Nelson ARP Talk Take 2 Part 1

Action Research Project: Chemistry Science Talk:

Action Research Project: Chemistry Science Talk Brian Nelson SCE 5740 Spring 2010 Dr. Nancy Davis Part 1 of 2

Science Talking about Chemistry:

Science Talking about Chemistry Discussions with my online learning community prompted me to investigate just how literate and cooperative my students could be. Although the “Science Talk” strategy was intended for younger students I nevertheless used this research opportunity as a chance to study an important aspect of my teaching practice, communication.

Communication is a Problem:

Communication is a Problem Language can also be a barrier because “Instructors write symbols, which represent a physical reality. Very often, students write letters, numbers, and lines, which have no physical meaning to them.” (Levy-Nahum, 2004, p. 304) Even though lecture is my preferred mode of instruction, I recognize that I may be imposing a barrier to inquiry based learning. “In a classroom where the appropriation of many different discourses is the goal, the children will co-construct, or build together, ideas about seminal questions through real dialogue, and the teacher listens and reflects without immediately agonizing over what ought to be said.” (Gallas, p.11)

Student Focused Inquiry:

Student Focused Inquiry The National Science Education Standards (NRC, 2005) stress the importance of inquiry based learning. Teachers should ask students what they are observing and what they think their observations mean about the question under investigation. Inquiry in practice is difficult because by the time students are in high school chemistry, they appear to have been denied the opportunity to conduct real labs with real equipment. They simple lack hands on experience.

Research Plan:

Research Plan I conducted qualitative research on my methods for teaching Honors Chemistry I to high school sophomores and juniors. I learned from observing myself and my students interact while I was lecturing on a new topic. The main focus of my study was for me to spend more time listening to my students express their ideas so that I could identify their alternative conceptions.

Methodology:

Methodology My action research project is based on the ideas presented in Karen Gallas ’ book Talking Their Way into Science . I recorded my students discussing how to conduct a lab to experimentally determine the molar mass of an unknown gas sample. I reviewed and analyzed the recordings to identify both their misconceptions and their alternative proposals for solving the problem. Feedback from this study was be used to develop subsequent Science Talks about chemistry.

Research Question:

Research Question How well do my students express themselves scientifically and how well do they work collaboratively? The answer to this question is qualitative in nature and needs to be the baseline for an ongoing, perennial study of the same learning objectives.

Students:

Students I selected my 6 th period class for analysis. The section is composed of 22 students with the following ethnic and gender breakdown (“classifications” reported by student registrations): Total male = 13 Total female = 9 “white” = 9 “white” = 6 “black” = 2 “black” = 2 “Hispanic” = 1 “Hispanic” = 0 “Asian” = 1 “Asian” = 1

Summary of the Science Talk:

Summary of the Science Talk The entire discussion lasted approximately forty five minutes, which was too long, so the first 17:30 minutes were analyzed as the Science Talk. The students led a lively and fruitful dialogue for about twenty minutes and then the we got bogged down in small details pertaining to the procedure and techniques. Several alternative conceptions were discovered and worked through under debate between the students. In many cases they had adequate lab experience and ingenuity to overcome new obstacles. The topic of the Science Talk was too narrow to gain the full benefit of open discussion.

Highlights from the Talk:

Highlights from the Talk From the beginning students are interested and cooperative.

Dialogue Highlights and Analysis:

Dialogue Highlights and Analysis An abridged and annotated version of my Science Talk can be viewed on the Palm Beach District’s Video on Demand site using the link: http://vodcast.palmbeach.k12.fl.us/player.php?key=HYP4D580CE0E7908 The debate was lively and orderly without any ground rules being mentioned. After only one minute of initial silence two girls opened the discussion. Stacey: “Does anyone have any ideas?” Nicole: “Claude thinks we should find the pressure.” After only 2:49 a different girl voiced the basic strategy to solve half of the problem. Almost immediately there was a group consensus to accept the proposal as a formal hypothesis- students spontaneously began writing her statement into their lab notebooks. Sara: “We need to find the pressure, the volume, and the temperature. Then we can calculate the number of moles using PV= nRT .”

References:

References Gallas, K. (1995). Talking their way into science: Hearing children’s questions and theories, responding with curricula, Teachers College, New York Levy-Nahum, T., Hofstein, A., Mamlok, R., and Bar-Dov, Z. (2004). Can final examinations amplify students’ misconceptions in chemistry? Chemistry Education: Research and Pract ice, vol. 5, no. 3, pp. 301-325. National Research Council (2005). National Science Education Standards, Washington, DC. National Academy Press.

Slide 13:

End of Part 1 Analysis will continue in Part 2