Chapter5Usingstudentvoicetoguideexperimentation

Thedifferenceingoals,however,isexactlywhatcausedstructurestodivergebetweenmymathand scienceclasses.Thegoalsinscience,namelydevelopinginvestigationalcapability,weremoreprocess oriented,sotherewaslessofaproductgoalthanwhathadexistedinmath.TheonlyproductthatI anticipatedwastoworktowardsstudentsdesigningtheirownexperiment,yeteventhiswasaproduct ofchoiceandunderstoodasmoreofaconceptthansomethingtangible.Assuch,thesystemweusedto buildstructurestoreachourendgoalwasrelativelythesame,butthestructuresthemselveswere different. Torecapwheretheresearchinscienceleftoff,Ihadplannedtonotgivestudentsanyformofascripted labhandout,butinsteadprovidematerials,resources,andaninvestigationalpurposewhiletheywould beresponsibleforalloftheproceduraldecisions.ThiswassomethingthatIwouldscaffold,somehow, givingtimetomodelinvestigationalmethodsandbuildstructureswhilemovingtowardslessguided experimentation.Ididworryaboutlevelsofengagementinalessguidedformat,andwantedtobemore certainthatstudentswouldbeabletoperformwellwhengivengreaterchoice. Iwentbacktoanalyzeearlierreflectionsforthescienceworktohelpprovidedirectionandinform constructionofstructuresthatwecouldusetoassureengagementmovingforward.WhenIdidthis, therewasarecurringissuethatemerged.Ifoundthat,regardlessofactivity,itappearedtherewasa portionofstudentswhodidntfindtheworkthatweweredoingtobethatsignificant.Icouldnt recognizeanyconsistencieswiththesestudents.Theywerecomprisedofvaryingindividualsdepending ontheworktheywerereflectingon.Thissparkedmycuriosity,thinkingthatifIcouldmoreclearly understandwhatcontributestosignificantlearningexperiences,Icouldplanforwardinamoreengaging direction.Ifoundinmaththatwhenstudentsusedalearningstrategytocontributetotheirlearning, theireffortsseemedmoreworthwhile.Iconsideredthatcreatingmoresignificantlearningexperiences inmyscienceclassmightincreaseengagement,andhopefullyperformance,too. Isharedthesethoughtswithmyresearchadvisor,andhesuggestedhavingthestudentsreflecton elementsofsignificantlearningfromtheireducationalexperience.Hementionedthatindoingso,I wouldobtaindataspecificallyrelatedtowhatstudentsconsidervaluableintheirlearning.This informationcouldpotentiallybeveryinforminginplanningmynextsteps.Heprovidedmewithan ElementsofSignificantLearningprotocol,whichIslightlyadaptedformyclass,shownbelow.

ReflectingonSignificantLearningProtocol JournalWriting(~10min.): Describeasignificantlearningexperiencefromyourtimeinschool

Discussion(~20min): Breakintogroupsof3andintroduceyourselves. Shareyoursignificantlearningexperience. Duringthediscussion,trytorecognizeinformationabout: Shareout(~10min.): Whatthemesemergedaboutthelearningexperiences?Didanyoneshareanysimilar experience?Whatneedstohappentomakelearningsignificant? Debriefreflection(~10min.) Howmightweusethesethemesfromourexperiencestohelpwithour/yourworkin thisclass? Whowasthere? Wheredidtheexperiencestakeplace? Whatmadetheseexperiencessignificant?

Fig.20protocolforstudentreflectionsonsignificantlearning

Duringtheshareout,Icompiledstudentresponsesonthefrontwhiteboardandworkedwithstudents tonarrowdownwhattheysharedintothemesforsignificantlearning.Herearethecombinedresultsfor bothclasses: Theteacherwasopenmindedtolettingstudentstrydifferentapproaches Therewasanelementchoiceorpersonalpreference/theabilitytodesignhowtodothework Therewasaccesstoprofessionalsorresourcesoutsideofschool Thelearninghadlastingeffectorsignificanceaftertheworkwascompleted Studentslearnedsomethingaboutthemselves Therewaslittlepressuretoreachacertainlevelofsuccess,creatinglessofafearoffailure Thereweredeadlinesandcleargoalsorreasonsforlearningthatprovideddirectionforthework

