INQUIRY LEARNING

1. INQUIRY LEARNING Saouma BouJaoude Sahar Alameh Nada Radwan Science Education For Diversity Project American University of AUB

2. WS Learning outcomes • Describe the elements of inquiry-based learning • Specify and define the steps of inquiry • Develop good inquiry questions • Describe the role of learners and teachers in inquiry-based learning • Differentiate between traditional and inquiry teaching • Describe the characteristics of an inquiry based science activities • Describe strategies to implement science inquiry activities • Design curriculum-based science inquiry activities exciting activities • Develop frameworks to evaluate science inquiry activities SED AUB

3. Introductory activity • Title: The balanced box • Question: How was the box designed to work as it does? • Procedure: • Observe the box carefully • Use the observations to produce a design of the tube SED AUB

4. Conclusions • Knowledge is constructed by humans • Knowledge is speculative and unreliable • Knowledge grows through exposure SED AUB

5. ACTIVITY: Definition of Inquiry • PURPOSE: The purpose of this activity is to introduce participants to the K-W-L-H method in order to initiate inquiry and specify its steps. The activity stresses the importance of prior-knowledge and teachers’ and learners’ generated questions in inquiry. SED AUB

7. Question • What are the sources of energy on which human beings depend at the present time? SED AUB

8. Tentative list of energy sources • Food • Fire • Animal labor • Rivers • Wind • Sun • Fossil fuels • Chemical • Atomic • ….. SED AUB

9. Investigate the following questions • What changes took place overtime in the energy sources available to human beings? • What are the trends for energy consumed by each person over time? SED AUB

10. Questions • What specific questions are you interested in answering related to energy sources and energy consumed by each person? • Knowing that Chart 1 was developed in 1972, how can we learn more about energy sources and energy consumed by each person now and in the future? SED AUB

11. Questions that can be asked • What energy sources are available now? • What do you expect the amount of energy used for food by each person daily to be now? • What do you expect the amount of energy used for transportation by each person daily to be now? SED AUB

12. Questions that can be asked • What energy sources are available now? • What do you expect the amount of energy used for food by each person daily to be now? • What do you expect the amount of energy used for transportation by each person daily to be now? • What sources would you use to get new data on energy? SED AUB

13. Criteria to evaluate web pages • Accuracy. The author and institution that published the web page is provided along with ways of contacting him/her • Authority. The page presents the author’s credentials and its domain (.edu, .gov, .org, or .net). • Objectivity. The web page provides accurate information with limited advertising and it is objective in presenting the information. • Currency. The web page is current and updated regularly (as stated on the page) and the links (if any) are also up-to-date. • Coverage. The information in the web page can be viewed properly--not limited to fees, browser technology, or software requirements. • Refer to: http://www.library.cornell.edu/olinuris/ref/research/webcrit.html SED AUB

14. ACTIVITY 1 • TITLE: Why does the water rise? • MATERIALS: • Trough or basin, • Matches, • Gas jar, • Birthday candles, • Modeling clay SED AUB

15. Activity 2:The Egg and the Milk Bottle

16. What is inquiry? • Inquiry is a teaching method that engages learners in authentic investigations in which they identify problems, ask questions, propose solutions, make predictions, design procedures, collect, and organize data, and draw conclusions. SED AUB

17. What is inquiry - Details • A teaching strategy that aims to teach learners how to conduct investigations and to use and assess evidence in order to answer questions or solve problems. • Primarily aims to develop learners’ higher order and critical thinking skills. Content provides a context for developing and practicing thinking skills. Content and thinking are inseparable. SED AUB

18. What is inquiry-Details • A “genuine” problem is essential for the success of inquiry teaching in developing learners’ thinking skills: • Learners (and preferably the teacher) do not know and have no access to “the” or “an” answer. They have to reach conclusions based only on their investigations and their data SED AUB

