Theme: Nurturing Young
Scientists
Supporting Inquiry
Beyond the Scientific Method
So, you've sparked students' curiosity and questions about
plants. Now, how do you guide and support them to think and
act like scientists as they design and conduct growing investigations?
While the "scientific method" is a familiar framework for science
investigations, science educators increasingly emphasize that
the nature of science and science inquiry is much richer, broader,
and more flexible than the traditional lock-step method.
"Scientific inquiry is far more flexible than the rigid
sequence of steps commonly depicted as The Scientific Method
... it is more than just doing experiments, and it is not confined
to laboratories ... more imagination and inventiveness are involved
in scientific inquiry than many people realize.... Unexpected
observations often result in new questions for scientific study."
— Project 2061 Benchmarks
The National Science Education Standards underscore that the
main strategy for teaching science should be inquiry into meaningful,
relevant questions generated from student experiences. The structure
of individual investigations, of course, will vary depending
on the types of questions your students are exploring (e.g.,"
What's inside a bean seed?" vs."Which lights are better for
plant growth?"), their developmental levels, and your classroom
resources and priorities. Some questions might warrant observing
and describing plants and phenomena, while others might require
collecting, organizing, and classifying specimens. As students
develop comfort with a range of science skills, their investigations
will more frequently include "fair tests."
Thinking and Acting Like
Scientists
"When my sixth graders set up controlled experiments with FastPlants,"
reports LaCrescent, MN, teacher Scott Tyink, "many of their
results were inconclusive and some were conflicting with what
we'd learned earlier or believed to be true. When this happens,
we always ask what else we could try or how we might modify
our investigation. "I've also found that students often choose
to look at only one factor -- plant height, for instance --
but later they begin to notice other factors like the leaf color,
shape, or flowers. It can be a challenge to persevere and sift
through data. Sometimes students realized in the midst of experiments
that they hadn't collected enough data or collected it well
enough to make sense of it. This really helped them understand
the need to plan and sometimes revise investigations."
Even when investigations are in the form of controlled experiments,
science inquiry is not nearly as sequential and tidy as suggested
by what we've come to know as the scientific method. How do
you set a tone in the classroom that encourages risk taking
and flexible thinking? How do you help students recognize that
it's okay to not know answers, or to come up with results that
conflict with their own hypotheses? And how do you support them
to see themselves as problem solvers who have the tools and
habits of mind to systematically investigate and continue to
explore and ask new questions?
Light Tube Investigations
Update
Many of the classrooms who requested Verilux full-spectrum
light tubes (from a past issue of our Growing Ideas newsletter)
are just getting their experiments off the ground. Others were
in full swing when we called to inquire. Although we're curious
about how the "experimental" tubes are performing, we're even
more interested to learn about students' experiences as investigators.
Here is a highlight from one participating classroom.
Donna Kemp's junior high students in Sparta, WI, were measuring
only the smallest and tallest bean plant under each of three
light conditions. Then one student questioned whether this system
was the fairest way to take measurements. "Someone suggested
taking an average of the plant heights under each condition,"
reports Donna. They also discovered that plants under the full-spectrum
tubes were actually shorter than the others, she adds, and some
kids were afraid that the experiment wasn't working. Upon further
observation, they noticed that there were other characteristics
such as leaf size and color that also differed under different
light conditions. "Students realized that although they'd only
been looking at height, there were other important factors to
observe," she notes. "Though shorter, those under the full-spectrum
lights seemed to have more, larger, and healthier looking leaves."
Students decided to revise and restart the investigation, this
time comparing the number, size, and color of leaves.
Here are some key aspects and values of the nature of science
to consider as you guide student investigations, and suggestions
for routinely structuring experiences that help students think
and act like scientists.
Scientists use their own and others' knowledge and experiences
as starting points for investigations. Help students identify
their own conceptions -- what they believe and what they already
know about the topic being explored. Suggest relevant resources
students can use to further inform their investigations. Then
help them use this information and their own experiences and
observations as springboards for formulating testable questions,
hypotheses, and so on.
Scientists have to be careful observers. Routinely asking
questions like What did you observe that lead you conclude
that ...? What do you notice about...? How is it different than
...? can help students become keener observers and to distinguish
between what they actually observe (evidence) and what they
infer. Consider having students practice and hone their observation
skills through activities such as Flowers Up Close or Plant
Private Eyes from GrowLab: Activities for Growing Minds.
Scientists are collaborative. Scientists share their
ideas, research designs, and conclusions with others, and work
together to refine them. Give your students opportunities to
enhance their own learning by working in small groups to observe
and explore, then design, and finally conduct investigations.
Provide opportunities for students to reflect on how contributions
of group members enriched the process. Routinely encourage groups
to share, review, question, and comment on one another's investigation
plans and results.
Scientists systematically investigate their questions.
When planning investigations, help students consider the "steps"
they'll take in terms that help them think through the problem,
rather than simply memorize a formula. Some of the questions
to consider throughout the process are: What do we want to
find out about? How can we make the best observations? What
do we already think we know or have we observed about...? What
is the best way to answer our questions? What types of data
will we need? How can we make it a "fair" test? What types of
observations or measurements should we take? How can we organize
and communicate the data and results to present the clearest
answer or strongest explanation?
Scientists communicate in a variety of ways. Carefully
and accurately communicating details of investigations and results
is critical to being a good scientist. Students should have
opportunities to communicate in a range of ways-via journals,
reporting out, graphing, charting, discussing and debating with
peers, and so on.
Legitimate skepticism and respect for evidence are important
to science inquiry. They are also important habits of mind
that enable all of us to and are told! This includes examining
and questioning experimental designs and evidence, and judging
the strength of data and information used. It involves asking
questions such as: What other factors may have influenced
our results? Would we get the same results if we were to repeat
this? Does the evidence support the conclusions? Provide
opportunities for routine self- and peer-review as students
design and communicate results of investigations. Consider staging
a culminating "science conference" as a forum for students to
share investigations and results and have them critically reviewed
by others.
Science is dynamic and tentative. Good scientists recognize
that scientific "knowledge" is not fixed, and theories are revised
or discarded as new information is revealed. Provide opportunities
for students to revisit their earlier ideas and theories and
identify how their ideas have changed based on their observations
and investigations.
Science involves a lot of trial and error. Try to cultivate
an atmosphere that accepts conflicting results or experiments
that seem like "failures" as exciting opportunities to learn.
Help students recognize that being "right" or proving one's
hypothesis should not the goal. Some of the most important science
discoveries have been accidental!
Science investigations are often long-term. Plan your
schedule to allow for ongoing involvement in growing investigations.
The initial phase (brainstorming questions, planning and setting
up investigations, etc.) may take several class periods, but
once started, investigations may require only short periods
over several weeks for observing and collecting data.
Science investigations generate new questions. Help
students view science inquiry as an ongoing process by routinely
tracking new question time for students independently or in
groups to pursue questions that result from their growing experiences.
Author: Eve Pranis
© 2008
National Gardening Association