Foam Parachutes Ice Balloons Process Circus Pinhole Inquiry

Process Circus Discussion To participate in an ongoing discussion of the Process Circus Activity, or to read what other people have said, click here. Process Circus These 12 short activities are designed to illustrate and develop common understanding of some of the process skills of science essential to inquiry -- skills such as observing, planning, and interpreting. The Process Circus Activity allows a group of teachers to recognize these process skills (or their absence) in existing curriculum materials. For the full text of the Process Circus Activity, click here. For the Process Circus Activity Form only (on its own page), click here. For the Process Circus Task Cards only (on their own pages), click here. Then, you can print them out as you would any other document on your computer. Why do it? This is a good activity to do to lay the groundwork for teachers to begin to move from short, guided activities to more open-ended investigations. By recognizing the processes through which evidence about the world is gained and used, teachers can help their students develop and sharpen these skills. These process skills are necessary for gaining content knowledge through doing open-ended investigations, but because some of these skills are often underrepresented in many curriculum materials, these skills should be supplemented and developed so that investigations can be richer learning experiences. How to do it: This activity takes 2 1/2 hours, a room with enough space for 12 small "stations", one or more staff to facilitate the discussions, the Process Circus Activity Form, and a set of materials. Doing it: Step 1 A brief introduction by a facilitator. See the full text for greater detail. Step 2 Participants circulate in pairs to each of the 12 stations where they perform a task, identify the process skills they think they used at each one, and record this on the Process Circus Activity Form. If they think they are using process skills not listed, they add these to the form and bring them up in the discussion. To see a description and image of each of the 12 tasks, click here. This will take a moment to download. Step 3 After circulating to the stations, two pairs meet to share notes and prepare to present their ideas to the whole group. Step 4 The entire group discusses their experiences doing the activities in order to arrive at some negotiated common understanding around the language of the process skills. Having done it: Having a working understanding of the process skills will enable teachers to recognize them in both the curriculum they teach, and in their students' work. This will help teachers to see gaps in curriculum and in their students' understanding so they can decide where certain skills will have to be further developed. Process Circus Discussion To participate in an ongoing discussion of the Process Circus Activity, or to read what ot her people have said, click here. For the full text of the Process Circus Activity, click here. For the Process Circus Activity Form only (on its own page), click here. For the Process Circus Task Cards only (on their own pages), click here. Then, you can print them out as you would any other document on your computer. Back to Inquiry Activities main page Institute for Inquiry Home © Exploratorium