19. What is inquiry-Details • A “genuine” problem (that lends itself to investigation) guarantees that learners (and their teacher) will have authentic experiences (similar to those of researchers) in assessing the validity of various claims, and adjudicating between contradictory claims concerning a certain phenomenon SED AUB

20. Inquiry steps • Step 1. Framing The Investigation • Step 2: Designing the Investigation • Step 3: Collecting and Presenting Data • Step 4: Analyzing and Interpreting Results SED AUB

21. Activity 3 • Title: How many points are touching? • Materials: A bobby pin (hair pin) for each pair of participants. • Question: Where is it easier to feel the tip of a pin touching your skin, on your hand or near you shoulder? • Hypothesis: What is your hypothesis? SED AUB

22. Procedure • Ask the subject of the experiment to hold out his/her hand with palm up and close his or her eyes • Divide the length of the hand and arm into 20 equal intervals • Randomly touch the hand or arm with either one tip of two tips • Ask the subject of the experiment if he is being touched with one or two tips. • Circle the correct or incorrect responses in the following table. • After you have finished colleting data switch roles and repeat the activity. SED AUB

24. Follow up questions • Where was it easier to tell how many tips were touching? • Why did we make more mistakes the higher up the arm the pin was touched to the skin? • What makes our touch sense more sensitive? • Where would a cut in the skin hurt most? SED AUB

25. Hypothesis testing • What pattern can you get from looking at all the results? • Was your hypothesis confirmed and rejected? What evidence do you have for your decision? SED AUB

26. General inquiry model • Identifying a question or problem • Forming hypotheses • Gathering data • Assessing hypotheses • Generalizing SED AUB

27. Good Inquiry Questions • It may have more than one answer • It can be studied/ It has a possible answer • There is data available or can be collected about it. • Others might find it useful or beneficial. • It is conSEDely and exactly phrased. SED AUB

28. Good inquiry questions-examples • Do roses that are kept in the light 24 hours per day grow taller than those that are kept in the light 8 hours a day?   • Which frozen liquid melts the fastest: water, milk, or soda pop?  or  Which liquid evaporates the fastest?   • Does your pulse rate increase or decrease after listening to music?  SED AUB

29. Good inquiry questions • Do batteries stored in the freezer power a toy car longer than those stored at room temperature?   • Do pumpkins that weigh 5 kilograms or more or more contain more seeds than those that weigh less than 5 kilograms? • Does the size of the wheels on a toy car affect the distance it travels? • Does the temperature of water affect how fast salt crystals (or sugar crystals) melt? SED AUB

30. "Not Good" inquiry questions • What causes dew? • How is igneous rock formed? • How does dishwashing soap clean away oil? • What did the Tyrannosaurus Rex eat? • What keeps a satellite in orbit around a planet? SED AUB

31. The General Inquiry Model • Identifying a question or problem • The T, the Ss or both generate a problem • The problem is genuine and relevant to Ss’ interests and/or needs (or current/future content) • The problem is discussed, clarified, and defined through discussion SED AUB

32. The General Inquiry Model (cont’d) • Forming hypotheses • Ss suggest tentative solutions (hypotheses) to the problem • Initially all hypotheses are accepted. Then the hypotheses are discussed and assessed for relevance and their verifiability with evidence • One or a few hypotheses are selected for investigation • The tentative nature of hypotheses is emphasized SED AUB

33. The General Inquiry Model (cont’d) • Forming hypotheses • Ss suggest tentative solutions (hypotheses) to the problem • Initially all hypotheses are accepted. Then the hypotheses are discussed and assessed for relevance and their verifiability with evidence • One or a few hypotheses are selected for investigation • The tentative nature of hypotheses is emphasized SED AUB

34. The General Inquiry Model (cont’d) • Assessing hypotheses • Ss discuss and analyze their data • Ss assess the validity of their tentative hypotheses based on the collected evidence • The logic of hypothesis testing is highlighted (prove/disprove vs. lend/detract support) and the value of hypotheses (even the ones rejected) in guiding investigations is emphasized. SED AUB

