USING INQUIRY TO PROMOTE SCIENTIFIC THINKING IN THE CLASSROOM

The University of Texas Marine Science Institute and schools in Port Aransas, Texas have established a partnership through the GK-12 Program funded by the National Science Foundation. The overall goal of the program is to develop partnerships between teachers and graduate students in order to improve science education and increase enthusiasm for science in K-12 students. Graduate students are working with teachers to develop inquiry based lesson plans that are aligned with the National Science Education Standards (NSES) and Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS).

At H.G. Olsen Elementary (OES), students engage in lessons that are based on real science. They learn about how scientists work and what tools are used in research. Students are encouraged to ask questions and are involved in experiments. The graduate student is the primary source of information instead of a textbook. The exposure of students from OES to a real scientist has increased their enthusiasm for science. Their ability to ask questions and get real answers has increased their knowledge as well as their curiosity. Students in grades K-3 at OES have been working with science graduate students on topics including: seagrass ecology, scientific equipment, oil spills, magnets, using a digital microscope, and volcanoes.

Each lesson begins with questions to stimulate students’ thinking, to find out their prior knowledge or misconceptions, and to get them excited about the topic. Examples or analogies are used to help students relate the topics to their experiences. Lessons are conducted in an experimental way to show students how scientists would do research. This includes hypothesizing about outcomes and explaining results of each experiment or observation. At the end of each lesson, students express their observations and are encouraged to ask questions. To assess the effectiveness of lessons, students are given pre- and post-lesson questions.

For more information about the GK-12 Program, visit: http://www.utmsi.utexas.edu/people/staff/dunton/GK12/home.htm.