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Scientific Inquiry in the Classroom

NDM Teachers’ Conference – 2023

Prince of Peace, Salt Lake City, Utah

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Sam Kleinke

Master of Science in Biological Sciences Expected 2025

Clemson University, Clemson, SC

Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education, Life Science 2009

Martin Luther College, New Ulm, MN

Instructor, Registrar, Curriculum Director, Coach, Advisor 2019-Present

Great Plains Lutheran High School, Watertown, SD

Instructor, Coach, STEM Educator, Coffee Shop Barista 2015-2019

Shoreland Lutheran High School, Somers, WI

Instructor, Principal, Coach, Technology Director 2009-2015

Zion Lutheran Church and School, Monroe, MI

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Science Is…

  • A Body of Knowledge – Empirical Evidence

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  • A Way of Knowing – The Nature of Science

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  • A Set of Methods/Processes – The Scientific Method

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A Body of Knowledge

Empirical Evidence

  • Laws, Empirical Evidence
  • Science is a core principle that knowledge about the world derives from human efforts to systematically gather and interpret observations that become evidence for or against explanations and theory through collaboration, discussion, and debate.
    • Constructing bodies of evidence related to existing theories
    • Constructing new theories

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A Way of Knowing

The Nature of Science

  • Teach Content - Scientific Knowledge
  • Teach Process - Scientific Inquiry
  • Teach Reflection - Scientific Process
    • Observing
    • Inferring
    • Classifying
    • Predicting/Hypothesizing
    • Investigating
    • Concluding

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A Set of Methods/Processes

The Nature of Science

  • Inductive Reasoning
    • Proceeds from the specific to general
    • Initial observation leads to one hypothesis, one prediction
  • Deductive Reasoning 
    • Proceeds from the general to specific
    • Initial observation lead

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Prediction vs. Hypothesis

  • Specific, usually if, then statements that are used to test a hypothesis
    • What you expect to happen if your hypothesis is true

Hypothesis

  • is a potential explanation for our observation of the external world
    • It must be testable
    • It must generate novel predictions
    • A hypothesis can never be proven true
    • A hypothesis can be proven false
    • The best hypothesis is the one that has yet to be proven false

Prediction

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Prediction vs. Hypothesis

  • If we remove the plant from the direct sunlight, it will stop losing leaves

Hypothesis

  • Exposure to too much sunlight is causing the plant’s leaves to turn brown and fall off

Prediction

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Practice!

Choose which examples are predictions and which are hypotheses

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Prediction vs. Hypothesis

  • If we don’t water the plants they will die
  • Exposure to sunlight causes bacteria growth
  • Ants prefer salt to sugar
  • If oranges are frozen they won’t crystalize
  • Nitrogen added to the soil will make our plants grow taller
  • Yeast can survive being frozen
  • Prediction
  • Hypothesis
  • Hypothesis
  • Prediction
  • Prediction
  • Hypothesis

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Theory vs. Law

  • a well-supported explanation with many broad predictions
    • Theories generate many testable hypotheses
    • Theories cannot be proven
    • Theories do not become laws once confirmed
    • Theories have a lot of evidence to support them

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Law

  • a theory expressed as a mathematical equation
    • Laws are derived from known physical relationships
    • Laws may not apply in every circumstance

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Theory

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Meeting the standards

As a result of activities in Grades K-12, all students should develop…

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  • Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry
  • Understandings about scientific inquiry
  • These will be grade-specific

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Teachers of Science…

  • Plan an inquiry based science program
  • Engage in ongoing assessment of their teaching and of student learning
  • Design and manage learning environments for learning science
  • Develop communities of science learners
  • Actively participate in ongoing planning and development of the school science program

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Teachers of Science…

Plan an inquiry based science program

  • Guide and Facilitate learning
    • Challenge student to accept and share responsibility for their learning
    • Encourage and model the skills of scientific inquiry
      • Curiosity
      • Openness to new ideas and data
      •  Skepticism

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Teachers of Science…

Engage in ongoing assessment of their teaching and of student learning

  • Use multiple methods of assessment
  • Encourage student self assessment

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Teachers of Science…

Design and manage learning environments for learning science

  • Structure class time to allow in-class investigations
  • Create a setting conducive to conducting scientific inquiry
  • Make tools, materials accessible to students

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Teachers of Science…

Develop communities of science learners

  • Demanding respect for diverse ideas, skills and experience of all students
  • Allow students choices in learning
  • Nurture student collaborating on projects
  • Teach more about the nature of science

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Teachers of Science…

Actively participate in ongoing planning and development of the school science program

  • Plan and implement professional development strategies and programs for teachers
  • Participate in decisions concerning allocation of time and resources to science program

