The Science Quest E-Book

Frank X. Sutman

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Bildung
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 336

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2010

Beschreibung

The Science Quest introduces the Inquiry/Discovery instructional framework, an innovative method for captivating students? interest in science, for building their skills in scientific thinking, and for dramatically enriching their understanding of scientific content and concepts. For teachers curious how to implement ?inquiry? learning as called for in the National Science Education Standards, this book provides detailed and practical guidance. It shows teachers how to transform ordinary lessons in ways that 1) encourage students to take initiative in posing scientific ?inquiry? questions; and 2) enable students to independently ?discover? answers to their questions by engaging in investigative practices and critically evaluating the findings. Inquiry/Discovery practices can be introduced in stages, starting with simple activities and gradually increasing the levels of challenge. The Science Quest includes everything a teacher needs to bring successful instruction, including: * Extensive lesson planning and assessment tools * Suggestions on working with students in teams * Scores of sample lessons from varied disciplines

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

Jossey-Bass Teacher

Title Page

Copyright Page

Dedication

Preface

About the Authors

The Contributors

Chapter 1 - Rethinking How Science Is Taught

Critical Thinking and Inquiry

Understanding Student Inquiry/Discovery

Teaching Strategies for Inquiry/Discovery Learning

Chapter 2 - Linking Inquiry/Discovery and Content Learning

The Importance of Hands-On Activities

Establishing Learning Goals

Necessary Classroom Tools and Resources

A Sample Lesson: Study of Archimedes’ Principle

Instruction Supporting inquiry/Discovery Lessons

Assessment in Inquiry/Discovery Lessons

Summary

Chapter 3 - Introducing and Planning Inquiry/Discovery Lessons

Building “Rigor” into Science Learning

Understanding Levels of Student Responsibility: The Instructional Matrix

The Instructional Matrix in Planning Science Lessons

Designing Inquiry/Discovery Lesson Sequences

Structuring Lessons to Best Meet the Potential of Students

Summary

Chapter 4 - Inquiry/Discovery Lessons for Middle School

Lesson 1: Astronomy (Measuring Distances)

Lesson 2: Study of Mass, Volume, and Density

Lesson 3: Energy Conservation

Summary

Chapter 5 - Inpuiry/Discovery Lessons for High School

Lesson 1: Energy, Work, and Power (Physics)

Lesson 2: Study of Cell Sizes: A Simulation (Biology)

Lesson 3: Effects of Chemicals on Metabolism (Biology and Chemistry)

Lesson 4: Study of Hydrogen, Oxygen, and Water (Chemistry)

Lesson 5: Study of Oxidation and Reduction (Chemistry/Geology)

Summary

Chapter 6 - Supportive Instruction in Language and Team Building

The Scope of Inquiry/Discovery

Implementing Higher-Order Student Questioning

Working with Students in Teams

Supportive Strategies for Students with Special Needs

Service Learning as an Incentive for Inquiry/Discovery

Integrating Language Arts and Science: Another Look

Summary

Chapter 7 - Assessment of Inquiry/Discovery and Content Learning

Assessment Goals in Inquiry/Discovery Instruction

Approaches to Assessment

The Teacher’s Shifting Roles in Inquiry/Discovery Assessment

A Balance of Assessment Practices

Summary

Chapter 8 - Managing Inquiry/Discovery in the Classroom

Homework

Classroom Management

Classroom Laboratory Essentials

Putting It All Together

Chapter 9 - Looking to the Future: The Globalization Challenge

Support for Dedicated Teachers of Science

Concluding Thought

Appendix A - Selected Classroom Resources

Appendix B - Writing Tools

Appendix C - Assessment Tools

References

Index

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Sutman, Frank X., (date)

The science quest: using inquiry/discovery to enhcnace student learning, grades 7- 12 / Frank X. Sutman, Joseph S. Schmuckler, and Joyce D. Woodfield. p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

eISBN : 978-0-470-63974-0

1. Science—Study and teaching (Middle school) 2. Science—Study and teaching (High school) 3. Inquiry-based learning. I. Schmuckler, Joseph S., (date) II. Woodfield, Joyce D., (date) III. title.

