Here is the full quotation in context:

“Sister Agnes Patricia was the most influential teacher I ever knew. What I will always remember about her is her statement that there is no such thing as teaching — only learning. She believed that no teacher could ever teach anyone anything. Her task as a teacher was to create an environment in which the student can learn. Knowledge, she told us, standing very straight in her long black habit, her face framed by her white wimple, pointed at the top like the spire of a cathedral, needs to be pulled into the brain by the student, not pushed into it by the teacher. Knowledge is not to be forced on anyone. The brain has to be receptive, malleable, and most important, hungry for that knowledge.”

How closely related that is to some of the “eternal verities” that guide Golden Apple’s Inquiry Science Institute: “Teaching and learning are not synonymous.” “We can teach, and teach well, without having students learn.” “Knowledge is seldom transferred intact from the mind of the teacher to the mind of the student.” “Knowledge is CONSTRUCTED in the mind of the learner.”

Knowledge is Constructed in the Mind of the Learner . . . At Every Age

If these assertions are true, what’s a teacher to do,  particularly in the current high stakes test environment?

One of the most difficult lessons for us to learn as teachers is to step back from being the asker of all questions and the font of all answers, and to let students explore, question, design, ponder, and grow in their own way and in their own time.  To an extent, some of this is beyond our control, given the rigid testing schedules and prescribed curricula most teachers must follow.  But there is always a significant portion of the classroom experience that is within our control, and that’s where our professional responsibility kicks in.  Because the struggle is more often with our own need to control and direct the learning process than with external directives.  But when we can challenge that need in ourselves for the benefit of our students, something wonderful happens.

From various teachers in our Inquiry Science Institute program, I’ve heard versions of the following: “I never realized how smart my kids are.  It was hard for me, but I’ve been letting go and they do just fine figuring things out on their own.  Better than I expected. Now I’m learning right along with them.”

They aren’t the first to make this important discovery. The acknowledged father of adult learning theory, Malcolm S. Knowles, described how he came to adopt an inquiry approach in his own teaching.  Or rather how he became “a facilitator of learning” rather than a traditional teacher.  He took a course at the University of Chicago with Professor Arthur Shedlin who placed responsibility for the seminar squarely in the hands of the students.  At the end of a semester in which Knowles said, “. . . I had never worked so hard in any course,” he did what all good teachers do, he reflected on what had happened, in this case, what it means to be a facilitator of learning, as Shedlin called himself, rather than a teacher.”

“I . . . experienced myself as adopting a different system of psychic rewards.  I had replaced getting my rewards from controlling students with getting my rewards from releasing students.  And I found the latter rewards much more satisfying.  . . . I found myself performing a different set of functions that required a different set of skills.  Instead of performing the function of content planner and transmitter, which required primarily presentation skills, I was performing the function of process designer and manager, which required relationship building, needs assessment, involvement of students in planning, linking students to learning resources, and encouraging student initiative.  I have never been tempted since then to revert to the role of teacher.”

Because as Sister Agnes Patricia so wisely said, “there is no such thing as teaching.”

Have you stopped teaching? What is the most difficult part of becoming a facilitator of learning? What have been the psychic rewards of doing so? The challenges? How have your students responded? Will you continue?  What next?

~ Cacie

“Students loved science lessons (literally, some asked to use recess time to build in more minutes for investigations with balance and motion)! They were more engaged. Through interdisciplinary links, they also searched for and shared, with each other and through writing, more science content knowledge.”  (Smita Garg, 2nd grade, Pershing East Elementary)

Kids Love Working Together . . . Fostering Teamwork

“The students (or my little scientists) took so much ownership over their notebooks.  They had pride in their work — even those who found it difficult to keep things neat and tidy — really pushed themselves to do so.  The use of focus questions really helped the scientists to understand what it was that they were specifically trying to ‘take away’ from their learning exploration.  The claims and evidence charts helped them to organize their analysis of what happened, and I found often produced stronger observations than just simply prompting them to write an analysis.  I used signals and a prolonged wait time without confirmation of correct or incorrect responses across all subject areas.  WOW!  My scholars loved this!  It was a challenge for them to produce an idea and so rewarding once they got the nod from me that their idea was noted.  It increased the amount of thinking in the classroom and promoted a more secure environment in which to share our thoughts and feelings.”  (Amanda Bernacki, 4th grade, Pershing West)

