Rethinking Classroom Investigations
In a classroom investigations, teachers and children work with materials (plants, sand and soil, electric wires and bulbs), making observations to answer questions. Investigations take many forms- the classroom community may work inside or outside, do a controlled experiment or observe something changing over time.
Classroom science investigations can be opportunities for children to represent ideas, ask questions, make decisions, iterate, and deepen explanations.
Traditional Classroom Investigations
Often, classroom investigations are tightly scripted- set up as procedures children follow so that they can see what they are supposed to and develop the desired explanation. Here's an example of an investigation often used in 1st to 3rd grade classrooms.
1. Posing a Question
What do plants need to grow?
Do they need light?
2. Investigating
3. Guiding Observations
Measure the height of plants from the soil
Count leaves
Graph results
4. Supporting a Claim
“Plants need light to grow. The plants with light grew taller than the plants with no light.”
“We sand away at the interesting edges of subject matter until it is so free from its natural complexities, so neat, that there is not a crevice left as an opening. All that is left is to hand it to them, scrubbed and smooth, so that they can view it as outsiders.”
— Lisa Schneier, in Duckworth, 1987
What’s the problem?
These investigations can remove so much of the uncertainty and creativity that drive science practice that there is little for children to make sense of. Consider some of the differences below. Which have you noticed, and maybe struggled with, in your science learning or your teaching experience?
Traditional Classroom Investigations
What Scientists Experience
Students are left with little to explain.
Scientists explain because their results are surprising or dissatisfying.
Students engage in science & engineering practices to do school, without shaping or understanding the purpose of the practices.
Scientists develop practices and cultures for sensemaking as they work together.
Scientists are uncertain not only about explanations but about investigations, measures, etc.
Investigations leave little room for discussion and debate.
Scientists argue because their peers disagree.
Things that go wrong are treated as mistakes to be fixed.
The Investigations Project develops investigations that invite and support sensemaking.
We do this by connecting investigations to a rich phenomenon so students have something to make sense of, then inviting children to grapple with some of the uncertainty scientists experience as they move between phenomena, investigations, observations & evidence, and explanations.
Reimagining Investigations
Here’s a way to rethink the plant growth investigation by supporting students to develop tentative explanations of a phenomenon, use an investigation to represent it and figure something out about it, develop evidence, and use claims to build and deepen explanations.
Developing tentative explanations of a phenomenon
Children are studying a wild backyard area behind their school. Their teacher nurtures questions about how the plants got there and why there are different plants in different places. Children start to wonder: does the shade cast by the school wall matter?
Children imagine seeds from different plants landing in the backyard and imagine and justify their ideas about whether plants could grow in those places.
Wild backyard phenomenon
Deciding how to use materials to represent a phenomenon and figure out something about it
The teacher brings in plant seeds and a lightbox and asks children how they can use these materials to study what might happen to a seed landing in more and less shady areas of the backyard. She shows them how the wicking system will provide moisture to be like rain.
Children draw possible plans and debate how to represent shade with a lightbox: Should we block all the light coming in through the sides of the box? Is shade no light? Is it light some of the day?
They decide to use three conditions to represent different parts of the backyard.: Sun (the light is always on), Sun + Shade (the light is on 7 hours per day), and Shade (the light is off but the box is not completely dark except at night).
Child’s investigation plan
Developing and making sense of evidence
Children discuss what they should pay attention to to see which plants are more successful. As the plants begin to grow, each child uses their evidence sheet to make claims about which condition their plant is growing best in (or indicating that they are not sure) and draw and record their evidence. As they present and discuss, they have to decide what evidence is most important. They realize that they might make different claims depending on what they pay attention to.
The teacher supports the children to see that plants that grow more seedpods are more successful because over time there will be more and more of those plants in that area outside.
Evidence page
Using claims to build and deepen explanations
The class agrees that the plants in the sun are most successful because they make seedpods and would grow and multiply over time.
But they aren’t done when they can support a claim with evidence. They need to make sense of what this means for their initial question: Does the light in the backyard matter for plant growth? They turn back to the backyard.
Ms. W. makes a claim: I think that now that it's spring, when we go to the backyard, we will only see plants growing in the areas with lots of sun. There won't be any in the shade.
The class erupts with ideas:
"The lightbox isn't exactly like the sun! We were just pretending it was."
"Nowhere in the backyard gets sun 24 hours a day!"
"There are plants that fit in the shade, there are other plants that can survive in the sun plus shade, and there are plants that can grow in the sun."
"My strawberry was growing outside in the shade!"
Ms. W. can then support students, using read-alouds and a trip back to the backyard to catalog where plants are, to construct an explanation that different plants need different amounts of light to grow, reproduce, and make more of their kind in an area, depending on their structures and needs.
Children’s field guide and map of where plants grow in the backyard
Reflection
How do you see the re-designed investigation trying to move toward “what scientists experience” in the table above?
How is this similar to how you have engaged in science investigations or taught science? What seems new or different?
We think this investigation better represents the shape of science practice and the kinds of uncertainty scientists work through as they try to explain a phenomenon, conduct experiments, and make sense of evidence. Much of the questions, exciting science activity, and conceptual progress occur for students in the transitions between the phenomenon, investigation, evidence, and explanation.
Learn more about this framework and see other examples of uncertainty.