planning and carrying
out investigations

Strategies to promote Belonging while Investigating:

M-Plans.org says “Instructional strategies that support students’ feelings of belonging cultivate a safe space for students to work with their peers through this process and to ask for and receive support if they encounter challenges. Strategies that support belonging also encourage students to develop a sense of being part of a community of scientists and engineers, which is especially important for students who may not have a well-developed science identity or who may feel alienated from science,” Investigating can be such a vulnerable process and so it is vital for students to feel a connection to the work and to their classroom so that they can feel free pursue their interests. One way to foster belongingness is when participating in group tasks to make sure that the task is worthy of a group. This means that all students are working together to accomplish one thing and that all of them have something to add to the process. This might mean assigning roles/accountability in different ways. This can also be done through the use of protocols and norm creation. To learn more visit here.

Strategies to promote Confidence while Investigating:

Planning and carrying out investigations is generally complex and has lots of steps- especially if students are designing their own investigations. This can mean lots of opportunities for students to hit roadblocks and struggle. I have seen this happen where students lose sight of their bigger question, get confused about next steps, or even give up when the data doesn’t make sense. Therefore, It is so crucial to support students in a balanced way. It is easy to over scaffold and actually reduce confidence levels in students. When planning, teachers really need to try to hit the sweet spot between scaffolding and challenge. Usually that ‘sweet spot’ to build confidence is with checkpoints and opportunities for feedback. Students should continually revisit the question they are investigating and take on a meaningful role in the process. In addition, chunking the planning will be helpful especially when there are new elements to the investigation (protocol, tools, measurements, etc.). Overall, building confidence means having a good balance between independent challenge and support/feedback during the process of planning and carrying out an investigation. To learn more visit here.

Learning Orientation for Planning and Carrying Out Investigations

So often science investigations end up being a series of steps for students to complete and the connection between those steps and the bigger question is missed. In creating the right learning orientation for this practice, students will keep their focus on the learning question. Teachers should make it part of the classroom routine to check in on the learning question throughout the investigation. Students should also spend time understanding the role that ‘failure’ plays in investigation. Teachers should assess process, skill and reflection rather than the data and conclusio.Students should also have opportunities to study investigations that had been considered ‘failing’ so students can really embrace this mindset and continue to reflect. To learn more visit here.

Supporting Autonomy while Planning and Carrying Out Investigations

Fostering autonomy in investigation centers on supporting students in their own curiosity and questioning. An authentic student-directed investigation where they are trying to find an answer requires a certain amount of independence and decision making. Even in a situation where there is a prescribed scientific question, students can show autonomy through choosing a different variable to test, or picking a protocol or tool and justifying the choice. Developing autonomy can start small with mini labs or activities. In addition, teachers can scaffold by giving students options instead of leaving things open ended. When students are making choices and self-directing, don’t forget to make safety a part of the conversation! Students must be aware of pros and cons of tools/protocols and choose the safest most appropriate one. To learn more visit here.

Supporting Relevance while Investigating

Relevance in investigations is so important for students in order for them to make connections between what they do in the classroom and the ‘real world’. Whenever possible teachers should make explicit the ways that their investigations connect and are transferable. Teachers should (as much as possible) use materials and phenomena that students are familiar with, or if this is not possible show students where they can see that phenomena and why it's important to know. As always, students benefit from learning about experiences of diverse scientists and engineers. To learn more visit here.

Standard Name: HS-ESS2-5 Earth's Systems

Standard: Plan and conduct an investigation of the properties of water and its effects on Earth materials and surface processes.

Observable Features of Student Performance by the end of the Course: 

1. Identifying the phenomenon to be investigated

• Students describe* the phenomenon under investigation, which includes the following idea: a connection between the properties of water and its effects on Earth materials and surface processes.

2. Identifying the evidence to answer this question

• Students develop an investigation plan and describe* the data that will be collected and the evidence to be derived from the data, including: 

  • Properties of water, including: 

    • • The heat capacity of water; 

      • The density of water in its solid and liquid states; and 

      • The polar nature of the water molecule due to its molecular structure. 

  • The effect of the properties of water on energy transfer that causes the patterns of temperature, the movement of air, and the movement and availability of water at Earth’s surface. 

  • Mechanical effects of water on Earth materials that can be used to infer the effect of water on Earth’s surface processes. Examples can include:

    • • Stream transportation and deposition using a stream table, which can be used to infer the ability of water to transport and deposit materials;

      • Erosion using variations in soil moisture content, which can be used to infer the ability of water to prevent or facilitate movement of Earth materials; and

      • The expansion of water as it freezes, which can be used to infer the ability of water to break rocks into smaller pieces.

  • Chemical effects of water on Earth materials that can be used to infer the effect of water on Earth’s surface processes. Examples can include:

    • • The solubility of different materials in water, which can be used to infer chemical weathering and recrystallization;

      • The reaction of iron to rust in water, which can be used to infer the role of water in chemical weathering;

      • Data illustrating that water lowers the melting temperature of most solids, which can be used to infer melt generation; and

      • Data illustrating that water decreases the viscosity of melted rock, affecting the movement of magma and volcanic eruptions.