“They are very thoughtful — Graphs and charts became a staple within our science class — my third graders went from struggling to understand graphs and charts in relation to science to creating their own without guidance to record data!  Science is a favorite subject for all!  Including the teacher!”  (Laura Shakespeare, 3rd grade, Langford Elementary)

“Their oral participation has increased knowing that there is more than one answer to the same question.  I have a lot more students willing to share their work than I can take in a class period.” (Lidia Ariaga, 3rd & 4th grade, Byrne Elementary)  Lidia also told us that her students are turning in their homework (100%), so that they can participate as scientists.  ”Scientists are responsible people.”

M & Ms & Science Journals Make for Careful Observation and . . . 100% Homework Completion!

“My students’ reactions became more and more positive as I released the amount of responsibility on to them.  They were excited to seek answers to their own questions and demonstrate/apply their understanding of other disciplines (graphing data).  My students also seemed inspired by the additional exposure to science careers, as they were overheard on numerous occasions talking about becoming a meteorologist, vet, pediatrician, astronaut.  One student even wrote about being the latter in a  poem during her library period! (Christina Frum, 4th grade, Kohn Elementary)

Students As Scientists: What a Powerful Idea!

“Kids want to do more hands on activities!  I have heard kids say ‘I love science!’ This is cool. This makes me <3 happy!”  (Diane Esquibel, 7th-8th grade, Durkin Park)

When students offer to give up recess time to do more science, when they talk about pursuing careers in science, when they are contributing more during class and are more engaged than you’ve ever seen them before, doesn’t it make your heart happy, like Diane’s?  And isn’t that what you came into teaching to do?  To inspire kids to love to learn?

How have your students responded to inquiry science?  Please share your experiences by leaving a comment.

~ Cacie

Cheers to Inquiry Science! from Susan McDonald, Tina Frum, Candice Brooks, and Ain Muhammad.

We asked the Advanced Inquiry teachers, “What have you done differently as a result of last summer’s program.”  What follows is, in their own words, what several of our fantastic iTEAM teachers have done differently.

“My entire approach to teaching has changed as a result of last summer’s program.  Now I am a facilitator of learning, where I provide opportunities for students to practice science.  Gradually throughout the year, I released the learning responsibility to the students.  Instead of sticking to ‘cookbook’ labs and activities, I allowed students to explore and investigate questions that they created.  By the end of the year, students were designing their own controlled experiments, recording and analyzing data, and drawing conclusions.  I also added science journals, used Project WET lessons, and covered additional topics compared to the previous year.”  (Tina Frum, Kohn Elementary)

“I’m letting the kids make mistakes and ask questions – I became a facilitator.  They researched and inquired about things.  For instance:  They would ask questions about the effects of different size wheels on a car.  I would say, ‘I don’t know, try it – do some tests.’ It was so much fun, watching them.”  (Humberto Rodriguez, Tonti Elementary)

“I have allowed my student to explore more.  I have given them less direction and more opportunities to make their own scientific discoveries.  I have developed focus questions for each investigation or I have helped my students form the focus question.  I have focused more on the process to getting the ‘answers’ in science.  I also believe my students understand there is usually more than one answer and sometimes we may not know the exact answer or solution.”   (Erin Roberts, Pershing East, Kindergarten)

Marva Anyanwu and Erin Roberts Reach Critical Mass

“I have had students collect their data and when summarizing or writing reports use the data as the evidence to support their findings.  Also when reading in the content area of science, students were to make sure to connect the evidence with their assigned writing task.”   (Marva Anyanwu, Green Elementary)

“I have used science journals and learned to step back to allow the students to lead, and for me to facilitate . . . not giving all the answers.”  (Rachel Sarauw, Langford Elementary)

iTEAM teachers range in experience from a second year teacher to a teacher with over thirty years in the classroom, but each has incorporated new ways of teaching into her or his classroom practice.

As one of our teachers said this summer, “The most important thing about inquiry is it gets students involved in their own learning.”  Teachers too!

