Teacher resources and professional development across the curriculum
Teacher professional development and classroom resources across the curriculum
Workshop 4Creating Meaning from DissonanceAbout the WorkshopWhen teachers elicit students' ideas at the beginning of a unit or an activity, making the transition from these ideas to student-centered investigations is often a challenge. How can students' ideas lead to productive hands-on, minds-on, and meaningful investigations? During this workshop, we'll consider how teachers can move students' thinking from exploring what they already know, to asking a question about what they want to know. We'll also consider how the ideas that emerge during an open-ended exploration or a brainstorming session might be "finessed" toward the learning goals intended by the teacher.
Getting Ready (15 min. each)
Site Conversation 1 (5 min.)Kalpana questions whether or not the children were aware that differences in their results might be significant. How might you find out if your students recognize a discrepancy in results, and if so, what they think about the discrepancy? Site Conversation 2 (5 min.)Marquita's pendulum activity may seem to be a case of extreme dissonance, and yet the students are very interested in their own ideas. How can you help students move beyond their own ideas and consider their results in relation to those of their classmates? Going Further (15 min. each)
Homework for Workshop 5Recall a situation in which a math or science activity that you had planned simply did not work as you intended, either because the activity went awry, or because the students "missed the boat" in terms of their understanding. (If you cannot recall such a situation, it's fine to invent one.) First, write a brief narrative (1 paragraph) that describes what you, the teacher, experienced in this situation. What were your goals? How did you know that things weren't working? What were your reactions? What did you think was the problem? How did you feel? Then, write a brief narrative (1 paragraph) from the perspective of one of your students. What were his/her goals? How did he/she know that things weren't working? What were his/her reactions? What did he/she think was the problem? How did he/she feel? Bring your two narratives with you to Workshop 5, and be prepared to share them with your colleagues.
TRY THIS!SwingersSuggested Grade Level: 3-5 Students investigate whether length and/or weight affects how fast a pendulum swings.
What you needWashers of the same size
What to doAfter students have had the opportunity to make some initial investigations with pendulums, help them focus their investigations with the following activity: Build a pendulum:
Does a pendulum swing faster when more weight is attached?
Does the length of the pendulum affect how fast it swings?
What nextHave students design an investigation to determine if the distance a pendulum is pulled back from its resting place determines how fast it swings.
For younger studentsYounger students can investigate pendular motion by building pendulums, observing their motion, and then trying to find objects in their own world that have a similar motion (e.g., playground swings, grandfather clocks, ponytails, children hanging from monkey bars). Adapted from Grossman, Marvin C., Shapiro, Irwin I., and Ward R. Bruce. 1996. Project ARIES, Module One: Time, Peterborough, NH: Cobblestone Publishing.
One connection to the StandardsScience as Inquiry, Content Standard A:As a result of activities in grades K-4, all students should develop
"In elementary grades, students begin to develop the physical and intellectual abilities of scientific inquiry. They can design investigations to try things to see what happens-- they tend to focus on concrete results of tests and will entertain the idea of a "fair" test (a test in which only one variable at a time is changed)." National Research Council, (NRC). 1996. National science education standards. Washington, DC: National Academy Press. (pg. 121)
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