Earth in a Bottle- Model

This week I designed an earth science lesson where my students conducted a guided inquiry to learn more about earth materials. On day one my students worked in small groups and put the earth materials in a two liter bottle. Students shook the bottles up and then drew the observations of what they saw. Students discussed and wrote predictions as to what they thought the bottles would look like the next day. One day two students observed and drew what they saw in their science journals. Students then compared their drawings to the drawing from the previous day.

       This lesson went very well with my first grade students. They were very engaged and excited about putting the earth materials in the bottle and shaking them up. My students worked together well and actively participated with one another throughout the lesson. My students were highly motivated during this lesson. Students could not wait to see their bottles when they came in the door the following day to see how the earth materials settled and if their predictions were correct. I heard students say things like, “Look, the water is clear” and “I can see the rocks”.

I was a little disappointed in the quality of my students work in their science journals. Some of my students had a difficult time actually drawing what they saw. I noticed that some students drew the earth materials all the way to the top of their bottles when they were actually only about one-fifth full. Some students also used colors in their drawings that were not there and some students did not label the earth materials in their bottles. More students labeled their drawing in day two because I discussed the importance of labeling their observations.

My students needed more prompting than I expected to predict what they thought would happen as the earth materials settled over night. Some students were not able to come up with any ideas as to what they thought might happen. I was surprised that one of my very bright students predicted that the rocks would be gone the next day. I thought that was interesting, and I would like to have a conversation with him now that he has observed that the rocks are still in the bottle. I learned that this student has a misconception that the rocks could disappear from soaking in water. As I plan more investigations and inquiries I will be sure to discuss this further and make sure that my students all of my students know that water will not make rocks disappear.

I learned more about earth materials in implementing this lesson with my students. I was unsure of the difference between a gravel pit and a quarry prior to planning this lesson. After discussing this with my father, Chuck Carson, who owns a trucking company and regularly hauls dirt, sand, gravel and stone, I learned that sand and gravel are dug out of a gravel pit. After the sand and gravel dug up it is sorted into large piles according its size so that it can be sold. Stone comes from a quarry, where it is broken into smaller pieces. Stone is blasted into smaller pieces so that it can be used for different purposes (personal communication, December 1, 2011) .

The goals of my lesson were met, but my students required more prompting than I expected. My students were able to come up with some predictions as to what they thought might happen as the earth materials settled. My students did not seem to know what it meant to predict or hypothesize. I had to give my students examples of what predictions could be to get them think on their own. My students were able to draw the bottles with the earth materials, but some students struggled with drawing them accurately.

My students loved creating the model. It was messy and students had to get their hands dirty. Our classroom was noisy and students had to work together, but every student participated and was actively engaged. Creating this model was an effective way to show my students how earth materials are found in the real world. Students were able to see how the sand settled to the bottom of the bottle. Students saw a mud or silt layer that was on top of the sand. They observed the rocks and gravel settling on the sand. Students saw the earth materials in the water settle to the bottom of the bottle. This was an especially effective way to teach my students with diverse needs because it was hands on and students were given the opportunity to work with each other. All of my students gained a deeper understanding of earth materials from participating in this lesson.

       Overall, I was very pleased with this lesson. The excitement I saw in my students was priceless. They loved this lesson. This was a great opportunity to see where my students are working independently. I learned more about my students as scientists. I now know that my students need to practice making predictions and drawing their observations accurately. I plan to design future inquiries with my students to address these two areas.

Natural Disasters

Encouraging our students to watch the news and stay current on events that are happening around the globe is one way to get students involved.  If students are learning about natural disasters that happening around our world they can not only learn more about Earth science behind the disasters, but they can aslo plan ways they can help.  Students can organize drives to raise money or gather necessities to send to communities in need after a natural disaster.  I was student teaching when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, and the students at the school that I was working in raised hundreds of dollars by collecting pennies for the victims.  Students can learn important lessons from these events.  They can see that much more can be accomplished if everyone works together to help.   

Check out my Prezi on Interior Least Terns.... an endangered species in Indiana

I really enjoyed creating my Web 2.0 presentation.  Enjoy!

http://prezi.com/-cnpf0qe2ia6/least-tern/

Ask a Scientist

I asked a scientist, What happens if a person starts to outlive the one hundred billion brain cells they are born with? (Bryson, 2008). I am curious if people who start to get Alzheimer’s disease are starting to outlive their brain cells. It seems to me that most people who live up into their eighties and nineties end up with Alzheimer’s. I also wonder, what causes people to lose their brain cells at different rates. Bryson says that some people lose five hundred brain cells in an hour (2008). Do people who lose one thousand brain cells an hour develop Alzheimer’s disease earlier in life than a people who lose only four hundred brain cells an hour?

