Judging the Google Global Science Fair – post 21

I am excited to report that I have been invited to serve as a preliminary judge for the Google Science Fair 2011! This is the first time that Google has sponsored a Science Fair. They have partnered with CERN, the LEGO Group, National Geographic, and Scientific American to attract the brightest, best young scientists from around the world. Youth Science Canada, which includes Smarter Science, is the exclusive Canadian educational partner for this activity and is working to ensure that young Canadian scientists are well represented in the competition. Youth between the ages of 13 – 18 have the opportunity to work digitally, globally and collaboratively to present their projects.

Judges, including me, have been chosen from a panel of teachers and university professors from around the world for the first and second round of judging. As a judge I do not have to leave the comfort of my own home! Simple access to a computer with an internet connection along with some online training provides me with the confidence to access and evaluate the online submissions!

Entries that make it through the first round of judging then go on to be checked for scientific accuracy. Fifteen finalists will be flown to Google headquarters in California where they will present their projects before a panel of acclaimed judges including Nobel Laureates, tech visionaries and household names. (No, not including me!)

So in making a global Science Fair a sensational event for youth Google has also made it a wonderful opportunity for the humble science teacher, like me, to engage in our global village of digital opportunities!

Using the Smarter Science framework with a grade nine applied science class.

The Smarter Science framework provides science students and their teachers with a structured, step-by-step method to guide them through collaborative inquiry based activities. I am currently teaching a grade nine applied science course at St. Pius X High School in Ottawa. Although I have taught this course many times this year I am taking a different approach to it. I am using the Smarter Science framework of hands on collaborative lab activities in which the students design and run their own controlled experiments. We are experiencing unprecedented success!

The Beginning and Exploring Science Learner

Initially the learner uses the framework to become familiar with controlled lab inquiries that they have designed themselves. The learners collaborate to determine what all the variables in an experiment will be (star burst design).

The Emerging Science Learner

The students design their own experiment with one, measurable dependent variable and as many of the independent variables they think are necessary (fishbone diagram). The group brainstorms together to determine how the independent variables will be set up (cloud diagram). They may do some quick preliminary investigating to test if their controls are in an acceptable range. For example, when deciding how long to let a chromatograph run they may dip the chromatography paper into some water to determine how quickly the solvent migrates up the paper. Because they have no prior knowledge of chromatographic techniques they initially have no idea if it would be feasible to set the run time at one minute, one hour or even overnight.

The Competent Science Learner

While using the smarter Science framework the students not only learn new lab techniques on a “need to know” basis but they also experience “just in time” learning with lab equipment. For example, rather than have a teacher directed lesson on measuring liquids with a graduated cylinder the students will learn to use a graduated cylinder when the need arises in a real life situation. One of the primary roles of the teacher during the learner-led inquiry process to ensure that safety is embedded in the activity. In my teaching experience, it is often at this stage that the learners become aware of the sources of error in their inquiries and will either redesign the procedure or repeat the entire lab, at their own initiative, in order to correct for the sources of error that have become evident to them.

The Proficient Science Learner

By using the Smarter Science framework the learner takes charge of their own lab design which allows them to make sense of the theory that is covered in class before, during or after their lab inquiry. The Smarter Science framework empowers the student to become a self-directed learner. Initially they just wanted to have some fun in the science lab, which they do not interpret as ``doing any work`` but gradually, as they come to an innate understanding of the scientific process they use it to question the world around them. They learn how to collarbone and communicate with their peers, who are not necessarily their academic or social equals.

Conclusion

Grade nine applied science is one of my favourite courses to teach. I always request it on my timetable, every semester. Over the years I have taught this course over 30 times. The main reason I enjoy this course so much is not the curriculum but rather the nature of the learner. In general, students who enroll in the grade nine applied science course come to me not liking science, partly because they have rarely experienced success in a science course. Often they bring other factors into the classroom like learning disabilities, attention deficits, oppositional disorders, mental health issues, language barriers, and so on.

Until this year I always honoured the hands-on nature of these learners by having them perform many labs yet I was always extremely prescriptive in how the lab was to be done and what was expected in the write up, ie. ``cookbook labs``. I believed this approach was necessary in order for me to maintain control of my classroom as well as for the safety of the learners. At the end of the day I was often left wondering what had been accomplished during the lab, because I saw no evidence of learning and the students did not extrapolate their lab experiences to the theory covered in the course.

Using the Smarter Science framework has allowed me to follow my philosophy that all students can experience success in my classroom while teaching me that grade nine applied learners can be trusted to work safety and efficiently in the lab. When they are given control of their learning experiences they not only act but think like scientists. The collaborative approach of Smarter Science allows them to share their collective knowledge to deepen their understanding of the course content.

Although marks in themselves have become meaningless to me during this journey my midterm marks have never been higher. On the midterm report cards my class mean was 82% and the median was 90%!

See also: http://smarterscience.youthscience.ca/

Posting six -- Current Electricity -- The Electrical Circuit

Today my grade nine applied science class performed an open ended lab on electrical circuits. We started by drawing a simple T-chart to list the symbols for the basic parts of a circuit (battery, wire, open and closed switch, light bulb, etc). We talked about how these symbols could be used by electricians anywhere to wire up a building, it didn’t matter what language they spoke the symbols would be the same.

1. Initiate and Plan = ENGAGE

I drew a super simple circuit diagram, using symbols, on the board and told the students to work in small collaborative groups build it.

I did not distribute any materials. I showed the students where all the materials were, in containers, on the side counter and told them to get what they needed. At first the students questioned how they were supposed to know what materials they needed. I simply told them to refer to their t-charts to decide what they should take from the bins. It took them about 20 seconds to figure it out!

The students investigated how to build the circuit and called me over to show me when the light bulb came on.