Q181.S88 2008

507.1’2—dc22

2007044563

PB Printing

We dedicate this book to all of the teachers of science who strive to improve the future for their students and for the nation. We also dedicate it to our families, who offered us constant support, and to Lorraine Corbett and Janice Lathrop, who helped to put the manuscript into readable and manageable form.

Preface

Eureka! That word alone brings to mind the excitement of true scientific investigation, of the inquiry and discovery process that is fundamental to the development of the world as we know it today. The goal of this book is to help teachers find ways to carry that excitement into their own classrooms.

The Science Quest is designed for practicing and preservice teachers who are searching for a more effective approach to science instruction, and especially for a better understanding of how to implement “inquiry”-oriented practices in classrooms, grades 6 through 12. The book explores in detail an approach we refer to as “student inquiry/discovery ” and offers a practical framework for supporting students both in developing critical scientific thinking skills and in gaining standards-based content knowledge. Science supervisors, science teacher educators, and even college-level science instructors should also find this book of interest. Teachers of mathematics and language arts who are sensitive to the need to integrate basic skills and science can benefit from this book as well.

In the present school environment, we too often as teachers have overheard a student say, “I hate science. It’s so booooorrrrrrrring.” Although science should not be presented as the latest “infotainment,” we do need to consider how conventional lecture-and-test instruction (or “cookbook” lab routines) can leave students indifferent. Science as a process of inquiry, research, exploration, and overall discovery is anything but boring. From ancient times, seekers of knowledge have explored the visible world and struggled with the data they collected, finding ways to forge it into the body of knowledge that we call science. For example, England’s Royal Academy of Science sent forth expeditions in search of new species, invited the public to join them in meetings to welcome back those explorers, listened enthralled to the explorers’ descriptions, publicized the results of their findings, and debated their significance. Today, whether taking televised journeys deep into space with NASA or deep into the ocean on ventures exploring marine life, the public remains enthralled with the outcomes of scientific inquiry and discovery. And we all live more comfortably and take for granted the huge body of knowledge that is the physical evidence of these successful quests for knowledge and understanding.

Today we look at the somewhat dismal results of standardized testing in science, as in other fields, and listen to critics who decry how our students stack up against other countries in science performance and wonder, What has gone wrong? The premise of this book is that we as a nation have lost sight of the quest. We have developed a science instructional approach that provides answers that do not provoke questions, especially effective science questions, and that do not develop seekers of knowledge. Too often students do not seek—they are given questions to answer. Students need to be taught how to ask the right questions, to seek the answers, and to critically evaluate their findings on the basis of how well these “fit” what is already known. More specifically, students need to gain skills and experience in scientific inquiry, reasoning, and practice, especially if they are to be prepared for continued study of science at the college level. It is the purpose of this book to support teachers in making that happen in their classrooms.

Inquiry and discovery are hallmarks of the scientific enterprise. Supporting and building on the recommendations of the National Research Council in its two important publications, Inquiry and the National Science Education Standards: A Guide for Teaching and Learning, (2000) and Taking Science to School: Learning and Teaching Science in Grades K-8 (2007), our book offers an innovative method for enlivening science lessons and improving learning outcomes through the inquiry/discovery instructional framework. The approach emphasizes two major processes: (1) engaging students in scientific “inquiry” questions, and (2) enabling students to “discover” answers to their questions through participation in hands-on investigative experiences and related activities. Students gain valuable experience in scientific practices (observing, collecting data, analyzing results, drawing conclusions) while also building their skills in mathematics and language. Inquiry/discovery instruction places high importance on the teaching of language through classroom discussion, research reading, and report writing. Although students find such experiences more challenging, they also find them more interesting and enjoyable.