I was not able to find an answer to my question in the “Ask a Scientist” archives and I have not received and feedback from my question yet.

I think that students would enjoy using this site to find answers to their questions.  There are so many answers to questions that other students have asked already, I think my students would have some luck finding some of their answers here.  I also think my students would be thrilled if they were able to email a scientist their question and they actually received an email back with an answer to their question.  However, it would probably be disappointing to first graders if they did not receive an answer to their question in a timely manner.

Reference:

Bryson, B. (2008). A really short history of nearly everything. New York, NY: Delacourte Press.

Online Presentation Tools

I played with two presentation tools this week. 

Prezi.com

I really liked this tool, and best of all it is free.  It is easy to use.  After viewing the tutorial, the website walked me through creating a simple prezi to practice my skills before making my own.  I would recommend using this for our course project because it has many multi-media capabilities that will be engaging for learners.  I am excited to start using prezi.com to motivate my students to learn. 

Prezentit.com

I was not a big fan of this tool.  It too is free, but it was not very easy to use.  When I typed in my words on the page and clicked off of them I could not see them.  I was not able to figure out how to see them again, although I could still see them on the little slide on the left side of the screen.  Also, I tried to upload a photo, but was unsuccessful.  I waited a couple of minutes and eventually gave up because it was taking a long time.  I would not recommend using this tool for our course project because it is not user friendly and it seems slow.  

Data Collection and Analysis with a Real Teacher-Researcher

      Part 1

       Over the last few weeks I have been reading about action research and designing my own teacher inquiry.  This week I had the opportunity to watch, read, and analyze the first part of May’s action research plan.  May is a seventh grade science teacher and is struggling with student behaviors that are impacting the way she is teaching her classes at the end of the year.  She designed an action research plan to help her solve her dilemma.  

CHAPTER ONE

Setting the Context, Studying the Literature, and Developing the Wondering

Prompt #1 Questions: Why is it important for May to look at literature as a part of her inquiry journey? What insights did May gain about her inquiry topic through her readings? In what ways might May’s readings inform how she will collect data for her study?

Response:

            It was important for May to look at literature for her inquiry to help her refine her wondering.  She was able to reword her original wondering into a “clear and concise”, student centered wondering after looking at literature (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010).  This pushed May to think about pursuing her frustrations with the conditions of her science classes in a different way.  The literature she read intrigued her to work with her students in the inquiry process.  May gained insights through her readings as she was challenged to admire the negative attitudes and behaviors she observed in her students.  These readings may change how May would have originally collected data.  She may decide to work with her students as teammates as she read about in her literature review. 

CHAPTER TWO

Designing the Inquiry Through Collaboration With Colleagues

Prompt #2 Questions: May, Naomi, Margaret, Darby, and Mr. Brown formed a professional learning community that met regularly to plan May’s first inquiry and to support one another in their work as educators. What specific benefits did May receive as a result of collaborating with her colleagues? Why is collaboration an important component of the action research process?

Response:

            There were several benefits that May received from collaborating with her colleagues.  Specifically, May found out that several of the students who misbehaved in her class, also misbehaved in her colleagues classes.  May had to choose one of her classes to collect data on.  Talking through her inquiry with her peers, gave May a way to decide which class to focus on for her action research.  She was supported in her inquiry by involving her peers and it gave her the opportunity to talk through the process.  She was able to deeply discuss her problem and get help on finding ways to solve it.  Her colleagues offered her help and suggestions.  Collaboration is important to the inquiry process because it gives teachers the opportunity to share ideas and feel supported. 

CHAPTER THREE

The Intervention and Data Collection Plan

Prompt #3 Questions: A critical component of the inquiry process is designing a plan for data collection that is doable! Explain the importance of developing a data collection plan that is meaningful but practical to the life of a classroom teacher. Address the following:

·        What part of May’s data collection plan do you feel will be most meaningful? Why?

·        What parts of May’s data collection plan do you believe to be the most practical? Why?

·        What parts of May’s data collection plan do you believe to be impractical? Why?

·        Pretend you are one of May’s colleagues. Suggest one additional form of data you think May might collect that could inform her research. Be sure you provide an explanation that describes why you think May should consider collecting this form of data.

