Reflections of a Techie

How do you help students improving the quality of their questions?

Practice and processing of that practice....is the simple answer.

We practice it a lot. 

We take a topic and start thinking about questions that are interesting...and then they start brainstorming a big list.  Topics trend up and down...and the longer the brainstorming goes the better the questions get.  Students hear a good idea and use that good idea in building their question.

We process a lot.

Once we have a pretty long list and everyone is just repeating, we start processing.  I ask them what are questions that are easily Googled and which ones are ones that will require more thought.  It's a simple filter...but a good one.  It's actually a skill that is sort of invisible but very useful if you stop and think about it.

Ususally the processing ends up with min-conversations about what they think or where they'll go to find out more.  I believe it's a great way to incorporate vocabulary development....just slipping the words that I know as their teacher that are relevant to the topics.  Sometimes we leave it there. 

Sometimes we save the list because we use it throughout the set of lessons.  Answering them.  Keeping them on the unanswered list.  Using them for inquiry projects.

Practice and process.  The simple keys to getting better at asking quality questions.

 

Inquiring young scientist want to know...does air have mass?

Simple question?

But for students that aren't used to figuring out how they'll investigate something, it's a tough question to put to them.  They have been conditioned to want steps to follow, they want contant re-assurance they're doing it "right" and they want to know that they'll find the right answer.

Be brave!!!

What kind of comment is that to a science class?  It's the best advice that I can give them.  Because it's OK to try something and not have it work out the first time.  Despite lots of read alouds that tell the stories of scientists working for years to have "something come out right", students don't think it all that trying applies to them.   They believe that they should follow the steps I give them and it will be perfect.

So imagine how freaked they were when I asked them to show that air has mass...giving them only balloons, meter sticks, string and tacks.  It's as close to inquiry science as I dare to go at this point because I can't set them loose to find everything on their own.  Even with this help they were frustrated and confused.  They talked and fiddled.  I asked them leading questions. Eventually one by one, each lab pair figured out something to try.

It just took one or two pairs to be brave and try something.  Bravery spread throughout the room and soon everyone had some idea they wanted to try out.  I tapped into that kindergarten curiousity and boldness.  And try they did....all sorts of contraptions to test out their ideas if air has mass.  Some were trying to figure it out in buckets of water, some with balloons and string, and some built some very elaborate scales/balances. 

I never did figure out how this proves that air has mass, but I'm determined to go back and listen to them explain it to me again tomorrow. Ask more questions and see if they have something that my head just doesn't comprehend.

 

 

 

 

This measuring device stayed up better and the student attached the balloons using string loops.  It was a clever way to control the balloon and be precise about how far from the ends she was putting the items she was measuring.

 

 

 

It took this lab pair almost the entire hour to build their scale.  Then they had to figure out how to overcome the problem of putting a deflated and inflated balloon on the balance at the exact same time.  Needless to say, you had to be quick if you wanted to see their experiment.  But I give them all props for perserverance and effort....plus they did demonstrate that air has mass.

 

 

Air does have mass....I can attest to seeing many lab pairs successfully demonstrate this. 

And more than that, I think students had a learning experience where tinkering with something to try and make it work was OK.  I had them record any modifications they made to their original plan on their lab sheet....and we'll talk more about if not getting it "right" on the first try is wrong....or is it a first attempt.

I think that will be the hugest (and I don't even know if it's a word but it applies to the learning situation here) thing I could teach my students.  Go for it.  Make a reasonable stab at creating something you think will work....learn from what happens....regroup....redesign....and go again. 

Until you can show that air has mass.   :->

 

 

 

 

Our class discoveries about Google Docs & a new way to work.

Update:  We've been doing more and more with Google Docs and students are getting much more comfortable with the sharing function.  It's quite amazing to see the progress in just a few short weeks....from "I need help" with everything to "Come and look at what I found out about, come here!"

My big ah-ha was that they just needed practice, practice and practice.  Not any different than another tool you might be teaching to 11 and 12 year olds.  I think they like the new ways of working on worksheets.

I'm going to try sharing a document with them that is all on  Google Docs...it  will be a test review.  We'll co-author it during class using a shell where I've provided the page numbers and notes references...they'll go and find them, we'll summarize them as a class in a Google Doc that we'll all share....and then how well that works for them to essentially create their own study guide as a whole class.

