Inquiry on Board
Wed, Nov 21, 2018 11:50 PM
Inquiry on board
Helping students to identify variables is the key to learning science. An introduction of inquiry boards which include eight parts is shown in this article. The first step is to brainstorm, in which the teacher will describe a problem to students at the beginning, and then create baggie gardens to help students brainstorm variables. The second step is choosing variables. Students choose one variable to investigate, such as the effect of fertilizers on seeds. Then the students are supposed to using this inquiry board to frame the experimental questions. Students could frame their predictions with the help of the inquiry boards. Also, the setup experiment inquiry board can help students visualize the experiment and understand the need for a control or comparison. Recording observations, looking for patterns and graph of results, and answering questions are also useful for helping students identify variables in experiments.
Opportunities for using scientific inquiry and developing the ability to think and act should be provided for students at all grade levels and in every domain of science. As a future educator, I will use the inquiry board, which associated with the processes of inquiry, including asking questions, planning and conducting investigations, using appropriate tools and techniques, thinking critically and logically about the relationships between evidence and explanations, constructing and analyzing alternative explanations, and communicating scientific arguments to teach my students how to identify and use the variables.