Why do teachers ask students to work together in groups? Is group work useful in science/maths classrooms? What makes a good discussion? What problems have you encountered in group work? What do you think are some good rules for working together? Additional questions that you may find useful for stimulating the discussion: Do you like working in a group? Why? Why not? Is it easier to work in a group with your friends that with other people? How do discussions go wrong? What makes a person good to work in a group with? © epiSTEMe 2010/11

Think about the way you talk when you’re working in a group © epiSTEMe 2010/11

Are these useful rules for discussion? © epiSTEMe 2010/11

OUR GROUND RULES FOR TALK Discuss and decide on your group’s suggested ground rules for talk. Discuss and comment on these questions: Was the way your group talked a good example of people following these ground rules? What suggestions would you make to improve the quality of your group’s discussions? © epiSTEMe 2010/11

Ground rules for our class (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) To be inserted by the teacher based on Activity 2 and teacher’s further work on that and the principles of Exploratory Talk (see Teaching Notes). Maximum of 6 ground rules. © epiSTEMe 2010/11

Who does maths? Agricultural advisor: Civil engineer: Army officer: Discuss and agree in your group: - Which quote comes from whom? - Do these people use maths in their jobs? Explain the reasons for your answers! Agricultural advisor: Civil engineer: Army officer: Operational researcher: Road manager: Children’s nurse: © epiSTEMe 2010/11

Are nurses scientists? A D B E F C “Nurses use scientific equipment, such as thermometers. That makes them scientists.” “Nurses have to know about science, for example about disease and infections, but they do not do science.” A D “Nursing is about caring for people. Science is about how things work, not about people.” “Doctors are medical scientists, but nurses are only their helpers.” B E “To help people get well, nurses have to solve problems by collecting evidence and testing ideas. That’s science.” “Nurses cannot be scientists, as they work in hospital wards, and not in laboratories.” F C © epiSTEMe 2010/11

It’s not a quadrilateral What’s this shape? This shape has all its sides the same length and all its angles right angles It’s a diamond, not a square, because its sides are slanting. A It’s a rectangle because all its angles are right angles. B It’s not a quadrilateral because all its sides are the same length. C © epiSTEMe 2010/11

Draw this quadrilateral? Can you draw a quadrilateral that has all three of these properties? It has exactly one pair of sides that are equal in length. X It has exactly one angle that is a right angle. Y It has exactly one pair of sides that are parallel to each other. Z © epiSTEMe 2010/11

Spot the metals In science, we often classify things into groups. This table lists some properties of substances called metals, and substances called non-metals. Properties of metals: Properties of non-metals Metals are usually solids with high melting temperatures. Non-metals are usually gases at normal temperatures, or solids which can be melted quite easily. A few metals are attracted to magnets Non-metals are not attracted to magnets All metals are good conductors of electricity. Non-metals are usually good insulators of electricity. The cards tell you about the following substances: Helium, Iron, Oxygen, Tellurium, Vanadium (and Carbon)   In your groups, see if you can agree which substances on the cards are metals. Make sure you all agree on the reasons for your group’s decisions. © epiSTEMe 2010/11