on health.
Setting
Behaviors may have both short- and long-term
consequences for health. Behaviors may be modified to
affect health positively.
Lesson 5
Evaluate
Individuals behave in certain ways. Reasons for
Behavioral
behavior originate in various influences. Asking well-
Specialists in the
designed, specific questions is an important tool
Healthcare Setting
of scientists who study human behavior. Modifying
... Again
behavior may be difficult and depends on complex
relationships among many influences in a person’s life.
*See How Does the BSCS 5E Instructional Model Promote Active, Collaborative, Inquiry-Based Learning? on page 9.
6
Content Standards: Grades 5–8
NSES Content Standard
Correlation to The
Science of Healthy
Behaviors
Standard A: As a result of activities in grades 5–8, all students should develop Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry
• Identify questions that can be answered through scientific investigations.
Lessons 1, 2, 3, 4
• Design and conduct a scientific investigation.
Lessons 2, 3, 4
• Use appropriate tools and techniques to gather, analyze, and interpret Lessons 1, 2, 3, 4
data.
• Develop descriptions, explanations, predictions, and models using
Lessons 1, 2, 3, 4
evidence.
• Think critically and logically to make the relationships between
Lessons 2, 3, 4
evidence and explanations.
• Recognize and analyze alternative explanations and predictions.
Lessons 2, 3, 4
• Communicate scientific procedures and explanations.
Lessons 2, 3, 4
• Use mathematics in all aspects of scientific inquiry.
Lesson 3
Understandings about scientific inquiry
• Different kinds of questions suggest different kinds of scientific
Lessons 1, 2, 3
investigations. Some investigations involve observing and describing
objects, organisms, or events; some involve collecting specimens; some
involve experiments; some involve seeking more information; some
involve discovery of new objects; and some involve making models.
• Different scientific domains employ different methods, core theories,
Lessons 1, 2, 3
and standards to advance scientific knowledge and understanding.
• Mathematics is important in all aspects of scientific inquiry.
Lesson 3
• Asking questions and querying other scientists’ explanations is part of Lessons 2, 3, 4
scientific inquiry.
Standard C: As a result of their activities in grades 5–8, all students should develop understanding of
Structure and function in living systems
• Disease is a breakdown in structures or functions of an organism.
Lesson 4
Reproduction and heredity
• The characteristics of an organism can be described in terms of a
Lessons 2, 4
combination of traits. Some are inherited, and others result from
interactions with the environment.
Regulation and behavior
• All organisms must be able to obtain and use resources, grow,
Lessons 1, 2, 4
reproduce, and maintain stable internal conditions while living in a
constantly changing environment.
• Behavior is one kind of response an organism can make to an internal All lessons or environmental stimulus. Behavioral response is a set of actions
determined in part by heredity and in part from experience.
• An organism’s behavior evolves through adaptation to its environment. Lessons 1, 2
How a species moves, obtains food, reproduces, and responds to
danger is based on the species’ evolutionary history.
7
Implementing the Module
The Science of Healthy Behaviors
NSES Content Standard
Correlation to The
Science of Healthy
Behaviors
Standard F: As a result of their activities in grades 5–8, all students should develop understanding of
Personal health
• Regular exercise is important to the maintenance and improvement of Lessons 3, 4, 5
health.
• The use of tobacco increases the risk of illness. Students should
Lessons 4, 5
understand the influence of short-term social and psychological factors
that lead to tobacco use, and the possible long-term detrimental
effects of smoking and chewing tobacco.
Risks and benefits
• Risk analysis considers the type of hazard and estimates the number
Lesson 3
of people who might be exposed and the number likely to suffer
consequences. The results are used to determine the options for
reducing or eliminating risks.
• Students should understand the risks associated with natural hazards
Lessons 4, 5
(fires, floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, and volcanic
eruptions), chemical hazards (pollutants in air, water, soil, and food),
biological hazards (pollen, viruses, bacterial, and parasites), social
hazards (occupational safety and transportation), and personal hazards
(smoking, dieting, and drinking).
• Individuals can use a systematic approach to thinking critically about
Lessons 2, 3, 4, 5
risks and benefits.
• Important personal and social decisions are made based on
Lesson 2
perceptions of benefits and risks.
• Science influences society through its knowledge and world views.
Lessons 1, 4, 5
Standard G: As a result of activities in grades 5–8, all students should develop understanding of
Science as a human endeavor
• Women and men of various social and ethnic backgrounds—and with
Lessons 1, 4, 5
diverse interests, talents, qualities, and motivations—engage in the
activities of science, engineering, and related fields such as the health
professions. Some scientists work in teams and some work alone, but
all communicate extensively with others.
• Science requires different abilities, depending on such factors as
Lessons 1, 2, 3
the field of study and type of inquiry. Science is very much a human
endeavor, and the work of science relies on basic human qualities,
such as reasoning, insight, energy, skills, and creativity.
• Science also relies on scientific habits of mind, such as intellectual
Lessons 1, 2, 4, 5
honesty, tolerance of ambiguity, skepticism, and openness to new ideas.
8
NSES Content Standard
Correlation to The
Science of Healthy
Behaviors
Nature of science (Content Standard G continued)
• Scientists formulate and test their explanations of nature using
Lessons 1, 2, 3, 4
observation, experiments, and theoretical and mathematical models.
