Observing the Moon’s of Jupiter A Participatory Example of Contemporary Inquiry Instruction

DISCUSSION Everyone has been talking about INQUIRY in teaching. Let’s generate some ideas about what that means. Describe three inquiry experiences that you’ve had Write down you description of what INQUIRY looks like in the ideal classroom Our collective image of ideal inquiry:

The most effective inquiry experiences Engage us with meaningful questions, Cause us to evaluate evidence and analyze data in the pursuit of answers to our questions, and Require we share the results of our investigations. (National Research Council, 1996)

2009 Inquiry Science Mini-Conference Today First (and last) Call for Poster Presentations Conference Theme: Heavenly Motions: Studying the Dynamics of Jupiter’s Moons This announcement calls for contributed poster presentations describing an original and never before published inquiry research study. Inquiry research teams of no more than two authors can present a poster as large as 4’ x 4’ OR as a series of no more than 5 PPT slides. Your participation requires prior approval by the chair of the Science Organizing Committee (SOC) by submitting a description of your research question and strategy for collecting data with a maximum length of 50 words one hour before the conference.

Ok,,,,, GO! Do your “inquiry”!

The Compassionate Teacher gives students a nudge in some direction…. Imagine I gave you any three nights over the next year to use the Gemini Observatory atop Mauna Kea to observe anything you wanted to look at for a class project. This observing time has a value of about $90,000. What would you choose to do?

Inquiry using the Hubble Space Telescope Hubble Deep Field Multimedia Journey Hubble Deep Field North Hubble Deep Field South Hubble Ultra Deep Field

What observations can we make when we look at these images?

More Hubble to Investigate

Questions that we’ll come back to… You were prompted to engage in two different astronomy inquiry experiences--- – Of the two lists of questions that we generated, which list was “easier” to create? – What are the implications for the classroom teacher and for the students?

Jupiter’s moons are easily seen with Earth-based telescopes

Solar System Simulator Online software that allows the user to observe any solar system object, from any vantage point, at any date and time, with (nearly) any field of view

Solar System Simulator Question: How long does it take for Earth’s Moon to make one trip around the Earth? Process: – Use SSS to look at our moon from the surface of the Sun – Starting today at about 00:00 notice where the Moon is its orbit, and measure the distance between the two with a ruler. – Advance the date and time until the Moon returns to the same location

Solar System Simulator Question: How long does it take for Io to make one rotation on its axis? Process: – Use SSS to look at Io from the surface of the Sun – Starting today at 00:00 look at Io and find a landmark. Measure the distance between the landmark and the nearest edge of the moon. – Advance the date and time until the landmark returns to the same location

Solar System Simulator Question: How long does it take for Io to make one trip around the Jupiter?

Solar System Simulator Question: Jupiter has four large moons. What question would you like to ask about the motion of the Galilean moons? Make a list of questions. Then choose your favorite and design a procedure to answer your question.

2009 Inquiry Science Mini-Conference Today First (and last) Call for Poster Presentations Conference Theme: Heavenly Motions: Studying the Dynamics of Jupiter’s Moons This announcement calls for contributed poster presentations describing an original and never before published inquiry research study. Inquiry research teams of no more than two authors can present a poster as large as 4’ x 4’ OR as a series of no more than 5 PPT slides. Your participation requires prior approval by the chair of the Science Organizing Committee (SOC) by submitting a description of your research question and strategy for collecting data with a maximum length of 50 words one hour before the conference.

Definitely, With Clear Evidence Somewhat, implicit, or inferred Not Clearly Evident NOTES Circle one 1. Is the problem stated clearly and unambiguously? Is the question worthy of investigation? Was there an appropriate procedural plan for obtaining a solution? (Does the plan closely match the question being asked?) Do the presentation and paper clearly explain the purpose, procedure, and conclusions? Is the data presented clearly ? Was the graphic presentation of the data the best choice of possible alternatives? How completely was the problem investigated? 8. Are there adequate data to support any conclusions? Is the data clearly described in writing? Does the project summary meet the stated requirements? 321 T OTAL P OINTS = 

Inquiry Using a Backwards Faded Scaffolding Approach Traditional Inquiry 1.Pose researchable questions 2.Design strategies to pursue evidence 3.Defend data-based conclusions Backwards Inquiry 1.Defend data-based conclusions 2.Evaluate others’ strategies and design your own strategies to pursue evidence 3.Pose researchable questions based on previously seen models

Backwards Faded Scaffolding and the Galilean Moons How was this sequence of inquiries designed? – Drop one or two scaffolds with each inquiry – Limited content area – Ultimate destination is a Big Idea What are the advantages to this sequencing? – Lots of experience with inquiry – Comfort with the content area before question formulation – Confidence, self-efficacy, and improved attitudes!

Pictures of Students

Hidden Back Up Slides In Case Internet is Down

Jupiter’s moons are easily seen with Earth-based telescopes

Moons of Jupiter, A GEMS Guide from LHS How CAN we know how long it takes Io to orbit Jupiter once? (what is the experimental procedure?)

Moons of Jupiter, A GEMS Guide from LHS

In general, what do you think makes a lousy inquiry question? A great inquiry question? Attributes of Good Questions Often takes the form of: – “How does the _____ change over time?” or “How does ____ compare with _____?” – “What is the relationship between ___ and ___?” Rarely answered with a “yes” or “no” Rarely begins with “Why….” – These frequently require lots of relationship questions in order to arrive at a valid answer. Involves research and data analysis Indicates the type of data that will be collected, either directly or implicitly Note: For real scientist, a good question often starts with “I wonder what I’ll see if I take a look at ______?”

Four Questions to Avoid Not theory-laden So what? Already know the answer Black box