3/23 Caitlin BGuILE and Inquire

This weeks readings, by Reiser and Sampson, are all about teaching scientific inquiry. Both authors argued that science classes should focus on science practice and making curricula include more depth than breadth. NGSS standards are trying to follow this ideal. The standards have fewer science concepts and more technology and modeling performance requirements. These requirements include observation, articulation (explanation), reflection (revision), defending (argumentation), and modeling. Scientists and engineers use all of these requirements as they research and solve problems. Reiser, Sampson, and many of the other authors we have read support that science classrooms should focus on these practices. The question is how to do this while still teaching students the content they need to know for exams.

One of the components of scientific practice and inquiry that the articles found important was the social practices in scientific communities. Sampson, with the multi-step lesson, and Reiser, with the problem-based learning instruction strategy and the idea of a social friendly classroom culture, support the idea of authentic practice. The performance standards are based on how an actual scientific community works. In the classroom, students, in groups or individually, can explore a problem they specifically had in mind, and then come together as a class (or community) to share what they have learned, and critique and discuss what they have learned as a whole before revising their models and explanations. Other authors we have read, such as Harlow, Nersessian, diSessa, and Shwarz, believe in making what is learned in science class meaningful. Reiser and Sampson’s different instructional strategies can be successful options to make science class meaningful.

Reiser also supports ‘infusing’ technology into science classrooms. Technology makes modeling less time consuming, which is a challenge in most science classrooms. It also makes modeling the link between all of the different stages and parts of science practice. According to many of the authors, and class discussions, computational modeling can be the observation, the explanation, and the product (or answer), which is goal of the activity. In our own class, we are creating products to explain and explore scientific concepts that can be useful in our own future classrooms. Each class, we share what we have done and what we are hoping to do, and we have a chance to hear feedback and possible revisions from others in the class. Modeling can give our students a deeper understanding of science content concepts, while teaching them scientific inquiry and practice. Reiser and Sampson argued that, while modeling was important, explanation and argumentation are also important practices students should master. How much time, or emphasis, should be placed on these practices in the classroom? Or, if there is little time, how could this be made up for? 

Science question: 

In cell membranes, would other structures, such as cholesterol or transport proteins, stick to the hydrophobic or hydrophilic part of the lipid, or even the link between the two (this is what I'm trying to figure out for the model)?