Inquiry/PBL - Webinar
MSP PROJECT
DEVELOPING STEM LESSONS TO IMPROVE
LEARNING IN GRADES 4 & 5
Webinar authored as part of a Math-Science Partnership grant from the Virginia Department of Education, “Developing STEM
Lessons to Improve Learning in Grades 4 and 5.” Copyright 2012, Sweet Briar College
Produced by: Jill Nelson Granger (project director) with Jim Alouf, Cyndi Osterhus, Arlene Vinion-Dubiel, and Hank Yochum
STEM?
 The term STEM is used to describe the fields of
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math
 STEM fields have been identified as “critical areas of
national importance” in education.
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STEM fields are tied to innovation, economic growth, and global
competitiveness
However, US students lag behind other nations in these areas
 The science education community understands that
STEM fields can best be taught using an approach that
brings math and science, computers and technology,
and design and testing together in a real-world context.
What is STEM
 Visit this website:
What is STEM?
on the Science Outreach Center website at Saint Francis University
 Be prepared to answer these questions from the article:
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Who is calling for national reform of science and math
education and why?
What are some of the learning goals that an integrated STEM
education should reach? (Think about the learning goals in
terms of a KUD… what the student should Know, Understand,
and be able to Do.)
Science is a Verb
 We use a constructivist approach to teaching
Children build new knowledge by linking to what they already know or
have experienced
 Science teaching should mimic what scientists actually do
 Science is a social endeavor
 Constructivism is not a new idea … has roots that can be traced back
to the eighteenth century.
 Modern constructivists include Piaget, Dewey, Vygotsky, and
Bruner
 Understanding (learning) requires active engagement with the
concepts in a meaningful context
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Only by wrestling with the conditions of the problem at hand, seeking and finding his own solution (not in
isolation but in correspondence with the teacher and other pupils) does one learn. ~ John Dewey, How
We Think, 1910 ~
Constructivism
 Visit this link - a great article on Constructivism as it
relates to Inquiry Teaching in STEM…. It’s from The
Exploratorium!
Constructivism as a Referent for Science Teaching
 Be prepared to answer these questions from the article:
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How does “objectivism” compare to “constructivism”?
Why is cooperative learning an important part of constructivist
teaching?
How does the idea of classroom management change when one moves
from an objectivist philosophy to a constructivist philosophy?
Why is uncovering the students’ prior knowledge an important first step
in constructivist teaching?
Learner - Centered
 Teaching STEM requires us (teachers) to
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Embrace the idea that CONTENT and PROCESS are tied together,
and to
Shift our thinking about the Teacher – Student relationship.
 Learners need to interact with
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data
each other
resources
tools and technology
 Teachers
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provide resources
provide guidance
prompt and question
set expectations
Approaches
 In this webinar we are going to focus on two
approaches to learner-centered STEM education:
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Problem-based Learning (aka PBL)
Inquiry
PBL
 Many authors refer to the role of the Teacher in a Learner-
Centered Classroom as “The Guide on the Side.”
 Visit this webpage from the College of Education at
the University of Massachusetts, Boston:
Problem Based Learning in Science
It describes an active learning approach called
Problem-Based Learning (PBL).
 Be prepared to answer questions like these from the article.
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What is an “ill defined problem”?
Give some examples of what the teacher would be doing in a PBL lesson.
What are “IPF” questions? In what ways is this type of questioning
analogous to questioning approaches used in inquiry teaching?
Inquiry
 Inquiry approaches to teaching STEM engage the learner
in
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Using Data to Answer Questions
 An Inquiry Lesson starts with a testable Question
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Students can develop the ability to ask questions that can be
investigated
 Once the Question is posed, students engage in using
data to answer the Question
Students may be collecting the data
 Students may be designing the method for collecting data
 Data may be obtained from external resources (NASA, for example)
 Analytical skills are developed
 Compare the PBL approach to active learning to the Inquiry approach.
What do you think are the key differences?
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Teacher as Facilitator
 Teachers provide support in the form of probing
questions to help the students
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Articulate a testable question
Devise a procedure for investigation
Analyze and make sense of the data
Consider error and uncertainty
Frame a reasonable evidence-based answer to the question
Questions
 Question for Investigation
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May need revision before it is ready for Investigation
What is the best brand of paper towel?
 REVISED - Is paper towel cost related to paper towel absorbency?
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May need “an expert” to provide needed background information as
question is being developed
What are paper towels made of?
 EXPERT – using library resources and/or the internet, student can
learn about paper processing
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Should include outcomes that can be measured
How good are the brands of paper towel?
 MEASURE – define what you mean by “good”… strength, absorbance?
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Shows relationship (not a yes/no or a single number/word answer)
Are paper towels able to soak up a typical spill?
 RELATIONAL – How is absorbance related to brand recognition?
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Prompting Testable Questions
 Lloyd Barrow has a great article on prompting students
to use higher level thinking to formulate testable
questions:
Science Activities: Classroom Projects and Curriculum
Ideas, v45 n1 p9-11 Spr 2008
 Barrow’s article: “Four Question Strategy by Barrow” is
available on the publishers website, through an internet
data base search such as ERIC, or at your local academic
library.
 Be prepared to answer questions from the article such as:
 What are key indicators that a lesson is an “inquiry” lesson?
 In what ways are Barrow’s Four Questions helping the students to develop
testable questions?
 Is Barrow’s strategy applicable to all types of inquiry? Why or why not?