Students begin the inquiry/discovery process by becoming engaged in relatively simple activities, taking on greater investigative responsibilities as they gain in skill and proficiency. The process can be successfully introduced to fifth-grade students, but provides for sufficient levels of rigor to challenge advanced-placement high school students (or even college-level students). The book provides detailed guidance on how to build inquiry/discovery practices into conventional science lessons and laboratory routines and includes numerous case descriptions of sample lessons along with useful lesson planning and assessment tools. The sample lessons have been developed by the authors and have all been tested in real-world classrooms. For the purpose of demonstrating our approach, the lessons include content of limited complexity but are designed to show how the instructional process can work in multiple science disciplines and with students at varied levels of preparation and readiness. Though all of the lessons feature hands-on investigative activities, all use relatively simple materials, some of which can be gathered or constructed by students themselves; none require elaborate laboratory facilities or equipment.

It should be mentioned that the purpose of inquiry/discovery instruction is not to supplant the teaching of content. By encouraging an experiential understanding of scientific concepts, it serves to deepen understanding, making the content more memorable and meaningful to students. Teachers under pressure to cover a curriculum emphasizing “breadth over depth” may also have concerns about finding the time to engage in inquiry/discovery instruction, which often takes longer to implement than conventional approaches. However, it should be noted that inquiry/discovery activities do not need to be incorporated into each and every science lesson or laboratory experiment for students to benefit. Instead, these experiences can be built into lessons selectively, and are ideally suited for introducing important new science ideas and conceptual understandings. Eventually, over the course of a year, students will gain increasing skill and proficiency for carrying out these activities on their own, requiring less instructional oversight and planning time.

The inquiry/discovery approach was developed by the Center for Science Laboratory Studies (CSLS) at Temple University, through funding from the National Science Foundation and other public and private agencies, and is supported by over a decade of case study research conducted by the authors, both in training science teachers and in observing science instructional practices in a variety of school settings. The approach is being used by numerous science teachers who have participated in preservice and professional development programs conducted through CSLS and its related arm, the Multicultural Education Resource Information and Training Center (MERIT Center). These teachers have found it to be effective and rewarding for their students, benefiting low achievers and high performers alike. And as we explain in Chapter Three, research also shows that the approach appeals to English language learners (ELLs) and has enabled them to perform better on standardized science and language tests in comparison with their peers. Although not confirmed by formal studies, numerous anecdotal reports suggest that inquiry/discovery practices have served to inspire students to pursue advanced studies in science at the college level.

For those of us who teach in the sciences, considerable challenges lie ahead. In May of 2006, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) released the 2005 “Nation’s Report Card” (Grigg, 2006). The summary of this report indicated that “science understanding by students at grades 4 and 8 remained flat compared to previous years. And the performance of students at the 12th grade level is especially disquieting, with the average science test scores dropping slightly.”

Hardly a month passes without another urgent appeal from either the scientific community or the broader business community and governmental agencies across the nation to improve our approach to science instruction in ways that will better prepare students to contribute to and survive in the new global economy, and especially to enable students to become more effectively prepared and increasingly enthused about science and about entering science-related professions. The appeals do not end there. Efforts to increase the level of scientific literacy across the nation, thus enhancing public understanding of and support for the scientific enterprise, are called for as well. The way we teach science has a great impact on the science that is learned and on whether or not our students become sufficiently interested in the subject to pursue the advanced training required for entering scientific professions.

The Science Quest offers everything a teacher needs to begin effective inquiry/ discovery instruction. In Chapter One we explain what is meant by “student inquiry/discovery” and what it looks like in practice as we profile two very different approaches to a middle school science lesson. In Chapter Two we describe typical activity sequences in an inquiry/discovery lesson, including approaches for addressing the standards as well as how best to involve students before, during, and following hands-on investigations. In Chapter Three we present a series of lessons showing how inquiry/discovery learning experiences can be introduced in stages by starting students with simple activities and enabling them to take on increased levels of challenge as they gain in skill and proficiency. Chapter Four includes sample lessons for the middle school level. Chapter Five features high school-level lessons. In Chapter Six we focus on the importance of language for developing students’ critical thinking and inquiry skills. We also provide suggestions on working with students in teams and with students who have special needs. Chapter Seven provides guidance on student assessment, including tools for assessing skill learning, content understanding, and readiness to take on inquiry/discovery tasks. Chapter Eight provides suggestions for managing the inquiry/discovery classroom and for obtaining necessary laboratory resources. In Chapter Nine we offer parting thoughts and advice. In short, this book will serve as a guide and friend throughout your career, as you take responsibility for preparing the next generation of scientists and scientifically informed citizens.