Response:

            I feel that May’s data collection plan is both meaningful and practical.  I think that the interviews will be the most meaningful part of her plan because she will gain insights as to what her students think.  Also, discussing the issue with the students makes them aware of it.  I think that the timed agenda will be the most practical way to collect data.  This will be simple to collect the data and the graphs that the students create will inform them of the number of students who copy the daily agenda in the time given.  I believe this will be highly motivating for the students and they will continue to want to do better.  If I had to pick a data collection strategy that was impractical I would say the journal entries.  I feel the journal entries would give May the least amount of information about her students because it only involves her thoughts, although I believe it could be beneficial.  If I were part of May’s professional learning community I would suggest video recording her science class.  I believe May would gain insight into her wondering by watching videos of her teaching (Dana & Yendol-Hoppey, 2009).  She would get the opportunity to see into her classroom as an outsider and see what she does that may impact her students.

CHAPTER FOUR

Coding May’s First Data—The Wish List for Great Classroom Learning Conditions  

Prompt #4 Questions: Download May’s “Wish List” Student Response data.

Follow a modified version of how to conduct a data analysis as described in the course text, The Reflective Educator’s Guide to Classroom Research.

ü      Begin reading through the entire class’s wish list responses.

ü      Next, read through the data set a second time. Ask yourself, What am I noticing about the student responses? Do the responses seem to fall into different categories? How would I name the categories? Select your categories.

ü       Code each category with a different color.

ü      Finally, read through the data a third time, highlighting each response in a different color to correspond with the categories you created above.

In your journal responses, share the categories you named, as well as examples of responses that were included in each category. If you were May, what do you think your analysis of this initial data is telling you to do next?

Response:

            I put May’s student responses into four main categories.  I first noticed that five students wrote on their wish list that they wanted class to start on time.  They wrote comments like, “I wish we could come to class, sit down and get started on our work!” and “Class would be good if it started on time every day”.  Four students commented that they wanted students to respect the teacher.  They wrote things like, “Listen and be quiet” or “My wish for the whole class is to respect our teacher”.  A few students wished for good grades by writing things like, “I wish everyone would get an A, and that we had more field trips”.  Some students made comments about homework by writing, “Saying there is no homework!  Saying we don’t have to do nothing to pass!”.  If I were May the next thing I would do is share the typed up wish list with the class.  I would also have the class categorize the responses just like I did to get more of their input and hear their thoughts.  This would give me more data about my wondering and I would gain a deeper understanding. 

            I am looking forward to reading the second half of May’s inquiry journey.  It will be interesting to see what her next steps are and if she will do things similar to what I would do.  I am enjoying reading about May’s action research plan and cannot wait to see what she learns about her students from her data. 

Part 2

Last week I read and analyzed the first half of May’s inquiry journey.  This week I had the opportunity to read the second half of May’s teacher research project.  I analyzed her field note data and the data collected from her five minute challenge.  I looked closely at her students graphed data and read through her focus group interview data.  Finally, I summarized May’s inquiry journey from start to finish in order to share it with others.  Through all these experiences I feel better prepared to complete my own action research project.  

CHAPTER FIVE

Analyzing Field Note Data

Prompt #5 Questions: There were four observations that Sienna conducted over a two-week period to document May’s redirection behaviors. First, you will examine the series of observation reports. Second, identify any trends and themes you find in the data. Be sure to consider the observational notes that Sienna included. Look to find and share any triangulation processes in May’s data collection and analysis work. Third, evaluate the data and provide reasonable explanations for what you think might be happening over time that would explain the story the data are revealing.

Response:

            After studying Sienna’s observation reports, the first thing that I noticed is that the number of teacher redirections continued to decrease each day.  May also used less students name redirections as time went on.  Sienna noted that there were ten redirections when the teacher stepped out of the room and went to the bathroom.  This tells me that without supervision, many of the students in her class were off task and misbehaving.  When the teacher is watching and paying attention to the students there is less of a need for redirections.  According to Sienna’s notes the students seem to stay on task and require less redirection when they have a job to do.  For example, on April 26, 2010 there were no redirections given for nearly five minutes because the class was engaged in going over a sheet together.  When the students have a purpose to work, like during the timed bellwork, there were very few redirections.  Sienna also notes more than once that she believes that the teacher would need to give fewer redirections if she moved some of the students to different seats.  May used the process of triangulation in her inquiry because she used “multiple data sources” (Dana &Yendol-Hoppey, 2009, p. 112).  May first analyzed her students “Wish List” responses and then changed her redirections over time from talking with and analyzing Sienna’s notes.   

CHAPTER SIX

Analyzing Data Related to the 5-Minute Challenge

Prompt #6 Questions: Describe May’s class graph. What happened over time, and what are some possible reasons for the trends and patterns you notice? What new goals do you think May should set for the class as a whole based on her students’ response to the timed agenda challenge?

