Ambassador in the Classroom

    Astronomical Society of the Pacific (ASP): Baltimore, MD

    Teaching Inquiry: Can you Walk the Talk? - Saturday September 16, 2006
    Presenters:
    Defining a Problem
    Increasing numbers of teachers use hands-on activities as part of their teaching. Such activities can range from highly scripted to open-ended. Most teachers realize that highly scripted cookbook type of activities provide little or no opportunity for inquiry. But even well designed inquiry-centered activities often fall short of the intended learning goals. What we often forget is that students are not effective learners, like many adults, and have not learned to self-monitor their learning (meta-cognition).

    Inquiry and the Learning Cycle

    Some teachers may have heard about the FERA learning cycle, which stands for Focus, Explore, Reflect, Apply. Well-designed inquiry-centered materials have this learning cycled imbedded and often provide scripts for teachers to follow (e.g. FOSS, STC, GEMS). However, teachers often follow the learning cycle superficially; spending most time in the comfort of EXPLORE and very little time on the FOCUS or the REFLECTION. The Focus is often accomplished by simply asking one or two focus questions to get students to think about the upcoming experience. If there is time at all for Reflection and/or Application students often answer a few question at the end of the activity that are then briefly checked for the correct answers. Most students go through this process without actually learning much. Their prior understandings were never engaged, the experiment or experience was never reflected upon in terms of their prior understandings, and the process of building better understanding was never facilitated.

    Many of us develop inquiry-centered activities and provide training for teachers. It is crucial that we accurately model how to facilitate inquiry-centered learning ensuring that our hard work actually translates to real learning in the classroom.

    Learning Cycles

    Workshop Outcomes: Sundials

    FOCUS: Engage prior knowledge... Don't assume prior understanding of shadows.

    • Have you gone outside and seen your shadow? Discuss shadows - changing length, changing direction, motion in the sky and impact on shadow.
    • How can you tell time without a watch? Use clip of Fred Flinstone using his sundial watch as a lead into the discussion of how you can tell time without a watch.
    • As a light source moves, how will the shadow change? Don't have to rely on the Sun. Use a fixed light source and ask students to predict the direction of the shadow.

    EXPLORE: Hands-on personal experience surpasses the use of simulations, computers, etc.

    • Have students predict where the shadow will be and how it will change with time. Have them explain the basis of their predictions.
    • Have students build their own sundials and have them make observations and record shadow lengths and direction along with the time of each observation over a period of time.
    • Have students compare their results with their predictions and repeat experiment if necessary.
    • There are ways to deal with short class sessions. Have students make observations in the morning on their way to class, at lunch and again after school. Have students do this throughout the school year to see how the shadows change over the seasons.
    • It is important for teachers, students and parents to understand that it is not important that they get the "right answer." Scienctist don't always get the "right answer."

    Recommended Books

    • In Search of Understanding: the Case for Constructivist Classrooms
      Grennon Brooks, J., Brooks, M. G.: 1993, Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development
    • Making Sense of Secondary Science- Research into Children's Ideas
      Driver, R., Squires, A., Rushworth, P., Wood-Robinson, V.: 1994, London, UK, Routledge
    • How Students Learn - Science in the Classroom
      National Research Council: 2005, Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press
    • Uncovering Student Ideas in Sciene, 25 Formatie Assessment Probes
      Keely et al. NSTA Press, 2006
    • Inquire Within: Implementing Inquiry-Based Science Standards
      Douglas Llewellyn: 2002, Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, Inc.

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