Paula Henderson, Lidia Arriaga, John Lewis, and Diane Esquibel Create Electricity!

What will you do differently this year in your classroom?

~Cacie

Their current science activity involves working with racing cars that the children designed and built themselves.  Today they will test what difference the size of the wheels makes in the distance the car will travel.  After some basic directions for the session, Mr. Rodriguez asks his students to clear away desks in the middle of the classroom so they can construct their track.  Desks are quickly (but quietly) pushed aside, and the kids set to work.

Several lay meter sticks end-to-end spanning the length of the classroom.  Sections are held together with clear heavy-duty tape.  A ramp at one end of the meter sticks serves as the launch pad for the unique vehicles the children made with various snap together pieces:  wheels, frame pieces, and Lego-type shapes.

Ingenius Machines

Let Her Roll!

“Measure the distance your car travels in centimeters,” Mr. Rodriguez tells them.

The children each do three trials with their cars and in the context of this playful science learn how to find an average for the first time.  “Three trials.  Divide by three.  Ten trials.  Divide by ten,” their teacher tells them.  The lesson takes because averaging is connected with figuring out how well you designed your car for traveling the greatest distance, something that matters to the children.

Bert Rodriguez has a background in gifted education and now uses the same strategies and activities with his regular classroom . . . and his students are all meeting or exceeding in math.   He took to inquiry science like the proverbial duck to water, “because it works with kids.”  I sit at a table where four boys earnestly debate how they might make their cars better.  4 wheels?  On one axel?

“Which would make it go farther, a larger wheel or a smaller one,” Mr. Rodriguez asks a girl, as I walk by and snap a picture of their animated discussion.

What Do You Think?

“So, what did you think of science class today?” Mr. Rodriguez asks the kids.  “Double thumbs up,” one boy proclaims.

All children should be having this much fun learning.

Without much ado, engineering, math (gathering of data, measurement, and averaging) and science are all rolled into one, fully integrated.  And literacy as well, because children explain their inventions in writing.

Writing About Science = Writing About Thinking

And while it’s part of a unit on force and motion, it could easily be a unit on electricity because you can almost harness the electricity in the room to power the cars.  I ask a boy if he likes science.  He answers yes and adds, “I like that we get to experiment and do things I’ve never done before.”

This is alive!  There isn’t a single discipline problem in Mr. Rodriguez’s class.  When kids are engaged and learning, when they have agency, they don’t need to act out, to demand attention.

Defining inquiry, Mr. Rodriguez says, “I just think of it as we just find out what we can find out, we learn in the process of doing these neat things.  And the kids come up to me and ask me questions . . . like about how to find the average, and I answer them or send them to a child who has already learned how.  They can teach each other.”

Future Engineers?

And the same can be said of teachers.

~ Cacie

Students Do Science By Exploring Variables and Testing Predictions

Recently I visited two terrific teachers at Durkin Park Elementary School in Chicago to observe inquiry in action. Inquiry in Action is what ISI is calling teacher partnering so that one teacher can learn inquiry skills and activities from another. All it requires is being willing to open your classroom door to another teacher while you teach or for you to be open to learning a new teaching strategy by observing a colleague. And the learning goes both ways as the observing teacher can often provide some new ideas and feedback as well.

So let me set the stage:  Mary Clare Lynch was unable to participate in the Intro to Inquiry workshop this past summer because she was doing other professional development during that week.  Her colleague Cara Maloney attended and came away with an understanding of how to use an inquiry approach in her classroom practice, a set of powerful planning and instructional strategies and some great activities and resources.  How can Cara help Mary Clare learn the same things?  Inquiry in Action!

Cara invited Mary Clare to bring her 6^th grade students into Cara’s 4^th grade class.  The two classes would work together in small groups on a rocket propulsion activity involving film canisters, Alka Seltzer tablets, water and meter sticks.  The challenge to the students was to make the film canister shoot up higher than a meter and to figure out the variables that would make that happen.

