The first week of school went quickly and in science lab we dove right into making models to show our thinking. Model making is an important SEP, and although my students had been drawing models over the past several years, I felt that they were missing the key purpose of making models. Students were told that models were suppose to make our thinking visible, but I wasn't being clear about what that meant or how it looked.
Last spring I was introduced to the book, Ambitious Science Teaching by Mark Windschitl, Jessica Thompson, and Melissa Braaten. Once I reached Chapters 6 and 7 on Allowing Students to Show What They Know, my understanding of modeling evolved! When I read the section on Providing Directions (p. 140), I knew what I had been missing!
"One rule to keep at the forefront of your thinking is; You won't get what you don't ask for. This means students are attempting a complex performance (model +explanation), but they will not be able to read your mind about what's going to count as a legitimate and complete end product." (ABS, p. 140)
I understood, the students needed more from me. I started redesigning my lessons on modeling and the results even on the first day have supported the idea that I need to give directions when students make models! My 3rd grade students arrived in the Science Lab anxious for their first lab experience.
We started off reading Noteable Notebooks by Jessica Fries-Gaither
to understand the purpose of keeping a science notebooks. Early in the book, the students are introduced to Galileo and a page of his notebook that showed modeling. This page would be revisited the 2nd day the students were in the lab. To finish their first day, student were presented the Coin Challenge. An index card is laid over the top of a plastic cup. A coin is place in the center of the index card. Students are asked to develop solutions that would get the coin into the bottom of the cup without touching the coin or lifting the card. At our end of class Scientists' Meeting we shared solutions.
The following day when the students returned to lab, we held another Scientists' Meeting to review the prior day's work. This means a review of the problem, and a review of the page about Galileo's notebook and his model. I showed them the models 4th and 5th graders had been working on, and had them compare the models to find common elements. The students noticed all the models had certain elements: the parts of the system, arrow, and labels. They also realized that the models showed what they student thought was happening. I had the students return to the Coin Challenge for a few minutes to determine about which method they wanted to do their model. We went over the directions together, and filled out the first panel together. The students completed the rest of the model and the explanation on their own. I was able to move through the room to ask clarifying questions, and guide students to add more to the model using the Gotta Have It list as an anchor. I have NEVER had this level of independence this early! Day 2....creating their own models...with cause-effect coming through connecting motion to forces! I know in reflecting, it was the scaffolding provided by the directions and Gotta Have It that allowed for this work. I am so excited to see what the rest of the year brings!
