Inquiry, Problem Solving, and Modeling Application in the Science Classroom

Inquiry, Problem Solving, and Modeling Application in the Science Classroom

Heather Sanderson

Eastern Connecticut State University

July 5, 2018

The content topic I have chosen for my final project is plate tectonics. The reason I chose this topic is because it is one I currently teach in my middle school science class and it provides numerous opportunities to incorporate inquiry, problem solving, and modeling into the classroom.

The topic of plate tectonics is rich in inquiry investigations. Inquiry in the science classroom “involves students doing science where they have opportunities to explore possible solutions, develop explanations for the phenomena under investigation, elaborate on concepts and processes, and evaluate or assess their understandings in the light of available evidence” (Bulba, 2018). For instance, I could show my students a before and after picture of a single location100 million years apart and ask them why do the landforms look this way? Plate tectonics allows for students to investigate numerous land formations such as volcanoes, rocks, and fault lines and explain how these formations came about and what they will look like in the future.

Plate tectonics also allows for enriching problem solving activities. Problem based learning (PBL) “presents learners with authentic and rich, but incompletely defined, scenarios” (Mcconnell, Parker, & Eberhardt, 2017). Because the earth’s plates are in constant motion, the landscape is continuously changing; these changes can be explained by understanding and explaining the plate tectonics process. When students are introduced to plate tectonics for the first time, they need to learn about how the plates are moving in different directions and then come to understand how the different directions lead to various interactions among the plates, such as coming together, splitting apart, or scraping against each other side-by-side. These different interactions among the plates lead to different landforms. This unpacking of the process into the prediction of landforms provides for a variety of problem based activities the students can be asked to solve.

Additionally, modeling is a natural component to learning the plate tectonics content. “A scientific model is a representation of a system…or a phenomenon” (Ambitious Science Teaching, 2015). Modeling should involve the process of constructing, testing, evaluating, and then revising (Ambitious Science Teaching, 2015). Plate tectonics involves a variety of features that arise from the various plate tectonic processes. These processes and features, such as subduction, which causes the formation of volcanoes, can be better understood through students making models.

I have developed three activities that cover different performance expectations from the Next Generation Science Standards. These activities are all done through inquiry, problem solving, and/or modeling. I will discuss each activity and the NGSS Standards it contains. Furthermore, I will discuss how the activity could be done from an advanced perspective, and I will also provide a copy of each activity.

The first activity I developed is modeling plate tectonics. This activity covers NGSS Standard “MS-ESS2-2. Construct an explanation based on evidence for how geoscience processes have changed Earth’s surface at varying time and spatial scales” (NGSS, 2013). In this activity the students will work in small groups. Before they get into their groups, each student will be asked to draw and label the formation of the tectonic feature they are assigned on his or her own. I like to start every group project individually so each student is bringing his or her own ideas to the group rather than relying on one student to do all the work. Each group will get a different tectonic feature so that when the students present their models to the class each one is different and the students will learn about all the different tectonic features. The features the students will be assigned are the following: strike slip fault, normal fault, reverse fault, shield volcano, composite/stratovolcano, cinder cone volcano, mountain range, trench, anticline/syncline, geyser/hot spring, and mid-ocean ridge. Once the students have completed their models, the models will be placed around the classroom for a gallery walk. During the gallery walk the groups will visit and critique each model. The critiques will focus on whether all information on each model is correct, whether the model is clear and accurate in all areas, and whether there is anything missing from the model. Revision of models is an important step in the process because “models change as understanding improves” (Schwarz, Reiser, Davis, Kenyon, Acher, Fortus, Shwartz, Hug, & Krajcik, 2009, p.632). After the gallery walk critiques, the students will then go back to their groups and look over feedback from their classmates and make any necessary improvements to their models. Once the models are revised and completed, they will then be presented to the class. Honey and Kanter state, “Knowledge is not useful unless it can be communicated clearly to others” (Honey & Kanter, 2013, p. 223). For an advanced perspective on this modeling activity, students can construct a model showing various tectonic features being formed because they are all happening simultaneously. For instance a student can show how the Mid-Atlantic Ridge forms from sea floor spreading in the Atlantic Ocean while subduction is happening along the Ring of Fire in the Pacific Ocean forming volcanoes at each location.

The second activity I developed is based off a problem based learning activity from the NSTA book Problem-Based Learning in the Earth and Space Science Classroom K-12. This plate tectonics problem covers NGSS standard “MS-ESS1-4. Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence from rock strata for how the geologic time scale is used to organize Earth’s 4.6-billion-year-old history” (NGSS, 2013). In this problem the students are presented with a scenario in which a girl visits Michigan and sees alternating layers of basalt and sedimentary rock. The students are asked to research the geological history of Michigan and of these rock types to explain why the girl observes basalt and sedimentary rocks in layers at this location. The students are presented with a variety of online sources, including pictures, videos, maps, and background geology information to help them solve this problem. This is an inquiry based problem investigation. The National Resource council defines inquiry as a focus “on a scientifically oriented question, problem, or phenomenon, beginning with what learners know and actively engaging them in the search for answers and explanations” (Lim, 2018). My students will work in groups to actively investigate the problem and gather evidence to solve the problem. They will put all the information they gather as well as their explanations in a Google slide show. The Next Generation Science Standards supports “the use of technology and collaborative inquiry” (Adams and Hamm, 2014, p. 103). I like to use Google Slides when my students are working collaboratively because they all have access to the slide presentation and can all work on various slides at the same time. For an advanced perspective on this problem solving activity students could be asked to make models on what the Michigan area looked like 2,500 million years ago (when convergence was happening and mountains were formed), 1,200 million years ago (divergence was happening and rift valley formed), and present day, and then predict what Michigan will look like 1000 million years in the future.

