The STEM Notebook: Literacy Interactions to Promote Thinking and Communicating in the STEM Disciplines
The STEM notebook is an important tool for learning about the role and nature of language within the STEM disciplines. When students are engaged in STEM, the notebook records the story of their work. It tells what they did, what resources they consulted, what happened during their work, the data they collected, and what they thought about their work. The notebook consists of a clear, accurate and thorough record of the process and product of their engineering endeavors. It is a tool for each aspect of STEM work from the initial glimmer of an idea, through gathering information and messing around, to initial designs, through experimentation and data collection and into final refinements. It becomes the source for writing or presenting final results.
An STEM notebook contains the ideas of its author along with all the notes, data, observations, calculation and other information relevant to the project being conducted. A notebook or lab journal is a tool used by practicing scientists and engineers. In fact, some engineering organizations require the use of a notebook, even giving direction about its form and content. The engineering notebook may be the most critical document an engineer produces because it can be the legal evidence for determining patent rights. Utilizing a notebook allows students to engage in authentic literacy practices similar to those of an actual practitioner in the STEM disciplines. It is important for both the teacher and learner to be reminded that all STEM work depends on knowing what has been done in the past and communicating about current work. Thus, strong skills in all aspects of Language Arts support STEM.
Purpose of the STEM Notebook
The purpose of the LA STEM notebook is to provide a sequential documentation of the work of the author in a project. Each part of the process offers possibilities.
Immersion in the Context: At this stage the notebook serves as a place for students to record information or inspiration. The teacher can encourage students to generate questions that can lead to an inquiry.
Building Background Knowledge: Students can build background knowledge in a variety of ways and through a variety of media. The LA STEM notebook is the place where students can record relevant information that is gained through searching the internet, reading information text, viewing multimedia or conducting interviews. Students can also make lists of important terms and vocabulary words that represent significant concepts.
Exploring/Messing Around: In this “get their hands dirty” aspect, students need to take time to record what they have done that helps them understand the concepts and issues being explored. They use the LA STEM notebook not only to describe the specific actions but also to make connections between what they are doing and the background knowledge they have gained from other sources.
Identifying the Problem: Identifying the problem often requires “writing to know.” As students work to phrase the problem in a precise and succinct manner, they come to understand the exact problem they are trying to address. Students must reflect on the constraints or other aspects that shape the nature of the problem.
Consult/Experiment/Design: It is in this phase that the LA STEM notebook becomes a constant companion as the students record data, make charts and graphs, draw sketches, and write text to document every step of their work. Students must also use the notebook to review background information or add knowledge; to compare their solutions with the statement of the problem and its constraints; and to determine whether their solutions meet the needs of the client or customer.
Finally, the notebook as a whole represents the students’ body of work. It is the prime source for data needed for calculations, the basis for forming conclusions and the source for informing future work. The notebook is the foundation for making formal oral/multimedia presentations or written reports for communicating with a wider audience.
The STEM notebook is more than just a record of process and design. It is a tool for supporting students’ critical thinking and problem solving. It helps them organize their work. It helps them determine what they already know that applies to the problem they are examining and it helps them identify what more they will need to know. It is a place for making notes to oneself and also for teammates to consult. It allows students to note the data they have collected and determine whether it meets the needs of the investigation. Because all their observations, note-taking, and data are in one place, it allows for review and rehearsal to reflect on the process and design they are undertaking.
The STEM notebook is not a collection of worksheets and teacher-made pages. Rather it attempts to emulate the type of notebooks actually used by working professionals, both in style and in content.
Components of the Notebook
The primary directive of the notebook is to be complete. Encourage students to write everything as it happens. It should record progress, ideas, notes, data charts, sketches, questions and thoughts. If they make a prediction or have a hunch, they should write it down and mark it as a hunch.
All data should be recorded directly into the notebook as well as all notes and calculations. The inclusion of details is important. Include sketches and diagrams. List the tools being used. Write descriptions of procedures. Entries in the notebook should conclude with a critical evaluation of the day’s work.
Teachers need to help students understand the importance of the notebook. For some working professionals, if work is not recorded in the notebook, it has not been done. If it is not written down, it did not happen.
Here are examples of what might be found in an STEM notebook:
• Notes from background research, including bibliographic information
• Notes or scripting of interviews with clients or experts
• Sketches, drawings or photos
• Lists of steps for a procedure
• Lists of equipment and tools
• Questions or issues
• Reflections and predictions (or hunches)
• Conclusions and recommendations
The Format and Style of the STEM Notebook
Traditionally, scientists and engineers kept their work in a bound book, often composed of quadrille-lined (grid) paper. The book was a bound book so that all pages remain intact and in the same order. The grid style of paper allows for both text and graphics. Now, much of ongoing work is recorded electronically. In either case, the following guidelines are useful for notebooks:
•Work should be dated.
