What counts as a satisfying explanation
Explaining involves deciding when you have a good enough explanation, given your evidence and purposes. No explanation covers all details or relevant phenomena- so scientists are constantly evaluating whether their explanation is satisfying and what next questions and related phenomena it points them to. Engaging students with this form of uncertainty allows them to evaluate what they have made progress on and consider what they don’t yet know.
A closer look at uncertainty in the classroom
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Instructional moves to support this form of uncertainty
Ask students questions that encourage them to evaluate claims and explanations: “Does it make sense that your seed would be a good wind traveler, based on what you know about it?” “What parts of the phenomenon does this help you understand? Are there questions you still have, or things you don’t feel sure about yet?”
Acknowledge that investigators often still feel uncertainty after investigating. This feeling leads them to new questions and new investigations.
Read and discuss texts about investigators, engineers, and activists who didn’t feel satisfied and persevered.
Engage students in discussions where two models or explanations each account for some of the data, or “should we” questions that include tradeoffs and multiple perspectives.
Where else does this form of uncertainty come up?
Explore Related Cases
Other Ways to Learn More
You can build in opportunities for children to evaluate how satisfying their current explanation is as a way to motivate further reading, investigation, or use of simulations, as in the 5th Grade Conservation of Matter Investigation.
Consider children’s dissatisfaction with their explanations as they grapple with uncertainty about how to apply findings in the cake investigation.
