Inquiry: Small and Large Experiences

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Inquiry Small and Large Experiences

• Tina Harris
• East Side Middle School
• Anderson, IN

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Defining Inquiry

• Inquiry has various definitions in the National
  Science Education Standards (NSES) ranging from a
  way of thinking, to a method for questioning, to
  a process for doing science.
• Here we will be looking at the process

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Direct Instruction
Directed Inquiry
Guided Inquiry
True Inquiry
Teacher Directed
Student Directed
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Today

• I would like to share some strategies I have used
  with my classes to help them to move them to the
  right or to help them to take more responsibility
  for learning science.

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Step 1

• Generally students entering my 8th grade science
  class have done few hands-on activities.
• Most of those have been teacher or text-driven
  cookbook labs or activities.
• So we work on process skills using some directed
  inquiry.

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• An activity is something with an expected
  outcome (generally for students), is direct
  instruction either by the teacher or text or
  worksheet.
• A lab requires some use of science process
  skills but may still be direct instruction or
  possibly directed inquiry (still teacher-driven)
• Guided inquiry is when the students work on a
  teacher driven topic but decide on a question and
  process to better understand it. The teacher may
  guide the process.
• inquiry is an activity devised by students to
  answer a student question using science process
  skills. The teacher is simply a resource not an
  instructional source.

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Stations

• Physics
• Newtons Laws
• Parabolic Motion
• Electricity
• Chemistry
• Chemical Changes/Acid-Base
• Polymers
• Earth Science/ Environmental
• Ground Water
• Soil Permeability
• Biology
• Earthworms

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Stations

• Rotate stations every 4 minutes. I will let you
  know when to move.
• At each station glance at the equipment and the
  student instructions.
• Describe variations on the activity you can think
  of an write them on the paper.

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Time is Up!
by Mark A. Hicks, illustrator.
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Step 2

• So what kinds of activities have my students
  chosen to do based on activities like these?

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Student Samples Stream Tables
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Student Samples Force and Motion

• This activity started with a selection of direct
  instruction activities from the Jance VanCleeve
  Physics book demonstrating various aspects of
  Newtons Laws.
• Then students chose one activity to change by
  identifying variables and changing one of them in
  a controlled manner.

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Force and Motion

• We then brainstormed the topic What makes things
  Stop and Go and also identified things that stop
  and go.
• Students then designed labs based on the
  brainstormed list. To ensure that science process
  skills were used, students were required to fill
  out inquiry lab sheets for this as it was a final
  assessment for the unit (this lasted over 2 weeks)

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Light

• First we read the text and I demonstrated how
  lenses refract and mirrors reflect light using a
  ray-box
• Students listed things from the text or the
  demonstration they wanted to do labs on for
  clarification
• Students designed labs using a form to make sure
  all science processes skills were met and after
  teacher approval completed the activities
• The only limitations were safety and material
  availability

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In conclusion

• Two of the units above were long inquiry units,
  but the reason for the length was twofold
• 1) they were student generated inquiry which my
  students had never planned an entire experiment
  before and had to be walked through the process
  and
• 2) they were final unit assessments so I
  expected a lot.

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• The stream table unit was actually an
  introduction to stream erosion and the length was
  partially due to the time to look up the terms to
  explain what they saw.
• The activities you brainstormed today would take
  one or two days depending on how complex you let
  them make their labs

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• I do not have handouts for each activity, but I
  am in the process of posting them on one of two
  websites right now several are on
  http//www.wetheteachers.com/index.php
• and more will be added as I have time to reformat
  them to the website protocols this week

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• BUT
• I do have a copy of this PowerPoint for everyone
  with the website and my email so you can contact
  me. The website also has additional labs my
  students do under the Teacher Resources section
  titled Take Home Labs

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I will be around while you work to answer
questions

• AND please let me know if you are interested in
  any of the equipment today as I cannot take all
  this back on the plane!
• Most of it is portable except for my classroom
  supplies (markers, scissors, chemicals)

Thanks for coming this morning!
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Lesson and Contact Info

• http//www.wetheteachers.com/index.php
• taharris79_at_yahoo.com
• (If you email me be sure your put NSTA Workshop
  in the subject line as this is my public email
  and gets frequently spammed!)