•Nothing should be deleted. Revisions can be made by lining through but all work should remain. “Track changes” can also be a useful tool.
•Write with permanent ink or, if electronic, save frequently.
•Sketches and other graphics should be carefully labeled.
•Be consistent
•Be neat and legible
Normally each student will maintain his/her own notebook but a collaborative notebook could be designed using google docs or other shared online format. Even when a notebook is maintained by an individual student, collaboration can be encouraged. Many professional engineers have witnesses sign their notebooks. Students can read each other’s notebooks and sign the pages with an “understood by” acknowledgement.
The notebook should be thorough enough that another equally knowledgeable person could repeat the work by following the information in the notebook to set up the experiments and repeat the work, including the mistakes! Because the notebook is the original source documentation of all ideas, a key concept about the LA STEM notebook is that everything should be recorded in the notebook, even if it may seem unimportant at the time.
At the end of a project, someone viewing the notebook would be able to understand fully how the student moved from initiation to resolution of the project. The accurate, thorough record of thoughts and actions kept in the notebook can be a source of pride for students as it documents their learning and achievements.
Ideas for Student Use of the Notebook Throughout the STEM Process
Immersing in the Context
In this phase, students need to become engaged, intrigued and committed to the identification of a STEM challenge. As students are immersed in the context, they should take notes on people, places, and ideas that are of interest or that cause them to be curious. They should also ask questions. Possible question stems are “why..., what if..., how might..., what would happen if...,” can be provided to students as a way of helping them ask important questions. At this stage the notebook should be used for
•notes about items of interest
•questions
Building Background Knowledge and Exploration
After students become engaged in the context, they often find they do not have the background knowledge they need to truly understand the situation. At this point in the process, the notebook should be used for
•recording pertinent information in the form of notes or summaries
•an accurate list of sources
•drawings with labels found either through research or through exploration
•key terms with notations helping the student remember their meaning
Exploring is a time for wondering and wandering and for messing around. It is a time for students to get to know the problem well. It is an opportunity to get their hands on apparatus and try out possibilities. Students should explore the problem in different ways. Brainstorming (rapidly offering many alternatives) and trying out a variety of options are both important. In the notebook, students should record everything they have tried. They can do this through both drawing and writing. It is important that they continue to use the specialized vocabulary related to the problem. They should note any or all of the following:
• Ideas or options that need more information or need to be tried more fully.
• Explorations that may provide new solutions
• Ideas that expand their knowledge
• New skills they may have acquired
• Possibilities that may meet opposition
• Any new-found interests
Identifying the Problem
Problem should not be considered something that is wrong or bad. Rather, problem refers to an issue or situation that is needs to be considered and that is in search of a solution. It is a difficulty that needs to be resolved. In essence, it is an opportunity! Stating the problem clearly is of utmost importance. Several aspects of the problem should be stated in the notebook:
1. The problem itself: What is the specific situation that needs a solution?
2. The stakeholders: Who are the individuals, groups or organizations that are affected by the problem and its potential solution?
3. The constraints: What are the factors that must be considered when designing a solution to the problem?
These aspects are recorded at this time but they should be reviewed regularly and revised as needed. Problem statements are often revised as new information is discovered. Revision may include actual changes to the problem statement or additions of information.
Experimenting and Designing
During this phase, students should show all the steps of their work through words and graphics. The steps should be clearly enough presented so that someone else could repeat their work. During this phase the notebook can be used to
•Record data
•Make charts and graphs
•Label drawings and use appropriate vocabulary
•Write steps in a procedure
Communicating Results
The notebook is an appropriate place to work out a first draft of reports and presentations. It is a place to gather all the supporting documentation and the visuals that will be needed for a convincing presentation whether oral or written. The notebook also serves as a review of what has been done for continuity and continuation as well as mastery of specialized vocabulary.
STEM Notebook and CCSS
The STEM Notebook provides the means for teachers to help students meet many of the CCSS literacy requirements for Science and Technical Subjects. The following are the standards (taken from the middle school level—comparable ones may be found in the high school standards) that are most appropriately addressed in the STEM notebook.
Key Ideas and Details:
Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts.
Determine the central ideas or conclusions of a text; provide an accurate summary of the text distinct from prior knowledge or opinions.
Follow precisely a multistep procedure when carrying out experiments, taking measurements, or performing technical tasks.
Craft and Structure:
Determine the meaning of symbols, key terms, and other domain-specific words and phrases as they are used in a specific scientific or technical context relevant to grades 6-8 texts and topics.
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas:
Integrate quantitative or technical information expressed in words in a text with a version of that information expressed visually (e.g., in a flowchart, diagram, model, graph, or table).
Distinguish among facts, reasoned judgment based on research findings, and speculation in a text.
Compare and contrast the information gained from experiments, simulations, video, or multimedia sources with that gained from reading a text on the same topic.