Not Just Role-Playing

Designing a Poster of Learning

Sharing Observation Data

Dividing up Groupwork

To think like a scientist you have to start with a question and finish with more curiosity than when you began. Designing a science experience that feels authentic and relevant for students as they learn how to think like a scientist can be tricky.

I remember feeling bored as I went through class assignments in high school and college because the labs had prescriptive end results. There was a beginning and an end with new nothing to discover. So, I imagine students could feel frustration when everyone has to answer the same hypothesis. Or students may become frustrated when they’ve completed all the outlined experiment steps and don’t get the expected result.

Therefore, I try to have the students develop and explore their hypothesis, but whenever possible to challenge themselves to ask questions and answer those that they are most curious about. When analyzing the data collected to respond to their hypothesis they may realize they don’t quite yet have enought to make a conclusion. Not being able to make a conclusion from a single data collection is reflective of what most scientists experience. It’s frustrating but that is science. And in many ways that is how life works too.

With this in mind, how do I encourage students to stay curious when they don’t get the instant gratification they crave by not getting the right answer the first time?

As students finished reading and discussing Ishmael in humanities many were frustrated by their unanswered questions about power, community and responsibility. Meanwhile in biology, students worked in groups analyzing data to answer their hypothesis about Bonobos’ behavior in captivity and quickly realized there was no clear-cut conclusion. I recognized students were feeling uncomfortable with the lack of answers when a student asked me if they would get points off because they could not answer their hypothesis.

As I walked around checking in with groups I asked them to focus on brainstorming all the factors that affected the outcome of their data analysis and to write down new questions they have about Bonobo behavior. This reflection is a way to encourage students to stay curious. In presenting their learning I heard students share how time of day, familiarity with the animals and even weather may have affected the behaviors they witnessed – all excellent observations.

To wrap up their mini-presentation of learning I was most impressed by the new questions they shared with whole class. The complexity of their wonderings showed they were thinking like scientists. I hope they are as impressed by their understanding and wonderings of Bonobos as I was, considering that a week ago they didn’t even know what a Bonobo is much less how similar they are to our species!

I hope they apply this curiosity about the Bonobos’ world to their own experiences as learners!