Investigating Craters Jim McDonald

Sequence of Activities Using 5E format Model Inquiry Project for methods class (Engage) Student Inquiry Project (Team Exploration) Moons of Jupiter (Crater Exploration/Explanation of crater formation) Elaborate: Create a lesson plan for a student project using an inquiry approach to databases Evaluation: Assessment of Student Products

Sequence of Activities Context: Elementary/Middle Level Science Methods Course and/or Graduate Level Advanced Science Methods Course in a Masters of Arts in Teaching Integrated Science degree program. Timeframe: Fall 2009 semester Beginning of semester when the topic of inquiry is introduced.

Model Student Inquiry Project Introduce Inquiry by using images of craters that compare craters on earth with craters on our moon or Callisto or Ganymede. Ask students what they notice in the difference between the images. Record observations. Make a list of questions generated by the students.

Model Student Inquiry Project Introduce students to databases that have information on craters. Use databases from FINESSE CD. – – – systemID=3&bodyID=11&typeID=9&system=Earth&body=Moon &type=Crater,%20craters&sort=AName&show=Fname&show=L at&show=Long&show=Diam&show=Stat&show=Orig Have students look for their own additional sources of data. Create an outline for a student inquiry project with information that needs to be included. Students create a presentation that contains their research questions and the steps that follow.

Student Inquiry Research Focus Describe your research question Your question must be “fruitful” and answerable with the materials available to you. If you expect to see a certain answer to your question, you can state that here as well. “Expected answers” cannot be based upon answers you have heard from “Experts.” You must give reasoning for your “expected answer.”

Context for Student Inquiry Project : Describe why this is an interesting question and/or what is already known about the idea

Method for Student Inquiry Project Describe how you went about answering your question, what data did you collect and why is this the best data to answer your question Explain the method that you plan to use to examine the data. This section should be written in bullet statements, not in paragraph form. If you have time (after completing all of your slides! ) you may add visuals to illustrate this section.

Data Summary for Student Inquiry Project: Describe and include the graphs, tables, or figures you created to organize your data All graphs and data tables must include appropriate labels/headings.

Data Summary for Student Inquiry Project State your results in word form. You may either write a paragraph or use bullet statements.

Conclusion for Student Inquiry Project Describe the insight the data provided in answering your question. If you had an “expected answer,” state whether your data agrees or disagrees with that expectation. (Remember that there is no penalty for finding that the data disagrees with what you expected.)

Implications for Student Inquiry Project If you had more time to work on this project or if someone were to pick up where you left off, describe what else would you do or what additional questions would you pursue if you had time and data available

Moons of Jupiter Inquiry Example Students experiment to learn how craters are formed in a mixture of flower and chocolate powder.

Examples of other crater investigations x.cfm

Assessment of Student Products Assessment of Student Inquiry Projects – Students create Power Point presentation poster to present to their classmates at a “science conference”. Create a rubric for presentation – Students create an inquiry lesson plan to use with a grade level of their choice using a database. Create a rubric for the lesson plan

Educator Implications List any concerns regarding use of this “Data- Mining” activity with your particular group of pre-service teachers. List any concerns regarding use of this “Data- Mining” activity with your particular group of pre-service teachers. For each concern briefly state a modification that would assist your students towards greater success. For each concern briefly state a modification that would assist your students towards greater success.