Learning the Scientific Method Through Inquiry



[pic]

Mastering the Process of Scientific Inquiry (High School Biology)

|Guiding Question |Student Stepping Stone Toward |Example of Scientific Inquiry |Supporting Scientific Inquiry through Related Activities |

| |Scientific Inquiry | | |

|How does the experiment |Application |Characteristics of Living Things or A Survey of Life. Students |Have the class find a relevant article in the news, magazines or on the web. |

|relate to the real world? |Students apply knowledge to their |begin by making a list of characteristics they believe define |Have students do a short paper and a mini-oral report to the class. They |

| |own lives or the world around |life. Students test and refine this list by observing plants, |should focus on how the content applies to what they are currently learning in |

|Why is the research |them. |animals, and microscopic organisms at various stations in the |class as well as their lives. |

|significant? |Students become involved in what |room. Lastly students ask if their final list of characteristics|Start each unit with students speculating how the unit will apply to them or |

| |they are learning. |applies to themselves. Through discussion students further |their environment. Throughout the unit informally ask students how they can |

| | |refine this list. |relate to the material they are learning. Then at the end of the unit ask the |

| | |Alternatively, student could survey the biota and draw a web |students the same question. Have the students record their answers in a |

| | |showing interactions between the organisms and themselves. |journal or their notes so they can compare their answers. Have the students |

| | |(In future scientific inquiries have students write a few |share their answers with the class. |

| | |sentences about how the study pertains to their lives or their |When designing content webs, students can include themselves in the web with a |

| | |environment. |brief statement of how they relate to the content. |

| | | |Students draw themselves as scientists. |

|What constitutes a testable|Generating a Question |Raisin & 7-Up observation. Students make observations and |Work toward having students write questions every day at the start of class. |

|question? |Students realize potential sources|transform the observations into questions. Each observation |The teacher can start by writing questions and discussing why he/she chose the |

| |for generating questions. |should have an affiliated question. Students can then work with |questions to the class. Eventually students should write and answer their own |

| |Students appreciate that |other students to generate a list of questions they believe are |questions. For example, students could write two content-related questions and|

| |scientific inquiry is about asking|“testable.” Have students propose their ideas to the class and |one personal interest or real-life application question at the start of class. |

| |questions. |engage in a discussion about what makes a testable question. | |

| |Students learn that some questions|Make a list of testable question attributes on the board. |Alternate assigning homework questions from the book with student generated |

| |work better for scientific inquiry|(In future scientific inquiries check to make sure students |questions about content or related content. Provide feedback on student choice|

| |than others. |devise testable questions. |of questions in addition to content response. |

| |Students learn that scientific |Note: Students will need skills and strategies for engaging in |Encourage students to ask questions during a lecture. For example, interrupt |

| |inquiry requires collaborative |discourse and for working with groups. |lecture every five minutes to allow students to record and discuss questions |

| |discourse. | |they have about the material or related issues. |

|Guiding Question |Student Stepping Stone Toward |Example of Scientific Inquiry |Supporting Scientific Inquiry through Related Activities |

| |Scientific Inquiry | | |

|How are future research |Developing Future Research Ideas |Methyl Blue. Have students perform a simple experiment about the|When discussing major contributions from scientists, have students generate |

|questions designed? |Students use guided experiments to|contents of two flasks. Students follow given procedures and |questions that could expand or enhance the scientist’s work. |

| |generate more questions for |make observations about the unknown solutions. At the end of the|Assign homework problems that ask students to read about an experiment related |

| |inquiry. |mini-lab have students write what they learned and what they have|to content they are learning in class and have them generate future experiments|

| |Students learn that inquiry is |not learned. Have the students use the latter list to create a |that could be done as a follow up or extrapolation of the experiment. Have |

| |about using content to ask |list of testable, simple experiments students could do. Evaluate|students discuss the questions they derived and have classmates provide |

| |questions that interest them. |the experiments as a class and allow students to run further |feedback. |

| | |tests. | |

| | |(In future scientific inquiries have students design “Going | |

| | |Further” questions upon completion of their study. | |

|How are hypotheses and |Developing a Hypothesis & |Water Quality. Have students read a statement from a concerned |Have students make predictions about outcomes for demonstrations or scientific |

|alternative hypotheses |Developing Alternative Hypotheses |citizen. Provide students with background information on stream |phenomena before explaining or having them read about an explanation. |

|written? |Students understand how to use |ecology, pollution, and the life history of salmon. Have |Have students practice finishing your sentences or have them predict what your |

| |resources to make predictions |students work in groups and generate a question relating to the |main point is. |

