STELLAR
The Nature of
Science
Claudio Vargas B. & Diana Vélez
July 25, 2012
Visual Thinking Strategies
• What
do you
observe?
• What do you think is
going on here?
• What do you see
that makes you say
that?
Visual Thinking Strategies
• What
thinking
processes did you
use to interpret this
image?
Visual Thinking Strategies
• Prior
Knowledge
• Reasoning
• Creativity
• Emotion
observation  analysis  inference
Conceptual Model
• diagram
Schematic of two
light bulbs and
batteries in a series
circuit.
represents a
conceptual model
• visually describes a
system
• helps us understand
how the circuit is
connected
Conceptual Model
• Now,
it’s your turn to build a
conceptual model.
Challenge Question
• What
do black boxes look like inside?
Rules for Exploration
• The
boxes must remain closed.
• No drawing on the boxes.
Collaborative Groups
• Work
with a partner.
• Each pair will investigate one box.
Record Ideas and Observations
• Draw
diagrams
• Write descriptions
Record and Present
1.
2.
3.
For each pair working
with a box, choose
one diagram to share.
Use the dark pen and
large colored Sticky
Notes to draw your
diagram.
Label your diagram
with the letter on your
box (A, B, C, or D).
Report Ideas and Observations
• Share
your drawings with your table
group.
• What do you notice?
• What can you infer?
Consensus
• Compare
your drawings with others
who have the same letter.
•Collaboration
•Black Box Conferences
• Form
groups A, B,
C, and D
• Work together to
reach consensus
on a model for
your box
observation
• discussion
• testing of ideas
• evidence
•
Go to the chart with your
corresponding color and letter.
•Black Box Conferences
• Form
groups A, B,
C, and D
• Work together to
reach consensus
on a model for
your box
observation
• discussion
• testing of ideas
• evidence
•
Science Processes
• Think-pair-share
• What
processes did
you use to explore
and generate a
model of the black
box?
Science Processes
• observe
to gather information.
• construct a model based on
observations (by drawing).
• evaluate how the model works
compared to the object.
• revise the model, based on new
information or feedback.
The Black Boxes
• How
does this activity model the
process of science?
• Conceptual
model – describes
things that can’t be fully observed
The Black Box of Science
• Scientific
knowledge is a
body of statements of
varying degrees of certainty
— some most unsure, some
nearly sure, but none
absolutely certain.
- Richard Feynman
The Black Box of Science
It is the Nature of Science
What is Science?
• The
word science comes from Latin
scientia, meaning "knowledge.”
• It’s
a body of knowledge – all the
discoveries contributed by all
peoples throughout the centuries.
What is Science?
“Scientific knowledge is built of facts
the way a house is built of bricks:”
but…
What is Science?
“…but an accumulation of facts is no more
science than a pile of bricks is a house.”
Poincare.
What is Science?
• For
Scientists science is more than
just bricks - it also refers to a way of
pursuing knowledge, not only the
knowledge itself.
What is Science?
• Science
is a method of finding things
out. This method is based on the
principle that observation is the judge
of whether something is so or is not.
What is Science?
What is Science?
• It
involves not only making
observations, but also testing ideas,
considering evidence, communicating,
and holding on to those ideas that
work.
What is Science?
• Science
• Students
is about building the house
usually get just the bricks
The Spark for Science
• It
is through the process of discovery
– how to build that house, how to
ask and answer the questions, that
our students learn to think and
reason.
• Science
• “Play
is in our nature: Curiosity
is the work of children”
Discovery
National Research Council (NRC 2002)
• Teaching
and learning through inquiry
promotes deep understanding of
science concepts, active
communication and high
engagement in learning science.
Discovery
• STELLAR
has been stellar on this
account.
• Discovery
& Language
& Culture
The Connection to Language
• Language
is central to shaping our
constructions of the world around us.
• Words
and language are used as a way of
trying to make meaning from our
experiences, trying out a framework for
understanding.
Science & Language
• Provides
a contextualized environment for
learning language structure and functions
• Uses
language for a meaningful purpose ~
learners engage in authentic
communication
• Promotes
collaboration ~ thinking takes
place in communication
• Provides
meaningful experiences ~
motivation is key in learning
Science & Language & Science
• We
• We
use science to understand our world.
use language and literacy to
understand science.
The STELLAR Project:
Building the House Together
“You can know the name of a bird
in all the languages of the world,
but when you're finished, you'll
know absolutely nothing whatever
about the bird... So let's look at the
bird and see what it's doing -- that's
what counts.”
― Richard P. Feynman
“Education is a progressive
discovery of our own ignorance.”
William James Durant