Cara presented the activity to the combined classes and reminded her fourth graders how to document their findings in their science notebooks, using different colored headings for the various parts of the activity:  Activity Name, Question, Predictions, Materials, etc.  Then various students were assigned to pick up the materials for their group, and both classes went outside to spend time exploring the materials, trying different proportions of Alka Seltzer and water, more or less shaking of the film canister, and orientation of the film canister top up or down.  They worked with these variables in a process of play and discovery for ten minutes and then were called together by their teachers.  Ms. Maloney used a Wheel of Inquiry to gather the variables from the children and asked them to consider what they might change to make their canister go higher . . . in other words to predict and design an experiment based on their hypothesis and after listening to the strategies of other groups.

Of course, all groups succeeded, the children had fun learning, and when they returned to their classrooms to record their observations, “I wonders” and reflections in their science journals, they knew a little more about the scientific method and the process of doing science.  They wondered about using carbonated liquid with the Alka Seltzer.  They wondered what would happen if they used a larger canister.  And I suspect some of them may have even wondered what it would be like to be a scientist . . . someone who gets to play with stuff and solve problems all day long.  For certain, most of these children will tell their parents about the cool thing they did today in school.  And for certain, they will want more activities like this in Ms. Maloney’s class.

But there are two other things very worthy of note:

• Older kids love working with younger kids and vice versa.  Both groups benefit.
• Teachers like Mary Clare Lynch who are open to learning from colleagues can learn a great deal doing Inquiry in Action.  Ms. Lynch had  pages of notes from her observation of Ms. Maloney’s inquiry activity.  She noted how student centered the experiment was, with ample time given on the front end for exploration of the materials and opportunity for students to identify and ponder the variables and to construct their own hypotheses and experiments to prove them.  She liked the use of different colored titles in the science journals, allowing for easier and more efficient review of student thought processes and learning.  She said she had learned things to do in her own class, and she was eager to try them out.

Thankfully, gone are the days when teaching meant closing your classroom door and just doing your own thing.  Inquiry in Action is about opening those doors and opening to new approaches from colleagues in our own schools.  Kudos to Cara Maloney and Mary Clare Lynch for exemplifying today’s teacher professionalism by demonstrating one way teaching colleagues can work together for the benefit of their students.

Here’s more of what that looks like:

Students Try to Figure Out How to Make Their "Rocket" Blast Off

 

Teacher Cara Maloney Uses the Wheel of Inquiry with 4th and 6th Grade Students

 

Students Provide the Variables They Will Test For Optimal Rocket Lift-Off

That’s all for now.  Please share your own experiences of Inquiry in Action in Comments.

New Year’s Resolution . . . let’s see more Inquiry in Action!

~ Cacie

But rather than being about the wonderful ideas that children are more likely to have when they are given the opportunity to explore the material world around them and to delve deeply into stuff, which is fundamental to the philosophy of Golden Apple’s Inquiry Science Institute and also the topic of Duckworth’s essay, I want to talk a little about some of the wonderful ideas that our iTEAM teachers have been having as we’ve been meeting over the past several months, since they participated in our summer program at the Museum of Science and Industry.

Their ideas cover a range of subjects, so I will pick and choose.  Some ideas are about how to develop the essential skills of science in their students.  Others are about how to manage the extra preparation that running an inquiry classroom entails for a teacher.  And a third cluster of ideas has begun forming around how to introduce colleagues at their school to the inquiry process, which is one of the goals of our program, and one of the responsibilities these teachers have taken on.

All of this is against a backdrop of an ever increasing emphasis on testing, with testing starting earlier in the year and happening more frequently, a general increase in class sizes, the reassignment of teachers to new grade levels or to multigrade classrooms and the general increase in the workload and decrease in resources, both human and material, that our cash strapped, accountability driven schools are faced with daily.

Nonetheless, wonderful ideas are being had by some very smart, very committed teachers.  Here are some examples:

Teachers Calvin Burns and Michelle Smith at Shoop Elementary on Chicago’s south side have discovered that using Creature Cards as a classroom warmup hones their students’ observation skills.  The kids can’t get enough of them, the Gligs and Wibbles and Snorps oh my!, and astonish their teachers with the precision of their observations.  But what takes this resource from being simply a good mental warm-up to actually having an impact on kids’ science learning, is the fact that, as Michelle Smith observed, this year’s students who have used Creature Cards have been making more detailed drawings of what they’ve observed under the microscope than students in previous years, sans Creature Cards.  No more amorphous blobs and circles.  These kids have learned how to see!