| |about experimental outcomes. |citizen’s statement. Then have students observe a mock set up of|When reviewing homework or guiding questions from a lab or activity, have the |

| |Students apply content knowledge |the stream and marked test sites. Provide each group of students|class generate one possible explanation and then challenge the students to |

| |and preexisting knowledge to make |with a sample of water, bottom layer, and benthos from each |devise two other plausible explanations. |

| |educated guesses about their |stream test site. Tell the students to use the knowledge they | |

| |experiments. |read about and their initial observations of the test site | |

| |Students learn that scientific |samples to write a hypothesis. Then tell them to devise two more| |

| |inquiry starts with thinking |plausible hypotheses. Provide students with a list of materials | |

| |broadly and keeping options open. |available to them and have them perform simple experiments. Have| |

| |Students realize how to use tools |students discuss their findings and make comments about which | |

| |to guide their own learning. |hypothesis they were able to investigate and why. | |

| | |(In future scientific inquiries have students perform background | |

| | |research (or at least have them tell you what information they | |

| | |need) and write a hypothesis and alternative hypotheses. | |

|Guiding Question |Student Stepping Stone Toward |Example of Scientific Inquiry |Supporting Scientific Inquiry through Related Activities |

| |Scientific Inquiry | | |

|How are controls, dependent|Devising Controls and Variables |Biomes & Adaptations. Assemble some terrariums with biota |Provide students with several examples from recent scientific findings. |

|and independent variables |Students understand components of |specific to each biome. Some ideas include: Marine- saltwater, |Provide an overview and a list of materials and a brief description of the |

|included in an experiment? |controls and independent and |rocks, crabs and kelp. Desert- sand, iguanas and cacti. |procedures for each experiment. Then have students identify what they would |

| |dependent variables and use them |Coniferous Forest- underbrush, salamanders, and small shrubs. |use for a control and variables. Compare student controls and variables to the|

| |in designing their experiments. |Rainforest- heat-lamp, mist, frogs and tropical plants. Have |actual ones used by the researchers. Have students evaluate the researchers |

| |Students learn how to shape their |students write a question addressing how plants or animals adapt |controls and variables and decide if they are suitable for the experiment or if|

| |own experiments and learning. |to their environment, read literature on their biome, write a |the students’ ideas might work better. Have student groups report their |

| | |hypothesis and perform a simple experiment with one control and |findings and justify their arguments to the class. |

| | |one independent and dependent variable. Have the students make a| |

| | |PowerPoint presentation with their experimental findings and | |

| | |information from their background research. | |

| | |(In future scientific inquiries have students devise controls and| |

| | |independent and dependent variables. Note: scientific inquiry | |

| | |activities, as opposed to experiments, often do not have controls| |

| | |and variables. | |

|What needs to be included |Research Design Researching |Forensic Lab. Present a forensic case with evidence. Students |Have students read facts or concepts from their textbook or newspaper articles.|

|in a list of materials? |Materials & Procedures |will need to decide what tests they would like to perform and how|Allow the students to work in groups and develop a list of procedures that |

| |Students gain knowledge about |they will do them. Tell the students to use the evidence and |would nullify or support the fact or concept. Have students evaluate other |

|What skills need to be |using information to generate a |background literature on forensic tests to write procedures and |students’ lists and discuss what might be added or what might be extraneous or |

|learned or researched |list of materials and procedures. |materials. Focus on how to write detailed procedures and |unclear. |

|before the experiment can |Students learn that scientific |materials based on the literature. Students should present |Have students write a detailed guide for how to work effectively in groups. |

|be conducted? |inquiry questions and hypotheses |materials and procedures to the DA (the teacher) as well as |Tell students that they are writing for a younger audience learning how to |

| |may need to be reevaluated. |justification for why they are doing the test before |collaborate. |

|How are reproducible |Students learn how to shape their |experimenting. Students will probably need to revise their lists|Have the students read about a high-tech or procedure intensive technique. For|

|procedures written? |own experiments. |several times. |example, if studying genetics, students could read about DNA gel |

| | |(In future scientific inquiries have students research scientific|electrophoresis. Have students make a list of the materials and procedures. |

| | |techniques and derive necessary materials and procedures. |They will need access to books or the web to research how the procedure is |

| | | |accomplished and what materials would be needed. |

|Guiding Question |Student Stepping Stone Toward |Example of Scientific Inquiry |Supporting Scientific Inquiry through Related Activities |

| |Scientific Inquiry | | |

|How are data collected and |Data Collection & Representations |Populations. Have students devise an experiment investigating |Choose articles that relate to the topic being covered and that contain graphs.|

