As an educator, one practice I need to implement more in my classroom, is sparking questions or "inquiry" itself in my classroom. It would be helpful to have an "I Wonder..." wall in my classroom where students could ask questions about what they wonder in nature itself. With this being said, I also feel it's important for students to take control of their own learning. If students have questions about a bird they see, I hope to encourage them to conduct an investigation that would lead them to their answer. *First Grade Snowy Owl Diagram

Two practices I feel will be most important in my teaching setting is, asking questions and concept maps. I often as a teacher find myself giving information but not allowing time for exploration based on students questions. I truly do want them to ask questions and feel they have the means to find the answer to their questions. I want to begin to have them ask questions and we work together to find an answer but also ask more questions following our investigation. Additionally, I want to further use concept maps in the classroom because I love it allows students to see the connection between things. I want them to make connections and the connections to stick with them.

One of the practices that I feel most important for my students is building their ability to ask meaningful questions. This is important because this is one of the first steps in the inquiry process. If the students don't ask questions that are meaningful or that they will be able to investigate, they will not have a successful inquiry project. I think another important practice that would benefit my students in the inquiry project is building their ability to create a concept map. This is important because it allows students to use their prior knowledge, brainstorm, and connect important ideas.

I am currently developing new curriculum for our outdoor education program. We have over 180 acres of land that can be used during lessons and workshops. Since students will be outside of their classroom learning science I think that giving them the time to make observations and wonder about what they see here is going to be important.

Our curriculum is already inquiry-based and we use the conservation land that abuts the school to explore, practice observation skills and generate questions.  However, I am excited to take the next step into citizen science which will add more structure to our inquiry AND allow us to better explore practices like gathering and analyzing data, collaborating with other scientists around the world, etc.

I feel that enabling the students to be active participants in citizen science projects around our school will greatly enhance their understanding of science. We will utilize the pond habitat near our school as our outdoor learning lab where we will conduct a bioblitz, bird counts, and monarch monitoring.  I feel that the students will not only be engaged in the projects, but also feel empowered that their data will contribute to global scientific databases.

Using observation and experimentation to answer the questions that students have may be the most important approach to our setting. I feel that we are pretty competent about the research angle for finding information. Enabling students to find the information on their own will be valuable.

We are fortunate that we have an outside nature area. Using the Scientific Method and Citizen Science will give the students more direction in their outdoor inquiry.  I am really excited to implement this way of learning! I am looking forward to seeing what is put on the Wonder Board! While taking this course, I have started the process to implement a huge  Wonderboard, to make it the focal of our room.  I am looking forward to observing the conversations and seeing where the Inquiry Driven learning model takes our students!  Excited to see what and how the students develop from this!

I think being flexible but prepared for each class. My location is gold. My classroom is under a Mulberry tree right by a grove of trees. The kids and I will easily be able to set up a little areas for the birds to conduct all kinds of studies. The downside to this tho is I have to bring all my stuff out to the classroom. If I forget something like the field guide books, then it takes 5-10 minutes to get them from the storage. Also, research is limited. We have no internet and I hate using phones, so I will have to figure out how to encourage research in a way that the kids will follow through. I think I will put together binders of info for bird research.

The biggest thing that I want students to come away with after a lesson is really more questions then what they came in with, and really, just learning how to answer questions. This doesn't even have to be for a science class or lecture. This is important in all subjects. When I was teaching at the high school level, I found it that even juniors and seniors couldn't come up with simple questions or even think critically for an assignment. It's things like citizen science when started early can provide these students with better ability to look critically later in school and life.

I feel we need to continue to working at our local stream and lake, by to adding more learning opportunities at these locations, through identifying waterfowl, birds, mammals or even insects in some or our prairies.  Whatever we choose to do at the locations will most definitely involve collecting data, drawing conclusions and sharing this data we have collected.

I teach mostly in the classroom, but I hope to be able to offer more outdoor experiences for kids to help them make connections about what they learn in the classroom and what they see in their own neighborhoods. It's important to offer opportunities for kids to contribute to science in a meaningful way in their own habitats. I also hope to help other educators make connections with local scientists who specialize in certain areas of science - aquatic science and water quality, urban wildlife, herpetology, entomology, etc. This will help kids see themselves in these roles and find what interests them while seeing the application of their knowledge and skills on a broader, even global, scale.

1. Getting kids outside and developing expertise in scientific methods. 2. Getting students involved not only in conservation of species but conservation action. Getting them working on hands on projects that make science a more reachable goal and not a jumble of facts. (Share the work and take action).