Response:

            There was a gain of nine students that finished writing the daily agenda in five minutes or less over the nine days that May’s class recorded data.  I believe there was a spike from Day 1 with eleven students to Day 2 with fifteen students because the “Five Minute Challenge” was new to the students.  From Day 2 to Day 3 there was a small decrease in the number of students who finished on time, but then there was a gradual increase for the next seven days.  I would suspect that some students did not buy into the timed bellwork in the beginning, but more students jumped on board as they saw that it could be fun to beat the bell over time and improve their time.  I think May should consider further challenging her students by giving them less time to copy down the agenda.  Since many of her students have been successful at finishing in five minutes, maybe she could give the students four minutes instead.  May might also want to time her students to get other things done quickly in her class because she learned that many of her students were motivated to get the task done and beat the clock.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Graphing Data and Focus Group Interview

Prompt #7 Questions: Describe Anthony’s and Leah’s data. What happened over time? What do you think May might do in the future to capitalize on Anthony and Leah’s success and keep them on track during the entire class period?

Response:

            Both Anthony and Leah dramatically improved their times from Day 1 to Day 9.  They both seemed to be extremely motivated by keeping track of their times on their individual graphs.  These students wanted to get the agenda copied and achieve the goal that they set forth the previous day.  Not only did they want to beat their previous day’s time, they challenged the class to copy the agenda faster as well.  I think that May might give Anthony and Leah more individualized attention and have them do “special” jobs to keep them on track for success in her class.  Both of these students seem to like the competitions and the challenges against the class were motivating to them.  May might want to design more challenges for these two students in her class.

CHAPTER EIGHT

 Bringing Closure to May’s First Cycle of Inquiry—May’s Journaling

Prompt #8 Questions: Pretend you are May, and it is now the start of the next school year. Your assistant principal, Mr. Brown, asks you to talk about your inquiry journey at the first faculty meeting of the year. Discuss a plan for your presentation. What will you share and how will you share it? Refer to Chapters 6 and 8 of The Reflective Educator’s Guide to Classroom Research for support in responding to this prompt.

Response:

            As Dana and Yendol-Hoppey said, “An unshared teacher inquiry has little chance of creating change” (2009, p. 188).  So if I were May and Mr. Brown asked me to share my inquiry story with the staff at my school I would be delighted to.  I would tell them that at the end of the year last year I noticed that I was spending far too much time managing behaviors in my science class that I was unable to teach science in a hands on inquiry based way.  I decided that I had to do something to change this.  After talking with my colleagues in my professional learning community (PLC) we designed a plan so that I could create a classroom environment that allowed me to teach the way I knew was best.  With lots of help from my PLC colleagues and some of my most challenging students working as my inquiry assistants, we were able to collect data so that I was able to figure out what I could do to change the conditions in my classroom.  I learned that it was effective to recruit challenging students as helpers, I needed to limit the number of redirections to my students, and most importantly I learned collaboration is key.  My PLC was extremely helpful in my inquiry and we have already started discussing another teacher inquiry on culturally relevant pedagogy for next year.

I learned a lot about teacher inquiry from reading and analyzing May’s journey to solve her question.  The most important thing I learned throughout this experience is that the purpose of teacher inquiry is for teachers to change their own behavior.  Our goal is not to change and control our students.  Teachers need to look at what they can do, to impact their students and better their own teaching practices. 

Personal Action Research Plan Part 2

Part E Ways I Will Collect Data to Gain Insights into My Wondering

            There are four ways I plan to collect data in order to learn ways that I can effectively assess my students’ Science Notebooks.  I plan to survey my students, interview other educators, choose a focus group, and keep field notes.  I believe these strategies will give me the most insight into my wondering and hopefully help me find ways to use the Science Notebook with my students as an effective assessment tool.

I will create a survey to find out what my students think about using the science notebook as a tool for assessment. I will create a simple survey that asks my students questions about their science journals, the assessments, and feedback they are given. This will give me insight as to what my students think and feel about them. I believe this is the most important way to collect data for my project because it involves my students and allows them to have a voice. 

According to Dana & Yendol-Hoppey, “Teacher talk is important” (2009, p. 84). To accomplish this, I will interview other science teachers to find out how they effectively assess their students’ science journals. I think this is very important and will be a practical data collection strategy because other teachers may have great ideas about using the science journals for assessment. There is no need to recreate the wheel if other teachers already have figured out ways that work well.

I will choose a certain group of students as a focus group for my action research.  This will allow me to really look deeply at using the notebooks to assess their science performance.  I will choose no more than five students of varying ability levels to make sure that the science notebook is an effective assessment for all of my students.  It would be overwhelming to try to keep data on the whole class so I believe that it is practical to choose a focus group.  This will be an effective way to gather the data I need.

