Constructing Inquiry 1
Running Head: EIGHTH GRADE INQUIRY LABORATORIES
Constructing Inquiry Laboratories for 8th Grade Students
Frank Wood
University of Tennessee
Constructing Inquiry2
Abstract
Student-centered inquiry has been is known to develop student understanding. Inquiry is required by the National Science Education Standards and is included in the Tennessee State Science Curriculum Standards. An open inquiry laboratory on time telling instruments was designed for an 8th Grade Earth Science class. This laboratory was completed in a test situation as if 8th grade students responded. When completed, this project chronicled every aspect of the design and implementation of a successful inquiry laboratory. This treatment shows how real world success can be achieved in inquiry laboratory experiments.
Constructing Inquiry 3
Constructing Inquiry Laboratories for 8th Grade Students
“Inquiry requires identifying assumptions, use of critical and logical thinking, and consideration of alternative explanations” (National Research Council, 2000). With this definition, volumes of articles have been written about inquiry, and standards have been developed. However, inquiry continues to mean different things to different people. Standards that include inquiry emphasize the importance of this teaching method (Evans, 2002). Many teachers feel that proper student-centered inquiry maximizes development of student understanding (Hackett, 1998). Teaching using the method of inquiry is easily discussed by faculty and students in education. However the actual implementation continues to be problematic. Inquiry implementation polarizes many educators because of previous negative experiences. However, pro or con on the issue, implementation of inquiry is required by the National Science Education Standards (Texley, et. al., 1998). In Tennessee, inquiry also is identified as a requirement in the Tennessee State Science Curriculum Standards (Jordan, 2001; Evans, 2002). Here, I attempt to better explain how inquiry-based teaching can be implemented by constructing inquiry laboratories for eighth-grade students. After completing this process, the feasibility and future inquiry design guidelines are assessed. This is accomplished by reviewing the literature for establishing a method of inquiry design (Sternadel, 2004). Next, a laboratory experiment will be designed, which incorporates what has been learned. The laboratory is then performed, simulating an eight-grade student’s performance. When complete, this project chronicles every aspect of the design and implementation of an inquiry lab. This information serves as a basis for conclusions regarding the best use of inquiry.
Four types of inquiry are recognized (Martin-Hansen, 2002). “Open or full” inquiry is considered to be the purest type of inquiry. Open or full inquiry is defined as a student-centered approach that begins with a student’s question. This is followed with one or more students designing and conducting an investigation or laboratory and then communicating the results of their investigation. This approach follows a practice similar to that used by many working scientists. “Guided” inquiry is a method of inquiry in which the instructor assists the student in developing the inquiry investigation. In a guided inquiry the teacher usually decides the question to investigate and the students assist the teacher with decisions regarding how to proceed. “Coupled” inquiry is a combination of the open and guided inquiry methods. The teacher in this case chooses the question to investigate (usually targeting a standard) and the students develop a student-centered investigation. “Structured or directed” inquiry typically is similar to a “cookbook lab.” This method is limited because student engagement is usually limited to following teacher instructions. Some educators argue that structured inquiry is not true inquiry because the students do not make their own choices or develop their own lines of investigation. Using the sun to tell time is an appropriate subject for an eighth-grade Earth Science class: the “Processes of Science” goal in the middle school curriculum (Jordan, 2001)provides justification for this topic. For the purpose of this treatment, a “coupled” inquiry is used so that the students can focus on a specific target investigation. To complete the picture, the “5E” (Bybee & Loucks-Horsley, 2002) and “7E” (Eisenkraft, A., 2003) learning cycle depicted was chosen as a vehicle for implementation. Bybee developed the 5E model (Bybee, R. & Loucks-Horsley, S., 2002), and Eisenkraft expanded this to the 7E model (Eisenkraft, A., 2003). The 7Es are: elicit, engage, explore, explain, elaborate, evaluate, and extend. A student-centered lesson plan and laboratory (Note: Figures 1, 2, 3, and Appendix A) are developed to progress sequentially though each step.
“Elicit” and “engage” are the initial steps that capture the student’s imagination and open their minds to the inquiry process. In my treatment, the student would be given the situation below.
The students are camping on OssabawIsland just off the Georgia coast. They do not have a watch, radio or any modern convenience. The park ranger comes by on an intermittent basis and can inform the students of the time of day from his wrist watch. After the first day the students will not have access to a clock. The students must create a device to tell the time so that they know when to be ready for their 4PM boat trip back the following day. The only materials available to build a time-telling deviceare; the driftwood found on the beach, the environment, and the sunny days of OssabawIsland.
The inquiry lesson begins with “engagement”. A brief discussion would be held regarding like experiences ofclassmates when they need to know the time of day but did not have a watch. The studentsthen group to “explore” methods of telling time with the materials at hand in the context-based based scenario. After allowing the students a few minutes to discuss potential plans of telling time, the instructor regroups the students to discuss the problem further. The instructor then begins into the “explain” step of instruction.
The instructor describes how ancient people told time using a sundial (Figure 1 and 2). Some of the earliest sundials were “Mass” dials or scratch dials because they are 8 or 9 inches in diameter and roughly cut, scratched lines in rock. The gnomon (stick that projects the shadow) is usually missing. These devices are medieval (1100 - 1600) and usually found near the main door of churches. The historyof Mass sundials is difficult to determine, but simple versions of these devices with only four or five radial lines were generally constructed earlier than those with numbers around circumference (rare). The instructor will continue to show how the early sundial worked, then transition to modern times where a sundial is included in the rover that is currently on Mars (Figure 3).