ManyoftheelementsforsignificantlearningcorrelatedtowhatIwasaimingtoincorporateintomy curriculumfromthefeedbackIobtainedusingstudentvoice.IfeltlikeIvebeenopenminded,andhave includedmorestudentchoicebylisteningtostudents.Ivemadeeffortstominimizeafearoffailingby creatingaculturewherewerecognizedunanticipatedorundesirableoutcomesasnecessary componentsforprogress.WhywasntIcreatingasmanysignificantexperiencesasIwouldexpectgiven thecriteriaforsignificantlearningthatwefound? Ibrieflyentertainedanewperspectiveonmyresearchtoconsidertheendsofmyfindingsandwork backwardtowardapracticalnextstep.Ratherthanbeginningwithadesignandtakingasteptoinclude choice,Iwonderedwhatitwouldbelikeifstudentshadcompletechoiceandthenincludingthe necessarystructuresonlywhereguidancewasrequired.IfeltthatbytakingthisapproachIwouldhave greaterpotentialtomaximizemyprogress. Inapplyingthisperspectivetomypractice,Itriedtoenvisionhowascienceclassthatembodiesthe themesfromthesignificantlearningexercisemightappear.InmyjournalIreflectedontwoquestions: Whatwouldascienceclasslooklikethathadcompletestudentchoiceandtheworkwasprimarily handson?andHowcanIbuildascienceclassroomthatcreatessignificantlearningopportunitiesfor studentseachday? Journalentry: Irecentlyspentsometimethinkingaboutwhatmadeanythinginmyowneducation significant.WhenIworkedasachemist,IfeltlikeIwasgettingmyrealeducation.Idid learnquitealotwhilepursuingmydegree,buttonotangibleend.Iwasmainlypooling informationinmyhead,mostofwhichIsawlittleusefor.WhatIdidusewhenIbegan mycareerbecameverysignificant,andmyunderstandingoftheconceptsnecessaryto performatmyjobbecamemuchdeeper.Itwastheactofapplyingmyunderstandingsin apurposefulwaythatgavemeaningtomyeducation. Asaformerchemist,andnowscienceteacher,Ishouldtakethisexperienceasalesson fordesigningmycurriculum.Ishouldtrytoteachsciencethroughexperimentationand labpractice,wherecontentacquisitionispairedwithapplicationinoneeffort. Whatifstudentscouldcometoclassandchoosetoperformanyexperimentthatthey wanted,legallyandsafelypermitting?Theycouldhaveresourcesavailabletolearnany contentorskillsnecessaryforperformingtheirexperiment,anddesigninvestigationsas theyseefit.Theycoulddevelopassciencestudentsaccordingtotheirownchoiceand preference,ratherthanbymeasuringuptolearninggoalscreatedforthembysome extrinsicsource,namelyme.Asaninstructor,Icouldassumemoreofasupervisoryrole, approvingexperimentproposalsandmentoringstudentsastheyprogress.Insteadofa classroomwhereallstudentstypicallylearnthesamematerialatthesamepace,they wouldhavechoice,anddevelopinapersonalizedmanner.Byallowingforeach individualtocrafttheirownscienceeducation,theywouldgaintheirownexpertise, possiblyincreasingtoagreaterpotentialforcollaboration.Aseachstudentgainstheir

