Transcript Scientific Explanation Hub 1-15

Scientific
Explanations:
Developing Student Writing
in Science
Robin Walters
Jane Wilson
Peak Area Leadership in Science Hub
January 15, 2014
Welcome!
Who we are & why we’re here
Who are you?
Logistics
Restrooms
Teacher Hat/Student Hat
Attention Signal
Poll:
Fist to Five (1=horrible, 5=awesome)
How good are your students at
writing scientific explanations?
By the end of this session, you'll...
Design an inquiry experiment and collect data about
an enzyme.
Write an evidence-based scientific explanation using
experimental data and the Explanation Tool.
Evaluate examples of scientific explanations.
Reflect on applications of inquiry and scientific
explanations in your classroom.
Inquiry:
“Tiny Bubbles” Protocol
Design your own experiment:
What factors affect enzyme
activity?
Still in your student “hat”…
On an index card, explain what you
learned from your experiment as if
you were a student.
Turn to your neighbor and share
what you wrote.
Now, put your
teacher hat back on…
What Do Scientists
Do?
Ask reasonable questions
Generate testable hypotheses
Collect, represent and analyze data
Interpret results
Use evidence to construct and
evaluate explanations
• Communicate findings
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So…Recall Your
Experimental Question…
…and the explanation
you wrote…
As the teacher, would you
be satisfied with what you
wrote and what you heard
from others?
Scientific
Explanations
Students can:
• Justify claims with evidence
• Construct explanations of phenomena based
on evidence
• Make claims and predictions based on
theories and models
• Articulate reasons scientific explanations/
theories are refined or replaced
• Evaluate alternative scientific explanations
Scientific
Explanations:
3 parts:
 Claim
 Evidence
 Reasoning
Claim
A statement that
answers the question
being investigated
Evidence
Quantitative data or
qualitative
observations
that support the claim
Reasoning
 shows how the evidence
supports the claim
 uses science principles to
explain the relevance and
importance of the data
 Is the “why”
Explanation example: Basketball
Sally has an awesome shot! She scored 24 points
in the game last night. She was 8 for 11 with four 3pointers! She was perfect from the line, making
4out of 4free throws. One reason she’s so accurate
is that she has really good form. She jumps straight
up, she extends her arms above her head, and she
has really good follow-through. She also has lots of
arc on her shot, so if it’s not perfect it still has a
chance to go in because it can bounce around on
the rim and fall through. Another thing Sally has
going for her is that she’s always really focused.
The crowd was so loud last night but Sally wasn’t
distracted by it. The player who guarded her was
also very rough and trash talked, trying to take
Sally away from her game. Sally was still able to
focus on her game and really burned her.
If we take the explanation apart…
Claim:
Sally has an awesome shot!
Evidence:
She scored 24 points in the
game last night. She was 8 for 11 with
four 3-pointers! She was perfect from the
line, making 4 out of 4 free throws.
Reasoning:
One reason she’s so accurate is that she has really
good form. She jumps straight up, she extends her
arms above her head, and she has really good followthrough. She also has lots of arc on her shot, so if it’s
not perfect it still has a chance to go in because it can
bounce around on the rim and fall through. Another
thing Sally has going for her is that she’s always really
focused. The crowd was so loud last night but Sally
wasn’t distracted by it. The player who guarded her
was also very rough and trash talked, trying to take
Sally away from her game. Sally was still able to focus
on her game and really burned her.
Still with your teacher hat
on:
Card sort:
Pass the cards out to each member
of your group.
Sort the cards into 3 categories:
Claim
Evidence
Reasoning
Were there any cards that you
were unsure about?
Don’t you wish there was some
kind of tool to help students
clarify their thinking and plan
their writing?
Of course, you do!!
Explanation Tool
Using the Explanation Tool:
Complete the Explanation
Tool for your experiment
Write your Claim,
Evidence, and Reasoning
on a poster to share
So…how do you
recognize a well-written
scientific explanation?
Evaluating a
Scientific Explanation
 Claim answers the question
 Evidence is relevant, sufficient,
and supports the claim
 Reasoning is sound and includes
relevant science principles
 Language is clear and accurate
Sample Scientific Explanations
How does temperature affect the rate of enzyme activ
Distribute one of the student samples to
each member of your team.
Evaluate each sample using the criteria
given. If these were examples of work from
your students, what feedback would you
provide?
Evaluating a
Scientific Explanation
 Claim answers the question
 Evidence is relevant, sufficient,
and supports the claim
 Reasoning is sound and includes
relevant science principles
 Language is clear and accurate
As a team…
Read the poster from
another group
Give feedback on the
stickies
By the end of this session, you'll...
Design an inquiry experiment and collect data about
an enzyme.
Write an evidence-based scientific explanation using
experimental data and the Explanation Tool.
Evaluate examples of scientific explanations.
Reflect on applications of inquiry and scientific
explanations in your classroom.
Reflection
• What will you take with you
from this session?
• What do you want to know
more about?
• What are the implications for
your teaching practice?
Thank You!!!
Robin Walters
[email protected]
Jane Wilson
[email protected]
www.nabt.org
www.bscs.org