-
Book Chapter |
In this chapter, the authors discuss an instructional framework for scientific explanations, provide a set of rubrics to assess student work, illustrate types of feedback to give students, and describe how to develop…
-
Assessment Of Laboratory Investigations
Book Chapter |
The assessment of a laboratory investigation has two distinct components. The first is an evaluation of the quality of the laboratory investigation itself: Does it meet the criteria for a desired laboratory experience?…
-
Assessing Science Knowledge: Seeing More Through the Formative Assessment Lens
Book Chapter |
In this chapter, the authors focus on classroom assessment practice, with emphasis placed on embedded diagnostic assessment. Embedded assessment activities require teachers and students to rethink their responsibilities…
-
Exploring the Role of Technology-Based Simulations in Science Assessment: The Calipers Project
Book Chapter |
In this chapter, the authors describe a project funded by the National Science Foundation, “Calipers: Using Stimulation to Assess Complex Science Learning.” This project is a two-year demonstration project that aims to…
-
Book Chapter |
This book, and particularly the stories which lie within, provide an opportunity for students to take ownership of their learning and learn science in a way that will give them a more positive attitude about science. In…
-
Book Chapter |
The mystery here has a lot to do with the life cycle of the insect in the cereal and what the various stages were that Emma found in the box. However, it is important that children get to know more about the most…
-
Book Chapter |
Water makes up a very high percentage of all living things. This story is aimed at providing children with the opportunity to measure the surprising amount of water found in fruit. It also provides an opportunity for…
-
Book Chapter |
Children as well as adults are usually intrigued by the ideas of bargains. More seeds for less money is often enough to convince them to buy a larger, cheaper package. In this case, the children are savvy enough to…
-
Book Chapter |
This story is aimed at promoting not only inquiry into the germination of tree seeds but seeing trees as typical flowering plants, also known as angiosperms. There is also ample opportunity to take an excursion into…
-
Book Chapter |
For this story, the main purpose is to explore the relationship between temperature and pressure of gases but it may spill over into the concepts of floating and density in older children. It also asks questions about…
-
Book Chapter |
Rolling objects are always fascinating for children. This story gives children an opportunity to find patterns in the process of rolling objects down ramps. Shades of Galileo! Since he was one of the first to actually…
-
Book Chapter |
The main purpose of studying the pendulum in this story is to provide a vehicle for finding and sorting out variables and designing a study for discovering the variable that controls the period (the time for a back and…
-
The Neighborhood Telephone System
Book Chapter |
This story uses the “tin can” telephone (TCT) as a focus for inquiry into the transmission of sound waves along a medium and also provides an opportunity for kids to try their hand at improving a simple device so that…
-
Book Chapter |
Heat and cold are often difficult concepts for children to understand. First, our everyday sloppy language gives them a predisposition to such common misconceptions as cold being a substance that moves from place to…
-
Using the Book and the Stories
Book Chapter |
It is often difficult for overburdened teachers to develop lessons or activities that are compatible with the everyday life experiences of their students. A major premise of this book is that if students can see the…