ownuniqueabilitiesandunderstandings,theycoulduseeachotherasresourceswhena particularskillsetisneeded.Thediversitycouldcreateanopportunityforstudentsto establishandrecognizetheirindividualvaluetoothersortheclass.Inanactual laboratory,peoplehavetheirownspecializationsandskillsetstoshare,sotheconcept isntthatremovedfromreality. Ofcourse,Idontknowwhatthislookslike,butitseemsidealtome.Therewouldneed tobeallkindsofstructuresinplacetofacilitatethiskindoflearningenvironmentand supportstudentsastheyembarkintheirstudies. Thiswassomethingtoconsiderforthenextroundofresearch,orfuturework.Iknewthatit wasntpracticaltojumprightintoafullystudentdirectedclassroomasdescribedinmyjournal entry,butitdidgivemeanideaformovingforward.Icouldhavesolelycontrivedstructures,but Ialreadyrealizedthepowerofdirectlyinvolvingstudentsinthedesignofclassworkfrommy earlierfindings.IfIwantedstudentstoperformtheirownexperiments,Iwouldneedtowork withthemtocreatethestructuresfordoingso.Ifelttherewasnobetterwaytodothisthanto givethemtheabilitytoinfluenceourdirection,andtodothat,Ineededtogivethemavoice. Partofthatvoiceishavingthecapabilityofmakinginformeddecisions. Idecidedthatinordertofostertheircapability,theyneededpracticeandexperience.Their learningneededtobemorehandsonandlesspassiveiftheyweretheirvoicewastoreflect experience.Idecidedthatwewouldperformournextexperimenttonotonlylearncontent,but toexaminehowwecandesignanduseexperimentationtodemonstrateandlearnscience.I wouldinvolvethemintheprocessthatIuseincreatingscriptedlabs,modelingmydecision makingandencouragingthemtodevelopanunderstandingofkeyconsiderations. Giventimeconstraints,weonlyhadtimeforonemoreexperimentbeforestudentscoulddesigntheir experimentinitsentirety.Thiswasntideal,butitcouldwork.Duringthenextexperiment,Iwouldonly designinpromptstohelpguidestudentswhereIfeltnecessary.Intheend,wewouldworktogetherasa classtoreviewwhatelementsconstitutevaluableinformationorconsiderationsforpreparingeach sectionofanexperiment.Iplannedthatstudentswouldaddtheirthoughtsorpreferences,andIwould modelexperimentdesignbygivingthestudentsimportantthingsthatIconsiderwhenperformingthis exercise. Asteppingstone Asstatedpreviously,Iwantedtobeginhavingthestudentspracticeexperimentdesign.Forthenext experiment,Ifeltanadequatesteppingstonefromascriptedlabwouldbehavingthestudentsrecreate analreadyscriptedlab,workingthroughtheprocessasIwould.Eachgroupofstudents,calledan investigationteam,receivedanenvelopewithpiecesandexcerptsthat,whenarrangedaccordingly, wouldcreatealabexercise.Thechallengeforeachteamwastofigureouthowitallpiecedtogetherand whatpartofanexperimentthepiecesofinformationpertainedto.Ithoughtthispuzzlesolving approachwouldmakethelearningabitmoreengaging.Belowarethepiecesofinformationtheywere

given,withaddedpromptstohelpthemapplytheirunderstandings.Thesewerecutintoslipsofpaper andplacedrandomlyinanenvelopethatwasgivenaninvestigationteamatthebeginningoftheperiod. Goal:

Whatisthislab?Withyourgroup,trytocomeupwithanexplanationandprocedureforthislab. Besuretoreferenceanyunderstandingyourteamdeveloped,andwritehowtheprocedureasit wouldbeappropriateforthecontextofthisroom.

Pieces:
anoxidationreduction(redox)reactiontakesplace aqueoussilver(I)nitrateandsolidcopperreact aqueouscopper(II)nitrateandsolidsilverareproduced Whatisthebalancedchemicalreactionforthislab? Molarityisameasureofconcentration,aratiooftheamountofmolesofasubstanceperliter, withequation:(Ex..2MNaClis.2molofNaCldissolvedin1Lofwater) Howmanygramsofsilvernitrateshouldbedissolvedin1Lofwatertocreatea.1Mconcentrated solution? Copperwire 30mlor50mlbeaker 25mlof.1Msilvernitrate Weighboat(theplastictraystousedweighstuffonthescale) Whatarethecationsinthereaction? Whatistheanioninthereaction? Theoxidationnumberisthechargeofanatominacompound. Singleelementsinareactionhaveanoxidationnumberof0. Whatistheoxidationnumberforeachcationinthereaction? Whichelementwasreduced?(whichelementgainedelectronsinthereaction) Whichelementwasoxidized?(whichelementlostelectronsinthereaction) Oxidationiswhenanatomloseselectronsinachemicalreaction. Reductioniswhenanatomgainselectronsinachemicalreaction. Whatisthemolarratiobetweensolidcopperandsolidsilverinthereactionforthislab? Themolarratioisthenumericalratiobetweensubstancesinachemicalreaction.(Ex.inthe reaction,2A+3B1C+5D,themolarratiobetweensubstancesAandDis2:5) Whatisthemolarmass(thegramspermole)ofsilvernitrate?

Fig.21piecetogetherlabactivity

Thestudentsworkedforroughlytwothirdsoftheperiodtorecreatethislab,whileIroamedtheroom andcontributedanysupportasneededorrequested.Studentswereengagedinthechallengeof solvingthepuzzle,andIhopedthattheywerefindingtheexperiencesignificant.Incolumnsonthe frontboard,Iwrotedownthevarioussectionstoconsiderwhenpiecingalloftheinformationtogether, andintheendwegatheredeachteamsfindingstoconstructthelabtogether.Thecolumntitleswere forallofthepreliminarywork,includingtheintroduction,materials,andmethods.

