scientific explanations: developing student writing in science robin walters jane wilson peak area...
TRANSCRIPT
Scientific Explanations: Developing Student Writing in Science
Robin Walters
Jane Wilson
Peak Area Leadership in Science Hub January 15, 2014
Who we are & why we’re here
Who are you?
LogisticsRestroomsTeacher Hat/Student HatAttention Signal
Welcome!
How good are your students at writing
scientific explanations?
Poll: Fist to Five (1=horrible, 5=awesome)
By the end of this session, you'll...
Design an inquiry experiment and collect data about an enzyme.
Write an evidence-based scientific explanation using experimental data and the Explanation Tool.
Evaluate examples of scientific explanations.
Reflect on applications of inquiry and scientific explanations in your classroom.
Inquiry:
“Tiny Bubbles” Protocol
Design your own experiment:
What factors affect enzyme activity?
Still in your student “hat”…
On an index card, explain what you learned from your experiment as if you were a student.
Turn to your neighbor and share what you wrote.
Now, put your teacher hat back
on…
What Do Scientists Do?
• Ask reasonable questions• Generate testable hypotheses• Collect, represent and analyze
data• Interpret results• Use evidence to construct
and evaluate explanations• Communicate findings
So…Recall Your Experimental
Question……and the
explanation you wrote…
As the teacher, would you be
satisfied with what you wrote and what
you heard from others?
Scientific ExplanationsStudents can:•Justify claims with evidence•Construct explanations of phenomena based on evidence•Make claims and predictions based on theories and models•Articulate reasons scientific explanations/ theories are refined or replaced•Evaluate alternative scientific explanations
Scientific Explanations:
3 parts:
Claim
Evidence
Reasoning
Claim
A statement that answers the
questionbeing investigated
EvidenceQuantitative data or
qualitative observations
that support the claim
Reasoning shows how the evidence
supports the claim uses science principles to
explain the relevance and importance of the data
Is the “why”
Explanation example: Basketball
Sally has an awesome shot! She scored 24 points in the game last night. She was 8 for 11 with four 3-pointers! She was perfect from the line, making 4out of 4free throws. One reason she’s so accurate is that she has really good form. She jumps straight up, she extends her arms above her head, and she has really good follow-through. She also has lots of arc on her shot, so if it’s not perfect it still has a chance to go in because it can bounce around on the rim and fall through. Another thing Sally has going for her is that she’s always really focused. The crowd was so loud last night but Sally wasn’t distracted by it. The player who guarded her was also very rough and trash talked, trying to take Sally away from her game. Sally was still able to focus on her game and really burned her.
Claim: Sally has an awesome shot!
Evidence: She scored 24 points in the game last night. She was 8 for 11 with four 3-pointers! She was perfect from the line, making 4 out of 4 free throws.
If we take the explanation apart…
Reasoning: One reason she’s so accurate is that she has really good form. She jumps straight up, she extends her arms above her head, and she has really good follow-through. She also has lots of arc on her shot, so if it’s not perfect it still has a chance to go in because it can bounce around on the rim and fall through. Another thing Sally has going for her is that she’s always really focused. The crowd was so loud last night but Sally wasn’t distracted by it. The player who guarded her was also very rough and trash talked, trying to take Sally away from her game. Sally was still able to focus on her game and really burned her.
Still with your teacher hat on:
Card sort:Pass the cards out to each member of your group.Sort the cards into 3 categories:
ClaimEvidenceReasoning
Were there any cards that you were unsure about?
Don’t you wish there was some kind of tool to help students clarify their thinking and plan their writing?
Of course, you do!!
Explanation Tool
Using the Explanation Tool:
Complete the Explanation Tool for your experiment
Write your Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning on a poster to share
So…how do you recognize a well-written scientific
explanation?
Evaluating a Scientific
Explanation Claim answers the question Evidence is relevant, sufficient,
and supports the claim Reasoning is sound and
includes relevant science principles
Language is clear and accurate
Sample Scientific Explanations
Distribute one of the student samples to each member of your team.
Evaluate each sample using the criteria given. If these were examples of work from your students, what feedback would you provide?
How does temperature affect the rate of enzyme activity?
Evaluating a Scientific
Explanation Claim answers the question Evidence is relevant, sufficient,
and supports the claim Reasoning is sound and
includes relevant science principles
Language is clear and accurate
As a team…
Read the poster from another group
Give feedback on the stickies
By the end of this session, you'll...
Design an inquiry experiment and collect data about an enzyme.
Write an evidence-based scientific explanation using experimental data and the Explanation Tool.
Evaluate examples of scientific explanations.
Reflect on applications of inquiry and scientific explanations in your classroom.
Reflection• What will you take with
you from this session?
• What do you want to know more about?
• What are the implications for your teaching practice?
