Day 1:
Conducting Scientific Research
The first half of the scientific method.
Observations, Questions & Hypotheses - The precursors to research
*IMPORTANT TEACHER NOTES!
Activity Overview
This activity is meant to span over several days - and is meant for students to see how research
begets more research by simple observations turning into further questions.
It starts off with a simple lab that will springboard them towards another experiment that they themselves will work on.
This project walks them through the scientific method via experimental design process,
which is meant to prepare students for the upcoming science fair.
Activity Overview
This activity is meant to span over several days - and is meant for students to see how research
begets more research by simple observations turning into further questions.
It starts off with a simple lab that will springboard them towards another experiment that they themselves will work on.
This project walks them through the scientific method via experimental design process,
which is meant to prepare students for the upcoming science fair.
Materials list for today's activity:
- Battery Operated Cars
Electric Cars - Observations Activity
Objective: Students will make better observations, formulate questions and develop hypotheses. Students will then be introduced to the scientific method and have a deeper understanding of what a hypothesis is and what it should look like.
Assignments:
* Important!!! Before class starts have students work on their vocabulary!
(They will need it for the next day's conversation! Especially the first three terms!)
Assignments:
- Observation sheet (Pg 4. Fact/obs - Background Knowledge - Question - Answer)
* Important!!! Before class starts have students work on their vocabulary!
(They will need it for the next day's conversation! Especially the first three terms!)
After the students have worked on their vocabulary words,
day 2: the hypothesis & Scientific Process
Lesson Plan Notes:
Below is more detailed information about my thoughts concerning this lesson.
- First, I broke up the board into 4 sections with the following headings: observations, background knowledge, question & answer as illustrated below. Have students do the same in their notebook.
- To start with, I had students take a look at their list of observations & I had them choose their top two observations that they wanted to share. They only shared one of them - but the second one was in case another group used their original observation.
- Next I asked the class to choose the observation that they felt more interested in investigating.
- Based on the observation that they chose, I then posed and wrote the question up on the board.
- Next I asked the class if all of the answers look the same, or if they are all different.
- I then mentioned that we may need to know what the scientists need to know about water to see if it will help answer some aspects of our question - and then had them fill out the Background Knowledge section as they were reading the two articles about water (listed above).
- As a class, we discussed their findings about water - but then asked if what we found from the articles fully answered our question - or at least gave us some insight into our plight.
- I next asked if we had formed a hypothesis yet - if so, where along the way have we done so. This usually creates a lot of confusion and baffled looks - and its expected.
- I then asked - what IS a hypothesis? (discuss as a table) My usual response is - "an educated guess", but I also pump for more information from students - and emphasize that I am only looking to see where they are at with their understanding - and not feel too shy about it.
- Next, I then have the students go to the vocabulary section in their booklets and have them read and discuss what a hypothesis is. A hypothesis is a "possible explanation for a set of observations, or an answer to a scientific question."
- I then repeat my question "where in this process did we formulate a hypothesis?!" As you point to each step - ask them if that step is the hypothesis. Once they get to the "answers" section - strongly emphasize that the ANSWERS IS THE HYPOTHESIS!
- Point out that in that section - this is where students gave a possible explanation for a set of observations. It is also this same section that students gave an answer to a scientific question.
- I then proceeded to explain the difference between a thesis and a hypothesis as listed below.
- After I explain what a hypothesis is - I then played a little game with them - it's the numbers game as discussed in the video below.
- If I had time, I discussed with them what stage along this process drives research? - answer: questions. I then have the students read the quote on my wall - "The scientist is not the one who gives the right answer - but rather the one who asks the right questions."
- I then point out that questions are what drives research - and not what we already know (background knowledge). Observations have the capacity to create questions, but it is the questions that drives research. It can be looked like this - the question is like the vehicle of research. The hypothesis is the driver and steering wheel - which provides the direction as we go about our research.
Below is more detailed information about my thoughts concerning this lesson.
Chalk Board classroom Discussion from the observations activity
Observations:
These are the facts that you see. It may be qualitative or quantitative observations. i.e.
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Questions:
As a student makes some observations, they may come across an observation that doesn't make sense - or they lack background knowledge to explain their observation - or just may simply peak their curiosity. This is the beginning of how research gets started. We focused on the observation as to why the car w/o tape went faster than the car w/ the tape. i.e.