I will also use field notes to keep a record of “what is occurring without commenting as to why the action might be occurring” (Dana & Yendol-Hoppey, 2009, p. 74).  This will be a helpful way to analyze what is actually happening without letting my opinion get in the way.  I will make notes about the Science Journals that my students are using as assessments and record the data.  I believe this will be more effective than a reflective journal because it will give me a log of what is actually happening and give me the opportunity to replay it in my mind. Then I can think about what worked well and what did not work well and why.

Part F How I Will Analyze My Data

            As Dana and Yendol-Hoppey suggest, “Using multiple sources of data can enhance your inquiry as you gain different perspectives from different strategies” (2009, p. 112).  I used the process of triangulation to design my plan for data collection.  I will look closely at all of my different data sources in order to gain insight into my wondering. 

            The quality of my data sources will be dependent on many different factors.  I plan to survey all of my students to find out what they think about using the Science Notebooks for assessment.  The data that I collect from the surveys will vary depending on the literacy level of the students, and the amount of honesty and thought they put into it.  When I interview teachers who use the Science Notebooks to assess their students it will be important for me to ask them questions to find out how often they have their students use the Science Notebooks and ask to see examples of assessed student work from them.  The focus group that I choose will make a big difference in the data that I collect.  I will need to carefully choose students of varying abilities to make sure that different types of learners are represented in the data I collect.  I will analyze the field notes that I record and compare them to my focus groups Science Notebook entries.          

As I start to look at my data closely and begin to analyze it I know I will find discrepancies.  I know that I will learn different things from my students when they complete their surveys, than what I will learn from interviewing other teachers who currently use Science Notebooks to effectively assess their students.  Although both of these data sources are very important, more than likely I collect very different types of data from each group. 

Part G My Plan for Writing My Action Research

            I plan to write about what I learned from my research after I have finished collecting and analyzing my data.  I anticipate this happening by December of 2011.  It is my hope to have a solid answer to my inquiry question and feel confident and comfortable using my students’ Science Notebooks to effectively assess their learning at this date.  After I have formally written up my action research I plan to share my story with others so that they can learn from my experience.

Part H My Plan for Sharing My Action Research with Colleagues

I plan to share my research story with the staff members at my school, the other science lead teachers in my school district, and with anyone who will take the time to read my science education blog.  I will have the opportunity to share my findings during my weekly team meetings with my grade level, during staff meetings with the whole school, and at my science lead teacher meetings.  I think it is most important for me to share my findings with the other science lead teachers in my school district because they too are very passionate about teaching science.  Many of these teachers may already be using Science Notebooks and have found effective ways to assess them regularly.  Talking with others about my action research will allow me to reflect on my project and learn from others.  I feel very comfortable talking with and sharing my research story with my colleagues at school, however as Jack Hughes said, sharing with others can be “intimidating” (Laureate Education, Inc, 2010).  I am willing to risk sharing my findings with others because this will give me the opportunity to get feedback from other teachers and “utilize their expertise” (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010).  I think that my research story will impact others by allowing them to see the possibilities of using the Science Notebook in their classrooms as an effective tool to assess their students.

Part I Tentative Timeline for Implementing My Action Research Plan

I plan to start working on my action research plan when I go back to school this fall.  I am currently on maternity leave and will be returning to work in the middle of September.  I will use my first few weeks back at school to make sure my students understand how to use the Science Journal.  I will follow the calendar below to implement my action research plan. 

Month	Goals
October 2011	Survey my students and review responses – look for “patterns and trends” (Dana & Yendol-Hoppey, 2009, p. 97) Choose a focus group – no more than five students Interview science teachers that already use Science Notebooks Start keeping field notes while students are using Science Notebooks
November 2011	Continue keeping field notes Analyze my data
December 2011	Write up my action research Share my findings with my colleagues at grade level meetings, staff meetings, and science lead teacher meetings

Personal Action Research Plan

My Wondering:  How can I use the Science Notebook with my students as an effective assessment tool?

Part A Context:  Description of Topic and Students

            I am a first grade teacher at Joyce Kilmer Elementary, Indianapolis Public School #69.  I am getting ready to start my sixth year of teaching.  I have spent the last five years teaching second grade at a different school within the same school district in Indianapolis.  My new school is a turnaround school.  It is a turnaround school because our students have been in the bottom twenty percent of all elementary schools in Indiana for their performance in language arts and math on the Indiana Statewide Testing for Educational Progress (ISTEP).  There is a new principal at my school and half of the staff is new to the school.  If my school does not make major gains and raise student achievement on our state test it is at risk of being taken over by the state.  To prevent this my principal has mandated that teachers teach only language arts and math on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.  Teachers are to teach Science, Social Studies, and Health on Fridays only. 

