Using Cultures of Thinking to Promote an Inquiry-based Approach( continued)
YEARS 7 – 12 IDEAS FOR THE CLASSROOM
Using Cultures of Thinking to Promote an Inquiry-based Approach( continued)
good inference, it could be a river. What made you think it was a river?”“ It is shaped like a river.”“ What makes you think it is shaped like a river?”“ It is not a straight line.”“ This is what you need to write down now, as that is an observation, what else can you see?” It is a process that some students will find harder than others and one that teachers need to be patient and supportive with. You can see in the examples that I have provided that students want to move straight to inferring!
takes students time to unlearn guessing what you want them to see / think.
Stromatolites in an ancient sedimentary rock.
' Mount St. Helens ', a volcano in the state of Washington, USA, that erupted explosively in 1980.
2. After the 3 minutes I have students share these“ I see …” and / or“ I feel …” with their group. Group members are to listen silently and not provide any feedback, no nods, no“ oh yeah!” they are just to listen quietly. Following this students are to come up with a further 10 observations(“ I see”/” I feel”), they can make observations they already have more descriptive, if they want to. Completing 2 lots of 10 observations is actually a routine called“ 10 times 2” and encourages students to look more closely at their stimulus. They will make amazing observations, things that you will not have seen yourself, it just
3. Following the“ I see” of See Think Wonder and“ 10 times 2” I have students share an observation with the class. Provide students with positive reinforcement and supportive redirection where necessary.“ Fantastic, what made you think that?” has a gentler ring to it than,“ Why did you write that?”( which can make students feel as though their response is being judged).
Students have a short period of time to share their 10 new observations with their group; members must sit silently and listen.
The purpose of this first part of the task is to support students to develop their own observations. It is to help them move away from automatically trying to guess what we want. For them it is a way of learning that will take some time and practice, it might take completing this strategy a number of times for them to move away from immediately inferring.
49 SCIENCE EDUCATIONAL NEWS VOL 67 NO 2