The Heat Is On

In this week's investigation, we were asked to test insulators out to see which item held heat the best in a mug with hot water. Like in week's past, the instructions were fairly vague. The person doing the experiment was able to choose the items they wanted to use as the insulators. The first item of business a person may want to do prior to conducting this lab is to know what the term insulator means: "any material used to slow heat transfer" (www.ase.org, 2010).

The items I selected were a thin piece of cardboard, plastic wrap, a piece of paper, and a piece of linen. I hypothesized that the cardboard would be the best insulator. I chose this item because it seemed like the material that would allow the least amount of heat to escape. The cloth has fibers that will allow air to escape through and cool, the plastic wrap will allow for condensation of water on top and it will fall back into the mug and cool the other water, and the paper will get soggy from the steam of the hot water and will allow for heat to be released.

Once I selected my materials and made my hypothesis, I gathered four ceramic mugs up and filled them with water a temperature of 100 degrees Fahrenheit. One insulator was then placed over each mug secured with a rubber band. A timer was set for exactly thirty minutes. Once thirty minutes had elapsed, the rubber bands were removed and a final temperature reading of each mug was recorded.

Piece of paper final temp: 82
Cardboard final temp: 80
Plastic wrap final temp: 82
Linen cloth final temp: 86

After recording my data, I was surprised to see that my hypothesis was incorrect. I had predicted the cardboard would keep in the most heat and in fact, it held in the least amount. Perhaps I did something incorrect in my experiment or my prediction was just off. Potholders are made from cloth and insulate with cotton materials to keep the heat from burning one's hands. If i would have pondered that aspect more, I may have began with a a different choice at the beginning.

If I were to do this in my classroom and I wanted to make it more relevant to my students, I would use a soup or try it with clothing. For clothing, see if different colored jackets made a difference to being a better insulator for heat. Students could take the temperature inside the jacket. Even if the same project was used, as long as the students were allowed to bring in materials from their own residence to test, I think they would see the relevance and it would be fun. They would have buy in and each group would have different variables. When groups presented their findings, it would be interesting for the class to make a conclusion on what type of materials were better insulators than others.

Engaging in guided inquiry

What is the effect of large objects colliding with smaller objects?

For the lab, I used two sets of objects to collide into each other on a smooth surface.

• lightweight plastic car versus heavier plastic/metal Jeep
• large, blue marble versus small, purple marble

I was not sure if large meant size or mass, so I opted to try a set of objects using each. I first set up three trials using the car/Jeep items. The first collision, I did not put much force behind the collision and the two cars stopped once they collided. For the second and third collisions, I decided to put more force behind the cars. When the two cars collided, the lightweight plastic car, bounced backwards and to the side. It did this on both the second and third collisions.

For the marbles, I rolled them towards each other at a moderate speed. I again set up the investigation for three trials. For all three trials the same exact outcome occurred. The large, blue marble collided with the smaller, purple marble, sending the purple marble backwards and at an angle.

The results were what I expected. A larger object that collides with a smaller object would push the smaller object backwards. The greater the force, the greater the smaller object is forced back.

This would be an easy lab to set up for students to do in the class as a guided inquiry investigation. I think that students of varying levels could work together and come up with the end result. There were not any challenges in setting up the lab or conducting the lab.

Week 6-Structured Inquiry Lesson

This week I was able to implement my lesson that I wrote in week 5. My lesson was for my 7th grade class and it was based on our current topic of discussion--earthquakes. I wanted the students to have a hands on experience with creating an earthquake and determining the different types of faults they demonstrated.

In order to do this lab, we used Jell-o jigglers as our plate tectonics, toothpicks as our roads, and mini marshmallows for buildings. According to Banchi and Bell, the type of inquiry used in this lab was structured inquiry because a guiding question was given by me and an overall lab directions were given, however students were still expected to come up with a conclusion based on what they believe would occur when they performed the lab (Banchi & Bell, 2008). Students were to use previously acquired knowledge on plate tectonics to make a solid hypothesis prior to starting the lab. Structured inquiry is considered a lower tiered level of inquiry, which while I push this group of students, works well considering the class dynamics (Banchi & Bell, 2008). This particular class has 6 students on IEP's and the other students are also low academic achievers.