Creature Cards are relatively easy to set up and take down . . . all you need is a projection device and one of the cards. But doing inquiry science activities on a regular basis, which we encourage teachers to do, requires lots of stuff and multiples of everything counted and organized, so that  groups of students can work together all around the classroom or science lab, using time as efficiently as possible.  Enter the expectation that teachers spend a lot of the precious little time they have doing all this organizing, so that they can hit the ground running when it’s time for science.

Christine Garcia of Bright Elementary, also on Chicago’s south side, had a student approach her after the first inquiry science lesson of the year.  The girl said, “Can we do this again?”  When Chrissy said, “Yes,” the girl volunteered to come before and after school to help Chrissy set up the inquiry activities so that she could have more science.  And this isn’t an isolated case.  Teachers at several other of our ISI partner schools have found students very willing to volunteer with all the set up and take down, and at a number of our partner schools, teachers are brainstorming ways to create a Science Aide’s program, to tap both those interested in science and those who have that “extra energy” better put toward constructive purposes.  Kids want to do authentic work that has value to others. What better way to honor that than by forming such a group of students, distinguishing them in some way (job application? lab coats? official name tags for the lab coats? an award at the end of the year?), and letting them provide the extra hands to help manage the inquiry activities, freeing the teacher for things that only the teacher can do?

Other wonderful ideas concern how to share inquiry strategies, activities and classroom management practices with their colleagues.  Whole school professional development days are often over-booked with mandated programs, and they may not necessarily be the most effective way to share professional learning.  Several iTEAMs are exploring something we’re calling Inquiry in Action.   Because they’ve had the benefit of the intensive summer program and have activities and materials from it that they are using with their students, iTEAM teachers are inviting colleagues to come into their classrooms to see inquiry in action.  They are being creative with schedules, and finding ways that other colleagues can substitute in the observing teacher’s class while he or she visits the inquiry classroom.

As Eleanor Duckworth said, “Except for the rare teacher who will take this leap all on his or her own on the basis of a single course and some written teachers’ guides, most teachers need the support of at least some nearby co-workers who are trying to do the same thing, and with whom they can share notes.”  Our iTEAMs are finding ways to make this happen!

A related idea is to have older students learn an activity and then present it to younger ones.  In the process, the students who are teaching are reenforcing their own learning and teaching the teacher of the younger students what inquiry is all about.

There have been other wonderful ideas . . . but I’ll save them for another post.   And I’ll let you know how these ideas develop over the year.  Please share your own in comments.

~ Cacie

“We, of course, did not get into our intensifying plight overnight. Correspondingly, if we should fall decisively behind the leaders of the rest of the world, particularly in the prosperity drivers of science and engineering, it will take decades to catch up, if it is possible to do so at all. Consider the matter of producing one additional research scientist who can help to generate the knowledge from which future innovation and jobs will spring. Rather convincing empirical evidence suggests that most children who are ‘turned off’ by mathematics and science have already arrived at that conclusion by the time they are in fourth grade. The die is usually cast by a teacher who finds teaching science and mathematics an unwelcome and intimidating burden or by a parent with a disinterest in or disdain for these fields.

One of the unusual characteristics of a technical education is that by eighth grade a student must most often decide whether to preserve the option to pursue such a career, for example, in science or engineering, by deciding whether or not to take algebra to be prepared for higher-level science and mathematics courses in high school. That is in distinct contrast with the decisions faced by those who might wish to preserve the option to become lawyers, bankers, accountants, or medical doctors. The reason for the disparity is the hierarchic nature of an education in mathematics that serves as the foundation of science and engineering. One cannot usefully study trigonometry until one has mastered algebra . . . one cannot study calculus until one has learned something of trigonometry… and one cannot study differential equations until one has studied calculus. So fundamental is mathematics that it is in essence the language of science and engineering.

