4. What is Scientific Inquiry?
National and State Standards
Blooms Taxonomy
Roles & Responsibilities
Science Materials Matrix
Creating the Environment
Let’s Explore!
5. What is
Scientific Inquiry?
How does this look in a diverse program
which includes infants through school age
children?
6. Building a Foundation for Inquiry
* Develop Vocabulary
*Encourage Questioning
*Allow Time for Investigations
that are Authentic
*Provide Rich Tactile Experiences
7. Let’s Begin at the End
What do we expect
our children to know
by the end of 2nd
grade?
8. Texas Science TEKS
The study of elementary science includes
planning and safely implementing classroom
and outdoor investigations using scientific
processes, including inquiry methods, analyzing
information, making informed decisions, and
using tools to collect and record information,
while addressing the major concepts and
vocabulary, in the context of physical, earth, and
life sciences. Districts are encouraged to
facilitate classroom and outdoor investigations
for at least 80% of instructional time.
9. National Science Standards
The standards on inquiry highlight the ability to conduct
inquiry and develop understanding about scientific
inquiry. Students at all grade levels and in every domain
of science should have the opportunity to use scientific
inquiry and develop the ability to think and act in ways
associated with inquiry, including asking questions,
planning and conducting investigations, using appropriate
tools and techniques to gather data, thinking critically
and logically about relationships between evidence and
explanations, constructing and analyzing alternative
explanations, and communicating scientific arguments.
11. Provide materials that encourage
exploration and questions throughout
the classroom
Plan learning experiences that are
conceptually connected
Look for spontaneous opportunities to
support scientific thinking
Our responsibilities and challenges
12. Help children answer their own
questions through inquiry
Provide opportunities for
communicating scientific ideas verbally,
through drawing, writing, graphing…
Ask open-ended questions and plan
open-ended activities that encourage
children to describe, compare/contrast,
predict, and explain
Our responsibilities and challenges
13. The Inquiry Cycle
1 Engage children’s Interest.
2 Prepare to investigate.
3 Investigate.
4 Prepare to report.
5 Report.
15. Rousseau believed that children
learned from their curiosity and not
from teacher intervention.
16. Throughout the day, does your
environment allow children to….
Make observations using multiple
senses
Compare and contrast the object
with other things they know about
Encourage collaborating and
sharing ideas
17. Encourage questioning and
exploring any unknowns
Engage in deeper thinking and
learning, the children should not be
focused on one right answer
Are they having fun?
25. “Preschool-aged children bring their sense of
wonder and curiosity about the world. Whether
watching fish in an aquarium or using a
flashlight to make bubbles, the child is engaged
in finding out how the world works.”
-Kathleen Conezio
32. Advice from Frances and David Hawkins
• Start with nature.
• Seize the moment.
• Become a researcher alongside children.
• Become a researcher alongside adults.
• Think of your classroom as a laboratory.
33. Expect to be impressed!
Science provides opportunities
for children to show off their
thinking, not just facts they
know.
34. You can teach a student a lesson
for a day; but if you can teach
him to learn by creating curiosity,
he will continue the learning
process as long as he lives.
-Clay P. Bedford
Editor's Notes
Research shows that children are natural explorers!There is a profound similarity between the research methods of scientists and the explorations of young children.This is a result of the child’s natural curiosity.
SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY IS observation, questioning, & making sensible guesses (that can be tested by logic or observation)Research finds that student curiosity and involvement in real science investigations moves them from passive learners to active learners. Examples: when students:ask questions during an investigation, design their own investigations, conduct investigations using their design,formulate explanations of findings,present their findings, think about their findings .
For all age levels…These are some things to consider when you are developing your science activities
Let’s look at Texas and National standards to determine what we want to teach our children and then develop a roadmap to get there.
Environment – indoor and outdoorScience tools – hand lenses, microscopes, pipettes, plastic tweezers, thermometers, etc.VocabularyAll science content areasHands-on!
Use scientific inquiry – questioning, plan and conduct investigationsToolsCommunicate
Consider implications of higher levels of thinking. Is everyone familiar with Blooms Taxonomy?Scientific inquiry requires students to use higher order thinking skills as they learn science using a hands-on minds-on approach.
Conceptual connections – make connections to prior knowledgeTeachable moments
Don’t always give the answersRepresentations, reflects deepen understanding
This sounds simple, but it requires preparations to be ready for whatever the children are interested in. Knowing your children, think ahead of what guiding questions you might ask your students. Listen/watch for your children’s interests. (2) Decide with your children how they will investigate. Help to narrow a focus and decide on necessary tools.Teacher organizes and children investigate. Use cameras, videos, drawings, encourage discussion. (4) Children will need support Help children discuss their findings, organize their data, compare information. (5) Children come together to report and discuss their findings and decide what it all means.Do they have more questions?????
Categories based on the Preschool Rating Instrument for Science and Mathematics(PRISM; Stevenson-Boyd, Brenneman, Frede, & Weber, 2009)
Infants and Toddlers:They instinctively wonder and explore. As they explore their surroundings they actively construct their own knowledge. Different levels of learning- Naturalistic: Adults should offer many things for the child to look at, touch, smell hear, and taste. As children explore adults encourage, smile, nod, praise.Informal Learning: Adult initiates the experiences, not pre-planned. Teachable moment Talks, adds vocabularyStructured Learning: Preplanned,
Actively participate and are engaged. Have many experiences from which they can connect knowledge. Informally you can do a KWL chart.
Hawkins Center of Learning is an organization of educators from around the world. www.hawkinscenters.org/resources