My school district just adopted FOSS (Full Option Science System) as our new science kit based curriculum. I am very excited about using the FOSS kits and hands on, inquiry based materials in my classroom. Students are expected to use Science Notebooks as a tool to keep track of their learning. I recently attended a teacher training on using the FOSS materials and notebooks, but I am concerned about assessing my students learning using the Science Notebooks. I would like to research this question to find effective ways to assess my students’ notebooks regularly to make sure that they are learning the desired content and gaining deep scientific understandings.

Although I do not know the specific demographics of my class for next year, the majority of the students who attend Joyce Kilmer Elementary School are African American.  Most of the students receive free or reduced lunches.  There are little to no English language learners and nearly one-fourth of the schools population receives special education services (Indiana Department of Education, 2011).

As a Science Lead Teacher for my school district, I am responsible for sharing science information with my colleagues.  Also, I meet with the science department head for the district and other science lead teachers to discuss high quality science.  Together we decide the best ways to implement our science program into our classrooms and share our ideas with the staff members at our schools.  I am passionate about teaching science and feel that it is a very important part of the curriculum. I try to be a model science teacher to help my colleagues become more comfortable and excited about teaching it efficiently.  It is my job to show my excitement and passion for teaching science to other teachers so that the students in my school receive the best science education possible.  I am very interested finding ways to use the Science Notebook as an effective assessment tool for my students so that I can share my findings with my colleagues.  It is my hope through this action research plan that I become successful at assessing my students learning using their Science Notebooks and share my knowledge with others.

Part B Literature Related to My Topic

            I enjoyed searching for and reading literature about using Science Notebooks to effectively assess student learning.  I reviewed several different studies where researchers examined wonderings similar to mine.  I noticed many common themes while reviewing literature on effectively assessing students’ Science Notebooks.  Many of the same ideas appeared in the research that I reviewed.  According to my research, in order to effectively assess Science Notebooks, teachers must know what to assess and how to assess it, they must use the data to inform their instruction, give timely feedback, and attend professional development.  Most importantly, teachers must have a deep understanding of the content knowledge they are teaching (Aschbacher & Alonzo, 2006). 

            “The science notebook is the means by which students communicate their understanding” (Amaral & Klentschy, 2008, p. 121).  Teachers do not need to assess every single thing that is put into a science notebook.  Teachers need to think about the most important concepts that they want their students to learn during the lesson and tell the students what they will be looking for when they assess their notebooks.  Perhaps the simplest way to plan for assessment of the Science Notebooks is by designing a rubric.  Both the teacher and the students need to have a clear understanding of how the notebook will be assessed.  This gives the students the opportunity to self evaluate their notebooks prior to being assessed by the teacher.  After examining student Science Notebooks with rubrics, Amaral and Klentschy suggest that the most important parts to assess are the students’ claims and evidence and their conclusions (2008).  This is where the students have the opportunity to make connections to their prior learning and real life experiences.

            Aschbacher and Alonzo compared two different groups of teachers, some with professional development on using Science Notebooks and some without, and examined the students’ Notebooks (2006).  They concluded that teachers must use the data that they collect from assessing the Science Notebooks to inform their instruction.  In order for the Science Notebook to be an effective assessment tool, teachers will need to make adjustments based on their students’ notebook entries.  Teachers may learn about misconceptions that students have from assessing the notebooks.  This gives the teacher individual data on how each student is doing, as well as possible gaps in learning that many students may have.  Teachers may need to go back and reteach certain lessons or design new investigations to help students achieve the desired learning outcomes (Aschbacher & Alonzo, 2006).   

            Teachers should give written feedback in the students’ Science Notebooks in a timely manner.  Amaral and Klentschy propose that the longer that a teacher waits to give students’ feedback, “the longer it takes for students to clear up misconceptions” (2008, p. 125).  Students need teacher feedback to improve over time.  This can be done through the use of rubrics or teachers can write feedback and questions directly in the students’ Science Journals.  Teachers should monitor students to see that they are making improvements in their Science Journals based on the feedback that they receive from the teacher.

            It is helpful for teachers to attend professional development to feel more comfortable in using Science Notebooks with their students and assessing them.  Both teachers and students need to be taught how to use the Science Notebooks effectively.  Through professional development workshops teachers can practice using a Science Notebook, assessing it based on a rubric, and provide feedback to other teachers.  According to Alonzo, typical Science Notebook entries should include the “date, time, title, question, prediction, materials, procedure, data/observations, and a conclusion” (2008, p. 84).  Teachers need to provide guidance to students in using the notebooks, but it is important that the notebook belong to the student.  Students may need to be prompted or given examples in the beginning of how to use the notebook in order for the higher order thinking and responses to take place.  The students need to have the opportunity to explain what they understand in their Science Notebooks in their own words (Aschbacher & Alonzo, 2006).       