Itdidseemtohaveasignificantimpact.Aswewentthrough,tablebytable,membersfromvarious groupssharedinformationtheyfeltwasrelevant.Theconversationthatensuedwassurprisingly constructive.Studentsdebatedfiercely,agreeinganddisagreeingaboutwhereinformationbelonged. Togethertheyweighedtherelevanceinthegrandscopeoftheexperiment.Thingsweretakinglonger thanIexpected,butthiswastruecollaboration,andIfeltitwasthegreatestvehicleforunderstanding experimentationthateveroccurredinmyclass.Theperiodendedjustasweagreedonwhatshouldbe compiledintothecolumns.Thedesignwouldhavetowaitforthenextclass.Ipostedtheworkonmy blogandaskedthestudentstoconsiderhoweachsectionmightbewrittenintoareportbythenext class. Astheycametothenextclass,theygotintotheirgroupsandtookouttheirjournalstobeginwherewe leftoff.Igaveeachgroupahandoutwiththeworkthatwasleftontheboard,detailingtheinformation thatwedecidedwasrelevantforeachsection.Ourgoalwastostartwritingthesectionstogetherusing thehandoutasaguide.Itwasclearthattheyhadalreadygiventhoughtabouthowtoconstructeach section.IbecamemoreofascribethanadirectinstructorasIfranticallywrotedownalloftheitems thateachgroupcontributed.Forthemostpart,theyagreedonthewaysthateachsectionwasbeing constructed.Wheretherewasdisagreement,weagreedtocreatebulletedpointsforkeythoughts,but leftituptoeachstudenttophraseitastheychoseintheirjournals.Thiskeptthingsmovingalongby preventingtheclassfrombeingboggeddownarguingaboutratherinsignificantparticulars. WeworkedthrougheachsectionasItookopportunitiestoaddmythoughtsandmodeldesign techniques,creatinganintroduction,materials,andmethodssectionasshownbelow. Introduction
Oxidationandreductionoccurwheneverthereisatransferofelectronsduringachemical reaction.AssignifiedbythecommonmnemonicphraseLEOthelionsaysGER,lossofelectrons isoxidationandgainingofelectronsisreduction.Likewise,thetransferofelectronscanbe viewedasatransferofcharge.(opportunitytoexplainfurtherabouttransferofchargein Redoxreactions)Inthisparticularlabwewillbeperformingaredoxreactionbetweencopper andsilverchloridecalledasinglereplacementsubstitutionreaction.GiventhatAandBare cationsandCisananion,thebasicmechanismforthistypeofreactionfollowsassuch: A+BCAC+B (Describeabovereactionasyouseefit) Cu(s)+2AgNO3(aq)>Cu(NO3)2(aq)+2Ag(s) (Inadditiontoanalyzingoxidationandreduction,discusshowwemightdemonstrate ourknowledgeofstoichiometrybyverifyingmolarratiosandcalculatingapercent yield.Althoughtherearemanyprocessesoccurringinthisreaction,therearevisually distinctchangesthatsignifywhenonehasoccurred.Attempttopredictthe underlyingchemistrybehindeachofthechangesthatmightbeobserved.)

Materials
copperwire beaker .1MAgNO3 filterpaper

Methods
Day1:reactingthecopperandsilvernitrate Attainapieceofcopperwire,weighittothenearesthundredthontheclassscale,andrecordthe informationinthedatasectionoftheyourlabjournal. 2. Measure25mlof.1MAgNO3(s)andpouritintotheprovidedglassbeaker. 3. Shapethecopperwireasdesiredplaceitinthebeakerandletitstandovernight. Day2:obtainingtheresults 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Attainyourgroupsbeakerfromthepreviousdayandrecordanyobservations. Whenready,carefullymovethewireinupanddownmotionstoshakeoffthesilvercrystals. Trytogetallsilvercrystalsintothebeakerusingdistilledwaterandaplasticpipette. Placethecopperwireonapapertoweltodry. Whenthesilverinthebeakersettles,decantasmuchliquidaspossible. Weighapieceoffilterpaperandthenpourtheremainingsilversolutiononit.Rinsethebeaker togetallsilverontothefilterpaper. Washthefilterpapertwicewithafewmillilitersofdistilledwatersothatitcandripthrough. Whendry,weighthecopperwireandthesilver+filterpaperandrecordthedata. 1.

Wethendesignedthelearninggoalsforourexperiment,whichwouldbeusedtoframeourdata collectionandresultssections.Igavetheclassthefollowingtwoquestionstohelpcreateacommon purpose:

Whataretheconceptsthatareinvolvedinthislab? Howmightweusethereactionthatwearegoingtoperformtotestordemonstratethese concepts?