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Pause

Questions? Stretch, Move, Take a Break

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5 E’s of Learning

  • Engagement
  • Exploration
  • Explanation
  • Elaboration
  • Evaluation

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Evaluate

Explain

Elaborate

Engage

Explore

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Engage

  • Students engage with a scientific question, event, or phenomenon
  • This connects with what they already know, creates dissonance with their own ideas, and or motivates them to learn more
    • Pre-assessment questionnaire
    • Online video
    • Scientific conundrum
    • Case study

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Explore

  • Explore ideas through hands on learning
  • Formulate and test hypothesis
  • Solve problems
  • Make a list of their observations
    • Make a list of what is and is not known
    • Discuss what should be done and how
    • Formulate a testable hypothesis
    • Observe and record new observations

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Explain

  • Analyze and interpret data
  • Synthesize ideas
  • Build models
  • Clarify concepts and explanations with teachers and other sources of scientific knowledge
    • Record observations in notebook
    • Statistical analysis in spreadsheet
    • Create graphical representation of measurements
    • Conduct basic research
    • Mini lecture

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Elaborate

  • Students extend their new understanding and abilities
  • Apply what they have learned to new situations
    • Review previous research
    • Evaluation of hypothesis
    • Inference to other related phenomena
    • Did your mind change since the engagement activity?
    • What other investigations could you undertake to answer this question?

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Evaluate

  • Students, with their teachers, review and assess what they have learned and how they have learned it
    • Homework
    • Quiz or exam
    • Formal lab report
    • Poster presentation
    • Oral presentation
    • Informal student feedback
      • Exit ticket, muddiest point, polling question

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Where to start?

  • Exit ticket, muddiest point, polling question
  • Strive to have at least two E’s per class
  • State each class with an engagement activity
  • Allow for exploration before explanation
  • Practice elaboration with new situations
  • Collect some evaluation from class
    • Teaching and lesson preparation is an ongoing process

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Pause

Questions? Stretch, Move, Take a Break

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THE UNSEEN WORLD

Bacterial Hotspots

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WHY DO WE WASH OUR HANDS?

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WHY DO WE WASH OUR HANDS?

Reduce the risk of contracting disease ourselves

Reduce the risk of spreading disease to others

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WHAT IS ON OUR HANDS?

DIRT

OILS

MICROORGANISMS

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WHAT ARE MICROORGANISMS?

Microbes

Germs

Bacteria

Viruses

Fungi

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WHERE DO YOU FIND MICROORGANISMS?

EVERYWHERE

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BACTERIAL HOT SPOTS

  • Where would you begin to look for bacteria?
  • What specific factors or conditions about his area make you think it is ideal for bacterial growth?

What do they eat?

How do they grow?

How do they reproduce?

What kind of “climate” do they like?

Where would they NOT be found?

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PREDICT AND HYPOTHESIZE

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  • Prediction: Which area do you think could have a lot of bacteria?

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  • Hypothesis: Which areas are ideal for bacteria to live in based on conditions to support life?

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LAB PROCEDURES

  1. Locate Bacteria – Share hypotheses
  2. Choosing Areas – Narrow down ideas
  3. Gathering Samples – Collect samples of potential bacterial
  4. Growing Bacteria Colonies – Grow colonies on petri dish
  5. Counting Colonies – Collect data
  6. Sharing Results – Compare data
  7. Statistical Analysis – Prove data

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STATISTICS

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  • How can statistics help improve our data collection?
  • A null hypothesis

Reject or Accept

  • Confidence Intervals, Alphas, and the Analysis of Variance

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Charts and Graphs

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Toilet Seat

Door Handle

Doorbell

Monday

67

33

156

Tuesday

45

35

233

Wednesday

85

52

188

Thursday

66

60

274

Friday

75

44

204

Average

68

45

211

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Sample Size Count

5

5

5

Minimum

45

33

156

Maximum

85

60

274

(Average) Mean

67.6

44.8

211

Standard Deviation

14.75804865

11.38859078

44.87761134

Standard Error of the Mean

6.6

5.093132631

20.06987793

95% CI

18.32453769

14.14080316

55.72291433

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How to Include Inquiry in your classroom

Suggested Inclusion Strategies

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Where to start?

  • Field trips - NATURE
  • Cook with your students!
  • Plants/Animals in the classroom
  • Use microscopes/magnifying glasses

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Things you might want to try

  • Bird Feeders
  • Record and present your data using charts and graphs
  • Invite a scientist, grandparents
  • Order a science kit
    • STEM

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Things you are already doing

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Credits

  • L.B. Flick and N.G. Lederman (eds.) 2006. Scientific Inquiry and Nature of Science
  • NRC 2000 – Inquiry and the National Science Education Standards
  • Abernathy 2023. Understanding Biological Inquiry, Clemson University

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Thank You

Sam Kleinke

skleinke@gplhs.org

Scientific Inquiry In the Classroom