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GRADUATE SUBMISSION:

Thelma Davis :
"Introduction to Inquiry Workshop with Balls and Ramps"

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District/Project Name:
MASE Project, Clark County (Las Vegas), Nevada


Team Members
Thelma Davis (TOSA - Teacher On Special Assignment), Lorraine Blume TOSA, Ina Mogensen (TOSA), Eva Simmons (Area Superintendent), (and others).

Thelma Davis (TOSA - Teacher On Special Assignment)	Lorraine Blume (TOSA)	Ina Morgensen (TOSA)
Keith Cochran (TOSA)	Eva Simmons Area Superintendent

Purpose of Workshop or Activity
To provide a one day workshops that introduces all the teachers in one area of the district to the inquiry process so they can work with inquiry over time and look beyond the kits. To introduce the new inquiry strand of the District Framework.

Audience
200 teachers at a time (600 altogether) in grade level groups of 25-30 teachers per facilitator.

Description of Activities

Activity 1:

Investigating force and motion using balls and ramps.

Activity 2

Connecting these kind of inquiry activities to the district framework.

Activity 3

Use of Science Notebooks.

Activity 4

Questioning in Science.

This section below describes Activity 1 only.

The facilitator's instructions were as follows:

"You will be investigating the properties of force and motion. The questions that you ask as you interact with the materials will guide your learning. Your questions should cause you to look closely to try to find evidence to support what you see. As you work with your group, your task is to find out all you can about how the balls behave on the ramps as well as beyond the ramps."

The teachers were asked to use journals to keep track of their findings by recording sketches, data and words, as well as the questions that emerged as they worked with the materials.

Each group of four was given the following materials:

2 six foot ramps

2 four foot ramps

( the ramps used were sections of "cove" molding, available at Home Depot or Orchard Supply stores)

1 three-quarter inch diameter ball bearing

1 one and one half inch diameter ball bearing

(these "crome steel balls" are available from the McMaster-Carr catalogue (310-692-5911) as order numbers 9528k29 for the 3/4" and 9528k64 for 1 1/2" (they go up to 2 1/2"). The small ones cost $9.30 for 25 or a bit more for less quantity. The large ones cost $13.98 for 3.)

4", 8" and 12" shims made from two-by-fours

Masking Tape

The investigation went on for 50 minutes.

The facilitators modeled the following questions as the participants worked to guide groups that finished their first investigation quickly.

What do you notice?	What does it do?
How did it change?	What do you see, hear, feel?
In how many ways are these alike?	Different?
How many...?	How long...?
How far...?	How do you measure...?
How would you change...?	What would happen if...?
What's your prediction?	What should you try next?
Do you have some ideas about...?	Can you think of a way to ...?

After the investigations, the participants were asked to write in their notebooks for 5-10 minutes to clarify thoughts, compare their measurements with the group, and to record any questions that may have been raised during the investigation.

Each group of four then took 10 minutes to make a chart (on overhead transparencies) showing their questions and results.

Each group presented their charts and the whole group had a discussion. The facilitator's main questions were:

What did you find to be true?

What evidence do you have to support it?

Facilitators could ask these additional questions if helpful:

Is this collection of data uniform?

Are there any trends? Differences?

What did you already know that was verified?

What new learning has begun?

How do you know what you know?

What evidence do you have?

What are some of the new questions that emerged as you worked?

As a concluding piece, the facilitator asked "What do we now know about force and motion?" to highlight the amount of content information generated from this collection of recorded information.

Schedule
Activity 1: Balls and Ramps Investigation (2 hours and 10 minutes)

Introduction	10 minutes
Investigation	50 minutes
Clean up	5 minutes
Reflect in notebooks	10 minutes
Make group charts	10 minutes
Break	15 minutes
Presentations/discussion	30 minutes

Activity 2: Connecting investigations to the district framework (20 minutes)

Activity 3: Science Notebooks (50 minutes)

Participants were asked to look back over their notebooks from the morning, consider their current understanding about force and motion, and what they would do next if they could investigate further?

Then they were shown drafts of the purpose of a science notebook, how they are used by scientists, how this is different from a journal, and what it might include at different grade levels.

They discussed in small groups what might be do-able at their schools with science notebooks.

Activity 4: Questioning (1 hour)

Referred back to the kinds of questions generated in activity 1, and how a facilitator might respond to them.

How the Activities Support the Purpose:

gave an experience of inquiry

the notebook helped in translation to classroom

the process is important, not the balls and ramps

Questions and Feedback:

The discussions were hard to track. We needed better questions to engage people in discussion.

Would you do it different next time? How?
Needs a better context for connecting the experience with the district framework. Need to be more explicit about extracting important issues from the framework and recognizing them in what we did with the balls and ramps.

What would you like feedback on from the group?
I did not have any science background with balls and ramps, but could still facilitate by asking people what they found out, and what evidence they had for it.

My questions are:

What kinds of opportunities (for facilitation) do you think I might have missed by not having background information?

and

What kind of background information would have been helpful for me to have so I didn't miss opportunities for facilitation?