1.  Just getting kids outside 2. Improving student observational skills 3.  Improving data collection methods.  Keep the data collection and the solution finding student driven. 4. Framing the scientific need for the data--show the maps, the data compilations, talk about the real world problems that the data sets are aimed to help solve 5. Presenting the project and the project findings to an authentic outside audience and perhaps brainstorming next steps with that audience (projects to implement at school or in a local setting, new school policies or school district policies, local, state or federal legislation)---and then do it!!!

As a secondary educator that only sees my students once a week for an hour, some of these practices could be a challenge to incorporate into our limited time together. I think for my situation, the approaches that I look forward to using are to incorporate wonder boards, or other forms of this idea into a walk on our nature trail. Have them brainstorm questions as we walk. The most important type of science to focus on for us would be observational studies: things that we can observe during our outdoor meetings. Making reports or displays probably isn't in the cards for my groups but I think that they can still go through the process of inquiry and collecting data for projects.

Because we are an outdoor facility, engaging students with complex social ecological systems is an important part of their experience. It's important to get kids to look at what they are seeing, collect data and look at the impacts of these systems on each other. We need to work on establishing a strong connection with the teachers for post field trip work- students are welcome to use our facility to find ways to educate others on their findings. We'd also like to provide ideas or connections and resources for teachers to use for allowing students to make an impact.

Important approaches for my setting will be for students to share their findings with outside audiences through blogs or presentations; for students to take ownership of their data, becoming experts and reviewing peer's data; and engaging with complex social ecological systems, for example, how humans impact the area they are investigating. Students should learn science by 'doing science', using methods that professional scientists use, and being involved in investigations that allow them to ask and answer their own questions, especially if the answers to the questions are not already known!

Some inquiry practices important in my setting include asking questions, carrying out investigations, analyzing and interpreting data, engaging in an argument with evidence and communicating the information. These practices dovetail beautifully with the citizen science practices of positioning youth as people who do science, helping students take ownership of data quality and sharing findings with outside audiences. All of these practices help students actively do the work of scientists and will help students see themselves as scientists.

A scientific experiment in the "real world" rarely provides results that are expected. Students are accustomed to getting an answer or results that proves their hypothesis to be correct and consequently never experience the struggle a professional scientist deals with. I use this as an opportunity to further challenge a students own beliefs and thoughts about what he/she thought was going to happen so the student can improve or modify the experiment or to simply analyze the results and develop a new hypothesis. The inquiry continues when a student chooses to go in this direction.

My school is downtown San Francisco, so we are in a concrete jungle with little access to nearby parks. I think, if I can get approval for half or full day field trips, I will have my students use Ebird and Budburst to help them observe what they see (as mostly what they observe are cars and people). I also plan on using an "I Wonder" board to help my students ask questions before we go outside to observe, to help them organize their thoughts a bit better.

My question is, why are some birds so scared of humans. And some not. A Canada Goose, a Crow, a Seagull, all will eat food, practically out of your hand. In the wild. Other birds, would take a trainer, and/or a low % of that certain breed, would not fly away. I have always seen GREAT BLUE HERONS, and Raptors, or Eastern Bluebirds, be of the 'flighty,' type. But a Canada Goose, Duck, or a Sparrow, be much less scared of humans. Especially if we have food, for them. The obvious answer is the partial domestication of that bird. But some birds fly away, immediately, at the sight of a person, walking in their territory. Yet some birds, stay put, until you are about a few inches from them. Certain percentages exist, of course, of exceptions, of each hypothesis. Not all bird are always scared, and most flinch a little. But some will stay right near you,and some will fly away from fear, at the mere sound of a footstep. Why ?

As of right now I am focused on the concept that testing and data do not prove a hypothesis, rahter they can disprove a hypothesis and guide further investigations.  The importance of sharing data, being willing to openly critique the data and conclusions, and continue to test and explore cannot be over stated.  Doing so also helps promote a growth mindset and long term thinking.

One thing that I have gained from the video, and the Investigating Evidence guide, is students need to ask questions  But also have time to research, observe, or experiment to answer their own questions.  As a teacher, I need to resist the urge to answer everything for them.  This also plays into the growth mindset, not everything comes easy in life.  Students need to work on their problem-solving skills.

I feel that getting outside and doing inquiry would be the best thing for my students, who spend most of their lives indoors. Ebird and Budburst seem to fit well both with the age group I teach and the curriculum.