Phenomenon vs. Phenomena?

One of my students asked me about the difference between phenomenon and phenomena and it made me pause. Of course, this has to do with a singular phenomenon vs multiple phenomena. For example, a student could say ‘I enjoying looking at different phenomena, but a double rainbow is my all-time favorite phenomenon.” But the question made me wonder about how we use the word phenomenon as science educators, especially given the emphasis on phenomenon within the NGSS.  

If you’ve had the chance to read through the 1700+ page California Science Framework, you’ll notice the important role that phenomena play in the guidance on science instruction. Have a look at the below table from the Framework that shows the key instructional shifts required by the California NGSS. I’ve highlighted the use of Phenomena, and we can see the emphasis around ‘…building a deeper understanding of science and engineering to make sense of phenomena’ and ‘…develop models of systems…to explain phenomena...’  

Image taken from page 1444 of the 2016 California Science Framework

So what are examples of such phenomena? Yes, that double rainbow would need a deeper understanding of science to make sense, and a polished rock might need a model to help explain how that rock came to be so smooth. These phenomena give us a reason to use the practices and our science understanding to make sense of what we are observing. 

So that’s a good starting point, but if you wanted to go deeper, then try to find phenomena that are relevant to students’ lives. Something they’ve seen or experienced, or something they can emphasize with, such as a particular animal or a natural landscape. In this case, although local phenomena are great, we’ve also seen teachers bring into class phenomenon through videos or reading that are just as compelling and engaging for students because of the emotional connection.  

A great example from our curriculum is this short video of the far side of the moon passing by the Earth as recorded by the NASA EPIC camera. It’s an entirely unique view of our Earth and Moon system that no one has ever seen before until this camera was placed on a spacecraft 1 million miles away. The story of this phenomenon is told via this excellent video, and much like the Earthrise photo taken more than 50 years ago by the Apollo 8 mission, these images today provide a modern, yet similarly compelling view of the beauty and fragility of our home planet. 

This is the true intention of a phenomenon - to invite curiosity and questions.