Liz

I like to make learning relevant. And in doing so, I like to make the assessment relevant as well. Assessment should be less focused on grades or scores but what did the learner actually learn by doing the project? Criteria for assessment should look at elements such as creativity, data analysis, implementation, interpretation, and at the depth of knowledge level 3 or 4. In traditional grading systems there is a lot of emphasis on grades/scores and less on the actually learning take place. I understand why but I like to focus on authentic learning and what a student can actually tell me they have learned from doing something.

In the fall semester, I started a new Earth & Space Science course that focused on project-based learning (PBL). In my mind, PBL is very much inquiry based. What I've learned is similar to what Mr. Kahler experienced in his citizen-science project. One of the biggest challenges, after defining the phenomena and driving question, is working with students to develop their own research questions. I had to spend 2 entire class periods and then continue to touch on it throughout the project about how to ask good questions that focus on the What? How? and the Why?. After that, I had a media specialist come in the class and talk about how to conduct research, avoid plagiarism, and cite sources. Again, these were topics that continuously needed to be re-visited throughout the project.  You can't talk about these once and then assume that students understand their importance and know how to handle them appropriately.

1. I did the Project FeederWatch. 2. Bird ID...wow, I thought I need my birds fairly well but I had to look a couple of them. I think it was because they were females and did have very obvious markings. I saw doves, robins, house wrens (I think), red-winged blackbirds, and cardinals. 3. I think this would be an easy project to participate in. I didn't formally login and record my data, but I could have my students easily sign up and do this while school is closed. I like the annual sign up too so it gives students a reason to keep doing it and possibly encourage them to keep doing it.

In my classroom, I always model the behaviors I would like for my students to do. This is as simple as pushing in my chair when I get up to asking good questions (the What? the Why? the How?) on a daily basis. Students need structure and routine so by modeling behaviors that scientists engage in on a daily basis, students can begin to see these behaviors in action and hopefully begin to do them themselves. I also think that we can give students activities that are more guided and open inquiry. Designing activities in this manner will help students to build up their confidence in making observations and coming up with questions for an "I wonder" board.  One final thought here, I see the value in open inquiry activities but you must build students up to be able to perform open inquiry investigations so they don't get frustrated and give up.

1. "Youth as people who do science." I thought it was important in how you frame this to students when beginning a citizen science (CS) project. The example used was a question that you could ask students: Could a scientist use this information? By the way this question is asked, gives students a sense of responsibility in the quality of the data they collect if they know someone else is going to use it. 2. "Frame the work globally and locally." Connecting science to a students sense of place is so important here. Depending on the socioeconomic status of students you serve, might mean that some students have not had experiences beyond a local geographic area. Therefore, it's critical to focus locally to help motivate students and give them a sense of ownership. For me personally, I do not reside in the area in which I grew up but compared to my students who are from here, I've been astonished about what they don't know of their "home." I'm constantly trying to bridge that gap and I think CS projects will help. 3. "Attend to the unexpected." This can be such a powerful teaching moment especially when doing CS in the natural environment when anything goes. It appears that many CS projects are conducted outdoors anyways, but if not, an outdoor learning environment would be critical for this to be able to happen.

I have not yet done a citizen science project hence my desire to take this course and learn more! I think a citizen science project would work great as an after-school program or with boy and girl scouts or other youth organizations. I've never done a citizen science project in my classroom mainly due to time constraints. However, after looking through the citizen science projects above, the time commitments seem reasonable so I'm going to do one! I especially like the Monarch larva and BudBurst projects!

1. Chemical reactions lab using four types of chemical reactions and it would be a structured inquiry lab. 2. The science practices that students engage in during this lesson would be asking questions, carrying out an investigation (they wouldn't necessarily have designed/planned it though), analyzing and interpreting data, using mathematics, constructing explanations, and communicating their information via a lab report format. 3. To make it more inquiry-based I would provide students with a list of chemicals and equipment and let them combine reactants after they've researched the chemicals. Instead of telling them the reactants, I would let them pick based on properties we would have already discussed. By doing this, it would give students the opportunity to actually plan their investigations and argue from evidence about why certain chemicals were chosen as reactants over others available.

The way I perceive inquiry is that it is innate to humans. It isn't something that is taught but something that we already know to do. Seeking, discovering, exploring, questioning the world around us are inquiries into our own worlds. Inquiry also embodies the "never stop learning" philosophy because to me, just because we figure something out given the best available and current data, have we really figured it out? Do we stop asking questions? No, we do not. Unfortunately inquiry is often suppressed in traditional classrooms across a variety of disciplines so then it becomes this "new" form of pedagogy and "all the rage" which it really is not.