Frank X. Sutman Joseph S. Schmuckler Joyce D. Woodfield

About the Authors

Frank X. Sutman, Ed.D., first experienced inquiry/discovery science instruction as a college freshman, under the guidance of faculty who were scientists and who were dedicated to preparing teachers of science for the school level. He successfully practiced this instructional approach during his early years of teaching science at the middle and high school levels and continued the practice later when, after completing his doctoral studies at Teachers College, Columbia University, he entered college-level teaching of science content and science pedagogy. Sutman has held faculty positions with several institutions over the years, including William Paterson University, Interamerican University of Puerto Rico (where he initiated the certification program in science and mathematics teaching), and State University of New York at Buffalo. His longest association was with Temple University, where he served twenty-six years as professor in the division of Science Education, including as chairman of the division, and also directed two major centers affiliated with the division: the Center for Science Laboratory Studies (CSLS) and the Multicultural/lingual Education Resource Information and Training Center (MERIT Center). These centers supported school-level science teachers in conducting doctoral-level research related to inquiry/discovery science instruction and also to become prepared to teach multicultural/lingual school-age students. It was through these centers that much of the case study research related to the instructional approach depicted in The Science Quest was conducted.

Sutman has held numerous visiting positions in science teacher education nationally and abroad in China, India, and Israel. He was also invited to serve for four years as visiting program director in the Education and Human Resources Directorate at the National Science Foundation, where he had responsibility for overseeing curriculum development projects, grades 5-12, and for assessment of student learning in science projects.

Sutman has published numerous professional monographs and journal articles as well as three science textbooks that he coauthored. These are now part of a collection at the Chemical Heritage Foundation in Philadelphia. In addition, he has served as president of both the Association for Teacher Educators in Science (ATES) and the National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST), as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and as a member of Sigma Xi (the scientific research society). He is recipient of several awards, including the Albert Einstein Award granted by the governor of New Jersey for outstanding teaching and service to minority students and their teachers. Currently, Sutman serves as consultant and adviser to science teacher education programs, most recently at Richard Stockton College, where he teaches and serves as mentor and supervisor of science teacher interns.

Joseph S.Schmuckler, Ed.D., first experienced the inquiry/discovery emphasis in the teaching of science as a graduate student at the University of Pennsylvania. He taught school-level life sciences and chemistry for many years, during which he also served as associate researcher at the Sun Oil Company and Sadtler Research Laboratories. He was a member of the writing team for the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) supported curriculum, Chemistry in the Community (ChemCom), which is a laboratory-driven middle and high school-level instructional program that merges chemical theory with its applications. He contributed to Chemical Achievers, published by the Chemical Heritage Foundation. This program details the roles of minorities and women throughout the scientific enterprise. Schmuckler also served as an adviser to the development of the video presentation 100 Most Important Science Discoveries for the Discovery Channel as well as to the NOVA TV series in “The Life of Percy Julian.”

He taught chemistry to nonscience majors and to teachers of science during his over-thirty years as professor of science education at Temple University. He also taught courses related to the teaching of science for pre- and in-service teachers, including “The Scientific Industry” and “The History of Science.” All of these courses emphasize the significant role that the laboratory contributes to the scientific enterprise. He also continues to serve as a mentor and supervisor to science teaching interns and as an adviser to teachers of science pursuing certification and master’s and doctoral degree studies.

Schmuckler has been recognized for outstanding science teaching through receipt of the following awards: The Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce Award, the Pennsylvania Department of Public Instruction Award, the Manufacturing Chemists Benjamin Rush Award, the James B. Conant Award for High School Teaching of Chemistry, the Christian Lindbach Award of Temple University, and the George Washington Carver Award for Outstanding Teaching of Minority Students.

