Science Journals and Scientific Habits of Mind

Presented byFrank H. Osborne, Ph. D.

© 2015

EMSE 3123Math and Science in Education

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Science Journals• Science is an academic discipline and a way of

life. So is Mathematics. In fact, mathematics is considered to be the purest science.

•  Science Journals are of critical importance for students when learning about Science.

• Scientists have certain ways in which they think. These are called “habits of mind.”

• A key component is the Science Journal

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What Science Journals Are Used For

• Learning how experiments and apparatus are set up

• Recording background information pertaining to investigations or experiments

• Listing materials to be used in investigation

• Drawing diagrams of how experimental apparatus is set up and how experiments are conducted

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What Science Journals Are Used For

• Making lists and tables of experimental results

• Writing mathematical formulas and performing calculations

• Drawing graphs and charts to illustrate and summarize experimental results

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What Science Journals Are Used For

• Writing descriptions of – How the experiment was set up – How the experiment was performed – What results were obtained – What the meaning of the results is – Sources of error that may influence the results – Ways to improve or extend the information

learned or gained from the experiment

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Creating A Science Journal

• The best Science Journal is a notebook of the type compositions are written in with the pages sewn in place.

• This is to prevent removal of pages which results in the deleting of data and information.

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Creating A Science Journal

• Other acceptable types of notebooks are the spiral-bound type or the kind that has graph paper printed on the pages. With the latter type, graphs and tables are easier to enter in the Science Journal. A major drawback is that pages can be torn out--a major no-no.

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Creating A Science Journal

• Many commercially prepared products are already printed up with blanks for writing answers. But science is not a world where they fill in the blanks. Professional scientists of today and those who made the great discoveries of the past did not have a printed exercise book to go by.

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Creating A Science Journal

• Students will learn more by doing more. If they are made to do lots of writing early in their academic career, they will be accustomed to it later. Students who merely fill in the blanks will have much more difficulty with writing in later years.

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The Discipline of Science

• The curriculum includes a number of different disciplines. Examples are Language Arts Literacy and Mathematics. These are called disciplines because there are rules to follow when studying each of these areas.

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The Discipline of Science

• In the discipline of Science, the rules include such processes as– carefully observing natural events and phenomena

– describe natural events and phenomena accurately

– recording correctly the measurements that are made

– using mathematics to obtain results

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The Discipline of Science

• In the discipline of Science, the rules include such processes as– describing and analyzing the meaning of results – drawing and explaining conclusions based on the

results – describing extensions of the experiment or new

things that were discovered which can be investigated by further experimentation

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Science Journals and the Process of Science

• As students record their observations and descriptions in their Science Journals, they can be mindful about the Process of Science. The Process of Science is addressed by the first five Science Standards. When students are working on experiments and science lessons, the process areas related to Science can be studied and written in their Science Journals.

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Science Journals and the Process of Science

• Scientific Processes--Students develop appropriate Habits of Mind by writing frequently in their Science Journals.

• In addition, they can identify and write about the parts of the experiment treating it as a system of components.

• They learn that the separate parts cannot do the experiment individually as the whole system can.

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Science Journals and the Process of Science

• Systems. The systems they study are used as illustrations of the many systems that exist in the natural world. Students should be able to apply specific appropriate methods, procedures and tools for problem solving and obtaining information.

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Science Journals and the Process of Science

• Science and Society--Students learn, from the history of science, what contributions were made by men and women of various cultures.

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Science Journals and the Process of Science

• Mathematics--Students utilize mathematics as a specific tool for problem solving and to denote models and scientific theories. This would include applications of numerical operations, geometry and measurement, patterns and algebra, and data analysis and probability, as knowledge of these areas become available to them.

 

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Science Journals and the Process of Science

• Technology--Students learn which tools are used for specific purposes and learn ways of selecting the appropriate tools, instruments and measuring devices for scientific experiments and investigations.

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Science Journals and the Process of Science

• Presentation of results

• Students use their Science Journals for recording all their raw information, data and results. The information in the Science Journal can be used as the source for preparing presentations.

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Science Journals and the Process of Science

• reports written using word processing on the computer (the Science Journal also serves as the back up in case there is a computer virus attack or if someone erases a disk by testing it with a magnet)

• preparation of graphical presentations of the data using spreadsheet and graphics programs

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Science Journals and the Process of Science

• data bases of information can be developed for long-term work (such as classroom daily temperature and weather data observed and recorded over a period of months or years)

• poster presentations such as bulletin board or stand-alone science-fair types of presentations

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Safety Considerations

• Study of science involves laboratory work with chemicals and other materials. Many chemical reactions are dangerous. This is especially true when working with household cleaning chemicals such as ammonia, bleach, toilet bowl cleaner containing hydrochloric acid, and drain cleaner. These react violently with each other and with other chemical substances.

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Safety Considerations

• The three major ways of acquiring exposure to chemical substances are inhalation, ingestion and skin contact. Measures of protection are necessary whenever one is working with chemical products or other materials which can potentially cause injury.

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Safety Considerations

• Inhalation: Adequate ventilation and breathing protection is necessary when working with chemicals especially when working in confined spaces.

• Ingestion: Do not permit eating, drinking or any “hand-to-mouth” operations (such as chewing pencils) when working with chemical substances.

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Safety Considerations

• Skin contact: Use safety goggles to protect the eyes whenever there is the risk of flying particles or splashing liquids.

• Hands can be protected with household rubber gloves. Make sure that the user is not allergic to the materials used to make the gloves.

• Protective clothing, such as lab coats, may be necessary when working with certain types of chemicals. 

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The End

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