One of the best parts about science is that it is hands-on and students can be active in their learning. The most memorable and cherished science experiments and lessons were authentic, collaborative, and hands-on. Our education in science should model as closely as possible the authentic process of science itself. As teachers and educators, it is important to provide students with as much real and authentic methods of learning as possible so students can make real world connections and address real world problems. Students will gain knowledge about the world we live in. Students should have as much physical materials as possible in science. Authentic learning allows for open-ended inquiry and students are in control over their own learning. Authentic learning increases motivation and engagement for students and it makes the learning relevant as well. Students can only make so many observations and learn about an object with just a drawing. Student can learn a little more if there was a model of their object that students could hold and interact with. But students will learn most if they have the actual object in their hand and have the opportunity to explore the object using our 5 senses: smell, sight, taste, sound, and touch.

The 5E Inquiry Instructional Model is a student centric and interactive teaching strategy that is broken into 5 steps or phases. The 5E's stand for engage, explore, explain, elaborate, and evaluate. The evaluate step is intertwined with the four other steps in this model. This teaching strategy allows students to be active in their learning, gather and collect their own data, explain their observations and findings, deepen their understanding by applying their knowledge to new situations, and reflect on what they learned.

Engage: The first step engages students in the lesson and activates their prior knowledge. This is the introduction to the lesson and allows teachers to assess what students may already know and get a sense of the funds of knowledge that students may already have about the subject or topic. The engage should be hands-on and make the students excited to learn more.

Explore: The second step should be focused on hands-on learning, authentic experiment or investigation, data collection, and collaboration. Students should be constructing their own knowledge while working in small groups and having discussions throughout the experiment. An artifact should be created by the end of the explore. Students need the chance to explore the materials for the experiment and create and answer questions based on the data collected from the experiment. Students should also think about the claims they can make to answer the inquiry question, and the evidence they have gathered to support their claim. A CER chart can be really helpful for students to organize their thoughts after the experiment was conducted.

Explain: The third step allows the class as a whole to discuss the observations and findings from the experiment. Students should have the opportunity to share their claims, evidence, and reasoning. This portion of the lesson should have all students have the chance to share. The teacher can do this by popcorning around the room, and asking students if they agree or disagree with other peers and have students explain why. This part of the lesson is also student-centric, while the teacher facilitates conversation. Students will use evidence to argue why some claims are correct or incorrect and use their reasoning from the experiment. After students explain, if there are any additional questions or misconceptions, this is where the teacher steps in to explain the topic further.

Elaborate: The fourth step is focused on having students apply their newly learned knowledge and skills to new situations. This will help deepen students' understanding on the topic or subject and allow students to make new connections. Students will build upon what they already knew prior to the lesson, to what they now know after the experiment and discussion. This is the time to point out that science also happens outside of the classroom.

Evaluate: The fifth step wraps up the entire lesson and is focused on students reflection about what they learned from the experiment. Although, evaluate is mixed and connected to all of the other steps in the 5E model. The students will fill out a form of assessment whether a short quiz or exit ticket, so the teacher can assess the extent of learning that happened in the lesson. The teacher will use the data to evaluate how the lesson went, what students are feeling confident in, reflect on what needs to be clarified, and make adjustments to the next lesson if needed.

There are 8 Science and Engineering Practices from NGSS:

1. Asking Questions and Defining Problems

2. Developing and Using Models

3. Planning and Carrying Out Investigations

4. Analyzing and Interpreting Data

5. Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking

6. Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions

7. Engaging in Argument from Evidence

8. Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information