Levels of Inquiry
 Structured Inquiry
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Teacher poses the Question and provides the method for data
collection
Student uses the data to answer the Question
 Guided Inquiry
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Teacher poses the Question
Student develops the method for data collection, analyzes the data
and uses the data to answer the Question
 Open Inquiry
Student poses the Question, develops the method for data collection,
analyzes the data, and uses the data to answer the Question
 Review Smetana, Binns, and Bell’s article,Simplifying Inquiry
Instruction, available from the NSTA as a .pdf download.
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When is Active Learning NOT Inquiry?
(other forms of active learning)
 Problem-Based Learning
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Focus is on a problem to be solved
Results are usually divergent due to multiple approaches
Is not necessarily in pursuit of a Question
Does not necessarily results in data analysis
IS context driven
 Confirmation Labs (“cook book”)
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Focus is on repeating a procedure to obtain a known response
Possibly results in data to be analyzed
Question is notably absent
Can be conducted without context
 Hands-On
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Engages student in manipulating things
Might involve use of technology
Mystery Math Example
 Here’s a fun J-Lab activity … Try it!
J-Lab "Mystery Math”
 Would you characterize it as Inquiry, PBL,
Confirmation/Cookbook, or Hands-On ??? Why?
Process and Content
 A fundamental understanding of the Nature of Science is that the process of
STEM (how its done) is inextricably linked to the content of STEM (what
we know). They can’t be separated. What we know about the world is tied
to how that knowledge was obtained.
 Too often the way in which STEM is analyzed or described makes it sound
as if process and content are two separate parts of STEM learning.
 In their book, ‘Scaffolding Science Inquiry Through Lesson Design”
(Heinemann publishers, 2008), Klentschy and Thompson describe process
and content in this way:
When implementing science curriculum, teachers must (1) help their
students develop a positive attitude toward science; (2) teach the skills
inherent in the scientific process; (3) employ research-based teaching
strategies; and (4) make multidisciplinary connections. Although these
elements are discussed separately here, they are interdependent and
inseparable from content and big ideas. Process skills are interwoven with
content, and students’ attitudes toward science are greatly influenced by
how process skills are used in active learning.
Integrating STEM
 The idea of integrating STEM is tied up with various initiatives toward “21 st
Century” schools, 21st Century classrooms, 21st Century skills, etc. It is widely
accepted that critical skills such as creativity and conceptual thinking are dependent
on our ability to think across disciplinary boundaries, and that these are skills that
will be necessary for the US to maintain a technical and economic advantage in the
future.
 We can go back to the national calls to reform – and find the directives to integrate
teaching and learning around STEM concepts in “real world” contexts.
 Here’s a headline from 2007:
Science News
National Action Plan For 21st Century Science, Technology,
Engineering And Math Education
ScienceDaily (Aug. 15, 2007) — The National Science Board (Board)
unanimously adopted a motion to release for public comment a draft action
plan to address critical 21st century needs in the nation's STEM (science,
technology, engineering, and mathematics) education system. Two
overarching actions stressed in the plan are increasing coordination of STEM
education--both horizontally among states and vertically through grade
levels--and increasing the supply of qualified K-12 STEM teachers.
STEM Origins
 The Great Plains STEM Education Center at Valley City State
University (North Dakota) offers STEM support throughout
North Dakota. Go to their website at gpstem.vcsu.edu
 Download and browse the publication, “STEM Education” which
you can access through this link. Pay particular attention to the
sections on page 6, starting with “A Bit of History.”
 Be prepared to answer questions such as:
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What is the role of corporate America in STEM Education?
What indicators are there in the STEM Education reform movement that
content and pedagogy need to be taught together?
What evidence exists to support Mark Prensky’s statement, “Today’s
students are not the people our educational system was designed to
teach?”
The Scientific Method
 Many text books (and other sources) continue to
provide “The Scientific Method” as a linear, unidirectional series of steps. Here we see an
example from popular author of science
nonfiction for children, Janice VanCleave.
 So? There are two HUGE problems with this
perception – (1) it doesn’t represent how science
is actually done (the Nature of Science is
misrepresented) and (2) it stereotypes the work
of scientists.
 We reject this iconic misrepresentation and
encourage the use of a more realistic, flexible and
integrative model…
From http://scienceprojectideasforkids.com/2010/using-scientific-method/
The Activity Model
 We prefer the “Activity Model” of Inquiry
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which places the Question at the nexus of a
variety of activities.
The Activity Model was developed by
Harwood in consultation with many
practicing scientists. It does not suffer from
the linearity or the uni-directional bias of the
stereotypical presentation.
The Activity Model helps us to view science
as an iterative, social enterprise.
Harwood’s paper is available through this
link.
After skimming Harwood’s paper, be
prepared to answer questions such as:
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Are we the only ones who are rejecting the old model
Scientific Method?
Do you have any experiences with investigation that
could be described using the activity model?
Harwood claims that the old model Scientific Method
“limits our ability to describe exciting inquiry-based”
instruction. Do you have any experiences which would
support (or refute) his claim?
STEM is Everywhere!
 Just for fun, see how STEM and Inquiry are
creeping into the public sphere…
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Do an internet search and see what turns up!
Check out Super Grover 2.0!
“As an extension of the season’s curriculum focus on scientific investigation,
this new series emphasizes a STEM curriculum by modeling the process of
scientific inquiry.” WHAT A HOOT!
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“He observes. He questions. He investigates. He’s Super Grover 2.0!”
STEM Lessons for 4th and 5th Grade
 Please visit our project website:
www.STEM4Teachers.org
 17 Central Virginia 4th and 5th grade teachers worked
for a year to develop STEM lessons that use either an
Inquiry or a Problem-based learning approach.
 The lessons were field tested, assessed, and revised
using a lesson-study approach.
 The complete lesson plans, along with instructional
videos, are available for download.