• It is part of scientific inquiry to evaluate the results of scientific
Lessons 2, 3, 4
investigations, experiments, observations, theoretical models, and
the explanations proposed by other scientists. Evaluation includes
reviewing the experimental procedures, examining the evidence,
identifying faulty reasoning, pointing out statements that go beyond
the evidence, and suggesting alternative explanations for the same
observations.
Teaching Standards
Assessment Standards
The suggested teaching strategies in all the
You can engage in ongoing assessment of your
lessons support you as you work to meet the
teaching and of student learning using the
teaching standards outlined in the National
variety of assessment components embedded
Science Education Standards. This module
within the module’s structure. The assessment
helps teachers of science plan an inquiry-
tasks are authentic: they are similar in form to
based science program by providing short-
tasks that students will encounter outside the
term objectives for students. It also includes
classroom or in which scientists participate.
planning tools such as the Conceptual Flow of
Annotations guide you to these opportunities
the Lessons chart (page 6) and the Suggested
for assessment and provide answers to
Timeline for teaching the module (page 18).
questions that can help you analyze student
You can use this module to update your
feedback.
curriculum in response to your students’
interest in this topic. The focus on active,
How Does the BSCS 5E Instructional
collaborative, and inquiry-based learning in the
Model Promote Active, Collaborative,
lessons helps teachers support the development
Inquiry-Based Learning?
of student understanding and nurture a
Because learning does not occur through a
community of science learners.
process of passive absorption, the lessons in
this module promote active learning. Students
The structure of the lessons in this module
are involved in more than listening and
enables teachers to guide and facilitate
reading. They are developing skills, analyzing
learning. All the activities encourage and
and evaluating evidence, experiencing and
support student inquiry, promote discourse
discussing, and talking to their peers about
among students, and challenge students
their own understanding. Students work
to accept and share responsibility for their
collaboratively with others to solve problems
learning. Using the BSCS 5E Instructional
and plan investigations. Many students find that
Model, combined with active, collaborative
they learn better when they work with others
learning, allows teachers to respond effectively
in a collaborative environment than when
to the diversity of student backgrounds and
they work alone in a competitive environment.
learning styles. The module is fully annotated,
When all this active, collaborative learning
with suggestions for how teachers can
is directed toward inquiry science, students
encourage and model the skills of scientific
succeed in making their own discoveries. They
inquiry, as well as foster the curiosity, openness
ask questions, observe, analyze, explain, draw
to new ideas and data, and skepticism that
conclusions, and ask new questions. These
characterize science.
inquiry-based experiences include both those
9
Implementing the Module
The Science of Healthy Behaviors
that involve students in direct experimentation
The Engage phase of this module, found in
and those in which students develop
Lesson 1, Defining Behavior, is designed to
explanations through critical and logical
• pique students’ curiosity and generate
thinking.
interest in learning about behavior;
• determine students’ current understanding
This viewpoint that students are active thinkers
about behavior and the scientific study of
who construct their own understanding out of
behavior;
interactions with phenomena, the environment,
• invite students to raise their own questions
and other individuals is based on the theory
about behavioral and social science and
of constructivism. A constructivist view of
about behavior;
learning recognizes that students need time to
• encourage students to compare their ideas
• express their current thinking;
with the ideas of others; and
• interact with objects, organisms, substances,
• enable teachers to assess what students do or
and equipment to develop a range of
do not understand about the stated outcomes
experiences on which to base their thinking;
of the lesson.
• reflect on their thinking by writing and
expressing themselves and comparing what
Explore
they think with what others think; and
In the Explore phase of the module—Lesson
• make connections between their learning
1, Defining Behavior; Lesson 2, Influences on
experiences and the real world.
Behavior; and Lesson 3, Tools of Social and
Behavioral Science: The Survey—students
This module provides a built-in structure
investigate behavioral and social science and
for creating a constructivist classroom: the
behaviors by using the behavioral and social
BSCS 5E Instructional Model. This model
science tools of observation and surveys and
sequences the learning experiences so that
by exploring factors that influence behaviors.
students have the opportunity to construct
These lessons require students to make
their understanding of a concept over time.
observations, analyze familiar situations from
The model leads students through five phases
a scientific viewpoint, evaluate and interpret
of learning that are easily described using five
data, and draw conclusions. Students
words that begin with the letter E: Engage,
• interact with materials and ideas through
Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate. The
classroom demonstrations and simulations;
following paragraphs summarize how the five
• consider different ways to study and
Es are implemented across the lessons in this
understand behavior;
module.
• acquire a common set of experiences with
their classmates so they can compare results
Engage
and ideas;
Students come to learning situations with
• observe, describe, record, compare, and
prior knowledge. This knowledge may or may
share their ideas and experiences; and
not be congruent with the concepts presented
• express their developing understanding of
in this module. The Engage lesson provides
behavior and the scientific study of behavior
the opportunity for teachers to find out what
by using graphs, analyzing and comparing
students already know or what they think
data, analyzing hypothetical situations, and
they know about the topic and concepts to
answering questions.
be developed. It also gives each learner the
opportunity to consider what his or her current
Explain
ideas and thoughts about the topic are. The
The Explain phase provides opportunities for
Engage phase should also capture students’
students to connect their previous experiences
interest and make them curious about the topic
and to begin to make conceptual sense of
and concepts.
the main ideas of the module. This stage also
10
allows for the introduction of formal language,
Evaluate
scientific terms, and content information that
The Evaluate lesson