|represented appropriately? |Students learn how to collect |yeast population growth. The aim is to find the carrying |Graphs from various sources (newspapers, magazines, journals) can be compared |

| |quantitative and qualitative data.|capacity of the population. Students can choose from the |with the description of what the graph is supposed to represent. Students can |

| |Students decide how and what data |following variables: temperature, light, space, and amount of |decide if the graph is an accurate representation of the research. If it does |

| |to collect for their experiments. |food. For their chosen variable they should vary the quantity. |portray the major findings clearly then students should justify why they |

| | |Students will need to devise a way to calculate the population |believe it does. If it does not accurately portray the major findings, |

| | |and record data. Attention should be given to making data |students should suggest how the authors might improve the graphs. Students |

| | |tables, describing the data in paragraph form and choosing the |should present their arguments to the class for feedback. |

| | |correct graph to represent their data. Students can check their |When presenting a new concept in class, especially a concept that is based on |

| | |work with other students or the teacher. |an experiment, ask student “How could you measure this?” or “If we graphed |

| | |Note: Students will need to practice graphing and learn the |this, what would it look like?” |

| | |components of a scientific graph. | |

| | |(In future scientific inquiries have students present their data | |

| | |in tables, paragraphs and graphs. | |

|What calculations and data |Data Calculations & |Osmosis and Vegetables. Students should design questions and |Again, relevant journal or magazine articles can be evaluated. Students can |

|representations need to be |Representations |experiments, do background reading on osmosis and the osmotic |evaluate data sets and make note of the context in which the authors made |

|performed to show trends in|Students decide what calculations |pressure of the vegetable(s) they are investigating. In addition|mathematical manipulations. Over time, student can evaluate if the researchers|

|the data? |need to be preformed on their |to collecting data, students should do calculations with their |did appropriate calculations given their data. |

| |data. |data. Examples might include percent change in mass or standard | |

| |Students are empowered by choosing|deviation. Students should discuss their rational for the | |

| |mathematical manipulations that |calculations they choose with the class. | |

| |suit their data. |Note: Students will need training on calculator or computer | |

| | |statistical analysis and access to descriptions of mathematical | |

| | |calculations they can perform with their data. | |

| | |(In future scientific inquiries have students do appropriate | |

| | |calculations with their data and represent the calculations in | |

| | |tables and graphs. | |

|Guiding Question |Student Stepping Stone Toward |Example of Scientific Inquiry |Supporting Scientific Inquiry through Related Activities |

| |Scientific Inquiry | | |

|How is experimental error |Evaluating Error |Hominid Evolution. Check out a series of plastic skulls and let |Provide sample sets of data to each group of students and have them assess the |

|evaluated? |Students calculate percent error |students devise experiments showing the degree of relatedness |percent error and then correlate the amount of error with an explanation of |

| |for their experiments based on |between the skulls. Students will need to investigate the types |possible sources of error. Students could use a “round robin” to review and |

| |class or theoretical data. |of analysis performed on skulls and typical values for each |add to each group’s error assessment. The group that started with a particular|

| |Students identify and evaluate |species. Students will need values to calculate percent error. |data set would assimilate other student comments and present the combined |

| |sources of error (from instruments|If error is greater than 5%, students will need to identify |effort assessment to the class. |

| |and/or human error). |sources of error. If not, students will need to discuss their | |

| |Students learn that scientific |accuracy. Students should present their research and students | |

| |inquiry is dynamic and has room |can formulate understanding of hominid evolution through | |

| |for improvement. |discussion of their findings and evaluation of error. | |

| | |(In future scientific inquiries have students calculate percent | |

| | |error and asses error within their own experiments. | |

|How are trends in the data |Identifying and Analyzing Data |Plant Leeching. Have students design experiments investigating |Provide an overview (include outcome predictions or expectations) as well as |

|identified and analyzed? |Trends |soil composition and plant leaching. Several factors should be |graphs from scientific research that relates to current topics covered in |

| |Students compare data within their|considered and data should be taken over several days. Students |class. Have students write short paragraphs about what the graphs indicate and|

| |experiment and identify trends and|will need to devise complex graphs representing their data. |whether or not it matched with the researchers predicted outcome. |

| |outliers. From this they identify|Emphasis should be placed on comparing different graphs to obtain| |

| |positive and negative associations|an overall picture of what is occurring to the plant, soil, and | |

| |and potential cause and effect |water. Students should think about possible explanations given | |

| |relationships. |the information from each graph and a review of scientific | |

| |Students gain skills in describing|literature. Much student-student and student-teacher dialog will| |

