Interactive Notebooking

What is Interactive Notebooking?

An Interactive Notebook (INB) is a tool that helps students to use the knowledge base they are developing to synthesize, reflect, draw conclusions and stimulate further thought on the subject matter. We will be primarily using a "Left Side - Right Side" Style of INB, where the Right Side contains "inputs" - these might be written or graphic notes, an article pertaining to the subject matter we are studying, a data table for an experiment, etc. The Left Side will be where the students "make sense" of or use the information from their input - in other words, the Left Side is the "output". In the beginning, we may be working within a relatively prescribed framework for these Outputs, however the goal is for students to be able to develop a more independent ability to reflect and interpret the subject matter in a way that makes sense to them.

Our INBs will serve as a place for students to develop communication and organization skills as well as to feel more responsible for their own learning. Rather than having a "notes" section in a binder, a separate lab instruction and information sheet, and different assignments that are handed in, the goal is to have the majority (if not all) of this information contained together in a way that helps students draw immediate connections between the hands-on work we complete in class and the theory or knowledge base behind it. Reflection, peer and self assessment will be an intricate part of using INBs this year, and we will be co-constructing criteria about what "good" work looks like.

As this is a new endeavor, I am sure we will have many moments of learning together but I am excited for the journey!

Why did I choose to use Interactive Notebooks this year?

Having students use Interactive Notebooking as a tool for science class is something I have long been wanting to incorporate into my teaching practice but finding time to figure out how to best do this has always been the issue... cue maternity leave! While on leave, I found myself craving some more intellectual stimulation while my little guy was down for his naps and so I started researching different methods of using Interactive Notebooks (INBs) in the science classroom. While most of the INB materials I found were largely based in elementary, or seemed to be more about just making the notes "cute", I did manage to find a few resources that were geared towards secondary education and which had a balance of "cute" and useful.

Kesler Science has some great visuals for secondary science as well as some tips for the logistics of how to incorporate some of the cut and paste style templates for notes. I also found a fantastic book by Kelli Marcarelli called Teaching Science with Interactive Notebooks which really spoke to the scientist in me. She described how she uses the "Left Side-Right Side" concept to help students develop higher level thinking skills, allowing students to track their own growth throughout the year.

After reading about how these two educators have taken slightly different approaches to the same thing, I also chose to make INBs work for how I approach science teaching with the Alberta Curriculum and the Ministerial Order on Student Learning. I have spent some time developing templates for notes to make them more visual, but more than that, I've really looked at how I can help student connect the hands-on work we do - whether that is a Project Based Learning Initiative or an experimental lab activity - to the content learning. I am hopeful that this will be something that both my students and I will grow to value throughout the year.