high school inquiry for stem educators

Achieving Student Success through Excellence in Teaching

STEM Curriculum Materials Professional Development Materials Support

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High School Inquiry for STEM Educators

Tina GaserStephanie Rakowski

Deborah Spencer

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What is Inquiry?

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C.S.I.(Card Sort Inquiry)

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Looking a Little Closer

(1) This is inquiry(2) This is not inquiry

1. Students receive factual information from their teacher through lecture and textbook

readings.

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2. Students formulate evidence-based explanations of scientific phenomenon and communicate these explanations to their

peers.

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3. The teacher helps the students connect consistent patterns in their data to established scientific laws or principles (e.g., Boyle’s Law,

Ohm’s Law).

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4. Students design and conduct investigations that are based upon their own

questions about scientific phenomenon.

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5. Students read a case study that describes a debate among scientists where the two

competing sides question the evidence and logic of the other (e.g., cold fusion).

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6. Students design and conduct investigations that are based on teacher-

generated questions about scientific phenomenon.

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Yes N

o

7. Students analyze and critique each others’ explanations of

scientific phenomenon.

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Yes N

o

8. The teacher leads a class discussion about procedures that scientists commonly use and the

similarities between those procedures and the students’ laboratory work.

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Yes N

o

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Essential Features of Inquiry

Learner engages in content oriented questions.Learner gives priority to evidence in responding to questions.

Learner formulates explanations from evidence.Learner connects explanations to content knowledge.

Learner communicates and justifies explanations.

More Open structure, more

responsibility from Student

More Guided structure from

Teacher

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Alberta Learning Model

PLANNING

RETRIEVING

PROCESSING

CREATING

SHARING

EVALUATING

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High School Institute for Inquiry Goals

• To understand and recognize inquiry as a means for developing knowledge and understanding ideas.

• To practice strategies to purposefully implement inquiry in the classroom.

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Teacher Testimonials

Dr. Susan CarrierEd Merk

Cynthia Ajemian

S.T.E.M. Academy Chemistry Classroom

• Our instruction is guided by:– IB Curriculum– State Standards– Common Core Standards• Academic Standards for Writing in Science and

Technical Subjects

Common Core: Writing in Science and Technical Subjects

CC.3.6.9-10.A.• Write arguments focused on discipline-specific

content.– Introduce precise claim(s), distinguish the claim(s)

from alternate or opposing claims, and create an organization that establishes clear relationships among the claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.

Example Lesson #1Electrolysis of Copper (II) Chloride

Day 1CuCl2 (aq) Cu (s) + Cl2 (g)

• Students make observations of the electrolysis of copper (II) chloride. The reaction (shown above) is not provided to the students.

• Students are then asked to deduce the products of the reaction, and are asked to support their claims using evidence and reasoning.

Example Lesson #1 (continued)Electrolysis of Copper (II) Chloride

Day 2• Students are asked to evaluate samples of

student writing for the presence of valid claims along with sufficient and relevant evidence and reasoning.

• Students then edit their submissions from the previous day, and they are graded by the teacher.

Example Lesson #2: Cu + AgNO3 Lab

The problem: • Experimentally determine the value for X:

Cu (s) + XAgNO3 (aq) Cu(NO3)X + XAg

http://www.wholeclassinquiry.com/

Downingtown S.T.E.M. Academy

Inquiry Learning in a Mathematics Classroom

S.T.E.M. Academy Mathematics Classroom

We follow the Common Core’s Standards for Mathematical Practice:• Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.• Reason abstractly and quantitatively.• Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of

others.• Model with mathematics.• Use appropriate tools strategically.• Attend to precision.• Look for and make sense of structure.• Look for and make sense of regularity in repeated reasoning.

Before…Solve the following inequality and graph the solution on a number line:

-2x < 6 x > -3

Typical Question from Students: “Why did the inequality symbol flip?”Typical Answer from Teachers: “Because” or “When you divided both sides of the inequality by a negative number, you changed the sign of the numbers in the solution set of the variable. When the sign of numbers change from positive to negative or vice versa, the order of the numbers change.”Typical Reaction from Students: “Ok?”

-3

After…

Let y1 = -2x and y2 = 6

Graph y1 and y2 on the same coordinate plane.

y2

y1

Inquiry based questions:1. What is the value of x where the two

lines intersect?2. For what values of x is the blue line

(y1 = -2x ) physically below the red line (y2 = 6)?

3. Indicate the values of x for when the blue line is at the same height or below the red line.

X must be greater than or equal to -3.

Goals of Attacking a Problem in this Format…

Reflecting back on the common core:1. Make sense of problems and persevere in

solving them.2. Model with mathematics.3. Look for and make sense of structure.

Reflection…

Inquiry in mathematics not only helps reinforce the recommendations made by the common core, but it also helps set the stage for more higher order thinking problems such as:

The cost function to produce a particular item is C(x) = 1600 + 40x, and the revenue generated by selling the item can be expressed as R(x) = 100x – 0.5x2. How many items do you have to produce and sell in order to make a profit?

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Essential Features of Inquiry

Learner engages in content oriented questions.Learner gives priority to evidence in responding to questions.

Learner formulates explanations from evidence.Learner connects explanations to content knowledge.

Learner communicates and justifies explanations.

More Open structure, more

responsibility from Student

More Guided structure from

Teacher

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Benefits for the teacher and students

• Increased teacher effectiveness and self-efficacy• Inquiry becomes a philosophy of teaching and

learning• Development of the skills and practices

necessary for critical thinking, problem solving and literacy

• Inquiry based learning is a foundational component of a successful STEM program.

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Questions and Answers

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Please take a few minutes to complete the session evaluation.