• In their investigation plan, students describe* how the data collected will be relevant to determining the effect of water on Earth materials and surface processes. 

3. Planning for the Investigation 

• In their investigation plan, students include a means to indicate or measure the predicted effect of water on Earth’s materials or surface processes. Examples include: 

  • The role of the heat capacity of water to affect the temperature, movement of air and movement of water at the Earth’s surface; 

  • The role of flowing water to pick up, move and deposit sediment; 

  • The role of the polarity of water (through cohesion) to prevent or facilitate erosion; 

  • The role of the changing density of water (depending on physical state) to facilitate the breakdown of rock;

  • The role of the polarity of water in facilitating the dissolution of Earth materials;

  • Water as a component in chemical reactions that change Earth materials; and

  • The role of the polarity of water in changing the melting temperature and viscosity of rocks.

• In the plan, students state whether the investigation will be conducted individually or collaboratively. 

4. Collecting the data

• Students collect and record measurements or indications of the predicted effect of a property of water on Earth’s materials or surface. 

5. Refining the design

• Students evaluate the accuracy and precision of the collected data.

• Students evaluate whether the data can be used to infer the effect of water on processes in the natural world. 

• If necessary, students refine the plan to produce more accurate and precise data.

Standard Name: HS-LS1-3 From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes

Standard: Plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence that feedback mechanisms maintain homeostasis.

Observable Features of Student Performance by the end of the Course: 

1. Identifying the phenomenon under investigation

• Students describe* the phenomenon under investigation, which includes the following idea: that feedback mechanisms maintain homeostasis. 

2. Identifying the evidence to answer this question

• Students develop an investigation plan and describe* the data that will be collected and the evidence to be derived from the data, including: 

  • • Changes within a chosen range in the external environment of a living system; and

    • Responses of a living system that would stabilize and maintain the system’s internal conditions (homeostasis), even though external conditions change, thus establishing the positive or negative feedback mechanism.

• Students describe* why the data will provide information relevant to the purpose of the investigation. 

3. Planning for the investigation

• In the investigation plan, students describe*:

  • • How the change in the external environment is to be measured or identified;

    • How the response of the living system will be measured or identified;

    • How the stabilization or destabilization of the system’s internal conditions will be measured or determined; 

    • The experimental procedure, the minimum number of different systems (and the factors that affect them) that would allow generalization of results, the evidence derived from the data, and identification of limitations on the precision of data to include types and amounts; and

    • Whether the investigation will be conducted individually or collaboratively. 

4. Collecting the data

• Students collect and record changes in the external environment and organism responses as a function of time. 

5. Refining the design

• Students evaluate their investigation, including:

  • • Assessment of the accuracy and precision of the data, as well as limitations (e.g., cost, risk, time) of the investigation, and make suggestions for refinement; and

    • Assessment of the ability of the data to provide the evidence required. 

• If necessary, students refine the investigation plan to produce more generalizable data.

Standard Name: HS-PS3-4 Energy

Standard: Plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence that the transfer of thermal energy when two components of different temperature are combined within a closed system results in a more uniform energy distribution among the components in the system (second law of thermodynamics).

Observable Features of Student Performance by the end of the Course: 

1. Identifying the phenomenon to be investigated

• • Students describe* the purpose of the investigation, which includes the following idea, that the transfer of thermal energy when two components of different temperature are combined within a closed system results in a more uniform energy distribution among the components in the system (second law of thermodynamics).

2. Identifying the evidence to answer this question

• • Students develop an investigation plan and describe* the data that will be collected and the evidence to be derived from the data, including:

    • • The measurement of the reduction of temperature of the hot object and the increase in temperature of the cold object to show that the thermal energy lost by the hot object is equal to the thermal energy gained by the cold object and that the distribution of thermal energy is more uniform after the interaction of the hot and cold components; and 

      • The heat capacity of the components in the system (obtained from scientific literature).

3. Planning for the investigation

• • In the investigation plan, students describe*: 

    • • How a nearly closed system will be constructed, including the boundaries and initial conditions of the system; 

      • The data that will be collected, including masses of components and initial and final temperatures; and 

      • The experimental procedure, including how the data will be collected, the number of trials, the experimental set up, and equipment required.

4. Collecting the data

• • Students collect and record data that can be used to calculate the change in thermal energy of each of the two components of the system.

5. Refining the design

• • Students evaluate their investigation, including:

    • • The accuracy and precision of the data collected, as well as the limitations of the investigation; and 

      • The ability of the data to provide the evidence required.

  • If necessary, students refine the plan to produce more accurate, precise, and useful data that address the experimental question.

  • Students identify potential causes of the apparent loss of energy from a closed system (which should be zero in an ideal system) and adjust the design of the experiment accordingly.