35. The General Inquiry Model (cont’d) • Generalizing • Ss discuss whether and to what extent their conclusions can be generalized • Valid generalizations are drawn SED AUB

36. Activity 4 • Title: Why does popcorn pop? • Procedure: • Works in groups of 4 • What is your hypothesis? • Design an experiment to test your hypothesis SED AUB

37. Herron ScaleEvaluating the Level of Inquiry

38. Activity 5 • Title: The heavy newspaper! • Procedure: • I will use the thick piece of wood to deliver a strong blow to the piece of plywood hanging from the edge of the table. • “What will happen?” in what direction will the newspaper fly? To the front? To the back?” • “Think-Pair-Share” this question. Ask them to explain their prediction. SED AUB

39. Explanation • The plywood breaks because the downward force from the blow of the hammer (or piece of wood) is counteracted by the downward force due to atmospheric pressure acting on the newspaper • Atmospheric pressure is caused by the weight of the air above the surface of the Earth. • Pressure is defined as force per unit area: Pressure (P) = Force (F) / Area (A). The force in this case is caused by the weight of the air above the surface of the Earth. The larger the surface area, the larger the force due to atmospheric pressure SED AUB

40. Activity 5 • Title: The efficient diver • Procedure: • What will happen if I squeeze the bottle in different places • Observe carefully what happens and write down your observations. • Use the Think-Pair-Share strategy to and explain their observations SED AUB

41. Explanation • Squeezing the bottle increases the pressure in the water and compresses the air inside the pen top. This increases the mass of the dropper but the volume stays the same, therefore its density increases. Note the following: • An object with a density less than that of a fluid will float in that fluid and an object with a density more than that of a fluid will sink in that fluid. • Pascal's law: Pascal's law states that when there is an increase in pressure at any point in a confined fluid, there is an equal increase at every other point in the container. SED AUB

42. Question • Describe the teaching strategy I used in the previous activities. SED AUB

43. Predict Observe Explain (POE) Step 1: Predict • Ask the learners to write independently their prediction of what will happen. • Ask them what they think they will see and why they think this. Step 2: Observe • Carry out the demonstration. • Allow time to focus on observation. • Ask learners to write down what they do observe. Step 3: Explain • Ask learners to amend or add to their explanation to take account of the observation. • After learners have committed their explanations to paper, discuss their ideas together. SED AUB

44. Predict - Observe - Explain (POE) POE can be used for: • finding out learners' initial ideas; • providing teachers with information about learners’ thinking; • generating discussion; • motivating learners to want to explore the concept; • Generating investigations. SED AUB

45. Activity 6 • Materials: • A round balloon • Two small plastic or glass cups (with a smooth rim). • Procedure • Blow up the balloon about one third way. • Hold one cup in each hand. Hold the cups against opposite sides of the balloon (while the balloon is in the mouth) and blow further (until about twice the size). • Let go of the two cups. SED AUB

46. Activity 6 SED AUB

47. Activity 6 • What concepts were derived from this activity? • What other examples can you think of? SED AUB

48. Learning Cycle Exploration • Learners experience objects and events, discover patterns and relationships, and are not given answers or labels Term introduction • Learners determine relationships among objects and events and teacher helps learners construct appropriate labels or provides the labels Application • Learners apply their knowledge of a given concept to other situations and teacher encourages Learners to discover examples to illustrate the concept or concepts SED AUB

49. Working With Circuits • Work in groups of 4 to change the activity into a learning cycle laboratory. • When you finish, one of you will present the activity you designed to the other groups SED AUB

50. Activity 7 • Title: Electricity • Procedure: • You will need two dry cells two light bulbs, and several pieces of wire. • Use one wire, one dry cell, to light one bulb. Draw your set-up (s) • Use two dry cells, and several wires to light one bulb. Draw your set-up (s). • Use two dry cells and several wires to light two bulbs. Draw your set-up (s). SED AUB