Scientific Inquiry: A Teacher's Guide

Summary

Paul Andersen introduces a comprehensive guide to scientific inquiry, emphasizing its iterative nature and the importance of starting with a phenomenon. He outlines a structured approach involving asking questions, developing explanations, conducting investigations, and engaging in argumentation, all tied to educational standards. Andersen provides additional resources like inquiry cards, posters, and a website to support educators in facilitating inquiry-based learning.

Takeaways

• 📚 Paul Andersen introduces a comprehensive guide to scientific inquiry, not just a single video but a series of resources including inquiry cards, posters, graphic organizers, and a dedicated website.
• 🔍 Scientific inquiry is fundamentally about what scientists do: asking questions, seeking answers, and using those answers to generate new questions to understand the natural world.
• 🧐 Inquiry-based teaching recognizes the varying levels of students, from beginners to those unfamiliar with this educational approach, and emphasizes the importance of scaffolding to build students' inquiry skills.
• 📈 The script discusses the importance of balancing structure and freedom in inquiry, using a continuum from 'super structured' to 'super free' to guide the learning process.
• 📝 Andersen stresses the need to anchor inquiry in phenomena and standards to avoid wasting time, and to ensure that the phenomena chosen for study are observable events in the natural world.
• 🎥 The use of video looping as a primary source for students to observe phenomena repeatedly, allowing for careful observation and the generation of questions.
• 🔑 Inquiry cards are a key tool in the process, categorized by phenomena, practices, and cross-cutting concepts, guiding students through the inquiry cycle of asking questions, explaining, investigating, and arguing.
• 🤔 The process of inquiry begins with asking questions, which is crucial for making careful observations and identifying what is not understood, with guidance on how to frame and improve questions.
• 📈 The importance of classifying questions under cross-cutting concepts to ensure a comprehensive view of the phenomena and to identify any gaps in understanding.
• 📝 Explanations in inquiry are framed as models, which are visual or conceptual representations of students' understanding, and are used to guide investigations.
• 🧪 Investigations are planned by students based on their models, with the teacher facilitating the process and ensuring that students can articulate their thought process before conducting experiments.
• 🗣️ Argumentation involves students making claims based on evidence and reasoning, which can be organized using CER charts and reviewed through peer feedback.

Q & A

What is the purpose of this video by Paul Andersen?

The purpose of the video is to provide a teacher's guide to scientific inquiry, including resources like additional videos, inquiry cards, posters, graphic organizers, and a website.

What is scientific inquiry according to Paul Andersen?

Scientific inquiry is the process scientists use to ask and answer questions about the natural world, leading to further questions and deeper understanding.

How does Paul Andersen suggest teachers should start teaching scientific inquiry?

Teachers should start by understanding the standards they need to address and choosing a relevant phenomenon that will anchor the inquiry process.

What example of a phenomenon does Paul Andersen provide for a fourth-grade unit on energy?

Paul Andersen provides the example of 'Wonder spheres,' two spheres that look and feel the same but behave differently when dropped, which can be used to teach about energy and collisions.

Why is it important for students to generate their own questions during scientific inquiry?

Generating their own questions helps students make careful observations and engage deeply with the phenomenon, which is a critical part of the inquiry process.

What are the four main steps in Paul Andersen's inquiry cycle?

The four main steps are asking questions, coming up with explanations, investigating, and engaging in argumentation.

How should teachers facilitate the question-asking step in the inquiry process?

Teachers should encourage students to brainstorm and classify questions, using tools like whiteboards or graphic organizers, and value all questions by sharing and discussing them.

What role do models play in the explanation step of the inquiry process?

Models help students visualize and communicate their ideas about the phenomenon, making it easier to understand and refine their explanations.

What is the difference between an explanation and an argument in scientific inquiry?

An explanation is what students think is happening based on their initial understanding, while an argument involves using evidence to support or refute their explanations.

How does Paul Andersen suggest teachers use evidence gathered during investigations?

Teachers should guide students to plan and conduct investigations, collect evidence, and use it to engage in argumentation, refining their understanding of the phenomenon.

What resources does Paul Andersen provide to support teachers in using inquiry-based learning?

He provides inquiry cards, graphic organizers, posters, and access to the website 'The Wonder of Science,' which includes various inquiry-based resources and phenomena.