Assuming that a person has completed the requisite courses during 4 years in high school and has successfully completed 4 years of undergraduate work (the average for engineers is now closer to 6 years), the person is prepared to begin a 6- or 7-year pursuit of a PhD, after which a creative research career can presumably begin. A few more years may in many cases be devoted to postdoctoral endeavors.

As one might suspect, there is a great deal of leakage along that extended educational highway. To begin with, about one-third of U.S. eighth graders do not receive a high-school diploma. And of those who do, about 40% do not go on to college. About half who begin college do not receive a bachelor’s degree. Of those who do receive such a degree, two-thirds will not be in science or engineering. And of those who are U.S. citizens and do receive degrees in either science or engineering, only about 1 in 10 will become candidates for a doctoral degree in those fields. And over half the doctoral candidates drop out before being awarded a PhD.”

“The point is that it takes a lot of third-graders to produce one contributing research scientist or engineer and a very long time to do it.”

And the path begins in primary school!

Without teachers who have the background and excitement about science, children don’t have the wealth of intriguing experiments that can be conducted in a science class, nor do they pick up the real-world applications in science and math. They never get to see themselves as future scientists and mathematicians and engineers.

We owe it to them and to ourselves as Americans to cultivate our own knowledge and excitement for these fields, so that our students have the opportunity to do the same. But I’m betting that iTEAMchicago teachers already have both and are well on their way to acquiring more of that good stuff through their passion for inquiry and their dedication to their students.  Some have already expanded beyond our program to pick up additional professional development in science since the start of this current school year.  Talk about “the right stuff!”

Teachers, you are the key. The need for your skills, your knowledge and your commitment has never been greater! And the rest of us need to provide you with whatever you require to ignite the spark in kids that will help them become the future scientists, technology innovators, engineers and mathematicians they have the innate curiosity and talent to become, given half a chance.

So, I’ll ask again . . . what challenges, teachers, do you face in creating those STEM inspired kids?  And how can we help you and help each other achieve success in this critical endeavor?

~ Cacie

It is in those areas that any modern nation develops the new products and processes that drive the engine of economic prosperity by creating new market demands and the jobs that will meet them. If we want to maintain a high standard of living, we have to get serious about fostering an interest in the STEM subjects in our young people.

The problem is, America has fallen behind in this critical area.  Way behind!

Data taken from Is America Falling Off the Flat Earth? (2007) by Norman R. Augustine shed a pretty grim light on America’s future prospects for prosperity. Let’s just take five bulleted factoids from the study.

• In Business Week’s ranking of the world’s information-technology companies, only one of the top 10 is based in the United States.

• Nearly 60% of the patents filed with the US Patent and Trademark Office in the field of information technology now originate in Asia.

• The United States ranks 17th among developed nations in the proportion of college students receiving degrees in science or engineering, a fall from third place three decades ago. It ranks 26th in the proportion receiving undergraduate degrees in mathematics.

• Fewer than 15% of US high-school graduates have sufficient mathematics and science credentials to even begin pursuing an engineering degree.

• The National Intelligence Council reports that in 2003 “foreigners contributed 37 percent of the research papers in Science, 55 percent in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, and 71 percent in the journals of the American Physical Society. (quoted verbatim)

And there were dozens of other similarly disheartening statistics to draw from in the 93-page paper. Where are our scientists and engineers, our technology innovators and mathematicians? And if we are lagging behind now, where will we be when current elementary and high school students enter their adult work lives? How many of them will be equipped to invent the next generation of cool things or solve the complex problems we face in keeping ourselves fed and healthy and in keeping the planet alive?

In large measure, the answer to that question lies with teachers. They have the opportunity to light the fire that will fuel curiosity, thinking, and creativity in our students.  But it is up to the rest of us to see that teachers have the resources and preparation they need . . . and that we support their efforts to try innovative  approaches in science instruction.  Approaches, by the way, that are recommended by the National Research Council and the National Science Teachers Association, among others, but which have not been as widely adopted as they need to be.  Instead many teachers face unnecessary obstacles to doing science with their students.

Check back here in a few days for more from Norman Augustine’s white paper and a message to teachers.  And in the meantime, I invite teachers to talk about those obstacles and about their vision for improving science instruction, so that kids get genuinely excited about science . . . and technology, engineering and mathematics, of course!  Please weigh in.  How will you help create the next generation of STEM professionals?