It's a fairly standard homework assignment to ask students to do some background reading and bring facts into the next day's discussion.  I decided to keep the learning but incorporate some high tech means for capturing those facts and archiving them.

The best part of doing an electronic worksheet like this is that everything is readily available for the entire class to read, see and access whenever they need it.  We've had a blast reading through the facts and it has been good for students to hear the oooooo's and ahhhhh's as one of their "better" facts amazes classmates.  Some of my most quiet students have been recognized for their effort and that never happens when we do this learning in the traditional way.

I created a Google Docs spread sheet that was very straightforward....name, fact and source.  Each student was to upload their favorite Sun facts into the document that I created and "shared" with them via a URL.

Kids were pysched and as we entered the computer lab to get started, I could feel their excitment.  Now I will say that a few students grumbled about why they could just do it the old fashion way because it was much easier, but for the most part everyone was anxious to learn how.  They are just beginning on Google Docs and, while I've used Google Docs with adults, I'd never done anything wide scale with students.

In the lab, they logged into the accounts and everything went smoothly.  The panic and trouble started when they went home and tried to do their homework.  Server error, they couldn't cut and paste into the cells, and a million other things went wrong.  The HELPDESK didn't know why and went to work solving the problem...but meanwhile my students were panicked that they couldn't finish their homework. 

One of the best things I did was to have daily brainstorming times in class.  I'd have students that had been successful in getting their facts loaded into the spreadsheet talk about it and answer their peers questions.  In some cases I knew what they were saying was a good solution and in other cases, students had ideas and solutions I would have never come up with.  We were co-learners in debugging the problems so many people were having.

They came in early, stayed late and skipped lunch to work with me...and it worked perfectly at school.  Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Finally the HELPDESK suggested that I double check students were logging into their accounts and then opening the spreadsheet.  So we took a bit of classtime time and generated a class email to the people who were still stuck....they entered their emails and we wrote a reminder note to open email account first and then open the file and I gave them another "clean" URL link to use.  Same one I originally put in the assignment but just in case.  It solved the problem for all but one student (and he was staying in a hotel because his home has suffered extensive water damage) who was later able to complete the assignment in less than 5 minutes once he got to my classroom computers.

While we had 2 days of panic and frustration, we all decided it was a great learning experience.  Next time we'll be better at knowing steps to take in order not to run into the same roadblocks....but I'm sure there will be new ones.  Hopefully, though, students are beginning to realize that we can find a way around them and we can be a team in solving them together.  Plus we got to know amazing facts about the Sun.

Photo provided under CC Attribution License http://www.flickr.com/photos/37103425@N00/371515143/

Easy as 1-2-3: Creating pencast about unequal heating of earth

I've been worrying how my students will study for next quiz over the unequal heating of earth's surface.  I've drawn diagrams in class, had them paste in diagrams we created and still I wonder what they'll do when I'm not there to explain it again.  Heck I've been teaching this grade level for many years and I know they'll think they know it until they get home and then it will >>>> puff<<<<<<< magically disappear.

So I'm using my Echo pen to make a pencast with another explanation they can download and listen to at home.  OK....maybe it wasn't quite as Easy as 1-2-3...but it was darn close to that easy.  I think if I just use the resource more I won't forget all the steps and I'll be all set.

Unequal Heating Of Earth's Surface
brought to you by Livescribe

I tried drawing it first but that didn't work so well because I had double lines when I did the audio.  So next I tried slipping the drawing I'd done underneath my blank page but I could see it.  Finally I ripped the page out of the notebook and held it up on the patio door (like a lightbox).  I can hear a couple of mistakes I make in the audio because I'm trying to hold the paper up, speak coherently and draw.....that's a lot for me.  But I think overall it works.

Social lessons of PBL...what I didn't expect but am learning now

Lots of creativity. Lots of energy.  Lots of fast moving, free flowing learning.  It's been a fantastically positive experience for all of us, most of the time.  It's loud but if you were there, you see that they pretty much all talking about their projects and the things they're building.

Using passion research to make product from Marsha Ratzel on Vimeo.