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Background Knowledge:
This is what you know to be true up to this point concerning what it is that you are observing. It's also what other scientists and professionals know about your research topic. (AKA secondary research). The ultimate question is: What do you already know about how it works? i.e.
The students should at least figure out that the switch completes the circuit between the battery and the motor. The motor then turns the gears - the gears turn the axle, and the axle turns the wheel. |
Answers:
This is an attempt to give a possible explanation to a set of observations, or an answer to a scientific question. i.e. Possible answers to the open ended questions.
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About the importance of questions and its relationship to research:
"What in this process drives research? Is it things that we already know, things that we simply observed? Or could it be the inferences that we make or the questions we ask?"
After a small discussion, I then point out that "A scientist is not a person who gives the right answers, but rather the one who asks the right questions." What drives research are the things that we don't know - not the things we already know. It's because we don't know something - we ask the questions. Questions - therefore, are what drives research. It is our initial answers that point us in a certain direction. Our initial answer may be correct, or it may not be correct. What we lack - is the evidence to support our initial answer.
"What in this process drives research? Is it things that we already know, things that we simply observed? Or could it be the inferences that we make or the questions we ask?"
After a small discussion, I then point out that "A scientist is not a person who gives the right answers, but rather the one who asks the right questions." What drives research are the things that we don't know - not the things we already know. It's because we don't know something - we ask the questions. Questions - therefore, are what drives research. It is our initial answers that point us in a certain direction. Our initial answer may be correct, or it may not be correct. What we lack - is the evidence to support our initial answer.
I then asked the students - did we or did we not form a hypothesis? If so, at what point in this process did we form the hypothesis?
About the hypothesis - what it is and its relationship to the question:
We learn that our initial answer to the question - is a hypothesis. A Hypothesis is a possible explanation for a set of observations - or an answer to a scientific question. The set of answers students created, in this exercise, were the set of hypotheses. It is the initial answer, or hypothesis, that provides the direction to our research.
But what makes a good question? A good scientific question is one that is open ended (who, what, when, where, why, how) and can be tested using variables. It is not an opinion based question - such as "what should I wear today", or "should I wear a coat today" - but rather something more like "why is it that raisins don't turn back into grapes when soaked in water?" or "How does water transfer back into a raisin?"
How the Hypothesis compares to a Thesis:
When we compare a hypothesis to a thesis, we realize that there is a lot of similarities. A Thesis is a statement or claim that you "know" to be true. In a 5 paragraph persuasive essay, the author shows evidence that supports the thesis and concludes that the thesis is correct because of the evidence that they provided proves it.
The Scientific Method is very similar to a 5 paragraph essay, and a Hypothesis is very similar to a thesis. When I separate the word hypothesis into two parts, it becomes evident that a hypothesis is a type of thesis; it's a "Hypo-Thesis" - or "sub claim". Meaning that a hypothesis is sub par to a thesis statement because it is not supported. The reason why a hypothesis is NOT a thesis is because it lacks evidence. A hypothesis, is an unsupported claim that we "believe" to be true, but we lack the evidence to support what we believe to be true; Therefore, a hypothesis must be tested to see if it could be true - we don't know - because we lack the evidence. Therefore, we need to investigate - or experiment to see if the answer is in the correct direction. Once we find our nugget of truth, we can then convert our hypothesis into a thesis when we write a scientific article.
How to conduct lab research will follow in our next day.
Further Insight:
One thing that I've learned is that an observation may start as an open ended question, which may start the research with a hypothesis written as a possible explanation for a set of observations, or an answer to a scientific question, but that open ended question and answer is then followed by a series of closed ended (Y/N) questions, with hypotheses resembling if / then statements to see if your answer is pointed in the right direction.
Or, it may be exactly the opposite approach. An observation may have been made - and you may have hypothesized that something causes something to happen and you may then ask a closed ended question such as "does something affect another?" (Y/N). This approach may then be followed up with an open ended question such as why or how does this affect the other?
We learn that our initial answer to the question - is a hypothesis. A Hypothesis is a possible explanation for a set of observations - or an answer to a scientific question. The set of answers students created, in this exercise, were the set of hypotheses. It is the initial answer, or hypothesis, that provides the direction to our research.
But what makes a good question? A good scientific question is one that is open ended (who, what, when, where, why, how) and can be tested using variables. It is not an opinion based question - such as "what should I wear today", or "should I wear a coat today" - but rather something more like "why is it that raisins don't turn back into grapes when soaked in water?" or "How does water transfer back into a raisin?"