He has been an invited visiting professor of science/science education at Tianjih Namal and Shanghai Universities in the Peoples’ Republic of China and has given workshops throughout China and in several European countries over a period of fifteen years.

JoyceD.Woodfieldhas been teaching English language and visual arts, including photography and computer graphics, for both middle and high school-level students for more than thirty years in the Baltimore County Public School System. She has participated in conducting professional development workshops for teachers, called “Writing Across the Curriculum” and “Assessment of Learning Strategies,” with a focus on developing alternative hands-on means of assessment such as gallery worksheets and self-assessment tools. She is a member of the Johns Hop-kins Chapter of Phi Delta Kappa and was an active long-term participant in the Teacher Researchers Institute of the Baltimore County Public Schools, under the direction of Marcie Emberger. Mentored by her husband, Charles W. Woodfield, former teacher and science supervisor for the Baltimore County School System, she has spent years in Benjamin Bloom’s “Blooming World of Action Verbs.” She both thinks and talks in Bloom with its educational emphasis on academic rigor, and educational emphasis and enjoys applying Bloom’s thinking frameworks to language and writing instruction related to science-based content.

The Contributors

Dr. Alexandra B. Hiloskyprofessor of science, Harcum College, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, and adjunct professor of chemistry, Temple University, Ambler CampusDr. Anthony S. Lombardoscience teacher and former assessment and data analyst, Rosetree/Media School District, PennsylvaniaDr. Holly D. Priestleyscience teacher, Burlington Township High School, Burlington, New Jersey, and adjunct science education instructor, Pennsylvania State UniversityDr. William J. Priestleyscience teacher, Harry S. Truman High School, Levittown, Pennsylvania, and adjunct science education instructor, Holy Family College, Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaDr. William R. Smithscience teacher and department chairman, Bristol Township High School, Bristol Township, Pennsylvania, and school coordinator, NSF Funded Curriculum Project, Villanova University

Chapter 1

Rethinking How Science Is Taught

WHAT SHOULD BE OUR GOAL in the teaching of science? Lynn Margulis, a world-renowned microbiologist who is the former president of Sigma Xi (a highly respected organization of research scientists), wrote the following in her “President’s Message” column in the November-December 2005 issue of American Scientist (a journal of Sigma Xi): “Francis Bacon, who some consider to be the father of modern western science, wrote over 350 years ago, ‘for what a man more likes to be true he more readily believes.’” She stated in her column that, “We scientific researchers resist this natural tendency. We do not try (only) to be true. We discount gossip. We disdain common myth. We seek hard evidence. And when doing science, we try to avoid the influence of faith-based dogma. Yet all of us who participate in science share one common faith. We believe that the material energetic world is knowable, in large part, through the concerted activity of research, exploration, reconnaissance, observation, logic and detailed study that includes careful measurement against standards (italics added).”

Margulis goes on to state that, “supposedly we are the richest and freest country in the world. Then why do 15 year old U.S. students rank 22nd of 40 countries in science literacy, according to the latest survey conducted by the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)?” She concludes that “this condition may result (for the most part) from a contradiction in our national psyche, a deep cultural divide in that truths are (too) often sacrificed to what most people like to be true and thus more readily believe.”

Critical Thinking and Inquiry

The messages of Francis Bacon and Lynn Margulis have particular relevance to us as science teachers and as authors of this book. That is because we have a special responsibility to set as one of our teaching goals the preparation of ourselves and our students to overcome the “natural” tendency to believe as fact that which we like and to discard that which we do not like even though it has been proven. We as teachers of science overcome this tendency first by inquiring about our own understandings and then by expecting our students to do more than listen and memorize factual information. Rather, it is our responsibility, through schooling, to prepare (even train) students to inquire into their own understandings and thus to become educated to think in the way that scientists do. Although it is important for students to understand the content of science, it is equally essential that they learn about the purpose and methods of science (this can be called the “scientific enterprise”). This means that we must expect our students to develop habits of mind and critical reasoning skills that enable them to participate effectively in the scientific process: to grapple with scientific problems, to question conventional wisdom, and to be able to seek out hard evidence in support of their arguments. A recipient of the Nobel Prize in physics, Sir William Henry Bragg, stated it this way: “The important thing in science is not so much to obtain new facts as to discover new ways of thinking about them.”

