Keyi Huang

Science Shorts: Hypothesis Testing—It’s Okay to Be Wrong

Thu, Nov 15, 2018 2:52 PM
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Students usually may be embarrassed if their answers are "wrong". As teachers, we should correct students' such thought. The article uses an example of an English scientist named Joseph Priestle. He Priestley was wrong when he predicted that the green plant would die. However, his surprise findings served as a pivotal moment in science history, leading to the important discoveries of oxygen and photosynthesis. It tells us that it okay to make a wrong prediction for the accuracy of the hypothesis has no impact on what can be learned from the investigation. It is to say, we should accept all the wrong predictions because they can also help us to work until finding the final most exact conclusion. Students can just enjoy such mistakes as long as they can learn something new from the process. It's also what the teacher needs to make their students make sense of. In my class, I will use a lot of scientists' instances to illustrate that even the wrong predictions can still develop the science because scientists know to summarize from their prior misconceptions. But one important point is that once you want to make a prediction, you need to give enough detailed evidence to support your prediction. It means that I wish my students can make significate predictions instead of meaningless ones. For low-grade students, younger students can make a simpler prediction. It can just be a shared writing activity such as data collection which could include side-by-side drawings with a date or simply measuring height.

Guest Editorial: Helping Young Learners Make Sense of Data—A 21st-Century Capability

Thu, Nov 15, 2018 11:52 AM
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It’s important for students to learn how to collect and analyze data in science class. We usually tend to transform the data into visualizations such as tables, graphs, and diagrams. Transforming data into graphics and charts can help students to have a better understanding of the trends in the data. However, it’s not easy for children to make and explain tables and graphs. In order to help children on this work, the teacher can use modeling, give feedback, and allow them to comment on each other's graphs and interpretations these methods to achieve the learning target. Besides, the teacher can also ask students to come up with statements that describe what the graph means. For example, they can just describe the trend (upward or downward?). In my class, I will first introduce how many kinds of charts in total (e.g., bar chart, pie chart, line chart, and table). Then I want my students to think about when you begin with a set of data, how do you decide which chart is most appropriate for your data. The next I will show the process of how to make several common charts. Lastly, I will tell students when you observe a chart, what factors you should pay attention to (e.g., trend, maximum, minimum, multiple, equivalent and intersection).

Safety First!

Thu, Nov 08, 2018 9:11 PM
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Students in low grades are always curious about the unfamiliar materials and try to touch them in science class. Even though most materials are safe enough this behavior is still pretty dangerous in science class. The author wanted to let students make sense of the importance of safety in science class by introducing pH wearing safety goggles, apron, and gloves. After the experiment, the teacher reminded students that the dye from the construction paper had spread around the room. He/she next added if the experiment had involved a poisonous or caustic substance, there might have been a serious injury to someone. It helps to let students realize what serious result will happen if we didn't pay attention to safety during the experiment. This article also mentions a chemistry safety song to help students to memorize important points about safety. As a teacher, I will forbid my students to eat any foods used in the experiment. And remind them never touch any liquid during the experiment. I will also show them some videos about how serious results will be led to if people ignore safety(e.g., emphasis, Nuclear leakage event, and water pollution. It may be helpful to develop their awareness of safety. Besides, during the experiment process, I will ask my students to totally follow the rules and my instruction in case of an accident.