Day 8: Working on Iteration 3 - Open Inquiry

Today required a LOT of thinking! As I blogged earlier, the Hypothesis can be the hardest part of the research process. Remember this when you are working with your students.

My advice: Keep your research questions and hypothesis SIMPLE!

Then, have your students construct a DETAILED list of procedures so they know how to proceed with their research project and they start to understand all variables and factors involved with their research.

As we experienced, THEY WILL RUN INTO ROAD BLOCKS. This is a natural part of science, so keep positive and have them troubleshoot their problems. Guide the students, but let them troubleshoot themselves. This is an important aspect of open inquiry. The students WILL LEARN SO MUCH from their mistakes!

And MOST IMPORTANTLY... HAVE FUN!!!



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The Hypothesis

Please review the following links. They will help you as you formulate your hypothesis for Iteration 3. The first two links illustrate how to write a hypothesis & gives you some great tips. The third link provides an outline of how medical research is performed... (the research process used by scientists is not much different than the process you are using for your research project!)

Writing a Hypothesis Statement
Good vs. Bad Hypothesis Statement
Developing a Clinical Research Protocol: The Survival Guide

The Hypothesis may be the hardest part of the research process!  A good hypothesis takes time to formulate and requires background research on the part of the scientist.  Scientists ALWAYS take their time when formulating hypotheses because they want to make sure they work on an important project, helping the scientific community as a whole.  So take your time and SHARE your thoughts with your "neighbor" during the last few days of the workshop so as a "community" you can learn new things to share with others.

Day 7: Recap!

Iteration 1: Using USGS and NOAA to investigate water quality (temperature, pH, and DO) across the United States.
Iteration 2: Using Probeware, compared water quality (temperature and pH) of 3 bodies of water: swamp, brook, and beach.
Iteration 3: Open-Inquiry investigation of water quality...
Think about how humans and the environment are connected; how do education and advocacy have an impact on the environment?

Remember the following when writing your laboratory report...
- your background should include all information necessary for students to proceed with their own investigation. For example, make sure they know what temperature, pH and DO are, and the standard ranges of these factors in oceans and lakes. Why is this experiment interesting?
- materials & research plans/procedures should be VERY detailed. Make sure you include ALL details so others can read your report and repeat your experiment.
- after performing your experiment, REVISIT your results - they should state EXACTLY how you performed your experiment. For example, state how you Constructed your charts/graphs (took average of 3 experimental runs and averaged them together).
- provide websites for all of your sources of background information, databases, and tools used in this experiment.


Pointers...
-Google Earth is a great method of visually sharing information. You can add TONS of details (background information, photos, videos) to each location/landmark.
- Probeware - think about how your results may differ if your probe was left in the water for 30 seconds versus 30 minutes.


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Day 6: Investigating the water quality of northern Nassau County

Today we visited the following sites: Brook at Shu swamp nature preserve, Shu swamp, Ransome Beach (Long Island Sound). Using our Probeware and iPod Touch (Sparkvue application), we measured the temperature and pH of these bodies of water, hoping to make some conclusions regarding the water quality.
Today was so hot (around 91 degrees F)! But I think the group had a great time :)
I look forward to seeing the data we collected and comparing our results and conclusions tomorrow.




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Day 5: Investigating the water quality of NYIT Pond

Thus far, we have reviewed how water temperature, pH, and dissolved oxygen can be used to help determine the water quality of a body of water.
Is the NYCOM Pond affected by acid rain or other factors? It is located close to a walking path, buildings and a roadway. Do these factors affect the pond's water quality? Do you think the pH of the pond changes as the seasons change? What organisms are living in the pond? We observed many happy frogs!


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Day 4: Laboratory Report

Use the "Template Laboratory Report" to design your research project: formulate your hypothesis, construct your model, and plan your methods.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zNK2SPWdfEGl5WZ4E5oYQUnANv07-YWRDNThYwa6iwA/edit?authkey=CMn83qMH&hl=en_US&overridemobile=true

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Day 3: World Biome Types

Examining the relationship between temperature and precipitation data in every city in the world allows students to explore world biome types. This can lead to great discussions and projects regarding various ecosystems, specifically focusing on organisms and their resources.
Think about other ways you can use the world biome types chart in your classroom!


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