~ Cacie

So, in what ways did professional development in inquiry change the thinking of a group of Chicago public elementary school teachers?  Here’s what they said:

“I used to think the teacher did all questioning. But now I know the students can formulate the questions.”

“I used to think assessment came last when planning.  But now I know it comes second.  First is knowing what your objectives for student learning are.”

“I used to think you planned in the same order you taught.  But now I know it’s just the reverse.”

“I used to think teacher driven.  But now I know the teacher is the facilitator and that it is student driven/self-regulated.”

“I used to think the students had to have the correct answer.  But now I know it’s the journey that matters most and how they came to their conclusion.

“I used to think inquiry-based lessons had to be elaborate.  But now I know they can be simple.”

“I used to think I had to address every question.  But now I know I can ask another question/encourage the utilization of tools.”

“I used to think with inquiry it would be difficult to meet standards.  But now I know inquiry is standards driven.”"

“I used to think inquiry would be difficult to implement.  But now I know the missing pieces, and I can do it.”

“I used to think science wasn’t fun . . . Help! Help!  But now, thanks to this professional development, I know it can be exciting!”

“I used to think classroom management was a reflection of your skills.  But now I know you can manipulate the environment to manage the classroom.”

“I used to think that remembering and thinking are similar.  But now I know when I want a student to think, it means construct an idea NOT RECITE FACTS.”

“I used to think science was difficult.  But now I know science is fun.”

“I used to think finding a lesson was a struggle.  But now I know a lesson can be extended and expanded.”

“I used to think science was boring.  But now I know, through inquiry learning, science can be fun.”

“I used to think teaching was set in stone.  But now I know teaching is as broad as the sky.”

“I used to think teacher led.  But now I know teacher facilitated.”

“I used to think that if students didn’t respond quickly, they didn’t understand the lesson.  But now I know that waiting time is necessary for them to construct an answer.”

“I used to think to get students ready for an experiment they had to have some intensive vocabulary discussions.  But now I know children can learn by discovering, exploring, questioning and sharing information.”

“I used to think science is fun.  But now I know science is More FUN!!”

Still not convinced?

Then take a look . . .

Science is doing, not listening to lectures, reading textbooks and learning vocabulary.  In a single week, teachers became scientists, so that they could in turn release the curious scientist in each of their students.  And, yes, Virginia, science is FUN!!!

You can follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Enjoy!

~ Cacie

What if, like Mr. Dolens, we called our students “scientists,” and did this routinely, naturally, and with conviction?  How would it change their understanding of science and our understanding of them as learners?  How would we plan our science instruction with those young scientists in mind?  Would we teach science differently in our classrooms?

Science is a process.  Science is doing.  Would calling our students scientists mean would we would be less likely to give them worksheets?  More likely to allow them to frame their own scientific inquiries?  Ask questions?  Generate multiple working hypotheses?  Collect data?  Make decisions based on the data they’ve gathered?    Collectively problem solve with their fellow scientists?  Report their findings with clarity?  Would their understanding of science increase?  Their enjoyment of it grow?  Their confidence and skill improve?

In calling Corey and LaTonya “scientists,” would  we be less likely to give them lists of science vocabulary to memorize for recall later on a test and more likely to introduce vocabulary in the context of doing science with them, even allowing them to invent their own terms at the outset of learning a new concept?  Would we be less likely to simply assign chapters in sequence from a textbook and more likely to have them keep a science journal of their own questions, their observations, the experiments they’ve designed, and their reflections on the meaning of all they’ve discovered.

It seems to me that calling our students scientists would respect the power of their young intellects to reason scientifically.  It would also send a powerful message to them about the possibility that they could actually choose to become a scientist when they grow up ~ maybe set their imaginations to work on a future life course.

So, let me propose a little experiment for this school year?  Let’s invite our students into doing science by addressing them as scientists?  I suspect that calling our students scientists would change both us and them, and both for the better.  We would become better teachers of science; they would become better students of science.

What do you think?  Could something that small make a difference?

~ Cacie