The third activity I developed to go with my plate tectonics inquiry, problem solving, and modeling unit is my earthquake proof building construction engineering task. According to the National Academy of Sciences “engineering practices incorporate specialized knowledge about criteria and constraints, modeling and analysis, and optimization and trade-offs” (National Resource Council, 2012). My earthquake engineering task contains all of those skills. This earthquake activity covers the following NGSS engineering standards:

“MS-ETS1-1. Define the criteria and constraints of a design problem with sufficient precision to ensure a successful solution, taking into account relevant scientific principles and potential impacts on people and the natural environment that may limit possible solutions” (NGSS, 2013) .

“MS-ETS1-2. Evaluate competing design solutions using a systematic process to determine how well they meet the criteria and constraints of the problem” (NGSS, 2013).

“MS-ETS1-3. Analyze data from tests to determine similarities and differences among several design solutions to identify the best characteristics of each that can be combined into a new solution to better meet the criteria for success” (NGSS,2013).

“MS-ETS1-4. Develop a model to generate data for iterative testing and modification of a proposed object, tool, or process such that an optimal design can be achieved” (NGSS, 2013).

This earthquake resistant house activity involves inquiry, modeling, and problem solving. The first part is inquiry because the students need to research different techniques used to strengthen buildings built in earthquake prone areas. The website my students will use to research building techniques is called IDEERS, a resource that has a section on earthquake resistant building that is very user friendly and age appropriate for my students (IDEERS, 2016). Once my students understand the techniques used, they will be presented with the problem: they have $10,000, strict building codes to follow, and limited materials to build an earthquake resistant structure. The students must first work through the problem on their own and come up with two labeled design solutions, and then they will be put into groups to collaborate. Each group will work together to build a model, which is a three story building that can withstand a minor, moderate, and major earthquake on a shake table that I have in my classroom. Along the way students must assess and redesign their buildings before we gather around as a class and test the building on the shake table. After each building is shaken, we will evaluate the positives and where there could have been structural improvements. For an advanced perspective on this activity, I can provide students with a location (address) for their buildings and have them calculate the distance they are from the epicenter of a fictional earthquake that will be created on the website Geology Labs Virtual Earthquake (Novak, 1999). The Geology Labs Virtual Earthquake site has students read and record the p-wave and s-wave lag time from three seismogram printouts in order to find an earthquake’s epicenter. The students need to calculate the distance from the epicenter of the 3 seismograph locations from a graph created from the data they inputted then use triangulation to find the epicenter. Once the epicenter is found, the students must calculate the distance to their building.

All three activities will be implemented next year in my science class. All three of these activities incorporate inquiry, problem solving and/or modeling and meet specific science standards from the new NGSS curriculum.

References

Adams, D., & Hamm, M. (2014). Teaching math, science, and technology in schools today (2^nd ed.). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield

Ambitious Science Teaching. (2015). Models and Modeling: An Introduction. Retrieved from

http://ambitiousscienceteaching.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Models-and-Modeling-

An-Introduction1.pdf

Bulba, D. (2018). What is Inquiry-Based Science? Retrieved from https://ssec.si.edu/stemvisions-blog/what-inquiry-based-science

Honey, M., & Kanter, D.E. (2013). Design, make, play: Growing the next generation of STEM innovators. New York: Routledge.

IDEERS Earthquake Engineering Research Centre at the University of Bristol. (2016). Retrieved

from http://www.ideers.bris.ac.uk/

Lim, Kieran F. (2018, April). Inquiry-based investigations. Chemistry in Australia. 34. Retrieved from https://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=503492907374543;res=IELENG

McConnell, T.J., Parker, J., Eberhardt, J. (2017). Problem-Based Learning in the Earth and

Space Science Classroom K-12. Arlington, Virginia. NSTA press.

National Research Council (2012). A framework for K-12 science education: Practices, crosscutting concepts, and core ideas. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

Next Generation Science Standards (2013). Next Generation Science Standards: For states by states. Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved from http://www.nextgenscience.org

Novak, Gary. (1999). Geology Labs Online Virtual Earthquake. Retrieved from

http://www.sciencecourseware.com/virtualearthquake/

Schwarz, C.V., Reiser, B.J., Davis, E.A., Kenyon, L., Acher, A., Fortus, D., Shwartz, Y., Hug,B., & Krajcik, J. (2009). Developing a Learning Progression for Scientific Modeling: Making Scientific Modeling Accessible and Meaningful for Learners. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 46(6). 632-654.