My second instruction to the students was to “construct at least four more working circuits and use the symbols to draw them”. Questions that were quickly asked, and answered, by the class included:

“How will we know if the circuits work?” “The light bulb will come on.”

“If we include a switch in our circuit should we draws it with the switch open or closed?” “Draw it both ways and then we will have two circuits done already!”

“What if the battery is dead?” “Then the light bulb won’t come on.”

“”How we will know if we blow the bulb?” “We will hear and see it pop.”

Really, the students did not need me. Together they had enough knowledge to perform the task perfectly. So I gave them some “special pink paper” to draw their circuits on and let them go to it.

2. Perform and Record = EXPLORE

The students designed a number of circuits. Interestingly, they were all series circuits. I thought that given enough time some might move onto parallel circuits. They enjoyed constructing the circuits and experimenting with various combinations of electrical equipment.

Safety note: The source of electricity was D cell batteries (1.5 volts, when new) and each group was limited to three of them so there was no danger of electric shock.

3. Analyze and Interpret = EXPLAIN

Although some of the students used the symbols correctly right from the start, to record their circuits, other students insisted on making artistic renditions of their circuits when instructed to draw them. When asked why they didn’t just use the symbols which were so much quicker and easier they replied “but I really like art.”

Others didn’t want to draw anything at all but when they realized how quickly they could sketch the symbols they decided it was easier to comply than to waste time arguing.

A few used the symbols correctly but drew their circuits as a straight line. When it was pointed out to them how the circuit actually went around in a continuous loop they quickly recognized the error of their ways and were pleased that it could quickly be corrected by drawing a wire from the end of the line around to the beginning rather than starting over from scratch.

4. Communicate = EXTEND

Once all the groups had built and drawn four circuits we discussed the problem of how to decide if it was the battery or the light bulb that was defective when a circuit was built correctly but didn’t work. This is when I introduced the voltmeter.

Without further instructions the class rushed to collect all the batteries out of the container and test them using the voltmeters (using instruments). This led to them discovering what to do if the voltmeter needle went in the wrong direction and what scale to choose on the voltmeter. Indeed five dead batteries were removed from the collection. When the students observed that I was asking them to give me the dead batteries and that I was placing them in a clean plastic jar rather than throwing them into the garbage they questioned me about this practise. This lead to some reflecting and explaining regarding the correct disposal of batteries and what would happen if they went to the landfill.

Once we had all decided that all the batteries were functional it was a natural progression to then test all the light bulbs. The next teacher to use our equipment will be very pleased – everything is fully functional and all the trouble shooting has been done for her!

How will I evaluate today’s lab? I collected the pink papers that the students had drawn their circuits on. This has provided me with documentation on their learning process.

Static Electricity – Creating an Electrostatic Series -- Posting five

I have been re-energized by attending a Smarter Science symposium over the weekend so today I facilitated an inquiry-based collaborative learning experience into electrostatic series with my grade nine applied class.

1. 1. Initiate and plan – ENGAGE

I began the class by modeling how a balloon holding static charge can be used to pick up pieces of confetti (the holes collected out of my hole-puncher). We drew on our previous knowledge, from last week’s classes, to determine how the balloon could be charged with static electricity.

I told the students that we were going to do an investigation to determine what material would produce the greatest static charge on the balloon. In the middle of the sun burst diagram we wrote: “What type of material will make the most static electricity?” This was our dependent variable.

We used the sun burst diagram to list all the different things that could observed while doing a lab.

These were:

1. The time spent rubbing

2. The type of rubbing

3. The shape of the balloon

4. The size of the balloon

5. The colour of the balloon

These items were listed on to little post it notes and stuck around the rays of the sun burst diagram.

We moved to page two of the sun burst diagram, to the Initiate and plan page, which has a picture of the brain and says “brainstorming” on in. Here we decided how we would control the variables that we had listed on our post it notes. This could have been done group-by-group but I chose to do it as a large group activity so everyone would be controlling variable in the same manner. Several excellent suggestions were made so we voted to decide which ones to go with. For example, the amount of time spent rubbing could have been 30 seconds, 60 seconds, 90 seconds, etc. All were good choices so I narrowed it down to the first four suggestions and we voted, by a show of hands. Thus, the controls were determined to be:

1. Time rubbing = 1.5 minutes

2. Type of rubbing = circular motion

3. Size of balloon = full capacity

4. Colour = orange (that’s what I had the most of)

5. Shape of balloon = oval

Now we moved all of our post it notes over to the fish bone diagram where they were taped down. I had actually forgotten that we should tape them down at this point but the kids quickly reminded me.

2. Perform and Record = EXPLORE

The students designed an observation table by drawing a simple t-chart. On the left side they wrote “type of material” and on the right side they wrote ‘number of pieces of confetti collected”. Working in pairs they performed the investigation and were incredibly intr4igued by it. It made me realize how much of the sense of wonder grade nine students still have in them.

Some of the comments I heard during the lab were:

“I can hear the static electricity!”

“Listen!”

“You can hear it crackling!”

“Don’t forget to discharge between tests.”

“Make sure you rub in little circles.”

“It’s your turn to time while I rub.”

“Let’s split the amount of confetti pieces we have to count and each count half of them then add our two answers together.”

3. Analyze and Interpret = EXPLAIN

After testing a variety of materials, such as wool, silk, hair, fur and plastic the students were able to analyze their data to determine which materials created the most static and which created the least. At this stage I introduced them to the concept of “Electrostatic Series” with a very simple definition of “ a list of materials from the most static to the least static”.

4. Communicate = EXTEND

Each student created an electrostatic series by listing the materials they tested, in order, from those that created a static charge to those that created the least. They were able to quantify their results because they had counted the number of pieces of confetti that was attracted to the balloon during each test.