How the Hypothesis compares to a Thesis:
When we compare a hypothesis to a thesis, we realize that there is a lot of similarities. A Thesis is a statement or claim that you "know" to be true. In a 5 paragraph persuasive essay, the author shows evidence that supports the thesis and concludes that the thesis is correct because of the evidence that they provided proves it.
The Scientific Method is very similar to a 5 paragraph essay, and a Hypothesis is very similar to a thesis. When I separate the word hypothesis into two parts, it becomes evident that a hypothesis is a type of thesis; it's a "Hypo-Thesis" - or "sub claim". Meaning that a hypothesis is sub par to a thesis statement because it is not supported. The reason why a hypothesis is NOT a thesis is because it lacks evidence. A hypothesis, is an unsupported claim that we "believe" to be true, but we lack the evidence to support what we believe to be true; Therefore, a hypothesis must be tested to see if it could be true - we don't know - because we lack the evidence. Therefore, we need to investigate - or experiment to see if the answer is in the correct direction. Once we find our nugget of truth, we can then convert our hypothesis into a thesis when we write a scientific article.
How to conduct lab research will follow in our next day.
Further Insight:
One thing that I've learned is that an observation may start as an open ended question, which may start the research with a hypothesis written as a possible explanation for a set of observations, or an answer to a scientific question, but that open ended question and answer is then followed by a series of closed ended (Y/N) questions, with hypotheses resembling if / then statements to see if your answer is pointed in the right direction.
Or, it may be exactly the opposite approach. An observation may have been made - and you may have hypothesized that something causes something to happen and you may then ask a closed ended question such as "does something affect another?" (Y/N). This approach may then be followed up with an open ended question such as why or how does this affect the other?
The hypothesis game & why its important to run multiple experiments
In this video - Dr. Muller tells random people a sequence of numbers - then he follows up with the people by thinking about what his rule is, and have them relay a sequence of numbers back and to tell him the rule that they used to create their test numbers back with.
If the number sequence is correct, he will tell them if they are correct.
If the rule is incorrect, he tells them if they are incorrect.
The point is that when we formulate a hypothesis we need to run a series of tests - not just one test.
The other point that he makes is that we should oft times also try to find out what it isn't as well. These tests help to confirm or reject the theory of how something works. In other words, if you think you are right - and you hold a truth to be self evident - then try to disprove it. In other words, this video shows just how important "no" answers are. In fact, "NO" answers are unmistakably, in my opinion, more important than "YES" answers - because they set the parameters of what is the hidden truth - by proclaiming what it is not. So when you are conducting your research, don't be afraid to find that your hypothesis may be wrong - as those answers are just as important as getting it right.
If the number sequence is correct, he will tell them if they are correct.
If the rule is incorrect, he tells them if they are incorrect.
The point is that when we formulate a hypothesis we need to run a series of tests - not just one test.
- If our expected outcomes are correct, then our hypothesis is correct (thus far). However, further tests are needed to confirm our hypothesis - for we may be holding onto a misconception that may have fit the rule, but is not necessarily the rule.
- If our expected outcomes are incorrect, we need to formulate a new hypothesis.
The other point that he makes is that we should oft times also try to find out what it isn't as well. These tests help to confirm or reject the theory of how something works. In other words, if you think you are right - and you hold a truth to be self evident - then try to disprove it. In other words, this video shows just how important "no" answers are. In fact, "NO" answers are unmistakably, in my opinion, more important than "YES" answers - because they set the parameters of what is the hidden truth - by proclaiming what it is not. So when you are conducting your research, don't be afraid to find that your hypothesis may be wrong - as those answers are just as important as getting it right.
Sample Board
Numbers
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Does it follow my rule?
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What's the Rule?
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Is it my rule?
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How this compares to experimentation
The numbers are the multiple sets of experiments to see if we are on the right understanding of how nature works.
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The "does it work" is the conclusion we might come to after each experiment.
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"What's the rule" would be the hypothesis that we based the experiment on.
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"Is it my (the teacher's) rule" is nature.
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The point of this exercise is to show that simply running one successful experiment may not fully prove that our hypothesis and understanding is 100% complete and correct. We may think to ourselves that "we got it all figured out" - when that couldn't be further from the truth. We got to run multiple tests to see if our level of understanding of how nature works is completely accurate, and not just any test - try to set up tests that try to disprove your reality and understanding.