In the past decade, numerous publications have called for “inquiry” approaches to science instruction that can effectively help students develop critical reasoning capacities, including the ability of students to pose scientific questions and investigate them, to accurately record and interpret the results, and to be able to link their findings to a developing body of scientific knowledge. The most significant of these publications is Inquiry and the National Science Education Standards: A Guide for Teaching and Learning (National Research Council, 2000). This document provides detailed standards along with guidelines for introducing inquiry as both an experiential process and the goal to be met through K-12 science instruction. (The specific standards for grades 6-12 learning will be addressed in later chapters.) In a more recent report, Taking Science to School: Learning and Teaching Science in Grades K-8 (National Research Council, 2007), the National Research Council (NRC) continues its emphasis on science instruction that directly engages students in the practice of science, citing the following four proficiencies to be developed for all students in grades K-8:

1. To know, use, and interpret scientific explanations of the natural world.

2. To be able to generate and evaluate scientific evidence.

3. To understand the nature and development of scientific knowledge.

4. To participate productively in scientific practices and discourse.

The NRC report indicates that “these strands of proficiencies in addition to representing learning goals for students as well, need to serve as a broad framework for curriculum design.”

Understanding Student Inquiry/Discovery

Although much has been written on the topic of inquiry, understanding it, especially as it applies to instruction, has proven to be challenging to many science teachers. This is because the term has been used with different meanings when applied to education. The NRC, in Inquiry and the National Science Education Standards, has its own definition, and in addition, many states have their own particular definitions as expressed in their science education standards. We will take up the specific NRC “inquiry standards” a bit later in this book, but here’s a basic description for inquiry included in the Standards document as applied to instruction: “When engaging in inquiry, students describe objects and events, ask questions, construct explanations, judge these explanations against current scientific knowledge and communicate their ideas to others.”

The instructional framework proposed throughout this book is based on a simplified and clearer understanding of inquiry, especially in reference to the role of students. Most English-language dictionaries associate inquiry with the verb “to inquire,” which is defined in Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary as “To ask about, to put to question or to seek information by questioning.” This definition has naturally led some to the conclusion that inquiry simply is the single skill of asking questions. In instruction, the important distinction is that the inquiry process can be either student-directed or teacher-directed. A major goal of our instructional process should be to encourage students to take the initiative in posing the questions or inquiries.

You have probably noted that young children begin to inquire using the word why (“Why is the sky blue?” for example). Parents attempt to answer such questions, not always successfully. Nevertheless, children continue to ask these kinds of questions often well into the early grades. In the later grades, however, students become less inquisitive and, as teachers too often have observed, rarely ask questions except those that relate to instructional procedures or to the grades they have received. Instead they appear to sit and absorb knowledge like little sponges, until tested, when they reveal they have absorbed very little, unlike sponges. A major reason for this is that they have become “tuned in” to the idea that it is a major role of teachers to ask them questions. Therefore, they have “tuned out” any queries they might have to areas of confusion, being satisfied (at least on the surface) with “covering” the material under study.

In the inquiry/discovery approach, teachers are encouraged to restructure their presentations to reduce lecturing and asking their students questions and instead, to open the door for students to do the inquiring, with the teacher providing guidance and encouragement, at least until students return to what was once a natural and useful habit. Eventually, with such guidance, students will inquire profusely, even asking questions that are of higher order: questions that, for example, begin with words such as how, which, and why (the inferential), rather than simply who, what, when, and where (the observable). Inquiry-oriented instruction enables students to practice and develop the particular skill of asking higher-order questions that are relevant to the area under study.

