2. “Frustration doesn’t mean you’re
stupid, it doesn’t mean you should
give up, it doesn’t mean your
teacher’s an idiot, it means you’re
working in the zone of discomfort
where you might actually learn
something.”
A. Duckworth
4. Exploration: Light A Bulb
Wondering- Students are brainstorming,
developing questions, connecting
information to themselves, and making
predictions
Investigating- Students are finding and
evaluating information to answer questions
and test their hypotheses by experimenting.
They should also be generating new
questions and new hypotheses.
6. Concept Development: Light A Bulb
Introduce content after exploring and
investigating.
What did you observe (in exploration) and what
did you find out (from investigation)?
Introduce scientific vocabulary and connect it to
student experiences during the Exploration
Phase
7. Circuit – a source of electrical energy
and a pathway that allows electricity to
flow
Concept Development: Light A Bulb
8. Application: Light A Bulb
Express- Students are actively discussing their
observations with other students. They should
be able to present the results of their
experimentation using evidence-based
conclusions.
Reflect and Connect- Students reflect on their
own learning by connecting new concepts to
themselves and their previous knowledge. This
allows them to gain background and context
and encourages new questions to be asked.
Briefly introduce the steps of the Science Inquiry Learning Cycle. The steps will be explained in further detail after the students have had the chance to experience the cycle.
The point of this Lesson is not the activity, but the inquiry teaching strategy.
Exploration Phase
Students engage in an activity to become familiar with a new scientific idea. This involves collecting evidence as they work in small cooperative groups with hands-on materials. This experience is meant to familiarize the students with a new topic by getting them involved and interested in the activity. Teachers keep the students mentally focused by asking students to record their observations design and fill in a data table and share ideas with their group. Students are often given few or no formal definitions for what they are exploring. They are also not told what conclusions they are likely to come up with at the end of this phase. Teachers allow students to freely explore their thinking and resist the urge to tell them what they should think.
The Exploration Phase includes the following inquiry cycle steps:
· Wonder—Students are brainstorming, developing questions, connecting information to themselves, and making predictions.
· Investigate—Students are finding and evaluating information to answer questions and test their hypotheses by experimenting. They should also be generating new questions and new hypotheses.
Concept Development
Although content is not the focus of this lesson, the concept development phase is designed to be the part of the Lesson where you introduce the scientific ideas on which the exploration and investigation were based. Students are asked to connect their experiences from the Exploration Phase with the new knowledge they are gaining during the Concept Development Phase.
Students can be asked questions such as: How do our observations and investigations support this? What evidence did we gather to construct this explanation?
In this Lesson, the concept that is important for students to understand is that you can light a bulb if it is connected to a closed pathway, or circuit, that allows electrical energy to flow to the bulb. Emphasize this model for electricity where attention is focused on connecting the positive end of the battery pack with one end of the bulb and then connecting the other end of the bulb to the negative end of the battery pack. This arrangement creates a complete loop through which charge is pushed,
Complete circuit – a pathway allowing electrical energy to continuously flow.
Incomplete circuit – an interrupted pathway that does not allow electrical energy to continuously flow.
Application
This is a very important phase of the inquiry cycle because it allows students to solidify their learning by giving them the opportunity to use what they have learned in a new situation. Teachers often divide this phase into two parts: 1) review the new concept in a straightforward way by giving them a task similar to what they did in the first two phases of the cycle 2) apply the new concept in a novel situation. Research shows that students who are allowed to apply what they learn after the concept development phase, retain their learning much more effectively. Students also need time to process and reflect on their learning. Teachers are often tempted to skip this phase because they are so tight on time, but it is an important part of solidifying new learning in long-term memory. Applying new learning allows students to make meaning of new information by connecting it to themselves through their previous knowledge and new experiences. Teachers make an effort to connect students with resources in their communities by inviting experts into the classroom as well as giving students learning opportunities outside of the classroom.
The Application Phase includes the following inquiry cycle steps:
· Express—Students are actively discussing their observations with other students. They should be able to present the results of their experimentation using evidence-based conclusions.
· Reflect and Connect—Students reflect on their own learning by connecting new concepts to themselves and their previous knowledge. This allows them to gain background and context and encourages new questions to be asked.
In the Apply Phase, students are given circuits that do not light the light bulb. The students are then challenged to use their new knowledge to explain why the light bulbs will not light.
In this Lesson, this Phase will allow the practice and reinforcement of the idea of complete and incomplete circuits.