Lesson planning for inquiry based science

Erin Denniston, M. Ed.Science Education Consultant

Ask Why,Wonder How

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Petals Around the RoseThe name of the game is Petals Around the Rose. The name of the game is important. Roll five dice and guess the score for the roll. The score will always be zero or an even number. Your mission is to work out how the score is calculated and become a Potentate of the Rose.

2 Petals Around the Rose

12 Petals Around the

Rose

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Petals Around the RoseThe name of the game is Petals Around the Rose. The name of the game is important. Roll five dice and guess the score for the roll. The score will always be zero or an even number. Your mission is to work out how the score is calculated and become a Potentate of the Rose.

4 Petals Around the Rose

10 Petals Around the

Rose

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Petals Around the RoseThe name of the game is Petals Around the Rose. The name of the game is important. Roll five dice and guess the score for the roll. The score will always be zero or an even number. Your mission is to work out how the score is calculated and become a Potentate of the Rose.

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Nature of Science

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Myth-information

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How We Learn

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Let’s see how that works

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Asking Questions

• What did you want to know?

• Where could you go for answers?

• What new questions might arise?

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Science starts with questions

WONDER

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Stages of inquiry

Stage 0: Cookbook Science

Stage 2: Guided Inquiry

Stage 1: Structured Inquiry

Stage 3: Open Inquiry

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What’s that look like?

LEVEL PROBLEM PROCEDURE SOLUTION

0 none worksheet locate answers

1 teacher poses teacher provides

teacher determines

2 teacher poses student proposes

student determines

3 student poses student proposes

student determines

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What’s Inside?

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Backwards Design

• Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe

• Used more for global or unit planning

• Lesson planning comes last

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Learning vs. Teaching• What do you want students to know and

understand?

• How will you know that they do?

• What learning activities will get you there?

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Essential Questions

• Have no simple “right” answer

• Provoke and sustain inquiry

• Address foundational concepts

• Raise other important questions

• Recur naturally

• Stimulate rethinking

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Project Based Learning

“We only think when we are confronted with problems.”

John Dewey(October 20, 1859 – June 1, 1952) American philosopher, psychologist, and educational reformer

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How-To

• Relevant problem

• Design Brief

• ‘Found’ materials

• Assessment

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It’s EEEEEasy

• Engage

• Explore

• Explain (not you, them)

• Extend

• Evaluate

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Let’s try something else

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Imagination

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Resources

http://www.nsta.org

http://www.grantwiggins.org/index.lasso

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More Resources

http://www.miamisci.org/ph/lpintro5e.html

http://www.sedl.org/afterschool/toolkits/science/tk_5Es.html

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And a few more

http://www.doe.virginia.gov/VDOE/Instruction/CTE/te/K-5/Engineering/

http://www.mos.org/educators

http://www.masstec.org/

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Erin Denniston, M. Ed.ebdenn@gmail.com

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