Nature of Science Card Exchange
“Game” Presentation & notes
• Created by Kaatje Kraft in conjunction with Communication in
Science Inquiry Project team (NSF grant #0353469)
• Mesa Community College, 1833 W. Southern Ave., Mesa, AZ 85202.
Email: k.kraft@mail.mc.maricopa.edu
• Goals:
– Introduce students to the process of science (especially the context of
geoscience)
– Introduce the notion of self-reflection both pre & post in learning
activities
– Provide feedback to the instructor to gain an understanding of class
background knowledge and needed areas of emphasis for the coming
semester.
– Establishing classroom norms for a scientific classroom discourse
community.
Understanding the Nature Of Geoscience
Nature of Science Reflection
In your Notebook, answer the following
questions:
What is the nature of science and
how is it done?
Phase 1: 5 Minutes
• Select 5-6 cards from the pile at your table.
• Read through the cards and determine
which ones you agree with and which ones
you don’t.
Phase 2: 5 Minutes
• Form pairs.
• Compare your cards and select 4-6 with
which you both most agree.
• Each person must contribute at least 2
cards.
• Set aside the remaining cards.
Phase 3: Collaborative Write (20 minutes)
• Find another pair to form a group of 4.
• As a foursome, select ~6 cards with which you most
agree (each pair must contribute at least 3 cards).
• Set aside the remaining cards
• As a group, construct a group paragraph (or
paragraphs) that describe the nature of science & how
science is done.
• Write your paragraph on one of the provided white
boards.
Phase 3: Collaborative Write (20 minutes)
Performance Expectations for Collaborative Write:
• As a group construct a paragraph answering the question,
what is the nature of science and how is it done?
• All group members should participate in the writing of the
paragraph. Do not rewrite the statements on the cards
verbatim, write the ideas in the group’s own words as
much as possible.
• This is an informal writing activity; however, be sure to use
complete sentences. Also, try to be clear and concise in
your description.
• Everyone should have the same paragraph as their group
members in their notebook.
Nature of Geoscience Reading
•
Read through the passage provided (pages 195-202)
from Bill Bryson’s “A Short History of Nearly
Everything.”
• Thinking Questions
–What “steps” did the geologists go through to develop their
ideas?
–How did the geologists communicate their findings?
–How did they get a sense of what happened even though they
weren’t there to witness it?
–Can they prove their answer? How certain are they with their
answer?
Important Vocabulary
• A scientific theory is a general framework of principles, hypothesis,
models, laws, etc that explains a natural phenomena and has predictive
value.
• A hypothesis is a testable statement that attempts explain a phenomena
or answers a question.
• Hunh? Talk with your neighbors, and put this definition in your own
words. Feel free to use specific examples to help support your definition.
Nature of Science Reflective Prompt
After thinking, talking, and writing about the nature of
science (and geoscience), has your understanding
of the nature of science changed? If so, how and
why?