Active Questioning in Science

Dan Bowen

Objectives

• Identify a range of active questioning techniques and maximising participation

• Identify areas to add SMSC, Literacy and Mathematics into Science

Science is built on questions

It is not just facts it is:• Observing what's happening; • Predicting what might happen; • Testing predictions under controlled conditions to see if

they are correct; and • Trying to make sense of our observations.

What engages children? Things they can see, touch, manipulate, modify; situations that allow them to figure out what happens--in short, events and puzzles that they can investigate, which is the very stuff of science.

Questioning has to be planned

• Not all but– They key open questions – The way the pupils are grouped to discuss– The more active the better – use a mix of

strategies to motivate

Behaviour for Learning

Do you have the right environment to promote debate and discussion in your classroom?

Science

Bloom’s Taxonomy

Bloom’s Circle

Bing, Bing

Billion Dollar G

ram

Moral

Link

Moral Link

Spiritual Link

Social Link

Moral Link

Visualising data

• http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/reduce-your-chances-of-dying-in-a-plane-crash/

• Snake oil - http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/play/snake-oil-supplements/

• Can you get students make their own?

REAL world data• http://www.google.com/publicdata/directory

• Bloodhound SSC - http://www.bloodhoundssc.com/education/the_car.cfm

• World Statistics - http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0004372.html

• Google search insights http://www.google.com/insights/search/#q=%22bird%20flu%22&cmpt=q

• http://www.wolfram.com/solutions/education/students/ - Mathematica 2

• http://www.wolframalpha.com/ - ask it anything

Social, Cultural. Moral link

Strategies

Back to Back

Group collage (present and q&a)

Conscience Alley (roles and questions)

Experts and role reversal

Mantle of Expert1. Pupils are given something to research, such as a topical issue or artefact, with the aim of becoming an expert on it.

2. Pupils must then take on the role of expert in front of peers and are questioned on their ‘specialist’ subject.

Role Reversal• One group shows how they think another group might

act or react to a particular situation.

Graffiti board

• Pupils encouraged to write, summarise and draw on a board based on the topic.

• This can then be used to end topics and question students on areas they found difficult.

Variation of this is a ‘no easy answers board’

Jeopardy

This activity encourages pupils to think about the quality questions which may lead to a particular answer. It has the potential to stretch more able pupils who may think creatively about possible alternative questions.

Try it:

Charles Darwin {what’s the question}

Thunks

Large open ended questions to stimulate debate

Can we ever build a computer that knows everything?The earth and universe etc. will end at some point, so will future exist after that?because you can't see something does that mean it doesn't exist?If you read a book from cover to cover in a shop is it stealing?

Some quick wins:

The Starter Generator! Mark II

The Plenary Producer

The Blooms-Buster.ppt

Flipped classroom and Design Thinking for STEM

Homework: Find out about bones in the arm and shoulder

Lesson: Application of the homework to identify how the bones interact to allow movement. How muscles contract. Apply deeper activity.

Thinking like an engineer: http://getideas.org/getinsight/stem-science-technology-engineering-and-maths/

Raising achievement matters – but on what factors does it depend?

On what factor does it most depend?

It’s the classroom!!Variability at the classroom level is at least 4 times that at school level

• It doesn’t matter very much which school you go to• But it matters very much which classrooms you are in…

It’s not class size, It’s not the class grouping strategies

OVER TO YOU!

So to summarise:

• You must plan for key questions

• Try different strategies within the science department and share good practice

• Science has many opportunities for SMSC

• Use ICT / Internet and IWB’s to motivate students