One of the main characteristics of a leader in science education is to understand science deeply and understand the nature of it (Laureate, 2010i). Through guided inquiry, many lessons are taught, which include; the science concept or standard in target, teamwork, how to stay safe, information about the world, other subject standards, and general skills for planning any project and applying the plan to action.
During this week’s experiment, my students showed great enthusiasm about the topic and were eager to begin their terrariums. I built up their excitement even more by demonstrating the control experiment and giving them a vision of where we were headed. Building the control terrarium myself was a form of Confirmation Inquiry (Banchi & Bell, 2008). In Life science it is not very easy to use other forms of inquiry because it is mainly observatory work with little room for manipulation as with other divisions of science. One cannot simply break an ant’s leg to see how it will react, therefore supervised confirmation inquiry was my choice for this experiment.
However no students were allowed to begin until safety regulations were handed out (attached). I took the time to explain what each material item was used for and gave them the opportunity to ask any questions that would help them begin. It took the students a while to figure out what factors they would change for their terrarium, so I asked them to give me examples of environmental factors and we made a list on the board to help them choose. At this point students were required to answer the questions provided in their worksheet to help guide them into their plan.
More questions were asked during the set up of their terrariums, like, “how much soil do we need?” or “should I mix up the seeds or put the seeds or plant them in different sections?” Some students needed help while setting up while others went through the process with great ease. The problem was that because the classroom was divided into groups, some students dominated the set up more than others for several reasons. Partly because I assigned one of the higher performing students to each group to guide, and partly because others were lazier and less engaged than they should be. To overcome this, I moved around and spent a great deal of time with each group, asking questions to those less participating about what they had done and what to do next. If there were still a few unplanted seeds, I would ask them to show me how they should plant them.
As planned out as our lesson plan was, there were still a few missed points here and there. For example, we used lab trays to reduce the amount of dirt or seeds falling on the floor, but it may have been better to use paper beneath their work to make it easier to pick up the paper with dirt and seeds and discard. It took more time cleaning up. Another point I will consider is to perhaps begin this experiment a couple of weeks earlier so the students can have plants to manipulate factors for. They will now have to wait until seeds germinate and then begin their trials.
Some plants have actually begun germination and the students have started changing their desired environmental factor. For their abiotic factor, the four groups had chosen; lower temperature (placed in front of the air conditioning vent to maintain lower temperature but to keep it in the same location as others for less change), less space (by placing plastic wrap over their tray to limit room for vertical growth), more water (750ml of water instead of the standard 500ml for all other groups), and more sun (having the tray in direct sunlight rather than on the science table farther away like all the other trays).
On a positive note, I found that the lesson plan template and the Five E’s have truly helped in creating a well rounded lesson with all the elements being considered. While writing the lesson plan I visualized a great deal of what would happen so I was able to plan ahead for any setbacks such as cleanliness or balanced group members. My thoughts were very organized and I was able to navigate the lesson and student thought processing in a structured manner.
One of the main setbacks of my experiment was time. I was taught the old fashioned way and while I have great resources, I have taught best when I was able to visualize the experiment beforehand. It would be wonderful to have more workshops and live demonstrations for more visual inspiration and support. A transformational leader at a school can also be a great resource and fulfill some voids that fund can create to support teachers (Laureate, 2010j).
