Tools for Enhancing Inquiry in Science Education - Fibonacci-Project

4041Self-Reflection Tool for Teachers – Primary and Middle SchoolSection A: The Teacher's RoleItems(T = teacher; Ps = pupils)Examples of good practise Decision Notes1. Building on Ps' ideas1a Did you ask questions to revealand show interest in Ps ideas?1b Did you help Ps to express theirideas clearly?1c Did you give Ps positivefeedback on how to review or taketheir ideas further?You phrased questions such as ‘what do you think is happening?’ ‘why doyou think this might be?’ rather than ‘what is the reason?’ or ‘why is thishappening?’You gave Ps time to think about how to express their ideas so that otherscould understand them; perhaps by giving a short time for discussion inpairs or small groups, or you repeated what they said and asked ‘Is thiswhat you mean?’You may have suggested how Ps’ ideas could be investigated at some stagein the current activity or later; you may have referred to their ideas in laterdiscussion asking ‘ do you still think that…?’yes no NAyes no NAyes no NA2a Did you encourage Ps to askquestions?You asked them, for instance, ‘What would you like to know about…?’ Orprovided a ‘question box’ or board where Ps could post their questions.yes no NA7. Annex 2: Self-Reflection Tool forTeachers form (Primary and MiddleSchool)2. Supporting pupils' own investigations2b Did you help them formulateproductive (investigable)questions?2c Did you ask them to makepredictions?2d Did you involve them inplanning investigations?2e Did you encourage them toinclude fair testing whereappropriate?2f Did you ask them to check theirresults or observations?2g Did you help them to keepnotes and record resultssystematically?This might be through discussing the kinds of questions that can lead toinvestigation and which include an indication of what to do and what tolook for in order to answer it (i.e.: clarify the meaning of words such as‘best’ in a question such as ‘which is the best shape for a paper aeroplane?’)yes no NAAt some stage of discussing an investigation you asked Ps ‘What do youthink will happen if … or when…? Why do you think that?"yes no NAPerhaps you provided a planning framework, or discussed with Ps thepossible steps in the investigation, asking for their ideas in relation to partsof the plan so that they regarded it as their own and not planned entirely byyou.In investigations where comparisons were being made you prompted themto think about what has to be kept the same and what had to be changedso that only the variable under investigation was changed.You asked Ps to check their results by repeating their observation ormeasurements where possible and ensuring accuracy, for instance inreading measurement scales carefully.This might be through showing Ps how to organise data in a table orsuggesting a list of headings or a checklist of items to be included in theirreport.yes no NAyes no NAyes no NAyes no NA3a Did you ask Ps to provide someconclusions from their work?This might be by helping Ps to make some general statement about whatthey found rather than only listing individual findings; for instance aboutthe factors that were found to make a difference, not just the differencebetween one condition and another.yes no NA3. Guiding analysis and conclusions3b Did you ask Ps to check thattheir conclusions were consistentwith their results?Where Ps gave a conclusion, you asked them to be sure that it fitted alltheir observations or results.yes no NA3c Did you ask Ps to compare their You asked Ps to recall what they predicted and to compare this with theiryes no NAconclusions with their predictions? conclusions.3d Did you ask Ps to think ofreasons or explanations for whatthey found?3e Did you ask Ps to identifypossible sources of error?Whether or not there was agreement with predictions, you encouraged Psto try to explain what was found and develop their understanding of theevents or phenomena investigated (i.e., by helping them to use an idea thatcould also explain other situations).You discussed with Ps whether some aspects of the way the investigationwas carried out could have affected the result, perhaps by asking if theywould get exactly the same result if repeated.yes no NAyes no NA3f Did you ask Ps to identifyfurther questions?You encouraged Ps to continue to inquire, perhaps by discussing otherquestions that arose or asking ‘what else would you like to find out about…?’yes no NA3g Did you encourage Ps to reflecton what they found and how theyfound it?You spent some time after the investigation helping Ps to recall what theyhad done, discuss what they had learned, how they could improve theirinvestigation and apply this in future work.yes no NAPLEASE READ THE INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY BEFORE USING THIS TOOL