 

A few tears along the way.  Groups couldn't come to an agreement and harsh things were said to each other.  No one would compromise, so I had to broker a treaty.  Honestly one group had a couple fo members that wouldn't budge...both parties felt like their position was the "right" one.  It was a different kind of teaching victory...because I didn't let them go on until it was resolved.  The next day people had better attitudes...still not happy and certainly not forgotten. 

They're learning to listening to each other...trying to listen more than they talk.  It's hard.  Boy I can understand that.

 
I think this will be a journey not only for students but for me.  I need to continue to grow in my ability to lead students thru this kind of conflict resolution.  Asking those questions and being quiet enough...not rushing in to be Bob the Builder/Fixer.....because they won't learn if I do it for them.  Yet I have to make sure that everyone feels like I'm not watching the fireworks take place....it's my presence and proximity that has to lend the mantle of civility on the words and actions that they deploy in trying to solve their problems.

Some students really haven't had to learn to compromise and find that third solution out there...adults have solved it for them or they've been allowed to work by themselves.  I'm not saying that neither of those solutions are possibilities at other times, but this was a group project and that means learning different social skills than you will in other situations.

Other students have had to learn about craftsmanship.  Pride in product.  Doing the best on your project because it's yours. 

Did I forget to mention this....this is an un-graded project!!!!  No grades.  It's all about the learning.  I tried to free myself and them.  That hasn't gone well either.  Parents have emailed to say that their student has worked so hard and isn't getting any credit.  "Well no", I say but " they've learned a lot.  They knew going into it they weren't getting a grade so this isn't a surprise."  That doesn't sit too well with some parents.  Other parents couldn't be happier.  I just have to keep on moving forward believing what I see before my eyes.

 

Students have worked on this way more than I required.  Mostly because they were so interested and wanted to do all these creative, performance based things.  It's a good thing and I'm glad for the bumps in the road.  It's where I learn the most and I think I'm building up my PBL muscles.

Boxing match photo was from Flickr.  Licensed under a Creative Commons attribution license.   http://www.flickr.com/photos/pedrovezini/6156189348/sizes/s/in/photostream/.  Listening ear was licensed under the CC Attribution License http://www.flickr.com/photos/hansvanrijnberk/2598234846/sizes/s/in/photostream/

Amazing young scientist....PBL...many discoveries

Another dusty installment from Room 66....today I've had a moment to catch all of you up on all the findings we've been doing with our soil.  So many wonderful things.  Overall I would have to say that engagement in this process is HUGE...students have been very careful to follow the protocol and to follow each step precisely.

Take a look at the concentration on their faces.....

We've been joking that the gold miners of '49 don't have anything on the matrix examiners of Room 66.  Seriously they've looked thru each little bit....using spoons and toothpicks to uncover bits of shells, very small snail shells and even smaller and more fragile clam shells.

 

I didn't know if they would have enough patience for it...but they definitely do.

This is not normally how precise 6th graders are about anything.  But I think they felt the responsibility to do a good job for the scientists....so they rose to the challenge.

Look at this young scientist....he's using a toothpick to make sure he doesn't miss anything or that he doesn't damage anything.  He found a shell almost completely intact. Then a few minutes later, he found the very small bit of shell that was missing...when I tell you the missing piece was no bigger than a 2mm square, I'm not exaggerating.

 

In addition to being on task, learning so much....well, they're having fun.  Isn't that what learning should be like?

 

 

 

 

 

Today we hooked up the new digital microscope and here's an image they took.  So excited and we've just begun to learn how to use it.  This is an amazing image as the real-life thing is only about 1.5mm across.  This is magnified 40x.

 
This new microscope makes it possible for the whole class to see this kind of magnification from their seats as I project it up onto the wall.  Now what do you think they will be drawing for the quantitative observations tomorrow?  I have to say that when the group projected this image for the rest of the class.....a  collective "oh yeah, I get it now" went through the class.  Originally they had thought this mastodon lived in a frozen tundra....Siberia like. 

Suddenly presented with these kinds of shells, they are having to revise/rethink....and build new conclusions. 

Suddenly they are beginning to think that maybe it was warm and wet...places that snails and clams like to be.