Prior to passing out any supplies, I made sure to go over all safety protocols for the class. I wanted to ensure that no one would consume any food even though they may think they knew what it was. I did not want them to do what Mr. Houston did in his guided inquiry video demonstration (Laureate Education, 2010). After we went through all expectations, we passed out lab sheets and supplies. The students formulated their hypothesis and the work began.


The students read their lab sheets and went step by step through becoming architects of building of different tiers to see which one's could withstand earthquakes better.


After construction, came demolition time. The students then had to reflect on what occurred in their lab and relate it to the real world. How could anchoring a building with a toothpick affect a building in the real world?


After we created our buildings, we created faults. The students were to create divergent and convergent faults, build a "road" out of toothpicks across the fault. What would happen when the fault shifted? Again, they were to relate this to the real world and illustrate it on their lab sheets.




We ran out of time during the class on Friday for the students to complete their lab sheets in class. They were to complete their data analysis at home and will hand in as part of their homework assignment tomorrow.

Reflection:

For the most part, the lab was a success. The class was on task about 90% of the time. It is a small class, 15 students, and we were able to work in groups of two. We experienced a few moments where redirection was necessary for behavior. One student decided to throw marshmallows and had to be removed from the lab. When I developed the investigation, I thought I had made it challenging enough for the class. After watching the students, I believe I could have pushed the investigation to the next level and had a guided inquiry. Next time I believe I will give the students the guiding question, the supplies and see if they can formulate a plan to reach a plan.

I also started the class with a 10 minute video clip on earthquakes to help activate background knowledge. I still like this idea, but I feel that if I would have eliminated this aspect, the students would have had enough time to finish their lab sheets in class instead of having to complete them over the weekend at home.

I enjoyed observing and asking the students open ended questions as they were working on their projects. It is always refreshing to see them engaged in the material.

References:

Banchi, H., & Bell, R. (2008). The many levels of inquiry. Science and Children, 46(2), 26–29.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010). Science inquiry: classroom demonstration. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Week 3--Question 9

If the polar ice caps melt completely then the Earth has gone through a rapid global warming process. With the melting ice caps, the ocean water levels will have increased causing a change everywhere. Low lying land that was one inhabitable for animals and people, would now be under water. Flooding will have occurred in many places. Plants and animals that were indigenous to cold ecosystems will now struggle for survival. However, most will probably end up going extinct. Also, the fresh water from the glaciers would melt and change the salinity of ocean water. This would also affect the lively hood of many species of coral, tropical fish, and other sea life that require a tender balance of salinity. Most other sea life could not withstand the great swing in pH that would occur in the water. For humans, our food supply from plants to animals would be in jeopardy. With plants becoming extinct our oxygen supply would also be dwindling. So as one can see, if the ice caps were to melt, the entire life as we know it here on Earth would not be the same and we would be looking at becoming extinct like the dinosaurs did when the Earth turned cold.

Other questions:

How could you have students use this experience and relate it to land, plants, animals, etc?

5 E's Lesson Plan

After completing my lesson plan using the 5 E's lesson format, I realized that I basically do my lesson planning in a similar fashion. However, I think the "5 E" format made me plan in greater detail than I typically would. This format reminded me of the lessons that were required of us to write in our undergrad student teaching program. At the time, I did not understand why we had to write in such great detail. I now know that if you do not have it in your plans, there's a good chance you are not going to get to covering it or asking that particular question. I enjoyed using the "5 E" lesson format and found that even though it was a longer lesson to type up, it took less time to construct the plan.

The lesson I wrote up was one on mitosis. It was a lab where the students would model the stages using Oreo cookies and sprinkles. To activate their background knowledge and build upon that knowledge, a BBK (building background knowledge) activity would be completed prior to the lab. I actually taught this lesson a few weeks ago in my seventh grade class. The students always enjoy doing BBK's regardless of the topic. For the most part, the lesson went well, I had a few students who struggled with the lab. I think it was more about not following instructions than about ability level. I should add that I teach one seventh grade SPED class and three sixth grade classes. There were not any logistical or practical issues with the lesson other than that it took two class periods: one to complete the BBK and one to do the actual lab.