YEARS 7–12 IDEAS FOR THE CLASSROOM
Year 7 Practical Skills for Inquiry Learning (continued)
• The observations should include at least:
• Choose an observation (or you may be allocated one by the
teacher?) and discuss in your group how you will do your
investigation, and then carry out the procedures. Remember
your group roles.
– turns pink (from white and green) – should go through the
other colours first (may be variation as it depends how
much of each of A and B were used)
– goes through yellow and/or orange (from white and green)
stage
• When you have worked out what is causing the particular
observation, write your answer in your own journals and onto
one of the narrow pieces of butcher’s paper. Then stick this in
the appropriate place on the class butchers’ paper which is
still on the board from part 1 of the experiment.
– gets cold – this happens first
– gets hot – this happens later
– bubbles and fizzes (forms gas – though this is a conclusion
and you must check what they know which lets them say
this). No conclusions can be drawn without evidence – they
have evidence from their everyday experiences, and we
must make them express this e.g. balloons and fizzy drinks;
What the teacher does next:
• When the students start this investigation, amend the butcher’s
paper already on the board to indicate where this set of results
should go (see below)
– bag inflates/blows up – it should blow up ‘to the limit’;
– some groups may say that they think some of the solid has
‘disappeared’ – the solids are soluble in water.
• Students should still work in their same co-operative groups.
You may decide to change the roles around or leave that for
the students to decide. I would be tempted to keep the same
roles.
• Make sure students describe what the substances look like
before they are reacted as well as after.
• As you circulate this time, you will focus on helping the
students develop their skills in conducting fair tests and their
understanding of this concept – but don’t be tempted to tell
them what to do or what they are doing! Don’t use the term
‘fair tests’ unless they introduce it. In other words, get them
to tell you what they are doing and store up their ideas ready
for the class discussion at the end.
The idea behind getting the observations put up is so that all
groups can see all the observations which are possible. Also
allows a discussion about what is a good observation (e.g.
colour change must give the starting colour as well as the final
colour) and which senses to use (feeling, seeing, hearing)
and which not to use and why (tasting and smelling). If there
are discrepancies in some of the observations it gives you
an opportunity to discuss with the students how this can be
resolved (repeat?)
• Use open-ended questions to probe the accuracy of their
observations and their understanding of whether change has
taken place – how do they know?
Gather all the students round the list of observations to facilitate
the discussion – remember we are trying to help them build
good experimental and thinking skills, so focus questions on
trying to draw these from the students, rather than telling them
what you want.
• As students finish their investigations, encourage them to
examine the results written on the narrow strips of butcher’s
paper, and identify any that need further discussion.
• Those on which there is agreement for any particular
observation can be added to the information in their science
journal.
What the students do next:
This is an important next stage as we are getting the students to
work out how to answer the question. It is important that you do
not give any help or hints as to how to go about the task. Neither
should students have to produce a plan of action before they start.
Just let them go! Some will know where they are going from the
start, others might muddle around for a bit but usually they all get
there in the end. What is important is that each group can tell you
what it was that they did which led to their answer.
• Fast finishers can think about how to check any results that
seem to need further discussion, and can carry out their ideas
after checking with you.
• When everyone has finished, gather the students together
round the butchers’ paper and discuss what they have found
out. How will you deal with any discrepancies? Remember
co-operation – there is no problem getting things wrong (but
good to think about why?). We want to encourage all students
to take risks with their learning – it is OK to be wrong – having
a go is what is important. Maybe some things need to be tried
again?
The explanation of their next task can probably be best done by
telling the students:
• Your group task now is to design experiments to find out which
of the ‘ingredients’ is responsible for each of the observations.
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SCIENCE EDUCATIONAL NEWS VOL 68 NO 1