Maria (Dede)
Forum Replies Created
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I like your additions to your concept map. Concept maps are great to go back to later and add on.
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@Laura "I notice and I wonder questions" are a great way to approach observations. It is important to help students differentiate between the actual observation and their own inferences.
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Having students observe in a botanical garden is great since there will be many opportunities for observing. I think that even experts would be co-learners, since we can learn something new all the time.
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I agree with you that "inquiry is individualized through each person's observations". It is an individual experience that is then shared.
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I have used the animal tracks Power Point slides that show tracks moving toward each other in the first slide, and they are different sized animal tracks. In the next slide, the tracks are mixed up in one area. The next slide shows just one set of tracks, (the larger ones), moving away from the area. After viewing each slide, I ask the students to think about what they observed and come up with some inferences about what is going on. Then, I ask them to share their inferences with the class. We look at the next slide, and follow the same procedure. After we have seen all the slides and listened to all of the observations and inferences, we discuss the plausibility of each inference. The class talks about how they could find out what really happened through data collection and experimentation such as soil samples, knowing the date each image was taken, and understanding the species of animal whose tracks we were viewing.
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I am working on Project Squirrel. It is challenging right now to spend a great deal of time outside, as the temperature and humidity is extremely high. The mosquitoes are also out in high numbers, so it is very challenging to be outside for long. I expect that students would learn to observe, record data, take photographs, keep track of dates and times, create graphs, observe patterns, learn different kinds of squirrels such as the grey squirrel versus the fox squirrel, and ask questions about trends in squirrel populations.
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It is also important to give students opportunities to observe either in an image, or at a museum, or outside. Offering students a wonder board as a place to ask questions is a great idea.
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As educators we can be catalysts for students to observe and wonder by asking students questions and helping them to find the answers.
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I thought the most impactful thing about creating my sound map was that I wasn't just sitting around outside; I had a mission to listen. It was awesome! It was also fun to record the sound observations with images and symbols and words. -
I think that students need to have practice making observations and using scientific equipment, but they also need exploration in the natural world to begin to develop questions about birds, ants, water, plants, trees, and many more things. Time is always an issue in teaching, but using citizen science is a great tool to take students outside of the boundaries of the school into the field. I think it's important to give students practice using the scientific method, science equipment, and practice making observations. Also, by connecting students with field scientists through citizen science, they can see themselves participating in valuable science and contributing real world data. Brainstorming questions and hypotheses in class can enable students to start thinking more about what they want to know and their own learning.
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I think that the first important teaching practice I would like to model is to "position youth as people who do science". It is important to teach and show students how to record accurate data and observations. Teaching the difference between observations and inferences is a great place to start. This helps students to learn to separate actual observations from inferences about what they are observing and will allow them to better record quality data to share with scientists in the field. "Framing the work globally and locally" means showing the interconnections with the science. For instance, looking at fungus in the soil in Oklahoma is important here, because it affects our crops, but it is also a global problem with different types of fungus affecting other crops around the World. "Attending to the unexpected" is so valuable for students to learn that there "is no right answer". So many students just want to know the "right answer", and that is not a real world scientific approach.
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I have had students collect soil samples as part of a citizen science project with the University of Oklahoma. They were looking at different types of fungus found in local soil. I found it interesting, but it took a long time for the University to post the online information about the soil samples once turned in, and they did not provide much literature or support materials. I would like to do more projects with students and citizen-science in the future, but I would like to have more time to prepare and have more support and support materials.
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Drops on a penny is a simple beginning inquiry activity that starts with a structured teacher question; "how many drops of water fit on one side of a penny?". The students follow the procedure of dropping drops of water onto the penny several times and recording their results and then sharing data with the class. The class average can be measured in this way. This activity falls at level 2- Structured Inquiry. I have used this lesson many times as a fun introduction to inquiry. Students develop the ability to follow procedures, record data, share data with the class, and calculate a class mean. I could modify this lesson by having students come up with their own questions to investigate, share their ideas with the class and vote on a class question to work on. Then, students could brain storm on possible hypotheses or answers and how to test them. Finally, small student groups could test out their ideas with teacher approval and share their results.
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After Reading the article, I decided to use 5 categories to the concept map in order to define inquiry. The first two were what inquiry could be based on and what it can be, such as what form it could take. Inquiry can be based on previous knowledge, personal interests, questions, and stimulation of the senses, to name a few jumping off points for inquiry. The process of inquiry could be experiential, such as a hot air balloon ride to try to observe and understand the lifting properties of hot air or lift itself. The process could be a project based approach, and experiment or exploration of the natural world around us. Inquiry often utilizes a strong curiosity, problem solving skills, interpretation of evidence, and communication. Requirements for inquiry could include testing, training in the use of tools or processes, and time to gather evidence for analysis. Inquiry can lead to discovery, understanding, answers, motivation to learn more, find answers, make observations and construction of knowledge.
I thought the most impactful thing about creating my sound map was that I wasn't just sitting around outside; I had a mission to listen. It was awesome! It was also fun to record the sound observations with images and symbols and words. 
After Reading the article, I decided to use 5 categories to the concept map in order to define inquiry. The first two were what inquiry could be based on and what it can be, such as what form it could take. Inquiry can be based on previous knowledge, personal interests, questions, and stimulation of the senses, to name a few jumping off points for inquiry. The process of inquiry could be experiential, such as a hot air balloon ride to try to observe and understand the lifting properties of hot air or lift itself. The process could be a project based approach, and experiment or exploration of the natural world around us. Inquiry often utilizes a strong curiosity, problem solving skills, interpretation of evidence, and communication. Requirements for inquiry could include testing, training in the use of tools or processes, and time to gather evidence for analysis. Inquiry can lead to discovery, understanding, answers, motivation to learn more, find answers, make observations and construction of knowledge.