Guided Inquiry Science in Elementary Grades: a Foundation for Middle School Science

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Guided Inquiry Science in Elementary Grades a
Foundation for Middle School Science

• Joseph J. Bellina, Jr.
• jbellina_at_saintmarys.edu
• Saint Marys College/NISMEC
• Karen M. Morris
• Karen.Morris.3_at_nd.edu
• University of Notre
  Dame/NISMEC
• NISMEC-Northern Indiana Science Mathematics and
  Engineering Collaborative.

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What to Expect

• In the best of all worlds
• What science skills should a student have
  entering middle school?
• Focus on skills rather than academic knowledge.

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What Middle School Teachers Have Said

• Use (and be facile in) metric system.
• Work well in groups.
• Be able to graph.
• Understand and follow directions.
• Others?
• Pick 2 or 3, chat with a neighbor and be ready to
  report in 3 minutes.

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How Did We Find this Out?

• Observations of 7th GradeStudents at a Middle
  SchoolAug. 30 31, 2006

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A Safety Investigation

• Observe 6 classes varying from 18 to 27
  students, over 2 day period.
• Introduce students to unusual event with CSI
  theme.
• Student Learning Goals
• Develop list of safety guidelines based on what
  they observed.
• Safety techniques demonstrated and students
  practice.
• Required to make observations first.
• Make inferences based on observations.

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Observed Typical Student Behaviors

• Writing observations was viewed as task to be
  done
• After writing was completed, started reading a
  book.
• No evidence of thinking (doodling, I wonder
  questions, etc.)
• Didnt use observations to formulate their
  inferences.
• Some groups had difficulty coming to consensus in
  their explanation (maturity)

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Also Scientist-like Behaviors!

• Described observations in writing.
• Dated and diagrammed on data sheets without
  prompting.
• Diagrams were labeled without prompting for
  labels.
• Made more observations and fewer inferences.
• Descriptions were appropriate e.g. white
  powder and not looks like salt or sugar.
• Expected to work in groups and exhibited good
  group dynamics.
• Willing to take risks in discussion they
  werent shy!

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The Middle School Teachers were excited! and
mystified

• How did their students acquire these science
  skills?

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How did they?

• Several years before, K-6 adopted a reformed
  science learning strategy
• Student centered, research based instructional
  materials.
• Teachers use guided inquiry and literacy
  strategies.
• About 80 hours professional development for 90
  of teachers.
• Middle school chose textbooks.

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District Data

• Metropolitan
• 7 Elementary Schools (K-6)
• About 125 teachers
• 48 free or reduced lunch
• 86 white
• 1 Middle School (7-8)

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Research Based Instructional Materials

• NSF funded and vetted by testing in classrooms.
• Grade-appropriate mimic of how scientists learn
  science.
• Rich assessment for learning.
• Seamlessly integrates language arts and
  mathematics.
• Notebooks as scaffolding, and science talk.

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Sources of Instructional Materials

• Largest programs
• FOSS
• Developed at Lawrence Hall of Science
• Published by Delta Education
• Insights
• Developed by Educational Development Center
• Published by Kendall-Hunt
• STC
• Developed by National Science Resources Center of
  the Smithsonian Institution
• Published by Carolina Scientific
• Other programs
• See EDC site (http//cse.edu.org/curriculum).

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How Science Is Learned

• Private, Public and School Science
• Private
• Only seen in private laboratory.
• Being wrong is on opportunity to learn.
• No answers, just questions, guidance, notebooks
  and conversations.
• No scientific method.
• Public
• What scientists write and say.
• Looks like scientific method.
• Little connection to how science was learned.

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School Science

• Traditional
• Distilled summary of Public Science.
• Masks how the science was learned.
• Encyclopedic textbooks and worksheets.
• Replication with less attention to process.
• What most teachers experienced as students.
• Reformed
• Mimics the private guided inquiry done by
  scientists.
• Learn in cooperation with peers.
• Guidance from mentor-teachers.
• Focuses on developing understanding.
• Rich notebooks.
• Consistent with state and national standards.

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FOSS Module
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STC Module
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Learning progression
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Guided Inquiry

• Student Investigations
• Guided by teacher and curriculum
• Observe
• Record in notebook
• Reflect in discussion
• Learning like scientists

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Lets Try It

• Abbreviated
• Part of a series of investigations that might
  take 9-13 weeks.
• From FOSS Water kit (Grade 3, 4)
• Please form groups of 2 or 3.
• Materials manager, reporter and recorder
• Enjoy exploring.

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Water Experiment

• How much water can you drop onto a penny without
  the water spilling onto the tabletop?
• Turn to your partner and predict how many drops
  you can add to the penny. Record this number.
• Collect your equipment.
• Explore.
• Report what you observed.
• Clean up.
• What process skills did you use?

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How Did the Change Occur in the District?

• Buy-in by administration
• Adopted appropriate instructional materials
• FOSS modules
• Lower the barrier for teacher change.
• 80 hours of grant funded PD for 3 years.
• Change teacher belief from delivery to guided
  inquiry
• How to use the kits, notebooks as scaffolds,
  science talk.
• Classroom support as requested
• In-house materials management.

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Changes in K-6

• Indiana tests science after grade 4.
• Pass rate increased from 58 to 72 over 4
  years
• Student attitude
• Science is the high point of the day.
• Classroom behavior has improved.
• More writing, talking, risk taking.
• Teacher attitude
• Over half said math, reading, and social studies
  also became more student centered.
• Almost all want to continue this strategy in next
  adoptionnot return to textbooks.
• Change from focus on teaching, to focus on
  learning.

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In Alabama
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Impact on middle school teachers

• Less start-up, more mature
• Knew metric system.
• Could work well in groups.
• Kept notebooks well and discussed readily.
• Less dependent on teacher.
• Moved from worksheets to exclusively using
  notebooks.
• Adopted Vernier data-collection equipment to
  increase quantitative aspect of labs.
• Middle school, once resistant, now considering
  adoption of kit-based instructional materials.

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What to Take Away

• Hands on/minds on science, using NSF funded
  instruction materials, and good PD, can
• Improve science process skills.
• Enhance science knowledge.
• Improve reading and math.
• Improve classroom behaviors.
• Enhance self-motivation in students.
• Consider changing the elementary science program
  to provide a better foundation for middle school
  science.