| |WHY there are trends and |be needed in attempt to maximize understanding of the data and | |

| |relationships. |its implications. | |

| |Students learn that scientific |(In future scientific inquiries have students look for trends in | |

| |inquiry involves critical thinking|their graphs and explain what might account for the trends or | |

| |skills. |lack of trends. | |

|Guiding Question |Student Stepping Stone Toward |Example of Scientific Inquiry |Supporting Scientific Inquiry through Related Activities |

| |Scientific Inquiry | | |

|How are data compared and |Comparing and Analyzing Data |Bacterial Inhibition. Students will have access to a strain of |Students can practice interviewing each other to assess background knowledge |

|analyzed? |Students understand how to compare|gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria. Students can choose |prior to a unit, quizzing one another before a test, sharing answers to |

| |data with other students and with |antibiotics from available disks and can bring bactericides from |challenging in-class questions. After sharing answers students should |

| |literature. |home. Students will need to research sterile technique, the |reformulate answers to include ideas from the entire group. |

| |Students gain skills in describing|bacterial strains, antibiotics and bactericides. Emphasis should|Students could write a group paper, in which each student studies a different |

| |WHY their data was similar or |be place on sharing data between classmates and making |aspect or viewpoint. Students would need to assimilate and interweave the |

| |different. |comparisons. In addition, students will need to read background |various points to create a solid paper. |

| |Students learn that scientific |information from medical journals and a pharmaceutical handbook |Students can read and compare the presentation of the same concept from two |

| |inquiry involves critical thinking|to compare the projected effectiveness of the antibiotics. |different biology textbooks. They can evaluate which text better explains the |

| |skills. |Students will need to explain the degree to which and why their |concept and why. |

| | |experiments were similar or different from classmates and | |

| | |scientific literature. | |

| | |(In future scientific inquiries have students compare data with | |

| | |classmates and with experimental findings from related research. | |

|How do students get started|On your own |Topic directed research project. Plants. Students are given a |For posters, students can select their own topics or emphasis after completing |

|on their own research |Students will research a topic |topic but have the freedom to investigate anything related to |a literature search. |

|projects? |prior to conducting the |plants. This will probably work best at the end of the unit |Students can write questions for tests based on their experimental findings. |

| |experiment, thus gaining knowledge|after students have been exposed to various properties of plants.| |

| |about current research in the |Alternatively, it could be used to teach pertinent information to| |

| |field. This serves as a launching|students. In this case, teachers would want to make sure that | |

| |pad for students to engage in the |students include the content that needs to be covered in their | |

| |above processes. |experiments or final reports. | |

| |Students learn that they can |End of the year research project. Start by having students make | |

| |direct their own learning by |a list of what they found most interesting in the class. Have | |

| |applying knowledge of the process |them place stars by their top two choices. After doing some | |

| |of scientific inquiry. |background research on related studies students can select the | |

| | |area they are most interested in pursuing. | |

Representing Knowledge and Evaluating Knowledge are also part of the scientific inquiry process. These components should take place throughout the year and a special emphasis should be placed on representation and evaluation once students have mastered the process of inquiry and are performing their own experiments and activities. Representation of scientific inquiry can take place in a variety of forms- oral presentations, written documents or formal lab reports, PowerPoint presentations, videotape presentations, etc. Teachers should provide periodic evaluations or checkpoints throughout the process. Clear grading rubrics or mastery guides are necessary to challenge students and meet high expectations. In addition, students can practice using the mastery guides to evaluate themselves and each other. School principals and community members can also aid in evaluation. Ideally, students should find an scientist who has expertise in the field they are investigating to provide periodic feedback and overall assessment.

By mastering the process of scientific inquiry, students gain skills in scientific literacy because they are responsible for reading, interpreting and applying scientific literature. Students also gain skills in critical thinking because students reflect, interpret, evaluate, analyze, apply and synthesize their own definitions for scientific theory and scientific findings.

Stepping Stones for Mastering the Process of Scientific Inquiry

[pic] [pic] [pic]

Application Generating a Question Developing Future Research Ideas

[pic]

Developing a Hypothesis

& Alternative Hypotheses

[pic]

Devising Controls and Variables

[pic]

Research Design

[pic]

Data Collection

& Representations

[pic]

Data Calculations

& Representations &

[pic]

Evaluating Error [pic]

Identify & Analyzing Data Trends

[pic]

Comparing and Analyzing Data

[pic] On Your Own

[pic]

Representing Acquired Knowledge

[pic]

Evaluating Knowledge

[pic]

Mastery

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download