After the topic has been sufficiently explained, the students are tasked to “elaborate” on the topic by designing their own sundial. The data we obtained upon constructing a sundial on OssabawIsland was collected by Matthew Perkins and Frank Wood (Figure 6). The sundial was constructed from the driftwood found on the beach (Figure 5). No compass or additional research was provided for this initial laboratory. A gnomon(approximately 30 inches long) was selected and pounded into the sand. The first stake was pounded into the sand at the end of the shadow of the gnomon at 8:45 AM (simulated arrival of the park ranger). The remainder of the stakes were placed at the end of the gnomon’s shadow at known times, but intermittant intervals (simulating visits of the park ranger). The sundial was completed at 7:00 PM; using a tape measure, coordinates weredeveloped to relate the gnomon to the data stakes. Then we created a graph utilizing these coordinates (figure 7). Using the graph, we could then determine where a stake should be place to indicate 4 PM.
The students would then be asked to “evaluate” their experiment and the lessons learned. After evaluating the operation of their students would be asked to “extend”their knowledge by researching “better” sundials on the World Wide Web. Studentswould be asked to articulate why the sundials that they investigated on the World Wide Web might be more accurate than the sundial they had built.
Overall, I thought this was a good inquiry laboratory for eighth grade students. The mathematics skills needed to complete and use the sundial were within eighth-grade capabilities. Additionally, only simple materials were allowed, so that students would not be tempted to create a complex solution. True eighth grade students might have lacked the graphing skills needed to complete the sundial. Because of the nature of inquiry laboratory design, if the informational leap is not too significant students will ask questions that will give them necessarytraining. If the students were given a compass and more complex information regarding working sundial configuration, theirprogress mighthave stalled because they knew an accurate project was beyond their present skills. The result of this inquiry approach was a solution that would evoke questions from eighth graders, prompting further learning.
When class size is greater than about 30 students, it may not be practical to conduct the inquiry in the manner described. In large classes, students tired of waiting for the attention of an instructor often become disruptive. In large classes theinquiry method may need to slant toward a more guided inquiry approach. One example of the type of changes required would be to prepare the graphing section of a laboratoryin advance so that fewer student questions would be neededto complete the assignment.
The main conclusion drawn from the sundial example explored here is that open inquiry can be successfully implemented in the classroom. Often a major cost of a successful inquiry experiment is the requirement for significant planning. The benefit of inquiry is empowerment ofstudents and the motivation of students to construct their own learning.
References
Bybee, R. & Loucks-Horsley, S. (2002, March). Implementing the National Science Education Standards. The Science Teacher, p. 22-26.
Eisenkraft, A. (2003, September). Expanding the 5E Model. The Science Teacher, p. 56-59.
Evans, S. (2002, March). Aligning to State Standards. The Science Teacher, p. 54-57.
Hackett, J. (1998, September). Inquiry: Both Means and Ends. The Science Teacher, p. 34-37.
Jordan, L. (2001, August). Curriculum Standards. Retrieved June 27, 2004, from Tennessee State Board of Education Web site:
Martin-Hansen, L. (2002, February). Defining Inquiry. The Science Teacher, p. 34-37.
National Research Council. (2000). Inquiry and the National Science Education Standards. Washington, D.C.: NationalAcademy Press.
Sternadel, L. (2004, April). Inquiry and Developing Explanations from Evidence. The Science Teacher, p. 38-41.
Texley, Juliana and Wild, Ann (1998). NSTA Pathways to the Science Standards: Guideline for Moving the Vision into Practice. Arlington, VA: National Science Teachers Association
Appendex A
Name ______Date ______
What Time Is It?
You are camping on OssabawIsland just off the Georgia coast. You do not have a watch, radio or any modern convenience. The park ranger will come by to check on you several times the first day and tell you the time, but after the first day you will not have access to a watch. You need to make a device that will help you tell the time so that you know when to be ready for the boat trip back. If you miss the boat ride back to the mainland you will run out of food before the next boat arrives. The only materials you have available are the driftwood found on the beach, the natural environment, and the sunny days on OssabawIsland.
- Write a few methods below that you think will help you tell time. Then trade papers with the person sitting next to you and share your ideas. ______
- Using the information discussed in class design and construct a time telling device that will help you arrive at the boat at 4PM. List the steps in your procedure below. Include in all of your work that you use to make this device (graphs and tables).
A)______
B)______
C)______
D)______
E)______
Appendix A (continued)
F)______
G)______
- Did you get to go home on time or did you miss the boat? ______
- What would you like to know in order to make a more accurate clock?
A)______
B)______
C)______
D)______
E)______
F)______
G)______
- Use the World Wide Web to locate a design that is more accurate. Describe how you would use it and why it works better.
______
______
______
______
______
______
______
______
______
Anchient sundials of the past
Figure 1 - Woolton, Kent by the British Sundial Society
Figure 2 - Great Witcombe, Glos by the British Sundial Society
Figure 3
A Sundial for Mars
Credit: W. Sullivan (U. Washington) et al., Mars Surveyor 2001, NASA
Explanation: Mars Surveyor carries a sundial to allow for a prominent public display of time. Bill Nye (“The Science Guy”), noted for making films that make science interesting for students, convinced NASA that they needed a sundial on their Martian rover during the project planning phase in 1998.
Figure 5
This is a picture of the sundial we constructed on OssabawIsland. The device is constructed by driving stakes driven into the sand. The gnomon is the longer stake; the shorter stakes were installed at the end of the shadow of the gnomon when timeswere noted.
Figure 6; an inscription showing data collected from the sundial’s operation.
Field notes taken during the observation period. Note that in order to make calculations easier time was converted to millitary time. The experiment was conducted in the eastern time zone and during daylight savings time
Figure 7