We now turn to an understanding of discovery related to its use in instruction. According to the American Heritage Dictionary, discovery is defined as “the act or instance of discovering or of something discovered through those actions.” Notice that the term is used as both a verb (a word of action) and as a noun (a label for the results of the action). We follow this dual usage as well when we state discovery is the investigative process that students undertake in response to inquiries (preferably their own inquiries), including the findings and outcomes of that process. Unlike student inquiry, which involves only one skill (effective questioning), the process of student discovery involves the development of many investigative skills. In science, for example, the critical skills include observing, reasoning, measuring, mathematical manipulation of data, preparation of tables and graphs, and interpretation of data, all used in the processes of explaining and developing valid conclusions. Other skills, too often not historically associated with science instruction, that are not emphasized include the following: virtually all language skills (reading, writing, speaking) ; wondering; explaining; editing; revising; discussing; thinking; and analyzing. Thus we conclude that inquiry and discovery-oriented instruction enables students to develop and practice many investigative skills in the search for answers to their own inquiries. Students, in effect, become researchers. Of course, as students pass from one grade to the next, the necessary resources that they seek in the practice of discovering must be attainable or students will, once again, stop inquiring and discovering.

Although student inquiry and student discovery are distinctly different, as we have just described them, they are in fact closely intertwined. Many professional educators have referred to the combination of the two simply as “inquiry.” We prefer the term student inquiry/discovery, because it helps to remind us, as teachers, to increase the involvement of our students in both processes symbiotically. Therefore we continue to emphasize the combined terms throughout this book.

Teaching Strategies for Inquiry/Discovery Learning

In his foreword to the NRC Standards book (2000) mentioned earlier, Bruce Alberts, president emeritus of the National Academy of Science, refers to inquiry as a “state of mind.” Although it is true that inquiry requires new ways of thinking, developing these habits of mind, especially through hands-on experiences, is not yet standard practice in many science classrooms. In part, this is because teachers lack guidance in designing investigations in ways that facilitate students’ practicing and learning to inquire and think critically about evidence and then to discover. Our goal in this book is to show how the inquiry/discovery process not only enlivens lessons based on or driven by laboratory investigations, but also builds deeper understandings of science content. This instructional approach offers a framework for structuring lessons so that students can and will become more deeply engaged and take greater interest in their learning.

Before introducing our lesson-planning framework in Chapter Two, we here portray two different ways of teaching a science lesson: (A) a didactic or teacher-centered approach, and (B) an inquiry/discovery-oriented approach. Both lessons focus on the concept of “force and motion” for the middle school level.

Lesson A: Force and Motion (Conventional Approach)

Student Learning Objectives:

• To correctly define the terms force, motion, speed, velocity, acceleration, and inertia

• To be able to solve mathematical problems that involve these terms and thus to understand their meanings and how they relate to one another

We enter the classroom of a middle school teacher of science, where the teacher is asking students to review the definitions of the terms force, motion, speed, velocity, acceleration, and inertia, which he had presented on the previous day. When students are asked to give examples, several refer to the assigned reading from the night before. Some students are unable to answer the question, having not read or understood the assignment. The teacher uses that opportunity to introduce the objective and procedures for today’s lesson. Students open their textbooks, and individuals answer questions posed by the teacher from the reading. The teacher then uses the book material to introduce the mathematical formulas pertaining to force and motion, as well as velocity and acceleration. He then demonstrates on the chalkboard the use of a “plug-in” technique for calculating answers to those problems, based on the set formula. Meanwhile, the students watch him and copy the solutions. The teacher then assigns the students to use the same procedures to solve the next four problems at the end of the chapter. He moves around the room as they work, checking their procedures. For homework, students are asked to complete the remainder of the textbook problems independently. The students are given the timetable for completing the unit: a review the next day, a test on the problems the following day, and a final review of the material when the teacher returns the tests the following week. The plan for this sequence of lessons is as follows: Lesson Plan (Force and Motion):

• The teacher will describe and define the terms force, motion, speed, velocity, acceleration, and inertia.

• Students will read the chapter, and the next day the teacher will introduce it by asking them to answer questions about content from it.

• Before the end of the period, the teacher will solve four sample mathematical problems related to force and motion: numbers 1 through 4 at the end of the chapter (day 1).

• Students will solve problems 5 through 12 at the end of the chapter for homework, and the teacher will review these during the next period (day 2).