Gotta love the scientific argumentation process when you actually have evidence they discovered that can be used to put forth an argument that real middle schoolers can make.  I know the HS and life science people have been doing and doing and doing this.  But it doesn't happen all that often for us earth science-middle school types.  So I'm counting this as a huge victory for my kiddos.

Again...it's a journey for me.  Getting out of their way...using my expertise to find and design experiences like this.  Letting them become all that they can be.   Don't you think when they write up their conclusions they will be powerful ones...full of amazing evidence and lots of hard thinking.  They will have spent the time working with the materials so they will know everything this soil has to reveal about life 9000 years ago.

Sharing artifacts from 9000 years ago...our 1st class blog post

Friday was a big blogging day for this year's class.  We took our first tentative steps and posted what we've been learning.

Students have been documenting their findings in the mostly marl soil we have using a camera. It's full of small snail and clam shells...and students have meticulously picked those out of the soil using toothpicks  and spoons.

I'm very excited because we just got a new microscope that should make the documentation much easier. Next week I'll have it up and running....take a look at this amazing little machine.  You never know how much a slick little digital microscope could change things for the kids...but I think they'll be thrilled at the detail they can see on the tiny shells, twigs and bits of beaver sticks.  

It's not a fancy post but I think it covered the essential things they've learned this past week.  That's something I've been working on with them, too.  Finding the essential ideas and then summarizing those ideas.  Students have been reading background materials on mastodons to learn this skill....first the brochure from the Museum and then a Highlights article called the "Wounded Mastodon".  We used the post-it method I wrote about in an earlier post. 

For this blog entry, it was time to put all those practice skills to work.  What did we learn this week, I asked?  And what pictures would best summarize our activities?  They decided we needed to focus on the process we used to examine the marl and that pictures that would expand on that idea would be best since most people wouldn't know what marl was (none of us did before this project).  They also thought they should show their "best" artifacts.  We took pictures of those. 

I should also note that there were lots of pictures that they wanted to use.  But we don't have all the media releases signed and returned.....it gave me a terrific moment to talk about why I couldn't just publish their picture on the internet.

We'll keep up working on blogging this way for a while....writing the posts together.  Do think alouds so students can "hear" the cognitive processing that goes on behind writing in this style and learning how to apply the ideas of safety with communciation. I'm also thinking that once we get their Google App accounts up and working, we could collaboratively write the post and then paste it into our class blog.  That might be my next step.

I'm very excited and proud of them.

 

Next two steps for PBL lessons--grabbing attention & turning over ownership

Creating mystery around something always is a good thing.  Even if students don't totally believe you 100%, they'll play along just because it's different...it's intriguing.

Teaching the scientific method is never going to be on the top of any 11 year old's list of things to learn.  That's why I wrapped it inside the Mastodon Matrix project.  The school secretary played along with me and came in holding bags of dirt.....sputtering about where did they go and she didn't know because there were just a bunch of numbers on the bag. 

Oh she deserves an Oscar for how well she played her part.  Students didn't really believe her, but they just were uncertain enough that it captured them. 

Now that we had the bags of soil in our possession spread out all over the floor, writing their ideas down, drawing elaborate diagrams of how their questions could connect.

To put all these ideas together for the class, students decided to use their post-its. Being the the Type A personality I wanted this to be something that would be time efficient.

Wrong.

It took us an entire class period to get ideas onto the post-its and to find categories for big ideas.  Once I was into the class by about 5 minutes, I totally knew it was the right decision.  In each class, I had at least one student who just drifted towards the board and starting re-arranging the post-its as each person read their idea aloud and added it to the pile.

I asked them to share what they were doing...heck, if they saw a need, it probably would make sense to all the other kids.  It did.  And they would debate each category.  I finally decided I needed to get over myself and just enjoy the process.

That was probably my best decision of the day.  So as I watched the conversation unfold, I could see them taking ownership of the whole project right before my very eyes.

It's what I always hoped for but never got everyone to buy into.  I get it now.  I was in the way and they needed me to clear out so they could work with the ideas until it made sense to them in whatever context they brought to class.

Natural leaders emerged.  Kids that I wouldn't  have picked. It fantastic to see the personality of each class emerge and tackle the exact same task in different ways.