Teachers need to understand the science content knowledge they are teaching in order to assess what their students know effectively.  It may be very difficult to assess a student’s Science Notebook if the teacher does not fully understand the content in which he or she is teaching.  The teacher needs to have a clear idea of what key understandings he or she is looking for within each Science Notebook entry.  A teachers’ understanding of the lesson content has a huge impact on what the students learn (Aschbacher & Alonzo, 2006).  The teacher must have specific learning goals in mind for the students and have a clear understanding of the concepts taught in order to assess the notebooks.  Amaral and Klentschy note that it can be difficult to understand how to follow a student’s reasoning in a notebook entry without having a deep understanding of the science content (2008).  Teachers must have a firm background in the science content knowledge that they are teaching in order to assess their students’ learning (Aschbacher & Alonzo, 2006).  

In Morrison’s research, she studied elementary teachers who used Science Notebooks during their methods course.  She found through collecting data from their Science Notebooks, written assignments, and keeping a researcher’s log that many of the teachers struggled with keeping Science Notebooks.  The teachers wanted their notebooks to be neat and free of errors.  This is not possible because the purpose of the notebook is to record student growth in understanding.  Morrison concluded that without having the teachers use and organize them themselves they would not have the knowledge necessary to use them effectively with their students (2008).

There are both strengths and weaknesses in each of the articles.  Several of the articles that I reviewed did a good job of showing examples of student work in Science Journals and showing examples of sample rubrics to use to assess them.  One weakness that I noticed was that the articles suggested teachers provide feedback to students in their science journals, but not one of the articles showed examples of this.  I would have liked to have seen rubrics completed by teachers assessing student work and the comments that they provided their students.  I believe this would be helpful because it would give me some real examples of student work and show me the ways that it was actually assessed effectively instead of just telling me about it.

In my research I found that many teachers struggle with assessing students’ notebooks.  There are so many important aspects to look at when thinking about assessing Science Notebooks.  Through time, practice, and collaboration with colleagues teachers can learn to use Science Notebooks as effective assessment tools to drive their instruction and ultimately, help students learn science concepts at high levels.

Part C Writing Wondering Questions

            I have so many wondering questions that are related to science it was difficult to come up with just one question to research.  Moving to a new school, teaching a different grade level of students, having new science materials, and having only one day to teach science brings up a number of questions that I could research.  Originally, I thought I would write a question that dealt with the lack of time to teach science.  I had a very difficult time wording this question in a way that would make a good action research project.  I also struggled coming up with ways that I would be able to measure and collect data to answer this question. 

            After playing the Litmus Test Wondering Game and getting feedback from my colleagues I decided that the best question for my action research project was:  How can I use the Science Notebook with my students as an effective assessment tool?  This question is a “how can I wondering” question, it is “focused on student learning”, it does not have a yes or no answer, it is “clear and concise”, and it is a “real” issue that I am facing (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010).  In response to my wondering that I posted in the discussion forum, Dr. Garner said, “This question is a good wondering question, as assessment is the learning outcome and it is based on what you can do” (2011). 

I was able to find a lot of relevant literature during my literature review that will help me find answers to my question.  

Part D Ways I Will Collaborate With Colleagues as I Engage in Action Research

            As Dana and Yendol-Hoppy said, “Teacher talk is important!” (2009, p. 61).  I plan to collaborate with my first and second grade colleagues throughout my action research inquiry.  We will meet weekly for our structured teacher planning time in a professional learning community.  I plan to use this time to ask my colleagues about how they are using the students’ Science Notebooks as assessment tools.  Together we will talk about ways that we can use them effectively to assess how our students are doing with the science concepts we are teaching.  I will also talk to my colleagues daily in the hallway before and after school.  It is best for me to talk about things shortly after they happen. 

I would also like to talk with other veteran teachers about how they are assessing their students’ Science Notebooks.  As a Science Lead Teacher for my school district, I attend all professional development related to science that my district offers.  This gives me the opportunity to talk with other teachers in different buildings throughout our district.  I could gain valuable information from discussing my action research project with other veteran teachers.  This would give me insight into how they use their students’ Science Notebooks to assess student learning. 