• A test on definitions and solving plug-in problems will be given (day 3).

• Eight days later, the teacher will review problems that were solved incorrectly on the test and will correct definitions, orally.

Comments on Lesson A (Conventional Approach)

According to the lesson plan, most of the instructional activity is the responsibility of the teacher. The students are only given responsibility to read the chapter “Force and Motion” and to solve mathematical problems, and be prepared to answer questions asked by the teacher about the content. The activity consists of having individual students respond orally to the teacher’s questions about the material “covered” and then follow the teacher’s directions in completing the problems. Experience indicates that students do not usually respond well, if at all, to such teacher-generated questions, for several reasons: students have not read the assignment, they have read the assignment but do not understand it, or the teacher does not offer each student called on enough time to think about and respond effectively to the questions asked. Very often the teacher ends up answering each question him- or herself. Teachers often attribute this poor student response to the students’ unwillingness or inability to read the text. Either way, students often are unable to effectively interpret the meaning of the content. Rather than addressing the causative factors that produce this outcome by modifying their instructional strategy, teachers continue to repeat the unsuccessful instructional approach over and over, especially in providing both the questions and the answers. This particular approach to learning encourages students to be “nonparticipants” in their own education. The result is apathy to the assignment and, ultimately, to the subject matter itself. This form of instruction, often referred to as the traditional or didactic approach, not only places an increased instructional burden on teachers, it also leads to lower morale for both teachers and students, resulting in a lowered efficiency of learning. It is truly teacher-centered and, as indicated, it is very ineffective in enhancing students’ understanding of scientific content and in developing their interest in science as a field of study.

Lesson B: Force and Motion (Inquiry/Discovery Approach)

We approach the classroom of another middle school science teacher, Miss Biggs, teaching the same material. To convey the classroom dynamics, the lesson is presented in a narrative form. The student learning objectives are briefly noted below, but as you will note, the objectives are not revealed to the students until the lesson evolves.

Student Learning Objectives:

• To understand the meaning of force and motion, and how the terms speed, velocity, and acceleration are related to these

• To learn how to solve mathematical problems associated with force and motion and how the mathematics formulas correlate

• To develop skills in posing questions, preparing graphs, analyzing data, and summarizing content knowledge

This sixth-grade teacher begins this sequence of lessons on force and motion by indicating to her students that for the next few days they will be exploring the characteristics of a moving wagon and the distance it can travel, over time (four seconds). This period of time enables an investigation to be carried out safely in a school hallway. The teacher’s instructions to the students are as follows: “First, let’s look at the materials we will use. They include a wagon with the bolt at the base of the handle tightened so that the wagon will only be able to move in a straight line. In addition, we will use a long strip of wrapping paper about eight meters in length, a meter stick (with both English and metric units), masking tape, Magic Markers, scissors, bathroom-type scales, several physical science textbooks, and historical references.” The teacher points out that all of these items will be important tools for students to use as science investigators.

FIGURE 1.1Investigating Force and Motion.

She divides the class of thirty students into seven teams of about four each, with each team including students of varied levels of proficiency. Each member of each group is eventually assigned to carry out one of the activities that make up the investigation. Each student is given a copy of the printed directions for carrying out the procedure that includes a diagram (Figure 1.1). One student from each group is called on to read the procedure out loud to the rest of his or her group. Each group is invited to ask the teacher any questions about the procedure. Only two questions are asked: “Who will ride in the wagon?” and “Who will push the wagon?” The answer is automatic; two students volunteer, accompanied by considerable laughter and joviality.

The class gathers in the hallway, which serves as the “informal” science laboratory. One student notices that the hall is carpeted, unlike the classroom, where the wagon would move more easily. She asks if that is important. The teacher responds first by congratulating the student on her excellent observation. She then asks the student to write the question on the chalkboard when the class returns to the classroom and further comments that, once the initial investigation is completed, the class will return to this question and other questions during a follow-up investigation.

Two students from Group A are assigned to follow the directions indicated by the diagram (Figure 1.1