Week 1: Scientific Inquiry and the Nature of Science

This week's activities:

• Checklist for Effective Science Teaching (p.1)
• The Seven Norms for Working in Groups (p.2)
• Toy Float (p.3)

Click here for the Density Ideas (will be uploaded after lab)

Today's activites will focus on the nature of science, some teaching techniques (dialogue and reading protocols, some formative assessments), and will introduce you toand the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) recently adopted by many states (including California). Full implementation of NGSS is expected by 2018.

Here is a pdf of the reading that you did using Final Word about the norms for productive collaboration

Toy Float

Periodically throughout the semester, you will be exposed to some strategies for linking assessment, instruction, and learning that come from a book called Science Formative Assessment written by Page Keeley. In this activity, you will be introduced to one of her assessment techniques for science called P-E-O Probes (Predict, Explain, Observe). In addition, you will be introduced to some protocols for effective dialogue and effective reading (Final Word and Paired Reading). These protocols come from a book called Success in Science through Dialogue, Reading, and Writing by Arthur Beauchamp, Judi Kusnick, and Rick McCallum.

Science tries to understand phenomena in the natural world through observation, in other words the aim of science is to make sense of things. In today's activity, you will learn that science is not fact but rather an evidence-based process used to achieve a deeper understanding of the natural world. Science involves asking questions about nature, making observations, developing scientific models, and testing those models - and there is always an element of uncertainty in science.

Click here for an explanation of mass:

http://www.qrg.northwestern.edu/projects/vss/docs/space-environment/2-what-is-mass.html

Click here for explanations of density:

http://www.ebsinstitute.com/Baseball/EBS.crp2df2.html
http://www.nyu.edu/pages/mathmol/textbook/density.html

Click here for explanations of buoyancy:
http://adventure.howstuffworks.com/outdoor-activities/water-sports/life-jacket1.htm
http://www.seaperch.org/how_things_float

Here's a link to a video explaining the difference between density and buoyancy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDSYXmvjg6M

If you miss week 1:

You are still responsible for completing the worksheets as best you can and turning them in no later than the beginning of class next week. Worksheets collected for this lab will be listed on the Lab Schedule page and must be turned within a week.

• For Question 1 of the pedagogy/norms worksheet - you will get some credit for this one if you read through the reading and discuss how you think you would have done on any one of those norms (and explain why).
• For Question 2 of the pedagogy/norms worksheet - Predict-Explain-Observe was the method used on p.3 of your lab manual (for sink or float activity), Model-Based Reasoning relates to using the density ideas to answer other questions, paired reading is explained on the top of the Check Your Understanding Worksheet.

Click here for the syllabus information about missing class.

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