Balance and Motion for the 21st Century

I teach second grade and one topic that we cover in physical science is balance and motion.  My school district adopted a new kit based science program for the upcoming school year.  We are going to be using FOSS.  I found the FOSS website to be very helpful for both teachers and for students.  There is a game that students can play where they can design a roller coaster to see if the marble will gain enough momentum to make it to the end.  I think that my second grade students would enjoy using the computer to play this game and would gain a deeper understanding of motion.  See the following website:  http://www.fossweb.com/modulesK-2/BalanceandMotion/index.html

Another website that I found helpful in teaching about balance and motion is BrainPOP Jr.  There are many things that teachers and students can use on this website in the free stuff area.  You can join the website and get a free trial to check it out, but in order to have access to the entire website you have to purchase a membership.  There are videos for forces and pushes and pulls, where students can learn from Annie and Moby all about these physical science concepts.  There are other engaging activities and a game for students to complete to learn more about forces.  See the following website:  http://www.brainpopjr.com/science/forces/pushesandpulls/preview.weml

Mrs. Trevio has a blog that she uses in her second grade classroom.  She posted a video that shows how gymnasts use balance beams and balance their bodies on it.  Students would be fascinated to see this video and it would be beneficial for them to view it to learn more about balance.  See the following website:  http://trevinos2ndgrade.blogspot.com/2009/11/balance-motion.html

These websites help students become 21^st century scientifically literate students because they give students the opportunity to use technology to learn.  Students are able to learn more about physical science in innovative and engaging ways while also gaining more practice using technology skills.  The students would love to play the games and watch the videos. 

After having my students investigate each of these websites, I would follow up by having my students try to build their own roller coaster ramp.  I would have my students brainstorm different materials that they might need to build their roller coasters and then allow them to roll marbles down their roller coaster ramps so that they could see if the roller coaster that they designed could gain enough momentum to make it to the end.  Possible materials that students may suggest may be:  marbles, balls, cardboard, paper, poster board, blocks, ramps, or rubber piping.  

When using any technology there is always the challenge of it not working correctly.  Students may have difficultly using the computer if they have not had much experience.  I would recommend addressing this challenge by first showing the students how to use the websites before having them go to the websites independently. 

Heat and Temperature Guided Inquiry

      In this guided inquiry I used things that I had around my house to try to find the best insulator to keep hot water in mugs warmest the longest.  I decided to use foil, paper towel, plastic wrap, and newspaper as my insulators.  I then gathered my materials.  I used hot water from the tap, scotch tape, four identical ceramic mugs, the thermometer from my Walden science kit, a measuring cup, and the four insulators I chose to test.  I measured one cup of hot water and poured it in each of the ceramic mugs.  I measured the temperature of the water in each of the mugs and recorded it on my data chart.  I then covered each cup with one of the insulating materials and taped it to keep it in place.  I expected that the foil would make the best insulator and keep the water the warmest.  I thought that the foil would let the least amount of heat escape.  After thirty minutes, I removed the covers from the mugs one at a time and used the thermometer to measure the temperature of the water in each mug.  I recorded my data on my chart. 

Water Temperature in Degrees Celsius

Insulator	Original Hot Water Temperature	Temperature of Water after Thirty Minutes
Foil	Above 50	38
Paper Towel	Above 50	36
Plastic Wrap	Above 50	37
Newspaper	Above 50	36

 

            I hypothesized that the foil would make the best insulator and that is what I observed during this guided inquiry.  However, my results were much closer than I expected.  I thought that the paper towel and the newspaper would allow more heat to escape.  I did not expect for the temperatures of the water in each of the mugs to be within a few degrees of one another.  This inquiry taught my more about conduction, “the transfer of energy from molecule to molecule” (Tillery, Enger, & Ross, 2008, p. 86).  I observed that there was condensation on the top of the foil and the plastic wrap when I removed them from the mugs, and the paper towel and the newspaper was a little moist on the top, which reinforces this idea. 

            I had a couple of challenges in completing this guided inquiry.  I did not have any rubber bands to complete this experiment so I used scotch tape instead.  I wonder if the rubber band would have made a better seal with each of the materials to the mug and allowed less heat transfer to occur.  Also, I was not able to get an accurate temperature measurement of the hot water from the tap when I first put it in the mugs because the thermometer in my science kit only went to fifty degrees Celsius.  I wanted to record the original temperature of the water so that I could make sure that all of the cups started out with hot water that was the same temperature.  I know each mug had one cup of water that was above fifty degrees Celsius, but I do not know for sure that the water was all the exact same temperature to begin with.  If I were going to do this experiment again I would use a different thermometer that is able to measure higher temperatures.

            I enjoyed learning about heat and temperature this week.  I believe my second grade students would enjoy completing a guided inquiry experiment like this as well.  I would probably use food with my students to make the experiment more engaging and have them hypothesize which insulator would keep the food inside the container the warmest the longest.  I think that my students would be very interested in finding out the results especially if I used one of their favorite foods, macaroni and cheese.