Theyhad10minutestodiscussthequestionsintheirteams,andthenshareout.Again,Icompiledtheir thoughtsontheboardandwetogetherorganizeditintoacriticalanalysisofourfindings.Ourendresult wasadiagramintheformofaflowchartthatstudentswouldusetoguidethedatacollectionand results.

GiventhatAgNO3wasthelimitingreactant, andastartingsolutionofxmLof.1MAgNO3, howmanymolesofAgNO3wereavailableto participateinthereaction? volumexmolarity=moles

Basedonthis,howmanymolesofcopper reacted? usemolarratiobetweencopper andsilvernitrateintherxn

Basedonthis,howmanygramsofcopper shouldhavereacted? usethemolarmassforcopperto convertfrommolestograms

Howmanygramsofcopperactuallyreacted? Thisisan experimental value

Basedonhowmanygramsofcopperactually reacted,howmanymolesofcopperreacted? usemolarmassforcopperto convertfromgramstomoles

Basedonthis,howmanymolesofsilverdo youexpecttorecover?

usethemolarratiobetweencopper andsilverinthereaction

Basedonthis,howmanygramsofsilverdo youexpecttorecover? usemolarmassforsilvertoconvert frommolestograms

Thisisa theoreticalvalue

Fig.22codesignedflowcharttodemonstratelearninggoals

ThiswassuchaclearerpictureforanalyzingdatathanwhatItypicallyincludedonscriptedlabs.Iwould alwaysprovideaproceduretogatherimportantdataandquestionsorpromptsthatIfeltwould challengethestudentstoapplyconceptsindevelopingasolution,butIneverfeltlikeitinstilledastrong senseofinvestigationbecausetheyencounteredthequestionsaftertheworkhadbeencompleted. Whatwevenowdonetogetherismappedaninvestigationalmodeltosetcleargoalsbeforeembarking. Theresultsofthelabcannowbeusedasameasureofnotonlyourunderstandingoftheconcepts,but ourexperimentaldesignandprocedure.

Inretrospect,whenIlookatthisexerciseinamoreholisticmannerIcanrecognizeagreaterimplication. Thiswasasignificantexperienceformeasaneducator.Asindividuals,studentsmaynothavebeenable toperformtheactiondesigningthelabwithallofthedetails,butasacollective,theysucceeded.WhenI wentbacktolookatthelabasitwasscriptedbefore,Isawthatwhatwemadewasntarecreationat all.Itwasdifferent.Itwasbetter.Bycomparison,therewerethingsaddedthatseeminglymadeitmore engaging,andotherpiecesthatwereentirelyremovedwithoutsacrificingimportantconcepts.Ihad learnedsomethingasaneducator:usingstudentvoicewasdemonstrativelyamoreeffectivewayfor creatingandconductingexperiments. Forthenextclass,studentsweretoldtocomeinandperformthelabontheirownaccord.Astheyfiled intoclass,sometookoffrightoutofthegate,delegatingtaskstoeachotherastheycollectedmaterials andstartingtowork.Othersgatheredmoreslowly,butseemedtotakeacuefromthemoremotivated groupsandbegansoonenough.Beforelong,everygroupwasworking,experimentingandcollecting data.AllIsaidwashellotoincomingstudents. Aftertheseconddayofexperimenting,theysubmittedtheirfindings.Unsurprisingly,theresultsverified thattheconceptswewerestudyingwerevalidandtestable.Iexpectedasmuchbecauseouranalysis waspredicatedonatypicallypredictablescriptedlab.WhatwasmoretellingwasthefeedbackIgot whenIaskedthemhowtheyexperiencedthisactivitywhencomparedtopreviouslabs.Theirresponses suggestedthattheydevelopedabetterunderstandingofthepurposetoourexperimentation. Iactuallyknowwhatisgoingon. Ilikedthatwetooktimetotrytounderstandwhyweweredoingwhatweweredoing. Weshouldvedoneexperimentslikethisbefore. Thepuzzlethingwasweirdbutdoingthelabonourownwasmuchbetter.Ilearnalotmore thiswayandIcanalwaysaskforhelpifIneedto. Inthebacksoftheirjournals,Ihadthemwritedownwhattheyfeltwereimportantconcernswhen writingalab.ThiswouldbearesourceIplannedtousetokickoffournextandfinalexercise,students performingtheirownexperiment.