Originally a biology major intending to pursue chiropractic medicine, by the end of Andy Cavagnetto's third year in college, he was questioning whether it was the right choice for him. After graduation, he took a position in a laboratory, but the fit was wrong. "It was too isolating for me," he says. "So, I enrolled in a teaching certification program."
The switch to studying education was enlightening and after just a few years of teaching high school science, Cavagnetto, now an assistant professor in the School of Education, realized things could - and should - be better in the classroom. "I wanted to improve my own teaching, but I needed to know why certain things were happening in the classroom," he explains. "I wanted to make it more engaging for the students; take it from studying bold faced words in the textbook and parroting back to the teacher to an environment where students are asking questions, engaging in exploration of those questions and making claims about what they observe."
In elementary schools, Cavagnetto and his colleagues promote participatory activities using household materials. "There's not always a large budget to get science equipment at that level; but, you don't need high-tech equipment to promote science," he says.
And, it's important to peak interest early because - as with most aspects of development - late elementary and middle school is a turning point. "This is when they're thinking about possibilities for the future," notes Cavagnetto. "By high school, most have already closed the door on possible career paths."
To keep that door open a little longer, he participates in the Go Green Institute - a 10-day, hands-on approach to getting middle school students excited about sciences and engineering. "Here we can show them equipment we use at the collegiate level, things they may not see in school."
Cavagnetto's interest now is in using language as a learning tool; not just reading and writing, but discourse. Through his research on argumentation, he hopes to develop a framework of teaching that allows for greater discussion. He notes that the focus of a discovery should lie in the students' arguments after they make a claim. "We want them to defend their ideas, to stand on their own feet about what they think is accurate," Cavagnetto says. "It's about the evidence they're using to support their claim, not the status of the individual making the claim."
